Not sure what the hell I just read but talk about a horrific post apocalyptic hell scape! This book centers on a deadly virus that runs rampant through the world, leaving very few immune and the cruel scientists that are set on curing it at any cost. Told from multiple perspectives on different settings - you have to wonder how the main characters are all tied together. Not my usual C.J. Tudor fair but definitely a quick read.

C.J. Tudor has officially entered the horror space!! This book is gory, chilling (literally), and edge-of-your-seat addictive.

In a post-apocalyptic, The Stand-esque book, The Drift has 3 POVs that are seemingly unconnected. Hannah, a medical student who wakes up after a bus crash to The Retreat - a safe haven from the virus and Whistlers (those who have been infected but survived the illness). Meg, an ex-police officer who wakes up in a stranded cable car and Carter, a man with a traumatic past with unclear motives of revenge. Did I mention all of this takes place during a blizzard????

Pros: Weaving storylines that fit together shockingly, extremely atmospheric (perfect winter read), super interesting post-apocalyptic world

Cons: Looooooong - I wish this book would've been 50 pages shorter.

Overall, The Drift is another hit from C.J. Tudor and I'm so excited to read their next horror!

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for sending me an ARC of The Drift in exchange for an honest review.

Imagine a world in the grip of a pandemic. Okay, that’s too easy.

Imagine a world in the grip of a pandemic that feels suspiciously like a zombie apocalypse. Yeah, that’s better. And in this world ravaged by a zombie apocalypse, people still have other problems, like getting trapped in a snowstorm—which, it turns out, is even worse during a pandemic.

The Drift follows three groups of people trapped in a snowstorm. Hannah and six others are trapped in a bus that crashed while they were being evacuated to The Retreat from an elite boarding school. Meg and five others wake up to find themselves trapped above the mountains in a cable car that was also on its way to The Retreat. Finally, Carter and a handful of others are already at The Retreat, working to keep the power on despite the storm, desperate to keep whatever is in basement from escaping.

As with Ms. Tudor’s earlier books, The Drift is intricately plotted. There are the mysteries you know are being slowly revealed, and then there are the ones you did not even know were mysteries until the answers were presented. It is essentially three separate mystery/survival stories, although connections between the three stories are slowly revealed. The story is a bit of a slow burn, all about the small group dynamics and shifting alliances, but it definitely builds momentum. I liked how the three stories ultimately came together, even though I found the ending a bit unsatisfying.

At this point, Ms. Tudor is on my list of authors I’d read without even bothering with reading the book description. The Drift isn’t my favorite of her books, but it’s a solid, spooky, survival/horror thriller. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4. Recommended.

“You’re either a good guy or you’re a survivor, someone had once told him. The earth is full of dead good guys”

Solid 3.5 star read for me! Honestly, had I known this was an apocalypse type book, I may not have ever read it. But I’m a huge fan of CJ Tudor and after reading it, I’m so glad I didn’t know what I was getting into. In The Drift, the world has been taken over by a virus and it follows three different characters. I was pleasantly surprised how everything came together. At times I felt the book could have been shorter and that may have been my biggest gripe. Overall, a good solid read that you should consider taking a chance reading even if you think it’s not your typical read!

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing- Ballantine Books for the ARC!

“You’re either a good guy or a survivor, and the earth is full of dead good guys.”

The year long break between The Burning Girls, and Sliver of Darkness somehow only made @cjtudorauthor more razor sharp and brutal than ever!

Drift involves three separate sets of characters (hence the multi-casting) in their own nightmarish and somewhat interconnected survival scenarios.

What do you do when you’re trapped with a group of people you’re forced to rely on but don’t know if you can trust? If that thought alone isn’t terrifying enough, add in a mysterious, rapidly mutating disease that might just be the end of the world as we know it.

Strap in for a ride that’s as shocking as it is emotional!

This book is terrifying on so many levels.

First off, what may have been (and still might be) the social order after a global pandemic and secondly, how we, as humans, deal with it.

In the dead of winter, a van and a cable car are headed to the Retreat, supposedly a safe haven, but neither makes it. Instead, the passengers are stranded and forced to survive not only the elements, but each other. Alliances are formed and broken, secrets and motives are revealed and just when you think you know what’s going on, everything is upended.

I have no fingernails left after reading this.

Highly recommended.

