This was a very intense and suspenseful book. It was really three different stories taking place after a virus has taken over the world - Hannah and a group of students trapped in a bus during a snowstorm, Meg and another group trapped in a cable car and Carter and a group of people who live at the Retreat, where the bus and cable car are heading. There were some good twists and I was very surprised at how the stories eventually tied together. My only issue was there were a lot of characters to keep track of. I had never read C.J. Tudor before but I would definitely read more of her books. Thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC.

CJ Tudor has written a high octane, bingeable thriller that is pure nightmare fuel. Living though a pandemic today, this book hits really close to home. Even though this one takes a situation like our own and cranks it up 5 notches its still not hard to feel pure terror while reading. It’s scary because it seems like something that COULD happen. Hopefully not in our lifetimes though!

The Drift is about a crumbling society when a virus takes over the world. It tells the story of 3 different individuals/timelines as the virus rips the world apart and seamlessly weaves the timelines together brining one shock after another. We get to meet a group of kids who are on their way to a “retreat” that will offer them a safe place to quarantine. However, when their bus gets into a major accident they being to realize that it may not have been an accident at all. Then we meet a group of people stranded on a cable car 1000 feet in the air. These people were also on their way to the retreat after signing up to be test subjects but something or someone has other plans for them. Finally, we meet the group of people who work at the retreat. All very different people who are facing their own nightmares when one by one they are being killed off. How all three of these stories come together makes this one exciting and original novel!

CJ Tudor is an excellent writer and each and every book she writes is unique, fast paced, and hard to put down. I found this one to be atmospheric (the perfect winter read), uncomfortable, disturbing, and very chilling. So, if that’s your cup of tea then I highly recommend grabbing a copy of this one! My only complaint is that all the characters I was rooting for were swiftly taken out. Perhaps this makes the novel more realistic if you think about it.

𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗙𝗘𝗖𝗧 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗙𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝗢𝗙:
• High Octane Thrillers
• Apocalyptic Novels
• Uncomfortable and Chilling Reads

𝗠𝗬 𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4.5)

Not really a fan of dystopian novels but I'll read anything CJ Tudor publishes. The Drift was interesting as you cannot tell how how the 3 different POVs are connected until the very end of the novel. Hannah and a group of students are being evacuated from their Academy, when their coach bus gets into a terrible accident in a white-out blizzard. Meg wakes up in a cable car with a bunch of strangers that are on their way to safety from the world pandemic of Choler. However, the cable car seems to be stuck and unmoving and there is a dead body on board. And a blizzard storming around them. Carter seems to be safe from the Choler pandemic, for now. He is stuck at the Retreat, the Department's safehouse, where a cure is supposedly being worked on. But then a blizzard hits and all hell breaks loose.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for this e-arc.*

Thank you to NetGalley for an arc of The Drift in exchange for an honest review. This review is wholly my own & may not be reproduced.

While I own two other CJ Tudor novels, this is actually the first that I’ve read and it was a solid read that I quite enjoyed.

This story centers around three unrelated individuals: Hannah, Meg & Carter, who each are trapped in life-threatening situations. As this thriller progresses, we learn that these three separate situations are all part of a whole.

This novel is told from three separate POV of each of the main characters. It was definitely fun & frustrating trying to figure out how all three storylines would come together, but Tudor did an amazing job of making it come together!

This is not your usual suspense thriller. It has several elements such as pandemic, survival, dystopian, apocalyptic and even leaned into horror (which I’m not a big fan of).

While I would not say this is the best novel of this sort that I’ve ever read, it was a very solid read. It was a quick read that flowed well from one POV to the next and kept me guessing. I may or may not have figured out the twist. You will just have to pick up a copy and see if YOU can figure it out!

4 Stars from me & I’d definitely recommend giving it a read.

I haven't read C.J. Tudor's work before, and although the premise sounded interesting I found this novel was not for me. I'm sure it would be a good read for true horror/survival fans. Too much gore for me. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I like Tudor's previous work, and I feel like this is "more of the same". If you like horror and fantasy and their overlap, you'll like most of Tudor's work, including "The Drift".

I've read all of C.J. Tudor's books, and The Drift is definitely her most ambitious novel to date. Taking place in the aftermath of an apocalyptic, violent virus, it follows three protagonists as they deal with extreme circumstances in harsh environments. Hannah wakes up trapped in a crashed coach while a snowstorm rages outside; Meg is stuck in a stalled-out cable car 1000 feet in the air; and Carter is at The Retreat, an abandoned ski chalet where he and his fellow survivors are dealing with power outages and threats from inside and outside the walls. As their stories unfold, it becomes clear that everyone has secrets, and no one is exactly who they claim to be.

