The plot to this novel was so complicated and so reliant on coincidence after coincidence that I was a bit taken out of my enjoyment. I've really enjoyed Tudor's previous novels, but this one didn't quite work for me. Fast-paced and unexpected, for sure, but it seemed like the novel didn't even know what genre to be - thriller, supernatural, puzzle-box-mystery?

Honk if you're horny!

Don't follow me, I'm lost.

When you drive like I do, you'd better believe in God.

Horn broken--watch for finger.

Real men love Jesus.

Can you imagine calmly reading these stickers on the old, rusty car sitting in front of you in traffic, and then the unimagined fear and desperation you would experience upon seeing your petrified child pop up in the back seat while screaming for your help? If that imagery sends chills down your spine, nestle in and enjoy the break-neck ride that is The Other People.

This is my first C.J. Tudor novel (although I have The Chalk Man and The Hiding Place on my Kindle), and I was very pleasantly surprised.

This story introduces elements I haven't read before, which is always a refreshing change. And while I felt the supernatural elements were unnecessary, and actually somewhat impeded the flow of the story, I do appreciate Ms. Tudor's creativity and the complexity of what she was trying to achieve. She kept me guessing throughout, and the ending was tied up beautifully, with all the characters coming together in a most unexpected way.

Unlike some of the others reviewers, this book never gripped me to the point I couldn't put it down, but I was always engaged and happy to pick it up during my down time. I'm definitely looking forward to reading more by this very talented author.

**Many thanks to the publisher for providing my review copy.

I'd read just about anything by C.J. Tudor. This one has an Alice in Wonderland spin that made the book un-put-downable.

This story has the typical Tudor creepy vibe, but has a paranormal element that stood out. It may be my favorite CJT book to date.

The only thing is, I felt a little lost at the end. I didn't quite understand the whole situation about the pale girl and how it connected with the rest of the story. It was a little like laughing when I didn't get the joke..... If I get the chance, I'll read over the ending again to see if I missed an explanation.

I really enjoyed this book and I will certainly look for other books by this author in the future. Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with this ARC.

Every year there’s always one or two wholly exceptional thrillers for me. Not slow-burning mysteries, not courtroom dramas, but truly skin-tingling, suspenseful novels that are so engrossing you completely shut out the world while reading them. Maybe you think you know what’s about to happen next, but that’s all by design. The author lets you feel like you have a handle on the plot only to rip the rug from beneath your feet. For me in 2019, that book also happened to be the most popular on Goodreads this year, The Silent Patient, so 2020 is going to have its work cut out for it. I try not to go into most of the Suspense/Thriller/Mystery genre with these expectations, though, because it often leads to disappointment. And not every one of those books *needs* that same heightened level of hair-raising tension to tell a good story.

But the reviews for The Other People have been excellent. I went into this cautiously optimistic. I’ve had C.J. Tudor in my periphery, but never got around to reading The Chalk Man or The Hiding Place. Just about every person I follow has left it a glowing review, so it got added to my already daunting 2020 releases TBR. Maybe this is a lot of pressure to put on a book being published in January—there’s still eleven more months of potential releases that may still take that top spot. But long-winded introduction aside, my question going into this book is a simple one: Does it live up to the hype?

My answer is going to have to be yes. It’s still a little early to start divvying out ‘Best Of’ accolades, but of the half a dozen or so upcoming releases I’ve gotten the chance to dive into, it’s currently my top ranked thriller. Tudor wastes no time advancing into the thick of the plot. Gabe finds himself living a parent’s worst nightmare—something that’s too horrific to possibly be true. Something has happened to his daughter. His wife has been killed. And three years after those events he’s still a man possessed, chasing ghosts and making little headway until a sudden break in the case. We follow him down rabbit hole after rabbit hole without respite, even when the whole world seems to be conspiring to get him to stop.

There’s two other perspectives, one of a young mother and another a woman and girl on the run. They’re all haunted by seemingly independent circumstances, but how separate are we really from the other people around us? The author did an exceptional job in weaving each of these threads before tying them all up together. I appreciated that there weren’t any loose ends left dangling; there’s no questions unanswered except for the more existential ones.

I didn’t want to talk this up TOO much, but there’s just so much predictability in a genre that’s supposed to keep you guessing, so I get super excited when I find something great. But in an attempt to temper expectations a bit...I don’t think the story needed the paranormal/magical element(s); they don’t end up being that consequential. But I will say that usually when authors throw in some fantastical bits, they’re using them as an out after writing themselves into a corner. That’s not the case with The Other People. It’s just an additive, a stylistic choice, not a crutch.

This is just a well-paced, riveting, nicely constructed thriller that I needed to finish in one sitting. I’m not normally good at that, which is why I always have several books going at once. The increasing, building intensity wouldn’t let me put it down and do anything else. I hope this ends up being a good indication of the type of storytelling we’re going to see in the upcoming year!


