Member Reviews

Having loved The Chalkman I was keen to read this and like several others enjoyed the first part of the story, but I am afraid it got just too complicated a plot for me to truly follow. I loved the snow and the trapped in a cable car premise, but overall it was not the best book I have read recently

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I'll be honest, I put off reading this for a while. I'm a fan of C J Tudor but I just wasn't sure I'd enjoy it.
Well that shows how much I know! I loved the three separate stories and the story was really tightly plotted and perfectly paced. The twists were perfect and it was a great read on a winter's night.

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I’ve read all of CJ Tudor’s books - this was a little different and my favourite so far. It has an element of horror to it which is not my usual genre but I loved it. Three separate characters are in peril and the story moved from one to the other and it’s impossible to know who can be trusted. I loved the characters, writing and setting and can’t wait to read her next book. An excellent winter read! I’m

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How twisty was this?! Really enjoyed reading it.
Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the opportunity to read this ARC.

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I'm really not sure how to review this book or even what genre to place it in as it is a dystopian sci fi/mystery /thriller/horror.
Told from three different points of view, the story opens with a bang with one set of characters trapped inside a crashed coach, another group are trapped in a cable car and the third group living in The Retreat, an abandoned ski chalet.
There is a terrible virus sweeping the earth which has a very low survival rate. Who are the whistlers?What is the connection with the three groups?
If you like somewhat gory, fast paced and action packed reads then this book is for you.

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The Drift is very different from the author’s previous books in terms of plot, setting, and narrative. The Drift also lacks the Stephen King vibe that make C.J Tudor’s book such a thrilling read

unfortunately although I enjoyed this book I never ‘loved it’ there’s tension, suspense and more than a hint of horror, but there are three different stories within a story and that’s where my problem lay. I found some points of the book confusing due to the numerous number of characters and narratives involved, which slightly put me off. The numerous threads also didn’t work as well as I hope. A good read but I prefer C. J Tudor’s earlier reads.

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I previously read The Taking of Annie Thorne (or ‘The Hiding Place’ in the US) by CJ Tudor and I’ve heard a lot about her books in addition to this. In my previous review I compared her to Stephen King with her writing style and preferred genre of domestic thrillers with a supernatural twist elements.

The Drift is a venture away from this in that it is a straight up horror and dystopian thriller which completed surprised me. It’s better if you can remain as spoiler free as possible before diving into the book so I will try to not give away as much as possible in my review! The book is set in a dystopian future, and there’s a virus element to the plot as well. I would have been a touch apprehensive had I known this going in as since covid, virus-set thrillers seem to have lost all their fun and have become a little unrealistic. This book touches on this really well - there’s not too much explanation into the previous event which started everything off and the plot mainly focuses on our three characters and the dangerous predicaments they have found themselves in as the chapters unfold.

Each chapter switches narrative between Hannah, who is trapped on a crashed school-bus, Meg who is trapped on a stopped cable-car and Carter who works at the mysterious retreat that Hannah and Meg are trying to get to. The book is a beautifully plotted - drip feeding us information in snippets until we start to get a feel for what might be going on as a whole. Each perspective is interesting and gripping with small cliff-hangers left at the end of each chapter to keep you guessing. I didn’t feel myself wanting to rush other perspectives to get back to a preferred one at any time. Sometimes Hannah and Meg’s characters felt a little too similar, particularly as both of their storylines involved being trapped - this led to overly repetitive phrases interchangeably used for either character. This then carried over to an over-use of characters working something out and then a second later, the thing that they had worked out coming true – the timing of this made some parts feel unrealistic.

The plot progresses well, and I had roughly worked out the twist that joined all of the stories together only a few chapters before the reveal happened. The pace is kept high throughout, and I could not put the book down, wanting to find out what would happen next. I really loved the ending and especially enjoyed that not everything was neatly wrapped up which kept you thinking about it long after you put the book down.

Overall, The Drift is a clever thriller which kept me on the edge of my seat, unable to put the book down – my first Kindig Gem for 2023! Thank you to NetGalley & Penguin Random House - Michael Joseph for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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Deadly virus + murder = a premise to die for!

I really enjoyed this book, I was quite glued to the page and wanted to see what was going to happen with all the three character's POV's we followed. I did not expect most of the twists and turns.

I overall really enjoyed this book, but I felt like the ending was a bit... I dunno. It felt like quite a lot of the things that happened were pointless? But I still enjoyed it. And the last scene! yes!

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C J Tudor does it again! This was a totally different story from those I had read before but it has the same tension, unbelievable situations and an amazing storyline. I liked the twist at the end.

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Rating: 4.3/5

The wait for C.J. Tudor's latest novel has been a little longer than originally anticipated after plans for the novel she was originally working on were shelved. Disappointing though that delay was, I can happily report that the wait has been worthwhile. Her fifth full length novel once again hits the mark and delivers a gripping read full of tension and suspense.

That said, "The Drift" has a markedly different feel about it compared with this author's previous publications. In her earlier offerings the influence of Stephen King has been quite evident, but that is far less noticeable this time around. This has a much stronger mystery thriller bias and I would venture to suggest that its style is the most filmic of her work to date.

The narrative is presented in loops of three perspectives. Each of the three is almost a story in its own right, but as a reader you know that the separate strands must relate to each other at some point, because that is just how these things work. The challenge facing the author is to knit the threads together in a way that works effectively - and C.J. Tudor achieves just that.

