This is quite the thriller, starting as a Hitchcock story, in which Jaime finds himself a suspect when his frenemy, Kit, disappears. What happened after they shared drinks right before Christmas break? What secrets are being kept? And how did they all lead to Kit’s disappearance?

The novel may be a bit too long, but it will keep you guessing at every turn as the untrustworthy protagonist, Jaime, unravels the events to try to prove his innocence.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for the ARC.

This is a typical British mystery thriller.
Little bit slow at beginning. When the story unfold, it gets better and better.
Not a stunning one, but i really enjoy the ride. recommend..4 stars

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A group of people became friends on their daily ferry commute until just before Christmas one of them disappears without a trace. This is just the beginning of many twists and misdirection that will keep you guessing till the end and still you will gasp in surprise.
Great storyline filled with the motivations of several characters that in the end may ruin all their lives.

This particular book was high on my TBR, especially after praise from some of my favorite mystery/thriller authors such as Ruth Ware, B.A. Paris, Lucey Foley, etc.

The trope of strangers meeting on modes of transportation has always been intriguing to me. Jamie and Kit meet on the water bus and it turns out that their partners also work together (what a coincidence DUN DUN DUUUNNNNN). Fast forward a bit and Kit goes missing... who else would they question but Jamie? That is a very, very fast-tracked version, but the premise is that, you guessed it, someone is a liar liar pants on fire.

Told through Jamie's perspective, we see the entire ordeal through his recounting of events. To be completely honest, this made him extremely unlikeable to me. Quite frankly, none of the four "main" characters were likeable (which was genius!). This was my first Candlish novel, and I must say, her plot twists are breathtaking. Just when we think we are going one way, we take a complete 180 into a different direction, I can often deduce the ending in these types of novels, and I can say with absolute certainty that I did not see this one coming.

This was the first Louise Candlish book I've read and I've already searched for others! Loved the pace, the plot, the style. In a world of paint-by-numbers thrillers, Louise Candlish and The Other Passenger stands out.

Jamie Buckby is a “river rat,” one of the water ferry commuters in London. He and Kit ride the same ferry and strike up a friendship through their partners, Clare and Melia, who work at the same firm. Just around Christmas, when Jamie gets off the ferry, he’s met by two detectives who have some questions. They’re searching for Kit, who has gone missing. And Jamie was the last person seen with him.

Author Louise Candlish has written a slow-building (in a very good way), twisting, compelling suspense-filled mystery/thriller. As we watch Jamie’s (and Clare’s) life unravel, is everything as it seems to Jamie? To Clare? To Kit’s wife Melia? To us, the readers?

Ms. Candlish controls the pace in this story with an expert hand and you’ll find yourself stealing every spare moment you have to read a bit more in this winding tale of disappearance, possible murder, infidelity, ambition and jealousy.

I will definitely be watching for more books written by Louise Candlish!

Thank you Netgalley, Simon & Schuster Canada and Louise Candlish for free e-ARC of The Other Passenger in return of my honest review.

Quite an intriguing thriller. I got hooked around page 150 (somewhere in the middle of the book). It has some unpredictable turn and twist which I did appreciate. Many I did not se coming at all. On the other hand, I hated the narrator - I have hard time to explain why - was it his style os speaking/creating the story? Was it constant refections on his generation vs new generation of his new mates on a river bus? Was it him comparing himself to young people while he was practically in the same financial boat as they were?I assume, I was mostly irritated by his idea of superiority. If it was intentional, thumbs up to the author. Otherwise, I hope to "meet" more liable characters in future in Louise Candlish's work.

Overall, great thriller with some socio-economic issues along side the main story line. At the end of the day, money is usually at the bottom of most crimes.

Thank you to the publisher for my copy of this one - all opinions are my own.

I LOVED this slow burn, psychological suspense, character drama of a story. Let me tell you, I ADORE a good whodunnit, and the way this story is executed leaves you totally on the edge of your seat without answers until the very bitter end.

The way Louise Candlish peels away layer after layer of the story, leading you deeper into the mystery of what really happened, is a master class is creating near unbearable suspense. By the time I hit the halfway point on this book I couldn't se it down, because I just HAD to know what had happened.

I also love unreliable narrators, and I LOVE a story that twists and turns almost faster than you can keep up. This book serves up both aplenty.

This is a MUST for thriller readers - such a fun book to lose a day in.

