A great read with many twists and turns.
Kit and Jamie meet on a river bus heading to work, and as they chat they discover their partners work together, so a ‘friendship’ materializes………but they are not what they seem.
Jamie and Clare are in their late 40’s and well established financially, whereas Kit and Melia are in their late 20’s, deep in debt and wanting more.
An unlikely group which leads to the plot. One of them goes missing and the police suspect it could be…..I won’t tell.
A mystery thriller that is easy to read and very enjoyable even if you take a dislike to the lying, cheating characters, which I must admit I did!

It was impossible to tell a pauper from a prince in this city”.

Jamie Buckby, the narrator of our story, is a strange and unsettling character. A self-proclaimed provocateur, Jamie is arrogant, his humor skirting a definite edge, his relationship with his long-time lover Clare shuttered and cautious. Pushing fifty, he works a minimum wage job, shares a massive home with Clare in one of the most prestigious areas of London, and “peddles” a life and a story we are not exactly sure is completely reliable.

The plot roils when middle-aged Jamie and Clare meet young Kit and his girlfriend Melia, two gorgeous twenty-somethings who feel like the “cool kids” and invoke a burning envy for youth now lost. Kit and Melia, on their end, party like there’s no tomorrow, but at the same time, are drowning in debt and seriously resentful of the lifestyle that Jamie and Clare, and other successful boomers, have been able to achieve in the city.

As the green-eyed monster creeps, it’s not clear at all, and becomes even less so, if there are any “princes” in the motley of characters we soon find ourselves embroiled with.

Struggling with a phobia of underground tunnels and public transit, Jamie has battled panic attacks that turn his commute into a hellish ordeal until he discovers the “river-bus” - a catamaran powered ferry system reaching all the major downtown stops. As Kit and Jamie become daily river-bus commuters, their mutually covetous world becomes even more psychologically intertwined.

Twists and turns alone do not do this delicious and dark character-driven plot justice, as the desires and machinations quickly build to a claustrophobic fever-pitch that never really lets up.

All in all a very devious and delightful book; I couldn’t put it down and read it straight through one dull and dreary afternoon.

A great big thank you to NetGalley and the author for an ARC of this book. All thoughts presented are my own.

As a young-ish woman, it took me sometime to get into the book as it was written from a perspective of a middle aged man. However, I found it was well written, captivating and enjoyable.

The Other Passenger is an intriguing story about two couples, miles apart in age and wealth, who begin a close friendship. The younger male (Kit) goes missing and the police are looking at the older man (Jamie) as a suspect since they were seen in an altercation on the river bus that they both ride back and forth to work in London. I wasn't aware there was such a thing as a river bus that people could use instead of the bus, train or tube to get back and forth so I was very interested in reading about it although the cost sounds fairly prohibitive.

Told from Jamie's point of view, this book is well written with many twists and an excellent cast of characters and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I thought the last 25% or so of the book dragged a bit and I'm not sure it added anything to the story but it may have been me getting anxious to move on to the next book. I'd definitely recommend this book to a friend. 3.5 Stars rounded up!

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for the opportunity to read an ARC of The Other Passenger.

Published July 20, 2021

I have two words for you: Slow. Burn.

Okay I lied. I have more words for you. This is my first Louise Candlish novel. Her writing made me laugh out loud at times, and this was a THRILLER. For example, she compares the smells of millennials vs Gen X (“an artisan loaf baked with walnuts and figs” vs “stale dog biscuits”, respectively)

The book starts out kiiiiind of slow, it did take me a minute to get into it and get involved in the drama of Jamie and Clare, Kit and Melia. But once said drama starts to unfold, you better buckle up! I had an inkling of what the twist would be towards the end, but was still pleasantly surprised that there were turns as well!

I’d like to add that it’s not often I read a book that’s entirely from a man’s perspective. Not by choice, I just feel that most thrillers I read are always from a female POV. I thought it made the book extra interesting because it was not a POV I could relate to.

The Other Passenger is out now! Pick it up if you’re a fan of Lisa Jewell or Sally Hepworth. And thank you to @netgalley & @simonschusterca for the eARC!

A crime mystery featuring a 48 year old claustrophobic commuter Jamie, who is accused of killing his friend after his sudden disappearance. This novel revolves around money and specifically the resentments that arise from the inequalities in wealth. None of the characters are very likable and I felt like the story moved at a slow pace. An ok read but not one that I will remember.

This is a Psychological Thriller with many twists and turns. It is definitely a page turner, but alas there were some parts I did find slow.
This as my first read of Louise Candilish and I will defiantly be picking up more from her. I recommend this to anyone who likes crime, mystery, suspense or thrillers.

The Other Passenger
3/5 ⭐️

Thank you @netgalley & @simonschusterca for an ARC of this new release! This one came out on July 20.

