I’m not usually one for detective POV crime thrillers, but I do love a vampire story and that supernatural element made The Gathering really work for me. Going into the story I thought it was going to be very grounded in the real world and that this small isolated Alaskan town was going to be fearful of a probably mythical vampire. I was so pleasantly surprised to find that actually the vampires (or as they’re called in the story, vampyres) are a known element in society.

The tense dynamic of between the vampyres and humans mixed with the snowy setting was fantastic. Really my only issue was that there were a few loose threads at the end that were wrapped up very quickly, basically within the space of a couple of paragraphs. I just found that a little unsatisfying. But overall, the main mystery had me turning the pages quickly and its conclusion was as thrilling as it was chilling!

'The Gathering' is a chilling and entertaining read from the reigning chiller Queen, C.J. Tudor. And as always, she manages to take the expected and turn it upside down. If you think that you are familiar with the concept of vampires (or vampyres in this case) then think again. In 'The Gathering', Tudor has rewritten the guide to vampyres, and in doing so has created a more 'realistic' version of the vampyre that co-exists with humans in an uncomfortable society where the Vampyre Protection Act has been introduced to try and ensure that colonies are not subjected to a mass cull by humans. In the small Alaskan town of Deadhart, a teenager has been murdered, in a style that suggested vampyre involvement and tensions are running very high in both communities. Into this atmosphere, steps Detective Barbara Atkins, a forensic specialist in vampyre killings, who is tasked to determine the truth and if a cull is required.
Tudor is no stranger to skillfully building up the tension and knows how to create and introduce creepy, characters - leaving the reader, unsure of just who to believe, again adding to the tension.
The storyline did slow a little towards the middle of the novel but this was only for a short period of time and the final chapters as the detectives raced towards the conclusion, was an absolute roller coaster. And I can see a future for Barbara and vampyre investigations.

Well this was definitely different,Vampyr (vampires) living among humans where they are the prey not the predator.This started off well but tailed off from the middle onwards for me.Having enjoyed the authors early books alot this wasn't a favourite of mine,but lovers of the vampire genre will be in for a treat. Thanks to Netgalley and Michael Joseph,Penguin Random House for the ARC.

This was my third C.J. Tudor book and I thought it was somehow different from the ones I read before. I did enjoy it a lot though. The different angle in what is essentially a mystery with vampires had me hooked immediately. I loved the dark atmosphere of an Alaska winter but was a bit worried it would turn into a 40 Days of Night kind of story. However, it was much better with interesting characters and clever twists and turns. It was a quick read for me because I wanted to know where the story would lead. All in all the perfect book for a cold winter night.

C.J. Tudor has thrown her hat in the ring of 'books featuring vampires' and bloody nailed it! I devoured this book and had a difficult time putting this book down. It was gripping, atmospheric, tense and well thought out. This hit all the bells and whistles for me. It is set in a cold unforgiving setting, is a police procedural and has vampires in it! Woohoo! I had such a great time sinking my teeth into this book!

Deadhart, Alaska.

Detective Barbara Atkins, a specialist in vampire killings, has her work cut out for her when the body of a teenager is found with his throat ripped open and drained of blood. Along with former Deadhart sheriff, Jenson Tucker, Barbara sets out to catch a killer! Was the killer a vampire? Did someone kill the boy and made it look like a vampire killed the youth? Whodunit?????

I thought Tudor did a fantastic job of nailing the description of the small town feel of this book. Small towns have a strong sense of community. Everyone knows everyone or at least knows them. Outsiders may be welcomed or viewed with a sense of "they are not one of us" or "they don't know our ways." Tudor brilliantly depicted the sense of mistrust the townspeople felt when Barbara came to town.

I also enjoyed the chilling feel to this book. This is not only from being set in the cold Alaskan setting but from Vampires and humans living near each other. But do they live in harmony??? They have an agreement that both sides have agreed to follow.

I was instantly sucked into this book from the very beginning. As I mentioned, I had a hard time putting this book down. I enjoyed the characters, the plot, the detective work and the many, many secrets that the town harbored.

This book also asks the question, who are the real monsters in this book?

As with Tudor's other books, this book was well written, well thought out, perfectly plotted, and paced. I enjoyed the mystery, the secrets, the mounting tension and danger in The Gathering.

Another plus is that this book is not scary or gory. Some horrific things do happen but not in graphic detail. I doubt this book will keep anyone up at night, unless someone is kept up thinking about how much they enjoyed this book. I also have my fingers and toes crossed hoping there will be more books to come.

