The Other Passenger kept me on the edge of my seat. I loved it! It was very mysterious with a huge twist that I didn’t see coming. I was in shock (in a good way). It does jump back and forth between characters and timelines, I love when books switch characters, but sometimes the timelines can be confusing. I did not find myself getting confused with this one. If you want edge of your seat suspense, this is the book for you!

This book was a very slow burn for me. I felt the story dragging on and somewhere getting lost. The male main character I found it confusing when he kept calling his daughter Lottie, then Charlotte and going back and forth with that.

The plot looked promising but fell flat on execution.

Emma and David are both running away from something and land up in the same car during a terrific storm on a dark night in a remote area of England. David we know from the outset is upset at being passed over for an award at work that he was sure he was going to get; Emma is trying to find her sister Angeline.

The descriptions of the car ride into the stormy night and of the two strangers in the same car going somewhere, but not knowing exactly where, carries the story. The plot is not complicated but the background stories and the interaction between the two strangers, forty-year- old David and the 21-year-old Emma, also carry the story.

The ending of this psychological thriller came as a surprise. It was well worth reading for the writing as well as for the plot.

Thanks to Little Fox Publishing and Netgalley for this Advanced Readers Copy in place of my honest review of the book (all opinions are my own)

I was looking forward to reading this book, it sounded intriguing and had potential. I have only given this book 3 stars but that is purely down to the last 15% of the book.

The ending was fast paced and I needed to know what happened.

I found the book confusing and repetitive at 25% I was considering just giving up but I continued.

The male character calls his daughter Lottie for the first 4 chapters then switches to Charlotte but then switches in-between constantly, from 1 paragraph to the next.

The story takes place with the perspective of both characters, I understand this and it is a good method but it would repeat the same 10mins.

The Other Passenger is not a bad book by any means. I would recommend others to read it. It is gripping up front, and reads really quickly. I would just advise not to get too invested into any character's storyline too much, and then maybe the ending won't hit as hard.

I was very interested when I read the plot for this ARC. It definitely seemed to have all of the elements for a perfect thriller.
And the book was good. It started off with just the right amount of mystery and suspense that I knew I'd have to finish. However, I found it did slow down, and that the characters weren't developed enough for me personally. I know of some people who would love it and I'll be recommending it to them. For me, though, it was just an enjoyable read, not the kind of thriller that gets me super excited.

The cover and title of this book immediately drew my attention. Then I read the description and I was like sign me up. The premise of two strangers with secrets stuck in a car and the body of a dead woman found being aired on the radio, sounded amazing.

This book was told from both characters POV and past and present leading up to the moment they ended up in the car together. Let me start by saying I LOVE when stories are told like that. Living in the present while figuring out how we got to the point we are.

With all of this being said...I did not like this book. I skimmed through most of the chapters told in past tense because they were boring and I felt like they weren't developed enough. The FMC was flat to me and when the ending was revealed I was like wah-wah. Then the MMC was sooooo whiny throughout the whole book (like tell me one more time how underappreciated you feel in all aspects of your life) and his motives, once they were revealed, made more sense but felt rushed.

In all honesty, I would not have finished this book if I didn't receive the copy for free in order to review it. I stopped and started reading it 5 or 6 times, all while picking other things to read in between. I haven't read any other books from this author so I don't have anything to compare this one to when it comes to their writing, but I don't know if I would pick one up based on this one.

I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for the opportunity.

The novel starts off promisingly but is soon lost. Slow, there's no suspense. The characters are dull and cold. Too bad because the premises were all there.

Thanks to NetGalley for the book

The story started off very interesting but slowly started to die down I was not a fan of the jump time lines with two POV. I feel as though this had great potential to be a 5 with the way it began and the mystery it shared but being that it was a short read I lowered it to 4. Overall great suspense to keep you on edge but gets lost with PoVs.

I liked the premise of the novel. However, narrative pace was slow and I did not engage with the characters.

Dark and ominous - two strangers on a rainy night. Two different reasons to be out in the rain, two roads converging almost as destiny. A quick and curious read, draws you in - and is there a HEA?

I really liked the idea of this book and I ended up starting and finishing it in one day. The parallel passengers and dual timelines made it suspenseful and made me keep reading. I was so interested to see what their secrets were.

However, the ending seemed to fall a little flat for me. David committing murder was good but Emma’s story was confusing to me. She accidentally committed murder but basically wanted to go into hiding. Idk, it just wasn’t as exciting as I thought it was going to play out to be.

Thank you netgalley for the ARC!

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘖𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘗𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 written by JE Rowney is marketed as a psychological thriller that follows two characters, David and Emma, two strangers driving in an isolated stretch just a couple miles outside a city, where they’re both hiding a dark secret. I was shocked with the way the book ended—although I wasn’t entirely happy about the ending—but it was a fun read nonetheless.

