I always try to start a review with the first thing that pops into my mind about a novel - for this one it’s: not what I was expecting. The synopsis makes this sound like a snowbound thriller, which it is, however, there’s an apocalyptic element which feels like it comes from left field. For me, it felt like the first 70% of the book was the thriller I wanted but the ‘twist’ when it came was just a step too far. This is for fans of post apocalyptic thrillers with a pandemic twist.

I don't know how I've managed to get to 42 and this is the first CJ Tudor I've read!

King-esque, The Drift starts off with a bang and doesn't let up. Told from three different viewpoints, it was dark, and gruesome, and captivating. Deaths galore, and a twist that took a while for me to unravel.

Brilliant.

Dark, twisted and steeped in atmosphere. The Drift, the brand new novel from CJ Tudor has all the hallmarks of exactly my kind of read. It's got that Stephen King vibe, that kind of underlying tension that flows through his earlier horror novels like 'Salem's Lot, but rather than being face with vampires, the characters in this truly chilling novel are trying to shield themselves from a rapidly spreading virus which has cause devastation across the globe. Whilst some of its victims are killed outright, there are others, the unfortunate many who are almost abandoned to cope with the long term side effects. It appears there may actually be a fate worse than death. Think Long Covid meets The Walking Dead and the truth lies somewhere in between.

This is a very cleverly crafted novel, the book focusing on three very different groups of people. The first is a bus load of students who have been evacuated from school to the relative safety of 'The Retreat'. On route they are involved in a crash which leaves them trapped and isolated in an ever increasing storm. The threat, however, comes not only from the rapid drop in temperature, but from something that they are carrying with them. Add to that an unexpected complication with one of the passengers and the stakes could not be higher. The scenes set amongst the characters on the bus are ones which get the adrenalin racing, and the author has really managed to get across the sense of fear, and mistrust that exists between the passengers. Some are nursing secrets which will prove pivotal to what comes to pass, that are carefully drip fed into the story to keep the action tight and the conflict at fever pitch - ironically one of the key symptoms of the virus too ...

The second group are a bunch of strangers, again on their way to 'The Retreat' who wake to find themselves suspended in the air when the cable car they are travelling in brakes down. Again, the heavy storm conditions, the mistrust between the people in the carriage, and the discovery of a dead body amongst them ensures that everything is balanced on a knife edge. Literally. This is the ultimate in locked room mysteries, but as we soon learn, there is far more than meets the eye to each and every one of the people here. I love that kind of prowling feeling that the author creates here. That sense that any one of them could be responsible for the murder, but that they would sell each other out in a heartbeat if they had the chance to escape, adding conflict to an already impossible situation.

In the final grouping we are brought to the most classic, and atmospheric of settings - The Retreat itself. We slowly but surely learn more about the progression of the virus and the real impacts of what has gone before, but it is a scenario that also sets up more questions than answers. We don't have a lot of time to get to like the majority of characters, each being picked off in a very reminiscent of your classic horror movies - a Friday 13th or Halloween-esque move. Perhaps not quite so brutal, although there is one of the victims who suffers a somewhat unexpected and gut churning fate. The longer we spend in the company of these characters, the less I trusted them, with the possible exception of Carter. He is the man who doesn't fit with the rest. The one whose presence is the most questionable and yet, strangely, the lease suspicious of them all.

CJ Tudor has pieced together the different parts of this puzzle so very carefully, but also very cleverly. It's like watching someone put together a 1000 piece jigsaw. You know the pieces go together but it takes some time for the full picture to be revealed. There did come a point where the link between the three different stories became obvious, a slap to the forehead moment that made me more intrigued to see how the who thing would play out. And, true to form, although you may think you know where the story is going, be prepared for some superb twists as the author leads us to a shocking, but almost inevitable conclusion. Clearly inspired by the what-ifs of Covid and the prolonged lockdowns, I only hope this remains a work of imagination and not a portent of what could come to pass ... Recommended and fans of the author's work will love it.

C.J. Tudor did it again. With this dark, intense and graphic page turner. That kept me on the edge of my seat throughout.
I was captivated by this story. With three different POVs I spent my time trying to find clues to how they connected. But I didn't see that reveal coming.
Some of the deaths left me heartbroken. I just wanted someone to survive. Give me a "happy" ending.
I wanted the man to pay for what he did.

