4.5 stars rounded up.

This book follows three people: Hannah, Meg, and Carter.

Hannah is a medical student travelling to the Retreat, a mountainous cabin, on a coach full of other students. When the coach tips over and lands in a drift, she soon realises that they are trapped with no means of an escape. The snowstorm is billowing outside, too…

Meg, an ex policewoman, wakes up in a cable car, disoriented. Inside, there are other people, who like Meg are starting their work as volunteers at the Retreat. They also discover they are trapped. How did they all end up in the cable car? Can they escape?

Carter is at the Retreat with others. He suffered frostbite, which decimated half of his face. Then, one of the Retreat’s residents goes missing and some supplies are gone too. With the snowstorm outside, the power is on the brink, and Carter will have to work hard to keep himself and others safe…

What links all these three people?

I devoured this story in about a day and a half. I had to keep on reading as I was desperate to find out what happens next.

This book is dark, creepy, with a very clever plot. I imagined the Retreat as some relaxing, luxurious spa, but I was wrong. This story is not what you think it will be (hence my saying of an ingenious plot!).

I don’t want to spoil this book – best if you buy it and discover this beauty for yourself.

Thank you to Michael Joseph for approving my NetGalley request to read and review this title.

A new direction from the author of The Chalk Man.

There's no slow build-up of tension in this excellent new novel from the author of "The Chalk Man". From page one, we are immediately drawn into three different scenarios - students trapped in a coach, following a crash into a snowdrift; strangers awakening to find themselves trapped in a stalled cable car, hundreds of feet above the ground; and a group trapped in a chalet, high in the mountains. In swift and often gory detail we follow the three groups as they come to terms with their situations and determine how to escape.

As the story develops, the three strands come together nicely, and we learn that this is a world dealing with the after-effects of a global pandemic (wonder how CJ spent her lockdown?) We learn more about the key characters and their backgrounds, and how they have come to be where they are. Each has their own fair share of quotable quips which I enjoyed. There's quite a supporting cast too, so a few names to keep track of, but it adds to the claustrophobic feel of the book. There's no let-up as the story moves towards its conclusion, which itself is a nice touch.

This post-apocalyptic thriller represents a new direction from one of my favourite authors. No supernatural stuff here, just horror, and tension. No slow-burn, just a relentless unfolding of one event after another, each one revealing a little more of the back story. The characters are sufficiently fleshed-out that we care what happens to them, sympathise or gloat at the parts they have to play. Each has their own motives and triggers for acting as they do, and as we learn more about them it's easy to see why they act as they do.

Inevitably, this year has seen its fair share of pandemic / apocalypse novels, but this one is sufficiently different to stand with the others. I was glad to receive a Netgalley review copy, but I'm looking forward to reading a proper copy when it is released. I'd definitely recommend the book to fans of CJ Tudor , Sarah Pearse and Catriona Ward.

This was my first read by this author so going in I wasn't sure what style to expect. All I knew was that it contained my favourite trope: people being cut off somewhere. One thing I did like was that the story dropped you into it straight away and I was pleasantly surprised by how graphic some of the scenes were.
But unfortunately that was about all I liked about this one. The whole dystopian, post apocalyptic vibe/plot didn't work for me and in fact made me lose interest in the whole thing.
There are so many characters in this and apart from the 3 main ones: Hannah, Meg and Carter, they all blurred into one, therefore I didn't know who was who which made me not care about them or the plot.
It felt like for most of the plot the virus/resort thing was never very clear about what it was and so I spent a lot of the time wondering what the hell was going on. I did prefer the chapters written from Hannah and Megs perspective and probably would have enjoyed this book more if there weren't chapters written from Carter who was at the retreat.
The story never kept me engaged and I started to lose interest 30% of the way in and by the time I had ploughed through to 70% I had lost complete interest and wanted to DNF.
I also felt like the writing was heavy and dragged down the pacing.
Unfortunately this was not one for me, others may enjoy this but it didn't work for me.

In a world where a pandemic has infected millions, survivors are trying to avoid contact with the infected.
Three groups of people have been isolated in the snow. One group’s bus has crashed and they can’t get out the wreckage, another group are stuck high above the mountain in a cable car, the third group are snowed in at a retreat.
There is plenty of action in this book but I didn’t enjoy the story as much as the previous books by this author.
Thank you to NetGalley and Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

Having read the authors earlier books I was very excited to read this new one but sadly I was really disappointed I just didn't enjoy it at all.
I hope the next book by the author will be more like the earlier ones she has written.
Thanks to Netgalley and Michael Joseph,penguin Random House for the ARC.