I admire Tudor for taking on such an audacious project with this book. The Drift is essentially three locked-room mysteries, all happening simultaneously, while also each serving as part of a larger, connected narrative. I was impressed that Tudor was able to pull off this gutsy, bold structure, resulting in a novel that is creative and inventive and intriguing, full of action and gore.

But while I loved the idea of this book, the execution did leave me wanting. The cast of characters is too large, and none of them are very well-developed, so it was hard to keep everyone straight (especially the expendable ones). This is a book that is all about the plot and not so much about the characters; all of the character development felt very surface-level, so it was hard to form an emotional connection to the characters, even the main protagonists. They just felt like vehicles to move the plot forward. And the writing was too much telling, not enough showing, so that sometimes I felt like I was reading an outline of a novel rather than an actual novel.

If you pick up The Drift looking for insight and depth and thoughtful character development, you'll be left wanting. But if you're here for the mysteries, action, and gore (and poop, on several occasions), I think this book will be just the ticket. It wasn't my favorite of Tudor's by far, but I definitely appreciate and applaud her efforts for stepping so far outside of the box. Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine books for the digital ARC.

Many thanks to Penguin Random House and NetGalley for pre-approving me to read The Drift by C.J. Tudor in exchange for an honest unbiased review!

I will never turn down an atmospheric, locked room murder mystery or a gritty survival thriller and WOW, The Drift hit on all notes! C.J. Tudor is always excellent, but this one knocked me sideways! The Drift definitely was heavier on the horror and gore than previous works, so I enjoyed seeing an even darker side of this author and I'm hungry for more like this! As soon as I finished, I went back and read it again to absorb all the details.
The story follows three different storylines, Hannah, Meg, and Carter as they navigate through a global catastrophe and fight for survival. These three people are all part of a bigger puzzle and the mystery unfolding is gripping!
This chilling, atmospheric survival thriller is absolutely terrifying in how realistic it felt.

I loved the atmosphere, loved the dark humor, but just didn't love the characters. With everything going on, it still seemed like not much happened and I didn't care about the stakes. I am a huge CJ Tudor fan so my expectations were quite high, but this just wasn't my favorite.

This had a slow start - there was too much unknown to the reader about the world the story is set in. Once you get past the beginning and get into the story, it was a great twist that shocked me!

Thanks to NetGalley and publisher for advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Fast-paced, apocalyptic, survival story that reads like a mystery. I've read every CJ Tudor book since The Chalk Man, and loved each one. Thanks to Random House and NetGalley for the advanced copy of The Drift. This was a page-turner. Short, concise chapters with quick pacing and impeccable plotting. I enjoyed everything about this book and look forward to my next CJ Tudor novel.

Moving from Hannah to Meg to Carter, this is a tale of horror after a horrible virus has ravaged the world. Hannah is on a coach filled with students that has crashed on an icy mountain road. Half of them are killed and the rest are trapped, with threats both internal and external to cope with. Meg is on a gondola swinging idly far above the ground; there's a dead man in the corner and now way to escape. And Carter is in a facility meant to, well, over to the reader to learn what happens there. The big secret here is how the three are connected. To be honest, I was a little confused by the answer (pay close attention as you read ) but the atmospherics along the way were good, if graphically violent. Tudor made all three of them, as well as some of the others (not all of them, that's for sure) sympathetic and he's good at creating and keeping the tension. The situations, shortish chapters and cliff hangers make this a page turner. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. Well done.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the advanced copy of The Drift! I devoured this is one day. I loved the short chapters, multiple view points, and fast paced nature of the book. I love a book that has me thinking “what the heck is happening” and this did it for me. Survival meets post apocalyptic future meets mystery and murder. 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This apocalyptic thriller is set in a time where a virus has decimated humanity. It is told from the point of view of three different people in three different situations, all fighting for survival. It was fascinating discovering what is happening, and seeing how the groups reacted to the tremendous challenges they were given.

Really, any more than that about the plot would contain spoilers, and my favorite part of the book was discovering things on my own. The story is fast paced, pretty gory, and would be a great fit for people who like survival or apocalyptic stories, especially those who also like mysteries.

4.5 stars! This is my 4th book of C.J. Tudor’s and it’s by far my favorite. I went in knowing almost nothing, just that it was bonkers. Being a fan of Tudor’s and a fan of bonkers, I knew I needed to read this one.

I expected a typical twisty thriller, which I got, but oh so much more. How about a post-apocalyptic, dystopian, horror filled, jaw dropping twisty thriller?!

The story goes back and forth between the POVs of three different people:

Carter is one of the employees of a mountain snow lodge called the Retreat.