If you want a book with unlimited twists this is it! As I’ve said before my favourite book location will always be London and this one even has a dash of Edinburgh (sigh I can’t wait to travel again) so this just added to my excitement.

I would say this is exactly what people classify as a slooooow burn. Had it not been for the thickly detailed, slow start I think I could’ve loved this one. But in the beginning I felt slightly confused and bored. However, once the plot hit into high gear I couldn’t stop listening. I did not expect the end at all!


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This thriller came with a cast of unlikable characters; which is just up my alley. It dragged a bit in the middle for me, but that may be because I can get a bit impatient. LOL. As it got towards the end though, I couldn't put it down.

I enjoyed the first third of this book but then the next third of the book dragged a lot and as time went on the characters just became more and more despicable. I can handle unlikeable characters but these were beyond unlikable. Every character was money hungry but other than Claire, the rest of them were work shy but yet seem to think that the world owes them riches. By the time the book was finished I didn’t care what happened to these characters or who got screwed over and who didn’t. It obviously was not the book for me.

I really enjoyed this slow burn mystery. I admit that it did take me a bit to get into the story at first, but then I found it moved along at a good pace. The characters were well-developed. I didn't necessarily like all of them, but I did like the main character. There were several really good twists, and I did NOT predict the ending at all. I will definitely be reading more books by Louise Candlish. Highly recommend!

First of all, many thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for providing an advance reader copy of The Other Passenger by Louise Candlish in exchange for an honest review.

This is my first Louise Candlish and, wow, it won’t be my last. I sped through this book and loved every minute.
Jamie and Clare are a middle-aged couple surviving on Clare’s inheritance and income. Jamie suffered a panic attack a while ago that led to the termination of his high paying job and a fear of travelling underground. All is well, though, now that Jamie has a steady job in a coffee job and travels there by boat each morning. Recently, Jamie and Clare have become friends with a young couple new to their neighbourhood and the young man, Kit, also travels to work each day with Jamie.

Then one morning just before Christmas, Kit doesn’t appear for the commute and we discover he’s missing. The rest of the novel delves into Kit’s disappearance and to reveal any more would be a disservice.

I will say there are mind games, unreliable narrators, and too many surprises and twists to count. Some aspects of this book reminded me of Gone Girl, so if you liked that, you’ll want to pick this up.

Can’t wait to read more from this author!

3.5 stars

Jamie and Clare are 40 somethings - together, but not married, and no kids. They meet a younger couple, Kit and Melia, who are also not married and without kids and the four of them become quick friends. Jamie and Kit travel to work together every day, they have dinner parties and go out together, and then Kit goes missing, and the police believe Jamie was the last person to see him.

A lot of suspense/thriller type books do a big info dump in the beginning just to hook the reader - that was not the case with The Other Passenger. The story slowly unravels as Jamie's accounts go back and forth between the past and the present. Little by little the story is revealed and as the "past" dates became closer and closer to the "present", my anticipation became higher. Unfortunately when the timelines do meet up, you're only about 60% of the way through the book. There is a twist and I did like the ending, but I did find it to be a little drawn out. Better than most suspense novels I've read, but still not my favourite.

I’ve been in a mystery/thriller slump. I’m finding every author trying to do the most, which in reality, leads them to producing the least interesting novel. I want the setup to be clear without a million characters that have a million issues.

In The Other Passenger, we are introduced to middle-aged couple, Jamie and Clare. Clare is a wealthy real estate agent in London and Jamie works in a coffee shop. They aren’t married because Clare isn’t giving up her coin, get it girl! To keep it 💯 Jamie is a bit of a dud. He’s claustrophobic and says he can’t ride the tube to work so he can only find surface jobs. Apparently only coffee shops exist near their house?? He commutes to his extremely far away barista job via the ferry where he connects with a group of fellow commuters. He quickly becomes friends with insurance broker Kit, who’s dating hot young thing, Melia, who just happens to work with Clare. This foursome becomes friends and one day Melia comes on to Jamie. The two start having an affair, which lasts about 8 months until one day Kit disappears. Jamie is the last one to see him alive and is the lead suspect in his disappearance.

This all seems like a basic setup BUT halfway through Candish takes what you know and sends you down a path more confusing than the London underground. You continuously are questioning everything you’ve read in the most delicious way. Wait, who’s the bad guy? What’s the real motivation? Who knew what when? UGH so goood!!!

I have a couple critiques:

This book is 400 pages long and I think the beginning could’ve been tightened up.

Kit and Melia’s affair is central to the plot but there are no sex scenes. I can’t deal with phantom sex, give me some heat Candish. See Verity for the right amount of sex to creep ratio.

If you love domestic suspense you should definitely add this one to your TBR!

I've had Louise Candlish's new novel, The Other Passenger, on my must listen list after seeing praise from other suspense authors that I enjoy, such as Ruth Ware, B.A. Paris, Lucey Foley etc.