Not for me - there were too many characters, many of whom felt like the same person. The writing style also wasn't too my taste and much of the book is fatphobic. No thanks.

I finished “The Drift” by CJ Tudor in less than a day. I’ve loved every book she’s written and this sci-fi thriller is no different. The survivors of an apocalyptic COVID like virus wake up in 3 different settings where they are fighting for their lives. It’s best to go into this book with as little info as possible. Highly recommend.

Tudor’s earlier thriller works always teetered on horror with little elements sprinkled in like ghosts or hauntings, or a little more blood and slightly more chilling than the mainstream thrillers. It’s like she was destined for that final jump to horror. Her collection of short stories, A Sliver of Darkness, was markedly more horror than her other books and it was good—really good. It also felt like the precipice before the jump. The Drift is Tudor’s jump.

The Drift tells the story of three strangers stranded in live or die situations in a dystopian world ravaged by disease. While some are still claiming it’s a thriller, I’d argue this is her plunge into horror. With a post-apocalyptic society, experimentation and science gone wrong, cringe-worthy scenes of gore and death and a distinct feeling that death is inevitable (just a matter of when), this one falls nicely into the horror genre. Her writing is addictive and action-packed with short, cliffhanger chapters from the perspectives of three different characters. For fans of her thrillers, have no fear—there are still plenty of thrills (and chills considering the snowy settings) and her trademark anti-hero characters are still just likable enough that you hope for their redemption and survival. Loaded with thought-provoking scenarios of survival, revenge and defining “good” or “evil,” this one also keeps your wheels turning—especially in our own post(ish)-pandemic world.

While The Drift may be a wildcard and her only dabble into full horror, I truly hope it’s not. I loved this book. The twists, the adrenaline, the mystery and the juxtaposition of moments of fierce love and straight scary. I think horror has tugged at Tudor for awhile now and with The Drift, it feels like she has stepped into her power.

I am a big Tudor fan so I was pumped for this one!

While I could not put this one down and I enjoyed the multiple storylines being tied together seamlessly, overall I was left wanting more in the end.

Thank you to NetGalley, Ballantine Books, and C. J. Tudor for the advanced copy of The Drift in exchange for my honest review.

I admittedly feel slightly duped by the book's synopsis... it ended up not really being what I was expecting. It was incredibly fast-paced (I read about 60% in one sitting without even realizing), but the wheels really fell off for me at the end.

There's one big surprise (I wouldn't quite say twist), that I definitely did not see coming and I think it was expertly executed by Tudor. The book itself was also very well-written.

Readers will meet *a lot* of characters right off the bat, and while that is usually something I struggle with, for whatever reason it didn't bog me down too much with this one.

The Drift will be on US bookshelves January 31!

C.J. Tudor has written an adrenaline-fueled thriller set in a world decimated and transformed by a terrible virus. There are three settings: a group of students on a bus that has crashed in the snowy wilderness, a stranded cable car on an icy mountainside, and an isolated building in a wintry ski area. You will definitely feel cold reading this novel! All of the storylines involve gripping survival plots with plenty of mysteries, but in the end there were so many details and names to keep track of that my interest waned. Without giving any spoilers, it's hard to say more, but I wish the story had been told in a slightly different manner. Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group, and Ballantine Books for a digital review copy.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Genre: Mystery Thriller

I have read two C.J. Tudor books in the past. I loved her debut novel, The Chalkman, but I was not a fan of The Other People. The Drift is an exciting story of a virus that has spread globally and takes place in the winter when everything is covered in ice. It follows three different storylines. Hannah is trapped inside the coach with others on their way to The Retreat. At the same time, Meg and other people are trapped inside a cable car that stopped working. And the third storyline follows Carter and his colleagues who work at The Retreat.

I think the author did a great job of building tension in all three stories. There is always something happening. The idea of trying to survive the dangers from outside and inside was done excellently. To be honest, I thought three storylines were a bit much at times. Each storyline has a set of characters. So there were times that I was mixing up the characters from Meg and Hannah’s stories. Yes, there is a reason that I don’t like such structures.

However, I believe the author did a good job of keeping all the stories exciting by including all the thrilling elements. Just before starting this book, I finished reading How High We Go in the Dark, which has a similar concept and structure! I prefer The Rift though over that. I was conflicted about how to rate this book. I was torn between 3.5 and 4.0, but then I felt this had the entertainment factors that kept me interested, so I am going with 4.0 stars.