This creepy, post apocalyptic thriller grabbed my attention from the first page, I couldn't put it down!
This was a buddy read but I don't think any of us stuck to the reading agenda with this one!
There are 3 main storylines throughout the book and it alternates between them. There are a lot of characters so you do have to concentrate at first!
Firstly, we join Hannah who is a student on a bus that has crashed in a freezing snowstorm. One of the passengers is infected with the deadly virus and all exits are blocked so the survivors are trapped. They were on their way to The Retreat.
Next we meet Meg who is trapped in a cable car high up in the mountains. The cords have been cut so they are trapped.The passengers were drugged and one has been murdered. They were also on the way to take part in experimental trials for a vaccine at the Retreat.
Lastly, there are a group of people stuck at the isolated Retreat trying to survive but generator is starting to fail...The snow storm is worsening and there are whistlers in the woods outside.
All three stories were absolutely engrossing. Gradually each story is linked together but I just couldn’t predict it at all. There are so many great characters but all have secrets in their past so it is hard to know who to trust! Most of them need to work together to escape from their critical situation.
This is an immersive, chilling read. Be prepared for some horror and lots of grissly murders. A brilliant dystopian read though that I would highly recommend.

‘The Drift’ was a really unexpected story from CJ Tudor, instead of supernatural elements the setting is post-apocalyptic and a virus is ravaging society.
I enjoyed the narrative style as the plot develops through three POVs; Hannah, Meg and Carter. Each of them is in danger and not just because of the virus that has altered society; this makes for perfect pacing because it takes a while for the full picture to unfold for the reader. Some readers may find the switching narratives and lingering questions frustrating but for me it really hooked me into the plot and keep me turning the pages.
There were plenty of horror elements and gore from the offset and the tension began to wind from the very beginning. Tudor is so talented at structure and depicts a harsh, dystopian landscape really graphically; this intensity won’t be for everyone but I really enjoyed this claustrophobic thriller.

The Drift follows the survival stories of three main characters (Hannah, Meg and Carter) as they fight through their own individual apocalyptic turmoil in the face of a covid on steroids.

“It constantly found new ways to travel. The Elon fucking Musk of infection”

Each story unfolds at rapid pace, switching between one another as we learn about their inevitable link in the worlds new norm. And let me tell you, the new norm is scary. Particularly the value life now holds and how nonchalantly everyone treats death.

“You’re either a good guy or you’re a survivor. And the earth is full of dead good guys”

The characters are all great, the plot brilliant, and the twists and turns all enjoyable.

I’m not sure the world is ready for another infection thriller, but this one definitely ticks all the boxes.

Thank you NetGalley and Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House, for a review copy

Ice-encrusted horror with a breakneck pace, CJ Tudor's THE DRIFT frequently had me holding my breath while reading, it was that tense. The definition of unputdownable.

I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher in return for an honest review. This review is based entirely on my own thoughts and feelings.

Overall rating : 4*
Writing skill : 4*
Plot: 3*
Pace: 4*
Characters: 4*
Twist: 4*

I loved the unique 3 storyline situation going on with this. It was easily to follow each scenario, and remember the characters in each. But obviously as this is a Tudor novel, there were deaths that were proper GORY!!
Really good, quick, gritty, bloody story with a great build up to a twisty end!! Loved it. My second Tudor but definitely not the last! This is out next year and I think this going to be on all the bestseller lists!!

I have to start this review by saying that I am the biggest fan of CJ Tudor and have absolutely loved all of her previous books. I most recently read The Taking of Annie Thorne, which I loved, but I have read all of her other books too. The Drift felt like a different type of story from this author and I was intrigued by it. There was none of the supernatural element, which I normally love, and this was slightly disappointing.. The Drift is a post-apocalyptic action thriller featuring a large cast of characters. Tudor has imbued some of her characters with her usual caustic wit and sarcasm, which always makes for great reading! The story was perfectly paced and full of tension. I really liked the cold, snowy setting and the three different locations of the bus, The Retreat and the cable car... I wondered how the three parallel stories would come together. The final third of the book was mind-blowing with fantastic twists and a satisfying resolution. Although not my favourite of Tudor's books I was still absorbed by The Drift and am confident that readers will love it.

I think CJ Tudor is an excellent writer, she has rapidly become one of my favourite authors, so I was really looking forward to reading this book. However, I just couldn't get into it, at first, I thought it started well and would be an interesting and different read, but I didn't take to any of the characters and struggled to remain interested in what happened to them. I feel really disappointed, but I guess you can't win them all, and I will look forward to her next book.