This book is full of twists and turns you won't see coming. You'll question possible connections. Why things are happening. What caused this to even start.

The drift was most definitely worth the wait bookworms.

This book had me captivated instantly and every chapter left me shocked and on a little bit of a cliff hanger, very sneaky making me need to keep reading because I had 2 other chapters to get through before I could come back around.

The drift was so incredibly well written and thought out, with twist upon twist until all of those twists come crashing together like an avalanche. This was one hell of an intelligent thriller and although there may have been some clues dropped in the snow, it still hit me like a slap in this face!!

This is definitely not a book you want to miss out on reading. What a fantastic start 2023.

Having enjoyed all of CJ Tudor's books so far, I was really looking forward to The Drift; I have to admit, however, that I was disappointed. I'm not sure that I fully understood it; too many characters spread over three scenarios, much violence and death, a story dominated by a pandemic. It is well written but at no point did I feel fully involved, sadly.

Three people. Three stories.

Hannah is on a coach when it crashes leaving her and the few survivors trapped with no means of escape. With a snowstorm outside and the threat of predators nearby, will any of them make it out alive?

Meg wakes up to find herself stuck in a cable car above snowy mountains with five strangers. With no recollection of how they got there, how will they get to safety?

Carter is in an isolated ski chalet with his companions. When the generator becomes unstable and supplies get low, this is the least of his problems. Something strange lurks nearby, threatening his safety.

C J Tudor is a great story teller, always making the reader question what they are reading and she has definitely done this in The Drift. Told from the perspective of three people in three different circumstances, we know that there has to be a connection between each of the stories but are left waiting until the end to find out what it is. The moment all is revealed is a real eye-opener, and makes you think back to some of the clues that were hinted at throughout the book.

As if a deadly virus wasn’t enough to create a tension-filled atmosphere, we have the added bonus of the story being set amid a snowy backdrop, the harsh weather conditions giving a very claustrophobic feel. When you add in the coach, cable car and chalet, there is a definite ‘end of the world’ feeling, with each group of characters feeling like they are the only ones left.

This is one of those books where it is better not knowing too much before you read in order to provide the maximum shock value. Another fantastic read from someone who has become one of my favourite authors.

This book is made up of three main threads. And for the majority of the book I was pretty clueless in my wonderings of where we would end up. As I started to work it out it was almost like a dimmer switch was starting to turn up and, when we got there, I had to break and sit back and ponder, and then nodded as I mentally applauded the author for a job well done!
We start with a coach containing students crashing in the snow. They are being relocated due to a deadly virus. I know but it's not quite the same, although I can appreciate that for some it will be still too soon. So, bear that in mind.
We also follow a cable car, going to the same destination as the coach, but when we happen upon it, it is static, in the middle of its run. It also contains a dead body.
And then there's a research facility which is tasked with the manufacture of a vaccine for the aforementioned virus. It is isolated but surrounded by danger.
And that's all I am saying as to get the best from this book I think you really need to go in as cold as you can. Also, try and keep an open mind and truth in the author that it will all get sorted in the end. Try and hold the confusion in your head. That wasn't hard for me as I have read and loved many books by this author and so that was already established.
Characters are great and all do their respective jobs very well indeed. There is no waffle or padding so the story gets on with itself very well. I have already waxed lyrical enough about the story and it will come as no shock to say that it left me wholly satisfied - as well as gobsmacked.
All in all, another winner from an author now firmly cemented on my watch list. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

The Drift starts off with a bus crash in a snowy mountain with few survivors who must fight to stay alive. I liked that there was three different storylines that all tied in together in the end and the twists and turns almost made me dizzy. There was so much going on and I absolutely loved it! A chilly, atmospheric read which didn't disappoint! I would definitely recommend

What I like about going into a book blind is that I never quite know what to expect…

Drift (and reading the last chapters you’ll know why) was in my kind going to be a cold, snowy thriller, when in fact it was more of a post apocalyptic horror story set in the backdrop of snow and mountains.

Told from the POV of three characters - Hannah, Meg and Carter - and I thought that their stories would all come together at the end in an almighty climax - well I was totally wrong!

The penny dropped right at the end - I was like - oh!!!!! That’s the connection 🤦🏼‍♀️ so clever!