Many thanks to the publisher, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, and NetGalley for providing me with an advance reader copy of this book.

I really enjoyed this fast-paced apocalyptic thriller for about the first half or so. After that, it became a bit too complicated and hard to follow, with too many details to try to keep track of. However, I kept reading, since I needed to know how it would end. I’m not sure I ever was able to piece it all together. Still, a worthwhile read. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Three separate groups of people just trying to survive, a storm of massive proportions on the way, added to which, some of the people in the groups may already be infected - and there’s no way out!

Lots of tension, wondering how the three groups are going to survive the nightmare with seemingly no escape. It’s also gripping waiting to discover just how the groups are linked, but with C.J.Tudor at the helm it’s all brought together nicely, and a difficult one to put down!

The Drift
by C.J. Tudor

The last thing I wanted to read after two long years of Covid is a world devastating new virus! But I did and it was thrilling! I was offered an arc copy for my opinion and I am so happy I agreed!

This takes the reader into the remote icy wilderness, where starving animals hunt, no help is around, and something else lurks in the snow. Three groups of people are followed. Each group is in dire need of help but they are all on their own. All involved have secrets from each other.

One group is in an accident on the way to the "Retreat". Some die immediately. The clues are adding up, they were all meant to die! So much tension, suspense, and great atmosphere! I felt cold just reading about it!

The next group was drugged and put on a cable car high above the valley below. The group wakes by the swaying of the car. I felt terrified. I am afraid of heights and, boy, this group was the most terrifying for me! Especially when they open the bottom hatch! They were freezing, up high, no way down, and no one could be trusted.

The last group was in an abandoned chalet. Can't say they had it easier because it was on land and in a building. They had severe issues to deal with themselves. Like I said, they all had secrets. Terrible, terrible secrets! What a great book!

The riveting story all comes together at the end as all the strings are pulled. Unique characters, gripping suspense, an atmosphere to die for (sorry, couldn't resist), twists, and a virus that wasn't a zombie story! Thank goodness for that! This is a book I had to read almost non-stop! Quite a thriller!

We follow three different POVs, Hannah, Carter, and Meg. They have all found themselves separately stranded somewhere with a group of people during a huge snowstorm where temps are plummeting, resources are limited if there are any at all, and with no escape on the horizon. They must all use whatever is at their disposal to survive. Then not only are they dealing with this immediate problem but there is an infection that is spreading and either killing people or turning the survivors into what they call "Whistlers" I'll leave what that might mean up to your imagination until you read the story for yourself. And they are everywhere just waiting for the right moment to strike.

I love the way CJ Tudor has woven these three storylines together! I had no idea how they were all going to be connected, not even a little bit until it was revealed, and even then we didn't have the full picture of what was happening. it's fast-paced with so many twists and turns, I could not put it down. It gave me the best snowed-in claustrophobic vibes and with danger literally around every corner and watching our MCs figuring out how to survive minute to minute kept me on the edge of my seat. until I flipped the very to the very last page.

Dystopian thriller may be a new favorite genre of mine. This was just so action-packed and fast-paced. I could not put the book down until I literally couldn't keep my eyes open any more. CJ Tudor kept me intrigued the entire time with all of the different POV's. While it's somehow still 70-80 degrees here in Texas this made me feel so cold and claustrophobic. The way everything comes together at the end was really interesting as well. Definitely a new favorite.

One thing to know about this book going into it is that it is much more dystopian thriller than mystery thriller. Yes, there ultimately are some murders where we are trying to figure out who done it, but the overall tone is one of that of a SF thriller with some body horror. While I did feel like there were points where this was a bit over the top, overall my experience was one of just a lot of fun! This is a perfect book for winter reading and I was highly entertained throughout... my favorite read from this author so far

I'm sad to say that I didn't enjoy this book.

I did like that it is fast-paced, and the snowy setting is perfect for a seasonal read. However, the fast-paced nature meant little to no exposition, and I spent most of the story confused. Any slight bit of information is presented as a "reveal," which became tiring quickly. I needed a reason to care about these characters and their struggles.

The characters are horribly generic, and there are too many to keep straight. I don't know any of their motivations, I have no reason to care what happens to them. Most are unlikable.

I've enjoyed CJ Tudor's other books, and I will continue to read more from her in the future. The Drift just felt so entirely different from her usual style, and I wouldn't recommend it.