I’ve struggled with some of C. J. Tudor’s books in the past but when I read this blurb for this one, it sounded too good to resist. And wow - I was not disappointed! This is easily my favourite book from this author. The storyline was fantastic and had me hooked from the beginning. I guessed some of what was going to happen, but the rest surprised me. The parts that I did guess weren’t enough to ruin the storyline, so several parts did still shock me. I love a thriller set in a snowy setting, and this one is no exception. The snow just made it more scary! Even when I wasn’t reading this book I couldn’t stop thinking about it - I was constantly trying to work out what was going on. It was creepy at times but also emotional at times. I really liked the characters and they were all interesting to read about. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and definitely recommend it, but it is quite gory at times so it might not be for everyone.

A coach crash full of students and a stranded cable car with 5 strangers. What do they have in common? All of the passengers where heading to somewhere called ‘the retreat’ when their journeys were derailed.

I hadn’t realised this book had such a futuristic theme to it but it was a pleasant surprise. Lots to uncover and many deep secrets harboured by the characters which need to be revealed. Unfortunately I didn’t take to any of the characters, I just felt they lacked any likeable attributes. This led to me not really connecting to the book, however I still think many would love this story.

I was intrigued by the premise and once the storyline picked up, I was captivated. We follow three different sets of characters and I loved how the pace picked up as it started to unravel how they are all linked. It’s fantastic to see CJ Tudor take a slightly different direction in her writing, still gritty though which is what I love about her!

Another smasher from CJ Tudor. I was gripped from the start and that continued the whole way through. The Drift includes Tudor's usual spine chilling writing which makes me feel like I continually need to look over my shoulder and a fabulously creepy setting. Loads of twists that I didn't see coming makes this an awesome thriller. Highly recommended.
4.5 stars rounded up to 5

4.75⭐️
Gore score 4/5

A speculative apocalypse survival thriller. It’s near future, it could have been the result of covid. There are a lot of similarities drawn from the covid pandemic.
Hannah is the narrator from a group trapped in an overturned bus stuck in a snow drift. (Characters Lucas, Josh, Ben, Cassie,Daniel and badly injured Peggy)

Meg is the narrator from a group stuck in a cable car in a snow storm. ( characters Sean, Karl, Max, Sarah)

Hannah and Meg’s group were on route to the retreat, where the 3rd group is waiting. The narrator from the retreat group is facially disfigured Carter. (Characters Caren, Nate, Miles, Julia, Jackson, Welland and Dexter the dog).

So there’s quite a few names to contend with in each group, I made a list to keep track.

From the outset the reader feels that the Retreat is not a good place.

Each group has its own sub issues going on from the start too, at the retreat one person has gone missing, in the cable car there’s a murdered man, on the bus one of the dead had the feared Redeye, the killer infection. So immediately there’s an atmosphere of mistrust between the groups as well as the fear of the situation they find themselves in. There’s a mixed bag of people too, each with a past and secrets. The characters are well crafted, it’s very character driven, there are some very moving back stories.

The retreat and the surrounding area has a real creepy vibe to it. I felt it veered towards horror at some points. The tension is ramped up in the sections at different times keeping interest levels high. Intermingled are some snippets of wry humour, although in places it has a very bleak despairing feel as the world has radically changed. There’s a plot device used which confused me for awhile, but it adds a good twist.

There’s a hint of socio political commentary but it’s subtle. It makes the reader question what is done for the ‘greater good’ how morally and ethically acceptable that is. It draws parallels to the concentration camps. What makes it more pertinent are the covid similarities and how far that could have gone if there hadn’t been a vaccination available. It was already bad enough. I’m sure there will be a lot of revelations in the enquiry.

Fav quote ‘ You’re either a good guy or you’re a survivor……The earth is full of dead good guys.’

A quite different offering from C J Tudor. The darkest book by this author,gritty with a high body count.
In the wake of Covid, which we are still not on the other side of, this survival pandemic might not be for everyone.

Holy hell, what a wild ride! I love this author and requested an ARC from Netgalley without even reading the blurb, and I'm so glad I went in blind! What a story, I was fully invested in this tense world and could not put his down.

I am already a fan of CJ Tudor but this latest book is just brilliant .One of those books that is so hard to put down ,just when you think you know what is going on you don't !!! This book is so clever ,atmospheric. three different stories going on ,set in the snowy mountains the pace is fast ,hold your breath moments and a very good ending .Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC

I love this author but wasn't sure when I saw what it was about. I was wrong to doubt! This was a thoroughly engrossing read. It's full of suspense and is a real edge-of-seat thriller at times. I though the setting was done brilliantly. It felt icy, frightening and claustrophobic.. But the best bit is definitely the characters, all very real and all suspects in their own way but still people we root for. Even the peripheral characters are excellently done. The twist is one that caught me unawares completely, yet made perfect sense in hindsight. A really great read.