And for the dog lovers out there - Dexter in the final chapters does a classic! Poor Carter 😬

I can’t say too much without spoilers, but what I would say is that this novel is tense, edge of your seat tense in some places, and is quite close to your knuckle of what we’ve been living though over the last few years

'The Drift' is an intense, electrifying read from Tudor. This is told in three perspectives and it is not clear for quite a while how they fit together. They do fit together and it is very thrilling when the truth is revealed. The book is very dystopian but also you can imagine the scenario happening which makes it all the more terrifying. I was hooked reading this.
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin for an advance copy.

I started this book thinking oh my goodness, this will be good but, it went down in my opinion because there was too much going on, so many different scenarios and characters I just couldn’t keep up. Unfortunately I got bored with it but, I struggled to the end. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

I never read the blurb and just went straight in as I love the author's previous books. This starts great then I found it hard to keep up with the characters and timelines, still it's a fast paced read and soon all the pieces slot together.

I adored CJ Tudor's first book, and have enjoyed some of her others.
This book was just too 'disaster movie-esque' for me. It didn't do my anxiety any good - I mean, this proves that Tudor writes well as it made me very tense - but it didn't make for a very enjoyable reading experience for me.

I didn't enjoy this book, I didn't feel like the plot was 'clever-enough' for a thriller, and like some of her previous books.
Just OK.

This really is a twisted dark tale about a virus outbreak that is turning people into dangerous animals and the doctors trying to cure of hide the disease and the lengths they will go to in order to continue their experiments on the infected. A very dark thriller and you won’t know who to trust.

3 groups of people are trapped in very different circumstances in a blizzard.
A group of students are trapped when their coach crashes. Some of the students were killed in the crash and the survivors have to work out if they should try to escape the wreckage and brave the freezing wilderness or stay where they are and hope for rescue.
6 strangers are trapped in a cable car hundreds of feet above the mountains with no idea how they got there.
And an odd assortment of adults are stuck in a ski chalet called “The Retreat”. All mistrustful of each other and scared of the secret they are keeping in the basement.
The story focuses on 1 person in each group and as the tale unwinds you can feel the fear and tension in each of the groups and you begin to wonder how you would cope in such a terrifying situation. Although the story switches between 3 groups of people it is never confusing, you always know where you are.
I can't recommend this highly enough. A brilliant concept, well written with tension and twists and turns from the start. If you like a gritty, tense, brilliantly written book this is one you must read.

I found this to be quite a complicated story, with three different groups of characters and locations to become familiar with. The plotting was clever, but, I didn’t feel connected enough to care about the characters and their survival chances.
I think by now, 2022, we are all fed up with a virus that has affected so many people and caused us all to be literally locked away from family and friends, without those same worries resurfacing in a novel set in a Dystopian future, it didn’t feel like a comfortable read for those reasons.
Previous books by this author I have really enjoyed, The Chalk Man was amazing, and I think readers will be split 50/50% about this book.
I have a family member badly affected with the after effects of this virus, and it is a life changer for us both, perhaps, I was just not in the mood for more misery.
My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House for my advance digital copy. This is my honest review. I will post this to Goodreads and Amazon later.

I’ve read a few C.J Tudor novels but I think she has been heavily influenced by Covid as the drift is set in a future time, where mankind has been divided by an illness that either kills you or leaves you so ravaged that you become a creature known as a whistler, people fear them yet try to capture them and keep them in camps to make up a vaccine for the survival of the remaining human race. The drift is made up of three stories which seem to have separate timelines and characters and it only comes together near the end, I can’t say I gelled with any of the characters apart from the dog he was cute and unfortunately the ending left a lot to be desired.

An exceptionally clever and engaging story, a perfect winter read. Lucky enough to read this prior to publication thanks to Netgalley, this futuristic story is one to read.
I won't label the story or supposed genre(s) this book could fall into, but to say that it is a book to be appreciated and to be read. CJ Tudor's books are becoming more accomplished and intricate and this book I feel is her best yet. The depth and strength of the plot is easy to appreciate and to value.

The hardback looks amazingly beautiful, so one to buy in the new year.

Absolutely loved this new dark and twisty snowbound thriller from CJ Tudor. Carefully balancing three storylines with completely equal weight and suspense, Tudor once again, in her 5th novel, proves her prowess in constructing utterly chilling and totally plausible horror thrillers, ramping up the tension, bumping off characters with aplomb, yet keeping the reader held in the vital belief that as horrific as the storylines are there is the niggling thought that these things could actually happen. A fantastic ending as always too. Highly recommended.