There’s Hannah, a medical student, who wakes up trapped in a crashed Coach in the middle of a snow filled wilderness. Surrounding her are other survivors, and a few who did not survive. They were on their way to the Retreat.

Lastly Meg, a former cop, awakes to find herself and several others in a ski cable car heading to the Retreat, but the cable car has stopped high above the snowy terrain with no way to escape.

I’m so glad I really knew next to nothing going into this. Each new revelation was even more delicious than the last!

*Thanks so much to Random House, Ballantine and NetGalley for the eGalley!*

Love C.J. Tudor’s novels and I did enjoy this latest, even though it wasn’t quite what I was expecting. This isn’t a traditional Tudor novel and doesn’t really sit firmly within the supernatural or outright thriller genre, so I think it’s important to know that going into the reading experience. It’s also somewhat disorienting for the first 30-40% as there are three characters and settings we are following and it’s not quite clear what is going on and how it all ties together. This is more along the lines of a lite version of the Stand-following the journeys of these characters as they survive a pandemic at the end of world and try to navigate their new realities-not knowing who or what they can trust or how they can survive through another day. The pacing is crisp as per usual and the dialogue flows naturally and effortlessly. Worth reading for anyone who likes apocalyptic stories-thrillers with a survival element or for the many Tudor fans. Just know going in it’s a unique book in the authors canon and you have to actively pay attention to follow the plot threads early.

Thanks for the publisher for the arc provided via NetGalley.

Thank you to Random House Publishing group for a galley in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first CJ Tudor book that I have read. I enjoyed this book a d would recommend it to readers that enjoy thriller/horror novels. I found this book entertaining and it kept me reading. I am very interested in reading more from this author.

This is the perfect time of year to get cozy and up with this horror/thriller. The story takes place in a cold, snowy environment where the climate, the wildlife, the virus, the people infected, or just other people can kill you. In fact, the will to live is all that is keeping these characters alive.

It was hard to keep all the characters straight with three POVs. It does become clear and fit together in the end, but it was confusing in the middle. I can't say any more without spoiling it, but if you read the book, you will know what I am talking about.

Also, for me, a good fiction book can get ruined quickly when the author brings in political groups, political views, or religions, in a derogatory fashion. This applies to either side of the political spectrum or any religion. I am not interested in reading fiction that is trying to influence my feelings or views on political or religious matters. I think I those topics are better off in non-fiction books. When I read fiction, I just want a good story; I don't want to be inundated with divisive political or religious views. That being said, there was not enough of that to ruin the whole book, and I am interested in still reading more from the author.

A virus has led to widespread catastrophe. The name of the game is survival. Those that are not infected, have to live in a dangerous world full of Whistlers. The story is told through three different storylines and main characters:

Hannah was on a bus in the middle of a snowstorm. They were headed to “The Retreat” when the bus crashed. She and several others are trapped inside the push with no heat, no way out, and survivors whom all have their own secrets. The survivors must work together to escape the bus and survive in the harsh outside environment.

Meg is a former police officer. She wakes up surrounded by strangers on a cable car high above snowy mountain terrain. They were headed to “The Retreat” when they were drugged and had their possessions taken. Now they are all wearing the same uniform. Everyone on the cable car seems to have secrets. Will any of them make it out of the cable car alive?

Carter is staying in an abandoned ski lodge with several others. There they manufacture a vaccine for the virus in exchange for items they need for survival. When the generator powering the ski lodge starts going in and out, the situation gets dire.

This was my first book by C.J. Tudor, and she definitely did not disappoint! I was blown away by the plots, characters, and suspense. There were many times I wondered how all of these characters related, but when Tudor finally revealed the connection between the three points of view, I was satisfied. The cold environments added to the danger of the virus. Tudor makes us wonder what does it take to survive? 4.5/5 stars! I can’t wait to read more by CJ Tudor!

DNF at 47%

I just didn’t have it in me to continue to read it. I was really excited about this book but unfortunately it wasn’t for me. The story is too confusing and as I normally like different POVs, in this case it did not work. I kept forcing myself to read it and finally said gave up.

Thank you NetGalley Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Ballantine Books and the author for ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I could not put this book down! It was such a unique concept and the perfect wintery thriller. The action starts happening right away with the discovering of a possible bomb on board the bus and the murders of Jackson and Karl, and the momentum continues throughout the book.

The element of what happens to people when they are trapped in dangerous situations was so interesting.

Great twists that I did not see coming! The unclear timeline made for great reveals and a unique reading experience. I definitely recommend this book to those looking for a winter thriller. 4.5 stars

Review will be posted on Instagram on 1/31/23 @readwithkendall