Mystery | Adult
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It’s the Friday after Christmas, and Londoner Jamie Buckby boards his usual river bus to get to work. As he gets off the boat, he’s approached by two detectives. Seems his friend Kit is missing, and Jamie is the last person to have seen him alive, on their way home on Monday evening before the holidays. Kit and Jamie are “river rats” – waterway commuters, who met through their partners. Jamie’s partner Clare is Melia’s boss in a real estate management firm; the two couples became friends in January, and Kit and Jamie often share a pint on their way home. This last time, though, the drinking led to some kind of squabble, according to another passenger that Jamie doesn’t even remember. What he does remember is a regrettable text, sent to Kit as he was walking away from the fight: “Just YOU wait.” Seems the police have identified Jamie as a prime suspect. But Jamie was home with Clare. Surely she can corroborate his story. And who is this other passenger? And why aren’t the police looking into Kit’s cocaine habit? Why are they focusing on an innocent man, who sent a dumb text while he was home? Candlish, a bestselling author, including the riveting Our House, has wrapped a thriller in multiple layers of complicated plotting. I figured out some elements pretty early on, but then she added some twists I absolutely did not see coming – such fun. I will say the pacing dragged a bit around the middle – I was pretty sure I knew what would happen, and when it did, it was only the halfway mark, so that was a real puzzle! First published in the U.K. last year, it was released in North America this summer. The story is told in alternating chapters of then and now, going back to when the two couples first met for dinner, and slowly revealing how the friendships progressed to the point of anger and threatening words. I will also say that I did not really like most of these people, with the exception of Clare. That made the whole book a bit of a drag – I was rather sick of the lot of them well before it ended, but I was invested enough in the mystery to keep going. Overall, if you can get over the nasty characters, it’s an engrossing mystery, with a generally satisfying conclusion. Grand Forks & District Public Library has a copy available in its ebook collection. My thanks to Simon and Schuster Canada for the digital reading copy provided through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
More discussion and reviews of this novel: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57188634

This thriller was enthralling and kept me up reading to the end. The description of London and the people who live there was riveting and very interesting. The only issue I had was that I absolutely detested all of the characters but then this is not meant to be a pretty book with perfect characters. There were so many twists and turns and I found it very enjoyable to read.

Easy read and great pace. The main character was hard to like at first, but eventually grows on you.
Some shocking twists, and others that are a little more easy to spot. I definitely recommend this book for fans of thrillers and suspense!

Jamie and Clare have been living together for a decade in her gorgeous home that she inherited. She works in real estate and Jamie works at a coffee shop. He takes the riverboat to work each day with another group of people who have become friends. One of the group is Kit, who is also a neighbour of Jamie's. Kit and his girlfriend, Melia, become friends with Jamie and Clare. Kit constantly complains about money and is resentful that Claire inherited her wealth and didn't work for it. One morning, Kit is not on the boat and it seems he has been reported missing. Jamie was the last person to have seen him and they had been seen arguing. He is immediate a suspect in his disappearance and possible death.

The characters are both likable and unlikable. Claire is a partner in a well known real estate company. She is well off, part of a wealthy family, but is nice as pie and does not flaunt her money. Jamie used to be a well off marketing expert, but after an experience on the way to work one day, he is now a barista. He is a kept man, but he doesn't let that bother him, at first. Melia works with Claire, or at least at Melia's company. She is beautiful and she knows it, and takes what she wants when she can. I didn't like her at all. Then there is Kit who is an insurance agent, but not very dependable at work. He is angry and resentful and another very unlikable character. Melia and Kit met when they were struggling actors, but that ship has sailed. They are living far above their means and that makes Kit even more angry. When Kit "disappears" I was pretty sure I had it all figured out, but I was wrong. There are many twists in this book that kept me guessing. There were lies, secrets, envy, narcissism, and infidelity that all gave this book a chilling feel. I did find that this book slowed down somewhat in the middle, but last third to quarter of the book took off again and I couldn't stop reading/listening. I do not want to give anything away with this story, so will leave it there, but know that this is a twisty, domestic mystery with twists and turns throughout. When the final reveal comes, there was a loud WOW coming from my reading chair.

This book did not unfold how I had expected. I did find it was a rather slow burn, that I found myself struggling to stay interested in. I guess I just didn’t really relate much to the main character or care what happened to him.

