I was hesitant to read a post-apocalyptic novel, worried that it would be too dark and angsty. But C. J. Tudor has given us a story about the will to survive, and maybe a fable for our current situation - one that tells the story of what happens when/if we lose our humanity.

The story is told from three different scenarios: a coach bus that has crashed on its side in a snow drift, a cable car suspended and stalled over an abandoned ski run, and a compound called The Retreat, a living quarters for survivors. Each group has one or more people with secrets, as the body count rises and the survivors do what they must.

And if that isn't enough, Tudor writes with just the right amount of humor (the second book I read this month that riffs on our favorite car loving, space traveling, social media buying celebrity), right amount of cursing, and megatons of tension throughout. Their lives will intersect in the most surprising and gruesome ways. So I offer you this recipe for a great novel:
• 1 lb of suspense
• 45 cliffhangers
• 1-2 dozen well defined characters
• 1 jigger of horror tropes
• Stir together
Enjoy!


Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing - Ballantine for an arc of this thrilling novel!

“The Drift,” by C.J. Tudor, Ballantine Books, 352 pages, January 31, 2023.

Hannah is among those evacuated from a boarding school during a snowstorm. The bus careens off the road, trapping her with other survivors. Hannah is a medical student.

Meg, a former police officer, is in a cable car stranded high above snowy mountains, with five strangers and no memory of how they got on board.

They are heading to a place known only as The Retreat, an isolated former ski resort now functioning as a research facility for a deadly virus.

Prior to boarding, they all agreed to give up their phones to protect their destination’s location so they have no way of calling for help.

Carter is employed at The Retreat. As their generator begins to waver in the storm, something terrible is happening. The dangers faced by Hannah, Meg, and Carter are each one part of the puzzle. There are plots within plots which finally comes together. There is a plot twist near the end.

I had difficulty keeping track of the characters and the plot is dark and violent. It is heavy on the apocalypse side of things. I liked C.J. Tudor’s novel “The Chalk Man,” but this one wasn’t for me.

In accordance with FTC guidelines, the advance reader's edition of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a review.

Oh, my! That was clever! Even the title has a double meaning! Kudos to C.J. Tudor!

The Drift is a survival/horror story set in a post apocalyptic world that has been ravaged by a virus. Sounds familiar? 😉 Although this one strays from my usual kind of read, I had to read it because… C.J. Tudor! Do you really need any other reason? I dare you to read the prologue of this and not be immediately on it’s grip.

The story is divided in three scenarios with a different cast of characters in each of them.

Hannah is one of the survivors of a coach crash while being evacuated from their boarding school to The Retreat during a snowstorm.

Meg, a former police officer, awakens with a group of strangers in a cable car suspended 1000 feet above ground while on their way to The Retreat, with a dead body in their midst.

Carter lives in The Retreat, a ski chalet, along a group of people whose purpose is manufacturing vaccines for the deadly virus, but when power and generators go off during a snowstorm, the death toll starts increasing.

I can’t remember many books that maintained the level of tension all throughout the story as good as The Drift did. It builds and builds, keeping the reader on their toes, while creating new layers of depth both in the plot and the characters. Having gone through the COVID pandemic, I’m sure most of us will relate to some of the psychological aspects presented in the story.

Some of these characters may not be likeable but you care for them all the same, cause you can’t help but admit that faced with the same situation you would act exactly the same as they did, reprobable as that behavior may be, or could you really say where your limits would be when it comes to survival?

The writing was taut, tense and added to the chilly and brutal atmosphere, in which no one could feel safe and secure at any given time. No holds barred here!

I was curious to see how all three storyline would connect and when they did I was like 😱😱😱. They all came together in a really well-executed manner I never foresaw.

The Drift was an action packed, fast paced read, with accomplished characters and a plot full of surprises, thrills and emotions. This will chill you to the core and not just because of the cold. Pop

Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine books for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is one big ole mesmerizing page-turner as the action flips between three intense situations. There are villains and heroes, though you may have trouble deciding which is which.

If you're looking for a well-paced post-apocalyptic thriller, this should do quite nicely.

C.J. Has started to become one of those authors I love to devour. It was claustrophobic and so intense, edge of seat, thriller for me.

What would you do for redemption at the end of the world?! Hannah wakes after surviving a crash that has locked her and other students in. There’s a virus brewing that all stuck are unaware of. Meg wakes stuck in a swaying ski lift, in the frozen cold ( I’m talking this is a nightmare for me). She has no memory and is surrounded by strangers. Carter is stuck in a ski lodge, trying to survive. All are trying to survive by any means in a deadly frozen place.

