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.

⭐⭐⭐
The Other Passenger by J.E. Rowney is a thriller with some unexpected twists. I was missing suspense and in some way the purpose of the book. Somehow it felt flat and even though it was a good twist I didn't catch the message. I was missing character development to understand them and their actions. I would say it was chaos in the storm!

David and Emma meet up in the storm. It's shady and dangerous but it's not clear who must be alert! The author tries to create suspense but somehow as a reader, I didn't feel it. It was confusing to connect with the backup stories. And I understand they are not related but Emma's story felt flat at the beginning!

Thank you, NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for this copy!

I enjoyed this book.. I love psychological thriller books and this book had my attention from the first few Pages.. I like how David and Emma are forced together by the rain, knowing that they are trying to get away from something they have done..I like how the story unfolds, as we get to know what they are doing on that Dark Road at Night.. the story is well written, but sometimes a little slow… So I gave it 3.5 stars😊thanks to netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review..

Thank you, NetGalley, for providing me with a copy of this book for review.

The book is a fast-paced and engaging thriller that alternates between two points of view. One is a man consumed by his life's disappointments, while the other is a young woman struggling to cope with the loss of her sister. Both characters are trying to escape the consequences of their actions, and the story unfolds slowly as it moves between the past and present. The novel culminates in a satisfying conclusion with plenty of tension to keep the reader entertained.

I found the plot pretty predictable for this one but still enjoyed flipping though to find I was was going down the right rabbit hole. I also love a dual perspective and an unreliable narrative which this book boasted. Labeling this as a psychological thriller is a bit far, there’s little of a psychological nature and mostly just mystery and uncertainty. Overall, it was a “fun” and engaging read.

This was so slow, and I didn't like a single character--not in a good way. This could have been condensed by half and would have been way better. It was full of redundancies and unnecessary tangents.

A slow burner of a story with a couple of interesting but not terribly likeable characters who keep you guessing until then end. David’s predicament and reactions make you wonder what ordinary people are capable of when pushed and this is an interesting ang,e to the way the story progresses. The ending seemed a bit rushed to me after such an extensive build up.

Thank you Netgalley for this book!
Brief thoughts - The story is decent, with an eerie, rainy night journey setting and It has a pretty good twist, although some of which I did anticipate.

Detailed review :
What I liked -
--- The story overall is pretty good.
--- isn't confusing even if it is told across multiple time frames, alternating between David and Emma's last few hours and the present situation.
--- Maintains a suspense filled atmosphere throughout the book, that keeps us hooked to it, till the end.
--- Characters are realistically described.

Now, coming to what I didn't like (in my opinion) --- the story started off great, but I felt that there were few instances where beating around bush went on, which could have have been avoided. For example, David's feelings for his family are explained in multiple places throughout the book, which is I felt was unnecessary.
---The repeated use of words in few places, quoting from the book, "He wanted the recognition now, now, now."
--- Sentences left in mid air. Although this might have been used for a realistic conversation approach, I personally didn't like it while reading them in multiple places.
-- a bit of a rushed ending.

Thanks to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for this Advanced Reader’s Copy of The Other Passenger by JE Rowney due to be published May 31, 2024.
A man and a woman are both running and forced together by the rain. When David picks up Emma on the side of the road neither one knows what secrets each of them holds. When they hear on the radio a body has been found on the road, they are both curious as to what the other’s real story might be. Are they both innocent or both dangerous?
The Other Passenger was a great read. It alternated from boy Emma’s and David’s backstories that caught you up on why they were in the car together and how they came to be where they were on that night. The story just sort of went along, and I wondered where it might be going. Oh. My. Gosh. The ending! It did not go at all where I thought it would. It was truly a shock just like a good thriller should be. This is one you will not want to miss!
#NetGalley #JERowney #BooksGoSocial #TheOtherPassenger

This book is an interesting journey that has many far reaching meanings. It is told in multiple timelines with two persons. We finall learn a little more as the story emerges! While there were hints of certain twists sprinkled about, and there were many, I believe they are glaringly intentional. The author leaves us with a lot to think about, and I’ll have to take a deep breath before I start another book! I really enjoyed it!

This book was a decent quick thriller that kept me engaged until the ending.
The story has two perspectives, one, a girl who has lost her sister and seems to be having a hard time dealing with it. The other is a middle aged man who is wrapped up in the disappointments of his life. Neither character was inherently likeable, but they were written in a way in which you wanted to know their story and what comes next, especially when the man picks up a hitchhiker from an isolated road after he attends a very disappointing event.
Overall I really enjoyed the book and was set on giving it a 4-5 star rating up until the ending. I didn’t love the way the story wrapped up. That said, it did keep me entertained and I didn’t want to put it down.

I have loved other books by JE Rowney and I was really excited for this one. I did find it hard to follow at points, not my favourite by JE Rowney but i still enjoyed it at parts.

I was not really engaged with either character. Of course, the reader knows that each of them is running from something and murder is suspected, but who and why is dragged out.
Thanks for the opportunity.

It was pretty good. I would like to see more suspense. I would recommend to my friends. If you like authors like Rosie Walker you will like this one