Loved it!

It was not a book I would usually pick up, but it attracted me with the cover - and I am so glad I did!

What a cool concept and I was gripped by all 3 timelines.

Truly, an overall enjoyable science-fiction thriller with some gruesome bits added to the mix.

Thank you for the ARC, NetGalley!

I LOVE C.J. Tudor, she is by far my favourite author and I will never not recommend her books.

This one is a perfect locked in thriller set across three times periods, with plenty of action to keep you hooked with an ending you'll never see coming

Ahh this was so good! The plotting was amazing, and so so clever. Really twist-turny and fast paced. Devoured it.

My thanks to NetGalley and publishers Michael for an ARC of this book in return for an honest review. I excitedly requested this because I’m a huge fan of C J Tudor’s writing and have read all her books. But for me, this one proved the exception and I was unable to finish the action taking place in three different locations; a secluded snowy mountain retreat, a crashed bus, and a cable car broken down away above ground. Snow, freezing temperatures, a lack of light and energy and the need for warmth and supplies unite the three sites. We are introduced to the characters in each area, which means a lot of people and I soon forgot who was who let alone their names. The trouble, becoming increasingly deadly in each place, was narrated alternately, which added to the confusion, but it became apparent early on that they were linked. How linked / I was rapidly becoming not prepared to find out. I realised that I had no real wish to see how this ended. I had no empathy with any of the characters, even if I could have remembered who they were.

I read for pleasure. Whilst the writing, as one would expect from this author, was good, the story was bleak and depressing. It was obviously inspired by the recent pandemic. I wondered if it was too soon for such a tale. Better, perhaps to have put it away in draft form for some years until the rawness of loss and illness engendered by Covid had softened.

There’s much in this novel for book clubs to debate. “Funny how terrible things were done for the “greater good”. Carter wondered at what point the balance tipped. When the greater good became the fortunate few”. Depressing but well written with a lot of questions raised, but too bleak for me. “- - - - Ultimately we all die alone. No one is coming on that journey with us”. Having recently lost someone incredibly close, I decided that this was the point at which I gave up. I shall still regard C J Tudor as one of my favorite writers and will be ready to read her next book. I would also strongly recommend her to any new reader, but definitely not to begin with this book.

The Drift starts in three locations, what links them, is that they find themselves in dangerously precarious situations. The author, CJ Tudor, introduces us to a huge cast of characters in the opening few chapters. So many, that I had to make a list of names, so I could keep track.

The chapters alternate between three narrators. Hannah, Meg and Carter. Each of these are prominent within their story, their own predicament. From the start you know that something is very wrong. Life has been altered, they are living in a skewed existence. Unease and mistrust is rife.

The basis of this new dystopian world is a post pandemic situation. Ten years have passed since an extremely deadly pandemic tore through our world. Initially there was hope for a vaccine, and a return to normality. Those infected, the enemy, are held in camps, as they have value. As time passed, all hope for normality disappeared, riots, wars and societal breakdown followed quickly.

I found each of the three stories quite addictive. The chapters alternated between each of the settings, leaving each story on a small cliffhanger as the chapter ended. But as the book progressed, it lost my interest. The stories became increasingly implausible to me.

I’m not sure why, but I didn’t feel much of an affinity with the characters. It could have been because I felt their characters were disposable, as the stories felt hopeless. Or maybe due to the huge cast of characters, I didn’t feel that I got to know them well enough. Whatever the reason, sadly I didn’t care what happened to the characters, I didn’t feel jeopardy.

I really wanted to love this book, as I have heard so many great things about the author; but it didn’t hit the mark for me. I’m sure many others will love this dystopian horror, but it was just a 3⭐️⭐️⭐️ read for me.

Thanks Netgalley for the ARC.

I have read lots of CJ Tudor books so when I read the blurb for this I knew I would be in for a great read. Until, that is, I saw some other reviews. Described as apocalyptic, dystopian and the undead I thought I had made a mistake but how wrong I was. I loved it.

Three stories interwoven in a deadly snowstorm that all head towards a climatic end.

Hannah wakes up on a crashed coach after being evacuated from her boarding school due to the storm. There are few other survivors.

Meg wakes up to find herself stranded on a broken down cable car with five other strangers. How did they get there and more importantly how will they get to safety.

Carter and his colleagues are stranded in the chalet they call home. With their generator and supplies failing will they survive.

The problem is each group has a killer among them. Just who will survive the snowstorm?

Highly recommended five stars.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Wow-what a chilling, eerie read. Full of thrills and unexpected twists. A recommended read.