This is survival at its finest. I mean can you image the apocalypse happening and at that time you’re stuck somewhere that’s beyond cold. It’s in the negatives where I live but I was shivering, imagining this. Tudor is so descriptive in her writing, that imagining it is transformative. I think this book has a fine line of love/hate because of the pandemic, but if you’re looking for a dystopian escape, look no further.

Wow, I had to sit and absorb this one in. I only read one CJ Tudor before The Drift and the style is very different. Where "The Burning Girls" was dark with haunted vibes, The Drift is a real-deal horror that's violent and full of despair. Some scenes will probably even gross you out. 🤢

A highly contagious virus with a 75% death rate has wiped out civilization leaving just a few survivors. Those who caught the virus are either dead or become something else...

Here, everyone who isn't at The Retreat is heading to The Retreat. The story is told from three groups' of perspectives; Hannah, a med student from the bus crash site. Meg, a former detective in a dangling cable car a thousand feet up. And Carter from The Retreat.

Not one, but three locked "room" locations!

The Drift is a post-apocalyptic horror. Reading the book is like watching a dreadful season of The Walking Dead "snowy" edition without Rick Grimes. There are a bunch of characters that I don't know too well and don't really care. This is the season that someone dies in every episode. Then when someone you like dies, you need therapy so you tune in to Talking Dead afterward. Yes, you know what I'm talking about.

I LOVE survival stories and this one is that. Not only is the virus so deadly, but also the cold element comes into play. There are wild animals, the "infected beings" and other humans that are out there to get you! LOVE the reveal, how it came together was very clever and probably the best part. If I didn't sit on it, I would have given this two stars. I was kinda mad to tell you the truth. I guess I do care after all. 3.5⭐

Brilliantly unique and electrifying! You won’t be able to put it down.

CJ Tudor is an excellent author that has disturbingly creative and creepy imagery that is mind-blowing! After reading her first book, I knew I was going to be a lifelong fan.

Last April I started going through withdrawals when I became aware of the length of time it’s been since I read her last book. Let's just say…FOREVER! No pressure…I hope the next one is published a little speedier 😉.

Thrillers don’t get much better than “The Drift”. A devastating virus is endangering humanity. Madness and insanity are lurking in the darkness. The suspense, desperation, and fear ooze from the pages.

Hannah and some of the other students are being evacuated from a secluded academy in the mountains when a snowstorm hits and their coach turns over. Fear and panic are intense as they try to escape their situation.

Meg and other passengers are on a cable car headed to the Retreat when a power outage stops the car and wakes them all. None of the passengers remember boarding. Their last memory is eating breakfast in their rooms, so they suspect they were drugged and loaded. But why? Now they’re stranded in a snowstorm with no means of communication.

The Retreat…a mysterious and secretive place hidden away for medical trials. Very few people know of its existence. It should be one of the most secure places you can be. It’s also one of the creepiest. When Carter returns from a grocery run to find most of the lights off, I had goosebumps as he crept around looking for the others. When he finds them, I knew I wasn’t putting this book down until the end!

Sincere thanks to CJ Tudor and Ballantine Books for providing this gifted ARC through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

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I've come to the conclusion that this author is not for me. The story started out very strong and mysterious and the plot was decent but I hate when authors rant through their characters about God and Christianity. You never see this in regards to any other religion because it would be considered hateful or offensive but Christianity is always fair game. Disappointing.

What an eye-opening pandemic story showing how scary it would be, how it would effect so many people, and how science and humanity can overlap into a horrendous scenario. The story follows three main characters, Meg, Hannah, and Carter and the nightmare survival situations they have each been thrown into - along with peripheral characters who bring different dimensions to their fight to survive. About 3/4 way through all the important parts the characters played became a bit confusing., but definitely became apparent as to how their stories intertwined became more and more apparent. Not for the faint of heart as the story brings to mind The Walking Dead and World War Z in a very descriptive way. That being said - I do enjoy a good scary, world crisis book, which the author brings to us between these covers! Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing-Ballentine Books for the opportunity to read and review this advance reader copy. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. #NetGalley #TheDrift

This book lagged a little in the middle for me, but overall I really liked all the different perspectives. I couldn’t wait to see how they all tied together and the dystopia and locked room mystery themes were very interesting. CJ Tudor is an auto-buy author for me and I’m already anticipating her next release!