I love books that open with strangers meeting on a train, a plane, or in this case, a water bus. There's a wealth of directions that a plot could travel from such an opener. Do they reveal personal details? Or is it just nice to have met some fellow commuters suffering the drudge of getting to work?

Jamie and Kit meet on the water bus and it turns out that their partners also work together. Jamie and Clare are older, but they enjoy Kit and Melia's company. Fast forward - Kit goes missing and the police want to question Jamie.

Okay, that's the (very) short version. There is so much that happens between that initial meeting and Kit going missing. Friendship, rivalry, truth, lies, secrets....and guess what? Yup, someone's lying.

The Other Passenger is told through Jamie's eyes - his thoughts, his actions, his recounting of what Clare did or thought, his opinion and take on Kit and Melia, as well as the other two members of the 'Water Rats' that take the water bus. And while I felt like I should be on Jamie's side, I had a hard time with that. I didn't find him to be likable, actually I didn't like any of the four main players. I do applaud Candlish's skill in creating them. They're perfectly unlikable.

But what's even better is Candlish's plotting! She adroitly manipulates the listener, taking us down one path, only to jump the hedge with no warning and take us in a completely different direction. (I actually rewound a couple of times, just to make sure I had hear right!) Detailed, devious and downright diabolical. And the ending? Not what I expected at all, but very fitting.

This was a first reading of Louise Candlish and it most definitely won't be my last. Excellent!

4.5 stars
Enjoyability 10/10

Jaimie and Kit are commuter friends; they take the same ferry and sit next to each other every day. They chat and bond, so when Kit doesn’t show up one day, Jaimie thinks it’s strange but thinks nothing more of it. But when he gets off at his stop, the police are waiting for him.

Kit’s wife, Melia, reported him missing, and another passenger says that both men had a heated argument the night before. Jaimie tells the police that the witness is lying, Kit and him are friends, and his wife can vouch. But who was this other passenger, and what exactly do they know?

What first grabbed my interest was Candlish’s prose and character work. I utterly enjoyed the early dialogues between Jamie and Clare. The banter put a permanent smile on my face, and they got me thinking #relationshipgoals at first glance. As their relationship comes crumbling, to me, it became clear that Clare is the #goal. She was the reason the relationship worked, and honestly, I want to be like her when I grow up!

She is such a strong, multidimensional character. She is strong in her sense of self and lives her emotions with the confidence of a person who knows who they are and loves the skin they are in. Where most characters shone, Kit was lacking a little. I wish I had known more of him. His thoughts and motivations weren’t prevalent in the story, and then I realized that his disappearance had so many moving parts that the reader was privy to what mattered. But in a novel with so few characters, I prefer when I get to know all of them equally.

The Other Passenger is one of those books with a plot that might not be the most original and is familiar enough for the reader to know they’d enjoy it, but the execution nails it out of the park. In my opinion, Candlish delivered the perfect thriller - fast-paced, enthralling, it’s the book you can’t put down, and the tension is high from the beginning to the end. I felt like I was in a car in the fast lane, and the driver would pull amazing tricks every time I was getting too comfortable with the journey.

I loved how we started with the police interview and know nothing about the crime or the characters. You feel the author dropped some golden nuggets, but anything can be a red herring without context. It might not be for everyone, but it made this puzzle-loving reader very excited! After this great opening chapter, we are left on a cliffhanger as we are thrown back into the past when Kit and Jamie met. From then on, we get this dual timeline until we get the whole picture.

I’m always iffy when we get a single narrator because if they are unreliable, it gives my chair detective winning streak a run for its money. Jamie was the perfect narrator choice, in my opinion. I wanted to suspect him and did try to guess if he was unreliable, but he was just so pathetic that I often caught myself thinking of him as a victim too! Candlish’s character work is amazing! I already have other books of hers lined up because I can’t get enough of her style!

Disclaimer: I first read it as an ARC. In exchange for an honest review, I am thankful to Simon & Schuster Canada, Louise Candlish, and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of The Other Passenger.

Hop aboard The Other Passenger and buoy yourself for a slow burn read that delivers (sorry, not sorry for the boat puns).

This is a literary thriller that emphasizes character and plot development. It focuses on the details and brings it all together for an action-packed and satisfying conclusion.

Jamie is one of the self-proclaimed "water rats," a group of commuters turned friends on the local ferry. But when his neighbour and fellow water rat, Kit, goes missing, Jamie finds himself in the middle of a police investigation that only scratches the surface of what's really going on. Kit has secrets, but Jamie has them too. What will be revealed will change the course for both men forever.

The book is richly layered with secrets and manipulation as we get to know Jamie and his partner Clare and Kit and his partner Melia. As I mentioned, this is a slow burn, which is something I love. But definitely go into this one knowing that so your expectations are set.