I automatically pick up anything by C.J Tudor having enjoyed her previous books and this latest offering didn't disappoint.
An engrossing read I enjoyed how it was told in different parts by each of the groups, a little slow to begin with, it soon built up to palpable fear and a lot of gruesomeness & death!
I didn't predict the twist. Enjoyable & gripping.
My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for my eARC in return for my honest review.

Hugely enjoyable apocalyptic read. A new virus has broken out amongst humans leaving people either dead or known as a "Whistler" due to the whistling noise they make when they breath as the virus has damaged their lungs.

set in a snow covered mountainside, the stories of Hanna, Meg and Carter unfold. You know they are all linked together and their loves intertwined but how...

Loved it.

CJ Tudor is an auto buy for me and when I got the chance to read and review this one, I squealed.

Tudor just writes bloody great books!!! From the creepy The Whisper Man to the utterly fabulous The Taking of Annie Thorne (my fave) Tudor spins a creepy tale full of suspense and snarky humour.

The Drift is no exception! A post-apocalyptic thriller, Tudor takes you through three separate storylines, each with fully rounded characters, and masterfully weaves them all together in a dark and twisty cobweb. I had an inkling as to what was going on, but that’s as far as I got - an inkling!!! She whipped the rug clean out from under me.

I love, love, LOVE Tudor’s books and if you haven’t read them yet, get cracking!!!

This story was a lot to take in, it was so intense but I loved it. Fantastic characters and wonderful writing!

Three timelines, three stories, all intertwined brilliantly. Each setting is as claustaphobic as the others, I would liken untangling the story to picking apart an over tightened knot. With each small loosening of the threads you become more invested in the challenge with an overwhelming feeling of satisfaction when you are done.

The Drift has a dark pulsating heart, a constant reminder of the evil that humanity can do. C.J. Tudor has the ability to wrong foot her readers at every turn. Superb.

The Drift was immediate cover love…I know, I know, shoot me! But it called to me like a siren awaiting its next prey. Well let me just say, this book got its talons into me nice and early. I know its likely an unpopular opinion, but I love a story about viruses and post-apocalyptic worlds. And this take had me salivating with its torturous narrative and blood thirsty scenes. What made it even better was just how all the intricate storylines interweaved into a final reveal, I’m not ashamed to admit that I had no idea what was about to smack me upsides the head.

C.J Tudor is a relatively new to me author and I’ve instantly fallen in love with her storytelling. It’s sharp and punchy and she isn’t afraid to tackle those hard-hitting themes. I think especially during lockdown times we became so insular – we had no routines, no sense of anything else going on in the world, just those four walls, day in and day out. It was a form of torture for many. Anyway, I digress, Tudor created a story that allowed the reader to experience many different perspectives. The effect these conditions created the longing for loved ones and time to plot against those who have done us wrong.

The Drift follows three groups of people, narrated by Hannah, Meg, and Carter. Hannah and her group have been involved in a crash after the bus that was taking them to “The Retreat” to be involved in trials that could significantly help them if they were to become infected. Hannah’s father, Dr. Grant is the professor running the establishment and boy is he a cold son of a cow if you ever met one. Absolute rage this character brought out in me. The trials aren’t exactly legal nor ethical but don’t let that stop powerful men. Hannah and her group wake up after the crash, feel discombobulated and realise that they’ve been drugged. They are surrounded by the dead and very quickly realise that either the cold will kill them or the department because at least one of them is infected.

Meg and her group are trapped in a cable car. They are around 1000 feet in the air with no where to escape. They were also on their way to The Retreat. They also awake after being drugged and find that someone has stabbed a member of their group. Who managed to smuggle a knife on board. Quickly they become weary with exhaustion and hunger and tempers become frayed. Meg is an ex- police officer who has nothing left to live for and a palpable sense of resentment towards The Department. Her six-year-old daughter died during the outbreak and just desperately wants to be with her again. Her pain made my heart ache.

Carter is a member of staff within The Retreat. Boy, has he had a hard time of it. After being trapped in the hypothermic conditions his face is a mess from nerve damage. It used to bother him but now not so much. It means that mostly people keep away from him. The Retreat has few numbers now and they take it turn to do chores and the dreaded grocery run – this involves a trek down the mountainside on ski’s. You just have to watch out for the Whistlers – the infected that now live in droves around buildings. One thing you need to remember is to keep out of the basement, that’s where the isolation chambers are kept.