This was the perfect book to read as the snow was falling down outside my windows this weekend. I was so thankful to be inside my warm house, unlike the characters in this book.
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Three separate groups of survivors at the end of the world are all stuck in a snowstorm. Hannah and her group are trying to survive a bus crash after escaping a secluded boarding school.
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Meg and her group awake in matching uniforms and no memory of how they got in this cable car that isn’t working and headed to a place only known to them as “The Retreat.” The group knows they need to get out of this broken cable car and everything heightens when they realize one of the passengers is dead.
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Carter lives and works at the Chalet. In exchange for living essentials and food he helps make vaccines against the virus, but the generator starts glitching and when it finally goes out it can’t protect them from the evils outside.
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I am always all about an end of the world story and the way humans interact when they society crumbles. This was a perfectly done end of the world saga and the way these three storylines intersect blew my mind.
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Thank you #ballantine and #NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an Honest review. This one is out tomorrow !

This was a great end of the world mystery. Told from 3 points of view that converge in an unexpected twist. The drama and intrigue kept the pages turning until the thrilling end.

The Drift brings us the most likely dystopic future we can imagine with an incredibly lethal virus coupled with ineffectual mitigation, leading to retreat and isolation. There are three narratives being told by Meg, Hannah, and Carter. Meg is on a cable car that comes to an abrupt halt on the way up a former mountain resort. Hannah is on a bus on the way to what sounds like the same place when it crashes and is half-buried in snow. Carter is at a nearly empty mountain resort with a small and shrinking population of survivors. Their power systems are failing, something that could be fatal to all of them. All have left behind a world collapsing under the onslaught of an implacable and lethal virus.

Hannah’s father is the world’s most famous virologist working to find a cure and mandating increasingly draconian measures to save lives. From her upbringing, Hannah knows that he is driven only by facts, not by emotion, so when she learns that some people on the bus are infected, she knows that any supposed rescuers would not let them survive, but can she persuade the other survivors. Meg volunteered for this vaccine study hoping to die. Her daughter died and she has lost the will to live, until she was stranded up in the freezing cable car. Carter has secrets, far too many secrets. So do all the others at the resort. But whose secrets will kill them.

The Drift is a story set in the most likely of all possible dystopian futures. Yes, climate change is going to continue, but so will evolution, including the evolution of viruses. Now that COVID has proven us incapable of doing something as minimal as wearing a mask to protect ourselves and others from the virus – to the point where the New York Times seems to think mask-wearing is anti-social – of course, the next virus will be worse because governments won’t even try to mitigate for fear of losing votes. It will evolve to maximal lethality. We will do nothing until the only options are dire and obscene to our current morality.

In The Drift. we can’t help but identify with our three narrators who embody the will to survive, that drive that keeps us going when all seems lost. They are not the hapless who decide trying to survive is so much harder than dying peacefully in our sleep. That choice, of just giving up, is always there, but they persevere. It’s what we do.

I really loved The Drift even though it is not for the faint of heart. The jeopardy begins on page one and does not let up. But folks keep striving and what can be more fully human than that?

The Drift will be released January 31st. I received an e-galley from the publisher through NetGalley.

The Drift at Ballantine | Penguin Random House
C. J. Tudor on Facebook
Also reviewed The Chalk Man
Also reviewed The Other People

Excellent book! I highly recommend reading this! It started a little slow but then it picked up like a rollaway coaster and I couldn’t stop! Definitely a must read!

The Drift by C. J. Tudor wasn’t entirely what I was expecting. I went in thinking murder mystery but instead got a dystopian thriller. I know to most this won’t be an issue at all. But for me it was a bit of a let down.

I really love C. J. Tudor and her beautiful writing style. She has way of writing her settings that make them so vivid and real. For someone who loves winter thrillers this book was a dream. I also loved the character development in this book. I can’t say much because it will ruin the plot but wow I loved it!

My one issue was this just isn’t a type of book I like. I’m not into dystopian thrillers and that’s my fault for thinking it was something else. I’m not sure it would have mattered because I read anything C. J. Tudor writes and will continue to.

Overall I still had a really good time reading this one. It was so fast past and so easy to binge in one sitting. I would definitely recommend this one to people who love dystopian thrillers with a side of murder. This book was a beautiful web of lies and secrets.
3.5/5 Stars

Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for an arc in exchange for my honest review.