Atmospheric, chilling, gripping, and so bloody good!!



Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

4.75 stars rounded up.

First of all I would just like to thank NetGalley, C.J. Tudor and Michael Joseph for an ARC of "The Gathering” in exchange for an honest review.

What a brilliant book! I thoroughly enjoyed this and I was utterly captivated the entire time. To begin with, what an unusual concept, I loved it!

In a world where vampyrs live amongst humans, can there ever really be peace? A young boy has been murdered in a small Alaskan town, and a detective has been called in to investigate. Barbara ultimately has to determine, is this the work of a human killer, or are they a vampyr? Whilst investigating the crime at hand, Barbara has to manage a vengeful town who want answers and a colony of vamprys seeking the protection they believe they deserve.

This is a twisty murder mystery, set in a beautiful and captivating Alaskan town, filled with vampyric lore and jaw-dropping twists. Honestly, what more could you want?

I can’t recommend this enough, this has definitely replaced “The Drift” as my favourite novel by C. J. Tudor (although both are ingenious). It's atmospheric, chilling, contains all the horror elements you’d want in a vampyr- based book, with all the corresponding lore and is ultimately a fast paced and twisty thriller. The ending had me mind blown!

Thank you for providing me with an advance review copy of this book. Enjoyed reading, although I thought the ending could have centred more around the vampires but would still recommend....

This book by C J Tudor was very well written and I found it to be very different from the previous books I have read by her... not necessarily in a good way.

The concept of this book sounded intriguing, I enjoy reading books about vampires and I love a good mystery but this book didn't quite hit the mark for me.

I wanted to enjoy it so much more than I actually I did, I felt there was something missing and there were too many characters to keep up with, I kept getting confused with who was who.

I liked the main character and all in all, I did want to finish the book but found the ending a bit confusing...

I will keep an eye out for future releases by this author as I have enjoyed previous books by this author, like the Chalk Man.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC

The Gathering by C. J. Tudor. #TheGathering #NetGalley

I do like a vampire book and this one didn't disappoint. It came from a different angle where there wasn't a shroud of secrecy around them but still their was fear and distrust.

The story has twists and turns in it and how the different characters were linked by both history and experience.

A good read

The Gathering is a captivating and chilling novel that weaves together elements of a paranormal murder mystery, dark secrets, and superstitions in a small town. The story follows detective Barbara Atkins as she investigates the murder of a fifteen-year-old boy has been murdered in rural Alaska, where a colony of vampyres live on the outskirts of the community. The towns people blame them for the murder and would now like them to all be culled.
A great spooky read 🧛

⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3 disappointing stars. Really frustrating because of all the amazing reviews.

It started well but by about halfway through it was plodding. There was no real backstory to invest in with most of the characters and they were all pretty much annoying.

Not for me sorry.

I am a fan of C J Tudor but not of vampire stories. However, from the start I was hooked by this chilling tale of murders in a remote Alaskan town where a vampire colony lives on the outskirts of the community. The author has created a world both realistic and believable and the story raced to its thrilling co nclusion. Thanks to netgalley and and the publisher for the arc.

What! Did one of my favourite authors just delve into the Vampire scene!! I was wary about this as I don’t read a lot of fantasy type books but holy crap this was amazing! The main character was rather dull but that seems intentional. The plot however was anything but…. This was creepy and dark and the setting was downright isolated, and terrifying. An extremely well written tale that brings an old enemy of lore to life in a real society. Where whom is actually the “bad guy” is a blurred line. This is going on my top books ever list. So unique and so creepy while still bringing realism enough to immerse you, the ending left me hanging. Oh I am so hoping there is a second book to this. Top notch. Read this!

A good read with a fresh take on vampirism. Because I'm a character reader above all, I didn't fully appreciate it. I felt the characters here lacked stronger development and it was more focused on the mystery and twists. Nothing groundbreaking there, though, it was a satisfying read.

In a community where vampires and humans co-exist we find detective Barbara Atkins battling to investigate the murder of a local boy. Tensions are running high and with the help of some unlikely allies, she digs deeper into the lives of those around her and discovers a history of long-forgotten hatred between the two communities. A tense, gripping read

This was a really great read -lots of suspense and the pacing was fantastic. I loved this take on vampyres and how Tudor has spun a new take on them, whilst also making real life observations in regards to race and minority groups. I also loved Barbara - what a great character to follow along with. I could really see this becoming a TV show.

I did guess a lot of what was revealed, however, I quite enjoyed that. I love to be surprised but I hate when reveals come out of absolutely nowhere just to make a ‘twist’. This was very well plotted and the careful reader will be rewarded.