Thank you to Netgalley and publisher for kindly providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for a review. The Drift is set in a post pandemic world, set in 3 different locations which all link together as the story evolves. There was perhaps too many characters for me to follow at times, i found that some of them moulded into each other and i found it hard to remember who they were and what their backstory was, i felt i almost needed to keep notes to track them all. The story is quite fast paced, lots of action and drama. Backstory's for certain characters are good and i felt for them emotionally. I will be looking to read more from C J Tudor.

"The Drift" by C. J. Tudor is a chilling and atmospheric thriller that will keep readers on the edge of their seats. Set in a small coastal town, the novel follows the story of two estranged friends who return home after receiving a cryptic message. The town is plagued by secrets and sinister occurrences, and the friends soon find themselves embroiled in a dangerous game of cat and mouse. Tudor's writing is sharp and evocative, bringing the eerie setting to life and creating a palpable sense of tension throughout. The characters are well-drawn and flawed, making them both relatable and intriguing. The plot is cleverly crafted, with twists and turns that will leave readers guessing until the very end. Overall, "The Drift" is a gripping and haunting read that is sure to satisfy fans of psychological thrillers.

I found the first third of the book a bit slow but when it all started to come together, the pace picked up a lot! When I realised the plot twist, it all worked so well and I was really impressed with how it was all laid out. I will definitely be reading more by the author!

General Thoughts 🤔

This book ended up being something completely different to what I was expecting. I thought I was heading into a dark thriller and I ended up getting a bit of a mix up of dark thriller, post apocalyptic drama and horror. I wasn’t mad at it though and it ended up being a pleasant surprise.

I spent a chunk of this book wondering what on earth was going on and where the story was going to go but it was so worth trusting the process, because it all fell into place and it all made shocking sense in the end. I love a good plot twist and this plot was full of surprises.

Characters 👫👭👬

There were quite a few characters in this story, all of them were separated off into groups. One group were trapped in a coach in a snow storm, another group trapped in a cable car and the final group, residents in the retreat. I think the group trapped in the coach were my favourite to read and I found their stories the most engaging. I really liked Hannah and thought that she was so brave and so smart. At the same time I had a huge amount of empathy for her as I think she was quite a lonely person and really craved some sort of emotion/feeling from her father.

My least favourite character across all the groups was Sarah. Not for any serious reason, I just felt like she didn’t appreciate the severity of the situation that they were in and therefore was unable to prioritise sensible decisions. I would have 100% gotten extremely frustrated if I had been trapped in such a small confined space with her.

Writing Style ✍️

This isn’t my first C.J. Tudor book so of course I was looking forward to a clever plot with plenty of twists and turns and that is what I got. The story started to come together for me earlier than I would have liked though which eliminated some of the shock factor that I really love in a twisty thriller. It didn’t completely ruin it though, because I enjoyed reading it all unravel for the characters.

Conclusion & Scoring 🎖

Although this story ended up being something really quite different from what I expected it to be, I really enjoyed it. I have seen quite a few post apocalyptic books emerge since Covid and some of them aren’t done very well. This book however was written well and the story was cleverly put together with some great twists and reveals. I would have liked to have had a more of a shock factor, but it didn’t spoil the experience of the story for me. A great read that I’d recommend for lovers of thrillers with a different edge to them.

This was a twisty and fast paced horror/thriller with some science fiction thrown in for good measure and I really enjoyed the ride. The way the narrative was constructed was very clever, with three point of view characters throughout in alternating chapters. Each character has a different story to tell, a different awful situation to deal with and for a long time, you aren't sure where the plot is going or if the different threads are going to intertwine at any point. I found the virus element of the novel really interesting and particularly disturbing, given the global pandemic and I also thought the setting was great, as the added threat of hypothermia in the snow was a real presence in the story. Overall, I enjoyed this book a lot and would definitely recommend it.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I do love CJ Tudors' previous novels, but this one left me a bit cold (no pun intended). But then it really heats up (OK, maybe intended a little)

The book is told from three viewpoints. Hannah, who has just woke up to find herself in a coach full of dead students in a snowstorm. Meg, who has just woken up as well. But she's in a cable car with 5 other people and no idea how she got there. And Carter, who lives in The Retreat. Once a ski chalet, but now something altogether different. Oh, and there's a respiratory illness that has destroyed civilisation as we know it within 10 years....this is definitely fiction, right?

The problem with this book is that there are too many characters. It's not a long novel, and by the time you've got them all straight in your head, it's almost over, and most of them are dead! And it almost ruins the clever bit of this novel. After all, the devil might have been an angel once, but he's also in the detail.

It's a fine novel but not quite as gripping as Tudors' previous offerings.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for an ARC

Very fastpaced, very clever, and very C J Tudor!

Loved the three different POVs and snowy setting.

5/5