Three groups of people are trapped on a stopped sky cable car, an overturned chartered bus, and at a rural resort working on a secret science project. While the snowstorm is not helping, the raging pandemic making huge swaths of the population both epically contagions and into modern zombies is worse. Will the trapped humans’ deaths be by weather, starvation, illness, or a more human threat? Or will somehow at least a few survive? Find out in The Drift…

The weather outside is the perfect accompaniment to this book…along with a warm cup of tea. Even though I knew the setting would make me feel even colder, I was looking forward to reading this book.

The author really makes you wonder how in the world this book will end any way but bleakly. Unfortunately, the characters are stick figures rather that people you can root for. Still, if you like atmospheric plot driven stories that make you think of what would you do if caught in an unusual situation, give The Drift a try. 3 stars.

Thanks to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for a digital review copy of the book.

*3.5*

This won't go down as my favorite C.J. Tudor but still a great thriller! One thing I love about C.J.'s books is the ability to build up suspense with a fast moving plot and this one is certainly no different. We have 3 different perspectives from 3 different groups of people in one snowy area of the world. Cutoff from each other and cutoff from any sort of contact and trying to survive. There are quite a lot of characters amongst the 3 groups and it takes a minute to get your bearings but C.J. made the characters different enough that it didn't take long to get the hang of everything. The plot with the virus was surprising, I was expecting a more traditional locked room mystery but then we got some apocalyptic themes thrown in. Some of the side plots were uninteresting to me but I do understand their importance to the overall story. And I will say the end was nothing I saw coming!

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

I went in to this without really knowing anything about this book or the author. Wow, what a pleasant surprise. This begins with three separate stories/settings, and it keeps you wondering just how they are related and guessing just where the story is going. Lots of twists and cliffhangers along the way. Highly recommended if you like closed room thrillers, post apocalyptic themes and a winter settings. 4.5 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review/rating.

The Drift by C. J. Tudor is a highly recommended post apocalyptic thriller told through three storylines. The setting is during a world wide plague. The survivors in the novel are all in the midst of a raging snow storm while heading to or at the Retreat, a mountain top medical facility where survivors can assist in working on a cure or hiding from the Whistlers.

Hannah, a medical student, is trapped with a handful of survivors in a coach/bus that has crashed off the road. Meg, a former police officer, is trapped along with others in a cable car stranded high above the ground of the mountainside. Carter in in the ski chalet known as the Retreat where the generator has issues and he doesn't trust anyone who is there with him. The identities, secrets, and problems surrounding these individuals are all part of a larger puzzle. It is a sort of locked room mystery with three different rooms in a much larger maze.

The narrative switches between the three different settings/storylines. Along with the struggle for survival among the three groups, the impending sense of fear and doom is found in the harsh weather conditions, the deadly virus that some may be infected with, and the feeling of wariness and mistrust as it becomes increasingly clear that someone may not want them to survive. The Drift is certainly a post apocalyptic thriller, but it is also a mystery because you don't know the full picture of what is happening.

The dialogue between characters is great and the action and intrigue in the three storylines is compelling as the tension and pressure increases in the three situations. There are a lot of characters to keep track of among the three groups of people, which was a draw-back and slowed down my reading in the beginning while I was trying to keep everyone straight. The denouement surprised me.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Random House via NetGalley.
The review will be published on Barnes & Noble, Google Books, and Amazon.

The Drift is a post apocalyptic thriller with three people who are involved in three different storylines that I tried to figure out if or how they would come together. Hannah is on a bus during a blizzard when it crashes. People are hurt, maybe dying and it seems there is no way out. As the story progresses, we find out where they came from, where they were going, and if everyone on board can be trusted. Not a spoiler, but Hannah was my favorite character and I hoped that nothing bad would happen to her.
Meg has wound up on a cable car with no idea how she got there. She and her fellow travelers all swear they have no idea who killed the one very dead passenger. Is someone stuck on this car a killer? We learn where they were going and what led them to be in this precarious position. Again, no spoilers but I was racking my brain trying to figure out how these two groups would come together or if they were even related.
Then we have Carter who is at The Retreat,a place that at first glance appears safe but in reality holds numerous secrets( even death might not be the worst one). Every character in the story makes sense in the end. I’ll admit at about the 80% mark I wasn’t sure how the author could pull everything together in a way that would tie everything up.Silly me, it’s C.J. Tudor, and this puzzle made total sense in the end. Speaking of the end, once I read the last sentence and thought about the stories I really appreciated how she managed to pull all the seemingly separate storylines into a cohesive plot. I read this in an afternoon and I only wish I could read it for the first time again.