I was immediately drawn in by the opening sentence of the book and wanted to know what just happened and why. The dual POVs were interesting—although it did fall flat a bit as we rarely go to see into Emma’s perspective as much as we’re able to see through from David’s eyes. I liked the flashback/present chapters that made me question what the characters did before their first interaction and how their past would connect to the present issue. The author has very lovely descriptions throughout the book, but it is a little overdone most of the time as it reads like purple prose. I often found myself wanting to skip entire paragraphs just to get to something that actually was part of the plot and not just flowery constructed sentences of a character doing a basic thing. I didn’t have many issues until the halfway point of the book.

Once the cop made his appearance, I was instantly bored with where the story was going. We still had the two characters stuck in a car together while not really knowing why either of them are out in the middle of nowhere so late at night. I quickly figured out what David had done early on in the story and was a bit surprised when I learned what Emma had done given the history of her sister.

All in all, the ending blatantly sucks. I was hooked from the first sentence and was pleased until about the mid-way point when things went pretty slow for the characters, but I absolutely hate how the author ended the book with not just one character dying, but both of them. I didn’t like how Emma just murdered David and then killed herself. It just felt kind of pointless in terms of how I perceived her character and her mixed feelings with what happened to her sister . . .

I would definitely recommend others to read this book, it was definitely worth reading, even with my issues with it. It was an easy/quick read for a thriller book and didn’t leave me asking questions that never got answered.

Thank you NetGalley and JE Rowney for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to love this book. It had all the things I love in a thriller: dark night, strangers, isolated area, stormy weather, and so on. Unfortunately it fell flat with the plot and the ending.

Two strangers meet on a desolate road during a downpour, both heading away from something.

David expected this night to be the night everything fell into place, the night all of his hard work came to fruition. Slaving away at work, ignoring his family and becoming unimportant in return, was all for the chance at this award.
Emma hasn’t been the same since her sister left. She’s spiraling but she won’t give up. Angeline is still there, and she needs their bond again.

The story is told in dual POV, switching from the past (5-1 hour ago) to the present situation, the two in the car together. This book is definitely a page turner. The prologue hooks you right from the get go, it’s engrained with the frantic anxiety of a killer. Makes you look for clues in everything to figure out which of the two are the killer.

The first few chapters were a little clunky but it quickly sped up and became more engaging as David and Emma’s lives unraveled. Definitely recommend this book if you’re in a reading slump, an easy to read, fast paced, thriller to get the mind going.

Thank you Netgalley for an ARC!

Rating: 3.25/5.0⭐
Read In: 4 days (as a slow reader this is fast for me)
Would I recommend?: Maybe
Is it worth trying to read?: Yes


The book was told in a dual POV of David and Emma. They're both running away from something. From what? Both are unknown from the start, and later on unravels as the chapters continue and from the flashbacks. It might be confusing for others, but I love this kind of formatting when it comes to mystery and thrillers. I only felt like it dragged on for so long, that the thrill and excitement goes back and forth when the POV changes. I just want the build up you know. Curiosity at first, then there's excitement. You doubt everything next, and then boom, plot twist!!!

The last five chapters though 😏 I scream plot twist, and there it is. I didn't expect the ending to be that way. And now I feel empty 😭

Overall, it's an easy read. A good reading palate cleanser. Others can probably binge read this for a day or less. Definitely, worth trying to read thriller book.

This was a thriller that seemed to be missing the suspense. It was very slow and not very enjoyable at all. I struggled through it because it was so predictable.

Maybe I should not read books with male perspectives during that time of the month because I was immediately tired of David. He is just driving his car and whining. "oh no this cupcake smell is stressing me out." Like David your grandfather probably fought in awar and your great grandpa likely worked in a mine and you're whining over a cupcake scent in your car with the nice leather interior. UGH! Anyway, as the story goes on you see more reasons for his whining but he still comes off as a whiner.
"I am so alone" he whines after a woman tries to take his hand and offer him some support.
Emma is a teen dealing with her own stuff when David finds her on the side of the road and offers her a ride.
David only has a single debit card and he left it with his wife. Is that normal where they live? Because We all have tons of cards and payment methods here. Anyway, he can't get gas in his company car. Emma won't let him use her debit card.
Then we get a huge twist. It was delightful!
The end is sad tho.

I didnt enjoy this. There was just no depth to the plot or the characters. Too wishy washy. I found each individuals story fascinating, but linked together, it just didnt work for me.

3.75 stars rounded up. This book is told from dual points of view of David and Emma. All we know at the start is that each of them are trying to get away from something they have done. Each chapter focuses on the past or present of each character. Because of this, the story unfolds slowly as the reader learns what brought each of them to be on that lonely dark road at night. For most of the book, you are kept in the dark about David and Emma's secrets and motivations until it all comes together at the end.

It is well written, and the author does a good job of bringing the characters to life, although I feel that we get to see far more of David's situation than Emma's. It is also fairly claustrophobic as for a lot of the book, they are travelling in David's car. I didn't mind this as it added to the uncomfortable tension between the characters.

It is tense in some places, but I found that the pace was slightly disrupted as the characters' POV changed. It is an enjoyable, easy to read thriller, and I liked the ending as it tied everything together. I would try more books by this author and would recommend if you like a twisty thriller with dual POV.