***Also, minor spoiler, minor nitpick: All the older people who somehow figured out how to order hits against their enemies on the elusive ‘Dark Web’ cracked me up. My mom is in her fifties and if I unplugged her router she’d probably just have to get a new computer.***

I loved The Chalk Man and couldn't wait to read her newest thriller. Gabe is sitting in traffic, reading the crazy bumper stickers on the car in front of him when suddenly his daughter is in the back window of the car. What in the world has happened to her and why is she in this car?
Turns out that while Gabe is on the road , his wife was murdered at their house and a little girl that looks just like his daughter was also killed. Was his daughter killed or was that really her in the back of the car?
This book is a crazy wild ride and I couldn't put it down. CJ Tudor is becoming one of those authors that get put on my automatic buy list. Just go with it, even when it gets a bit weird. It's so good and so worth it!

The Other People is the story of a father’s search for his missing daughter, a daughter the world believes is dead, murdered along with her mother while he was driving home. He knows she is alive, though, as he saw her in a car on that drive home. He gave chase, but fell back for fear of causing an accident. He gave the police the information on the car, but the police through he was making it up to deflect suspicion. They thought he was the murderer.

Three years later and he is still searching. He finally finds the car, thanks to someone he calls a Good Samaritan, and bit by bit pieces of the conspiracy unravel, exposing a worldwide conspiracy of complicity that explains the seeming omniscence and power of the group he has struggled against.



I disliked The Other People about as much as a I liked The Chalk Man. There are recurring ideas of revenge, guilt, vigilantism, and just desserts. This is a rich vein to mine and I can foresee other stories plumbing the possibilities. However, this time it missed the mark for me. I cannot see The Other People, when you come to understand who they are, cosigning their actions without due diligence to verify its merit and purpose. I doubt they are easily fooled and would never punish the innocent as they did. Either there are super smart and able to know all these things before they happen or they are stupid and fall for a bogus request, not both.

The Other People will be published January 28th, 2020. I received a copy from the pu. blisher through NetGalley.

The Other People at Ballantine | Penguin Random House
C. J. Tudor on Facebook
The Chalk Man by C. J. Tudor (my review)

Tudor’s writing had me captivated from start to finish. This book reminded me somewhat of the Chain, but was a much better read! Told in different voices, Tudor weaves the story together seamlessly. A dark thriller with paranormal aspects, this book was difficult to put down. It was quite good in its own right and the paranormal storyline wasn’t necessary to keep me flipping pages. Creepy and gripping, this is not your run of the mill thriller! Well done!

I had a slow start for this novel, reading different points without knowing how they all fit together, and not knowing if there was a supernatural element, or if there was a logical explanation for everything. It took me over a week to read the first 20% of the book, and then just a couple of days to read the rest. I enjoy C.J. Tudor's thrillers. They're very engrossing and easy to get caught up in. There were a few points where the entire plot was hinged on details that felt implausible to me, but with any thriller I think it helps not to get too caught up in how perfectly impractical the entire series of events may be and just enjoy the ride.

The Other People is a strong mystery/horror story about grief, revenge and consequences. Does what you intend matter or just the result? It’s also about forgiveness and moving on, and whether you can (or should) be absolved from intentional or accidental acts that have horrific results. At what point does your behavior move from accidental to intentional? When should you have foreseen the consequences? Is it the illegal activity or the result that should determine the punishment?

It is most importantly about how one event never touches only one person.

Readers will likely come away from this book with varied responses, but they are important questions. The tale is fiction but the underlying concepts and questions are very real issues. Whatever else you may take from The Other People, this novel is certainly a cautionary tale about how violence begets violence.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC. The opinions in this review are honest and my own. #TheOtherPeople #suspense #paranormal #horror

4.5 stars. Gabe is a normal dad with a wife and 5-year-old daughter. One day on his way home he sees a girl who looks like his daughter in the back of a car. Then he calls home and is told that his wife and daughter are dead. Did he really see Izzy in the back of a car? He now spends his time searching for the answers.

Katie is a single mom who is trying to get by waitressing. Gabe is a regular customer at her coffee shop, but she knows nothing about him. Her sister, Fran, hasn't been heard from in 9 years and is on the run with her daughter, Alice.

Gabe, Katie, and Fran's stories come together in a twisted, unique, slightly paranormal thriller that never drags. I read this book in a day and couldn't wait to see what was going to happen. I think this will be a big hit when it comes out in January 2020.

Understanding that we truly don't understand the "dark web" really puts things into perspective as I read this new thriller by C. J. Tudor. From the start of the book, I was right there next to him searching for his kidnapped daughter - feeling the injustice and the pain right along side him. The journey through this book - the amazing and well thought out characters he met along the way - some to help and some to harm - was truly amazing. The power packed ending is one I will never forget. I highly recommend this book to anyone who was ever been even slightly curious about what can happen when you venture into the unsafe territory of the "dark web". Happy reading! And stay off those sites!

This is the first book I've read by CJ Tudor and I think I will definitely be checking out the rest.

It's well paced, very suspenseful with interesting characters that gradually cross paths across the story. It doesn't try to wrap everything up in a bow but it covers all the high points of the story and at the end the mystery holds together pretty well. You do have to fill in a few of the gaps yourself but that's not a bad thing, it leaves the story open for deeper details.