The way the book unfolds gave me serious Hitchcock vibes, in the best way possible. This was my first Louise Candlish book and it certainly won't be my last!

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for the e-arc in exchange for my honest thoughts.

The novel opens on December 27, 2019, with Jamie Buckby being questioned by the police about Kit Roper, his friend and fellow river bus commuter who went missing just before Christmas. Apparently Jamie was the last person to see Kit before he disappeared, and a passenger on the river bus witnessed the two of them arguing. Via flashbacks, we are told how Jamie and his partner Clare met Kit and Melia Roper in January of 2019 and what transpired in the year since then. Jamie claims innocence, but it seems he is not being totally honest.

The story is narrated in the first person point of view by Jamie so only his perspective is given. It is not long before it is clear that he is an unreliable narrator who is withholding information. For example, in the first chapter, he comments on being childless: “No parent would do what I’ve done this last year, or at least not so readily, so heedlessly.” Of course, he doesn’t elaborate on his actions. Later, he tells himself, “Don’t think about the peninsula. The apartments, the bedrooms, the secrets” without explaining what happened that must be kept secret.

The characters are difficult to like. All seem self-centred. One is devious and manipulative, while another has a sense of entitlement and is constantly complaining. Common sense seems to be in short supply. Everyone seems untrustworthy, so who is playing whom? Everyone is deceptive and is willing to betray others. Virtually all the seven deadly sins make an appearance: pride, greed, lust, envy, wrath, and sloth; even gluttony in the over-consumption of alcohol is evident.

Given the almost 20 year age difference and different lifestyles, it is difficult to see what attracts Clare to Melia. Financial inequality exists between Jamie and Clare and that might not be a deal breaker, but Clare’s reaction to Jamie’s behaviour stretches credulity. What does Jamie offer Clare, much less Melia?

It seems that most reviewers speak of the surprise twists and turns in the narrative and, yes, there are some, but it is not difficult to determine who the ultimate “villain” is. Any reader who pays attention and stops to question people’s motives (like Jamie should do) will be able to predict what will happen. What is satisfying in the end is that everyone gets his/her just deserts.

Jamie spends a lot of time on the river bus commuting to and from work. Descriptions of the Thames are used to create atmosphere. There are passages like “the river was liquid mud, stippled with rain, its lethal eddies and currents visible on the surface like feeding mouths” and “As we duck through the gold-studded red arches of Blackfriars Bridge, I picture the river bursting its banks and breaching us onto the South Bank, the humans fleeing from the slimy double-hulled monster, everyone screaming.”

This book is a slow burn. It begins slowly and only picks up pace about two-thirds of the way. It is not a boring read, but it is not particularly challenging either, so it might make for a perfect summer read.

Note: I received an eARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

I have had my fill of psychological thrillers, there has been an overabundance of them for a couple of years now. It takes a masterful writer to create one that is appealing to me. I read Our House by this same author and found it attention grabbing. When I saw this new title, I requested it right away.

As much as I read, I have never come across the term “unreliable narrator”. Now that I have discovered it, I realize how fitting this term is for this book.

The narrator is Jaime, a middle aged man who has climbed down the corporate ladder instead of up. He and his wife become friends with a younger couple and that leads to all sorts of twisty directions and plot points.

One of the strange things about this book (to me) is that I did not like any of the main characters. Not one of them had any redeeming qualities. They were well developed, just not likeable.

Jaime certainly bit off more than he should have. Lots of twists and turns, right up to the end of the story. Some I sort of predicted, others came right out of the blue.

I always love it when I am able to learn a new word from a book. The word in this book is SOLOPSISM. The word rolls off my tongue and it even looks interesting. While it is not proprietarily relevant to this book, I enjoyed running across it. I will leave the definition in the dictionary, anyone who is interested can look it up.

The ending sums up everything satisfactorily. I cannot really say too much more about this without divulging spoilers. I might not use the word “thriller” to describe it but it certainly is a psychological mind bender.

You know how some books just really aren't for you? And you know you aren't enjoying them, yet you can't stop reading it? That was my experience with, The Other Passenger. I don't mind a slow-paced read or unlikable/unreliable narrators. HOWEVER I really don't like when they're combined together. I really need the plot to suck me in, or the characters to really come through and sadly I didn't get either.
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The first 75% of The Other Passenger was soo slow that it took me way too long to read it, yet it was interesting enough that I pushed through. Yes, the last 25% did pick up and that's when things really started to happen. Yet, I still just couldn't get into it. Did I gasp? Yes. Was I completely Blindsighted? Yes. But yet, it just couldn't come through for me. So was this a bad read? I don't think so, I just think it really wasn't for me. So although this had it's slower moments and the moments that left me completely shocked, this is another one of those, I didn't hate it yet I didn't love it kinda reads.