Not everyone will feel comfortable with the content. There is a darkly apocalyptic premise underpinning the story and there are some disturbing developments along the way, which might not be to everyone's taste. It may also be that fans of C.J. Tudor's previous novels look less favourably upon this shift in style - but, personally, it only raises this author higher in my estimation, as it displays another dimension to her writing, while still being wonderfully enthralling.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for supplying an ARC in return for an honest review.

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Such a clever thriller, it was recommended to me as 3 locked room mysteries in one and i think thats a perfect description. Its also quite dark, chilling and almost of the edge of sci-fi horror. A real page turner.

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I devoured this book in two days. It was gripping and atmospheric, and felt like I could really imagine the characters and scenarios.

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I am a huge C.J. Tudor fan and her newest novel is her on top form! There was nothing I didn’t like about The Drift - it was pacy, addictive and packed full of intrigue. Normally I’m not sure how much I would enjoy a post-apocalyptic setting but I ate this story up, I was genuinely creeped out at certain points and some scenes were extremely graphic - not for the faint hearted!

While there are echoes of what we as a population have all encountered with the pandemic, the plot was far enough removed from reality that it didn’t feel TOO close to home but equally there were sporadic reminders that we as a species would be utterly ruined if the apocalypse ever does come.

I adore this author’s writing so much, it always hits the mark for me and keeps me absolutely entranced. There were initially three separate threads to the story that eventually all intersect and I thought the gradually revealed twists were brilliant. Another hard-hitting, nail-biting powerhouse from the queen C.J. Tudor!

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Michael Joseph for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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I loved the authors debut The Chalk Man but since then I haven’t really got on with her novels. Her collection of short stories recently published was a cracking collection and so I had high hopes for this book.

I’m sure you have all read the burb, three groups of people trapped in different situations on a snowy mountain in a post apocalyptic world where a virus has threatened humanity.

This one starts off great, told from three protagonists points of view in the three different situations, the questions are many, the snow and cold palpable and you were wondering what is going on and how the people are connected.

The book I felt started to falter about half way through. As we switch between the the three situations it starts to become a bit samey and tedious. I mean there is only so long you can read about how cold it is, how we are are trapped and another person dies.
The lack of development in the characters didn’t help. The two female lead characters were hard to tell apart and the peripheral characters were like an after thought.

The plotting itself, while clever in the way it comes together in the latter half of the book, promises to deliver more than it does and leaves a lot of questions unanswered or just forgotten about. It conclude s with an ultimately fairly simple story that felt totally out of place with the set up of the first half. It really felt the author started out with great intentions and then sort of ran out of ideas and simplified the story into what it became.

2.5 stars rounded up to 3 because I really did enjoy the first half of The Drift. Unfortunately after that my interest like the title did start to drift.

Thanks to the publisher for the arc through Netgalley.

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I love this author but for me it was not one of her best books. In a world steeped in the middle of the pandemic people are obviously nervous and trying to stay away from the infected. Okay.
Three groups of people have been isolated in the snow. One group is trapped in the wreckage of their bus, another group is trapped in a cable car half way up a mountain and the last group is trapped in a retreat. You just know that nothing good is going to happen. Bring on the death and destruction. Packed with plenty of heart in your mouth moments but for me not as gripping as some of her other books..
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in return for giving an honest review.

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I enjoyed The Drift by CJ Tudor. Good storyline and characters, plenty of twists and keeps you on the edge of your seat as the tension mounts.. All in all a very good read.

Thank you to Netgalley & the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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Absolutely brilliant …. I’m at at a loss for words it really is that good !
This is a book that is so damn clever it took my breath away and the amount of times I shouted “WHAT” out loud are too many to mention. It’s impossible to describe the story without giving things away so I’m not going to try all I can say is the twists are amazing and the reveals breathtakingly clever, I had to reread so many parts just to get my head around what was actually happening.
The story is atmospheric and suffocating at the same time it goes between three alternate scenarios concentrating on Hannah, Meg and Carter who all seem to have no relationship to one another at all but a warning this book is twisty and will blow your mind …. It’s so damn amazing I can’t praise it enough !
Stunning writing, a plot that is outstanding this is one hell of a brilliant 5 star read from CJ Tudor and one not to be missed!
My thanks to NetGalley and Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House for giving me the opportunity to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

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This is another great book from C. J. Tudor. Three stories intertwine nicely, a cable car, a bus ride and a remote location. Their are lots of dark twists throughout that keep you guessing and trying to predict what's going to happen next. I failed. Details of each scenario are slowly released until everything leads to a brilliant and thrilling ending.

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I requested to read this book because I've really enjoyed all of C.J.Tudor's books so far. The Drift is very different from those in terms of plot, setting, and narrative.

I really wanted to love this book. It is well written and the author continues to show a clear talent for building tension, horror, and suspense.

Unfortunately, I often found my attention drifted - pun intended- when reading. There are a lot of characters. Add to that them beginning in three different groupings and narratives, and it gets confusing. It took me quite a while to remember who was who in each different setting, making it sometimes a struggle. The threads didn't always work for me either. They seemed contrived in places.

I can see from other reviews many have loved this book. I expect it will do well. It just wasn't quite the book for me.

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Thank you to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

This book was different to what I usually expect from this author. It has a dystopian and apocalyptic feel to it, but also with the thriller and mystery elements we’re used to.

This story has many characters but 3 main ones, whose separate stories all weave together. It’s plot is cleverly written and well thought out. A great page turner.

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