Not often do I give such low ratings to a book as I know the author has spent hours workin on it but with this one my reaction at reaching the end was « At last, I am done with that story filled with shallow people and twists and turns that make no sense if you have two cents of common sense. »

The cast of characters is simple, there’s the controlling partner Clare in her late 40s who was born with a silver spoon but pretends she has not. Then there’s Jamie, the narrator and Clare’s partner who seems like a brain dead middle age man who thinks with the content of his trousers and needs just a wee push yo cheat with the goldigger bimbo, Melia. Speaking of Melia, she’s a mix of all the clichés about the below 30 generation and is willing to orchestrate a scheme to get money. Finally, there’s Kit, another load of clichés from that generation of 20 something that believes they’re entitled to everything without making an effort.

That was my first book by this author and probably the only one as the experience had left me frustrated and thinking that this were turned into a movie it might be in league with Naked Gun.

This is my first time reading a book by this author. I know she is an acclaimed mystery/thriller writer.

The writing is good and the premise sounded exciting. Jamie takes the Riverboat everyday into London to go to work. There he meets and gets acquainted with a few people and one in particular, Kit, that will become a friend. Jamie and his longtime partner, Clare invite Kit and his girlfriend Melia over to their place for dinner and drinks. The four seem to all get along nicely. Kit and Melia are very impressed with the property, as they are younger and just starting out in the world. They talk about their ever growing debts all the time. One day just before Christmas Kit goes missing. Jamie is the last one to have been seen with him.

There's a mystery that unravels slowly and twists and turns along the way. Some of them I saw coming and some were surprises. I must say I did not like any of the characters at all. The book started off good but stalled towards the middle and finally picked up once again towards the end. Overall a pretty decent book. I like Louise Candlish's style so I will definitely check out another book by her.

I'd like to kindly thank NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Canada for granting me access to this Advance Reader Copy.

Thrilling! I found myself holding my breath so many times while reading. Would definitely recommend to anyone looking for a thriller!

This one took me a while to get into. I liked the "before" and "after" timelines for this book and the of course, the murder/disappearance aspect of any thriller! I ended up listening to this book and found the narrator to be very engaging. Once I got into the book after twist number 1 (spoiler alert, there are many twists). I thought the ending was clever and unexpected.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publishing house and the author for the opportunity to read an advance reader copy of this book in return for a review based upon my honest opinion.

This was a great, twisty novel, it reminded me of my old paperback mysteries, where suspense was key and the build-up to the story keeps you guessing long into the night. Jamie and Clare are middle-aged partners whose lives get turned upside down when Clare decides new year, new friends, take more chances., which leads her to invite the new girl at work, Melia and her partner, Kit to dinner. The couples somehow hit it off, even with the age gap and Kit and Jamie become work travel companions every day. Jamie then finds himself the focis of beautiful, young Melia's attention, and what does he do; not discourage her as he should, but begins an affair with her behind Clare and Kit's backs.

When Kit goes missing and the police show up at the water transport to talk with Jamie, he is shocked to think that they may suspect him, but then it appears they already know about his affair. He wonders what Melia has told them and when and if Clare will find out about his indiscretions. As the intrigue and suspense leads up to a shocking twist, it leaves Jamie wondering, why would a beautiful young woman like Melia, who is used to always getting her own way be attracted to him. We, as readers, wonder who is telling the truth, is anyone?

I have enjoyed every book I have read by this author and look forward to the next one.

Jamie is approached by two cops after his commute to work. His friend Kit is missing, and Jamie was he last one to be seen with him, having a fight on their way home. Even if Jamie didn’t do anything, as he says he didn’t, he’s unnerved by this as all sins point to him.

Not as straightforward as it seems, with lots of twists and turns. I enjoyed where the story took me for the most part. As some of the story is Jamie telling the cops how he knows Kit, there was a lot of filler, and some long boring stretches that seemed unnecessary to me. And the being left me feeling unfulfilled.

The Other Passenger by Louise Candlish is most certainly one of my favorite suspense books of this year. That is hard to believe considering I almost quit reading The Other Passenger because I thought it was too slow to get started. However, it is well worth hanging in there and you will not regret it. James and Kit become commuting buddies on a ferry in London and they enjoy each other’s company until Kit is reported missing by his wife. James appears to be the last person to have seen him. A witness from the ferry says that the two were having a violent argument the night Kit disappeared. James’ world quickly unravels. Not much more can be revealed so as not to spoil the plot. The more you read, the more confused you become and then you will think you figured out what happened and then everything changes again. This is a thriller well worth spending time with. This is my first Louise Candlish novel but it certainly will not be my last. Highly recommended. Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada, NetGalley and the author for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.