At its cold, dark heart, this is a police procedural. A fifteen-year-old boy has been murdered and an out-of-town detective, Barbara Atkins, has been brought in to investigate the case. But the difference is the murder has all the hallmarks of a vampire attack.
In this alternative world, skilfully built by C.J. Tudor, vampires are a protected species forced to live in remote compounds known as colonies. Contrary to popular folklore, these vampires don’t need to feed on humans and live instead on animal blood. Because their physiology is such that they age very slowly, the author cleverly lays out parts of the puzzle going back decades, centuries in fact.
Many of the townsfolk have a long-standing resentment towards the colony and hark back to the days when they and their ancestors were free to hunt and kill vampires. They see the boy’s murder as an excuse to cull the entire colony, whereas Detective Atkins and her reluctant but memorable sidekick Tucker, only want to bring the individual killer to justice.
The story takes place in a small Alaskan town, cut off by the weather and inhabited by characters perfect for a horror novel: striking-looking vampires, lawless reactionaries, disaffected teens, religious maniacs and opportunist criminals. Somehow, amidst the smoke, mirrors, suspense and folklore, I spotted one source of the evil very early on and my suspicions proved right. (Chance of a sequel, perhaps?)
It felt like a long book – longer than the books I usually read – but the tension crackled through every page and kept my interest. The author doesn’t shy away from describing guts and gore, but the horror is controlled and never overdone – although I think I’d struggle not to look away if I saw it in all its gory detail on Paramount +, which is, I’m sure, where this novel will be heading very soon.
The Burning Girls was my favourite read of 2021, but The Gathering is even better. It's C.J. Tudor's best book so far.
With thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an early copy in exchange for an independent review.

I was drawn in quickly and not spat out until the last page. Absolutely amazing! No one writes like C J Tudor.

Rating: 3.3/5

I am a huge admirer of C.J. Tudor. I loved her debut novel, "The Chalk Man", in 2018 and I have read everything she has had published since then. Comparisons have understandably been drawn between her work and that of Stephen King, who is clearly a significant influence on her writing. In C.J. Tudor's first few novels there were always hints of the supernatural about them. That was less evident in her book immediately prior to this one, "The Drift", which was not only more filmic that her previous output, but was also far more of an out and out mystery thriller. With her latest offering, "The Gathering", the author has once again rung the changes. She has chosen to set the story in the United States (in Alaska) and with the plot revolving around the theme of vampires, this steps more clearly into the horror genre than her previous publications have.

When a small boy is murdered in an Alaskan town, the inhabitants immediately suspect that someone from the nearby vampyr colony is to blame. They want revenge - but more than that ... they want a cull! However, before any lawful cull can be sanctioned, the murder needs to be investigated, so Barbara Atkins is tasked with the job. This is, after all, her area of specialism, because Barbara is not only a homicide detective, but she is also a Doctor of Forensic Vampyr Anthropology. As tensions mount in both the human and vampyr communities, can Barbara keep the peace and get to the bottom of the mystery?

In spite of the inclusion of the vampyr theme, the structure underpinning this novel is essentially that of a police procedural. It wouldn't be too much of a stretch for this story to be reimagined with the vampyr colony being replaced by A.N. Other minority ethnic group, whose heritage and customs do not always sit well with a larger neighbouring community. I frequently found myself wondering whether C.J. Tudor was drawing on the treatment of the indigenous American Indians by the white settlers as her inspiration for the conflict in this story. There is certainly a prevailing sub-theme of prejudice and intolerance that runs throughout the narrative: societal attitudes towards ethnic minorities, interracial relationships and same-sex relationships are all highlighted and questioned at various junctures.

C.J. Tudor is a talented writer and once again succeeds in creating an engaging narrative. I am not really in a position to comment on how effectively she manages to capture and depict the U.S. setting and protagonists. To my British eye it seemed convincing enough, but American readers may feel otherwise. The mystery element is pretty well portrayed and the vampyr angle offers something a little different. There are also some well-handled plot twists along the way. That said, although I enjoyed the reading experience, this is not my favourite example of C.J. Tudor's work. In spite of the fact that it is capably executed and with some original ideas, it is still fundamentally a murder mystery of the police procedural genre and it didn't resonate with me and draw me in as much as her other novels have. Nonetheless, I will still be at the front of the queue for her next book.

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

I love C.J. Tudor's book so I was excited to read this and it did not disappoint. Full of tense moments that kept me hooked.