I enjoyed it!

I received a free e-ARC from NetGalley and the publisher to review.

Gabe travels around in his van chasing the ghosts of his murdered wife and daughter, even though he believes his daughter is still alive and out there somewhere..

Fran is on the run with a child..

Katie is a waitress in a crappy restaurant where Gabe tends to frequent in his travels, who knows what it’s like to feel lost and alone too..

And then there is ‘the Samaritan’ who helps Gabe to continue to track his daughter’s whereabouts, and a girl reappears every so may chapters who is in a vegetative state..

And of course, there are The Other People..

All of these characters and the complexity of the plot make you wonder what on earth is going on?!?!?

There are multiple POV’s and characters in this complex thriller, and although it may be a tad overwhelming at first, it is so worth the push! Once i got situated into what I was reading, I couldn’t stop! This is an dark and screech, jump-out-of-your-seat thriller! C.J. Tudor never ceases to amaze me.

Thank you to NetGalley, C.J. Tudor and Random House Publishing Company for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Loved this book! Very well written, with a highly unusual plot. Great realistic characters. Highly recommend!

4.5 stars! C. J. Tudor has officially become one of my go to authors and her books that will always head to the top of whatever TBR list I have. The Other People was even better than The Chalk Man for me and it kept me in suspense and wondering what in the heck was going on (in a good way) throughout the entire book. I found the ending extremely satisfying and really enjoyed the read.

The story centers around Gabe whose daughter and wife were killed in a brutal home attack 3 years previously, but Gabe is positive he saw his young daughter in a car and refuses to believe she’s really dead. Katie is a waitress who tries to help. Fran is on the run with her own young daughter trying to keep her safe.

This is a gripping psychological thriller and I couldn’t get enough. I can’t wait to see what Tudor comes up with next!

*Thanks so much to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the advance copy!*

5 “I’ve Never Read Anything Like It” Stars.

Bravo C.J. Tudor! Bravo! “The Other People” is a Psychological Suspense unlike any other (and given how many there are out there, THAT my friends is saying something!)

It is also a departure from C.J. Tudor’s other novels, which I totally appreciate and is frankly, her best to date.

One night when returning home, Gabe swears that he just passed his daughter in a strange car as she is being kidnapped. Immediately thereafter, he receives a phone call informing him that his wife and daughter have been murdered in their home. Unable to believe it, he searches for his daughter, night after night for 3 years, roaming and looking for answers. Then he finds the car, and three words: “The Other People.”

Creepy, dark and eerie, this novel will make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up and could very well make you afraid of mirrors and pebbles too. (Don’t ask, I won’t tell.)

Admittedly, this novel made me wonder and made my mind wander as I imagined myself there...searching with Gabe and Katie, (the waitress at the all night diner who befriended Gabe), encountering twists and turns I have never seen before, scared, hopeful and full of angst for what might lie ahead. I was completely immersed in the characters' lives, especially that of Gabe, Katie, Fran and Alice and was scared out of my wits for each of them, pulse pounding, heart caught in throat, chest tight. That kind of suspense kept me up until after 1 a.m., desperate to finish this novel before work the next day. When I finally read the last sentence, I sighed and thought to myself, “Now, that is how you do it!”

A huge thank you goes out to Kathleen Quinlan at Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine (for the galley and the e-arc), NetGalley, and C.J. Tudor. It’s rare when you read a book that surprises you on all levels. Well done Ms. Tudor!

Published on Goodreads on 12.25.19.

Thank you to Net Galley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What would you do if you could exact revenge on someone who had wronged you that you felt hadn’t been properly punished? That is the main question addressed in CJ Tudor’s new book, The Other People. At first, I struggled to keep all of the characters straight, but about a quarter of the way into the book, the story picked up and everything fell into place. I blew through this book, and the premise will stick with me.

I would like to thank Netgalley for an ARC cope of the ebook, The Other People. I’ve read the first novel of Tudor and I really enjoyed it. I became intrigued in the beginning of the story. It wasn’t a slow process like some stories as some novels take their time to develop.

Gabe the protagonist of this story is someone who clings to the hope of finding his daughter. Though odds were against him, yet he still was determined. And it’s pretty crazy how everything seems to unravel in the story. Katie is someone who is a caring person who was willing to help despite things we’re looking bad at her end. Fran of course is a bit of a mystery. I still think she was wrong doing what she did and Alice is just an innocent girl that’s all I can about that.

I really enjoyed this novel. Grabbed my attention from beginning to end. A great mystery to the kidnapping and murder. It was quite a plot twist and I would highly recommend it. I give this novel 5 stars out 5. It was in my opinion a fast pace reading. Glad I was able to get my hands on this novel.

Gabe's wife and daughter were murdered in a home invasion, only Gabe is convinced his daughter has actually been kidnapped and is still out there, and spends his days driving up and down the service roads looking for the car he believes he saw her in.
This is fast-paced read, which is pushed along by multiple perspectives and cements C.J. Tudor as a go-to for thrillers that weave supernatural elements out of human suffering.