Okay I'm a huge CJ Tudor fan and at this point I pretty much automatically pick up her newest book, without checking reviews or the blurb simply because I really enjoy her writing style. She tells creepy eerie tales with unusual quirks and twists and I haven't met one I haven't enjoyed. Until now.

This one just did not do it for me... The three parallel story lines were weirdly similar and yet somehow that fact didn't intrigue me so much as irritate me. I didn't find the characters to offer any opportunities for emotional connection at all, and ultimately I wasn't able to hang in with this one long enough to see how the three story lines threaded together.

Normally I pick up one of her books and can't stop reading until I finish it. But post-apocalyptic is generally not my jam, and even in the hands of an author I normally adore, I was unable to find myself connecting to the story in a way that made me want to slog through what felt like a series of tropes in a genre I nearly always have a tough time with. This one just wasn't a good fit for me.

A survival thriller set during a snowstorm? Yes, please! Never mind that it’s a dystopian future during a pandemic, because the virus is not the focus of the story. We are talking about survival.

Three POV/ storylines that will eventually merge:
1. Hannah, a med student and daughter of the world’s leading virologist, is trapped with her fellow passengers when their bus crashes during a heavy snow storm.
2. Meg, a former policewoman, and her group are stranded in a cable car when the power fails, which leaves them dangling 1000 ft in the air during a raging snowstorm.
3. Carter and his group are living the good life in a ski chalet with all the amenities. But the snowstorm rages outside, supplies are dwindling, and the generator dies.

All 3 groups are fighting for their lives from the elements and the virus, but perhaps the greatest threat to their lives comes from within. How long did it take for society to break down? TEN YEARS. Who is a good guy and who is a bad guy? Is everyone who they say they are? I was kept on my toes, never knowing who to trust. There are evil forces at play, of the human variety. After all, The devil was an angel once

CJ Tudor excels at creating stories that ooze atmosphere. Thrillers set during snowstorms is one of my favorite tropes, and this one delivered. I felt the cold and the terror of being trapped and in danger on all sides (especially in that cable car *shudder*).

There are a lot of characters to keep straight, which is perhaps the book's greatest weakness. But I just kept reading, trusting that it would all come together. And it did.

Everyone here has secrets that are eventually revealed, and there are surprises in store that I didn’t see coming. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time and I flew through the majority of the book in one day. I enjoyed all three storylines and appreciated how they came together in the well-executed ending, which offered a glimmer of hope for the future.

I prefer strong female characters, and I especially appreciated that the author made her two female heroines whip-smart, determined, and accomplished. The author’s sly humor is also on display, bringing much needed relief from the tension.

This is another winner from CJ Tudor! She has a talent for writing distinct and unique books. No two are remotely similar to one another and all are memorable. When many books I read are forgotten the moment the last page is turned, her plots are ones I never forget.

· Name of the publication/blog/outlet where your review will be published/posted: Angry Angel Books
· Run date for when the review will be posted/published: December 8, 2023
· A link to your review, if available, so the publisher can share your review:

Source: DRC via NetGalley (Random House Publishing Group - Ballentine Books) in exchange for an honest review
Pub. Date: January 31, 2023
Synopsis: Goodreads
Purchase Link: Amazon

Why did I choose to read this book?

The tl:dr answer to this question is that I have become fascinated with authors who are incorporating pandemic themes in their novels. At first it caused irritation (I had enough pandemic shit in my own life thanks!) but then it morphed into curiosity - how could this all go down if something way more lethal than COVID made the rounds? I'm numb to the fear at this point so just let me at all the stories, I'll read 'em.

What is this book about?

This book is how different people with different levels of privilege or access deal with a deadly pandemic that turns people into zombies and eventually kills them. Some people are just changed by the virus and live in the wild, making wheezing sounds that earned them the name "Whistler." It just means zombie.

Deeper at its core, I think this book is about futility. When death is at the door it doesn't matter how good a person you are, how connected, how rich or poor, whether you are a murderer or a saint - you're going to get got regardless. Abandon hope all ye who enter here, etc.

What is notable about the story?

I loved the structure of the story. It's told from three points of view and they only merge riiiiiiiiight at the end. It made everyone easier to keep track of and my character investment was much higher than it might have been if the stories were woven into each other. All three points of view were high stakes, high tension from start to finish. I didn't ever want to put this one down, but I had to so it didn't affect my dreams. I read too close to bedtime when I started the book and learned a hard lesson!

Was anything not so great?

The ending made me mad as fuck. Like, livid. I almost threw my Kindle down. I'm not going to spoil it for you, but the book was a solid 4 stars until the ending and it was so maddening I dropped my rating to 3 stars on Goodreads. If you read this one let me know in the comments what you thought of the ending. I'm dying to know.

What's the verdict?

3 stars on Goodreads (but without the ending it would have been 4). A fast-paced thriller with pandemic themes, you won't let out that breath you didn't realize you were holding until you're done. Good luck!

***

This lady can sure write scare. In fact, it might be her middle name!

This book provided more than a scary story, it also provided so many ways in which to discuss the events and the outcome of the story. Definitely a wonderful story of survival and the ways in which we challenge Mother Nature who will "always find a way."

What better topic to write about if you are in the scare business than a deadly pandemic? However, it should be noted that the virus is not the "star" of this tale. C.J. Tudor took the background of a deadly virus, and wrote a story that started out with a bus crash that had Hannah, and others escaping from a boarding school. While some died, the ones remaining had their assorted secrets and needed a way out of the overturned bus. Of course, with a huge snowstorm raging outside and a deadly virus raging inside the bus, death seemed to be their certain fate.

The book switches to other characters teetering in a broken cable car including Meg, a former police person. Hanging high up in the air while the storm ragged, (for this reader, that would have been the end of me!), they didn't a clue as to how or the why they arrived there. They know they are headed to a place called "The Retreat" but the "why" is everything. It's murky and then a dead body is found which is a precursor to many more bodies piling up.

In a ski chalet others survive and are perhaps the hope for humanity. They too, are headed for a rude awakening as the vaccine they make is running short and the doctor in charge has supposedly hidden himself in one of the containment pods. Dr Carter has been the head of the virus fighting team and as in current times, we eventually find him to be full of himself, conceited, and only concerned about his hero self, and of course conquering the virus. (as if)

While this story mimics some of what we have all gone through, it is the author's way of showing us that no one is infallible, that we often are a kill or be killed species, and that perhaps we have lost our way in fear and grab onto hope even if it is a false one.

This was a hard hitting, gritty story that held fine elements of frightening tactics that this author delivers in each of her books. As you read, you will feel many similarities between the now and the maybe the future. I so enjoyed the references, shaded of course, that C.J. gave to the current "savior" (or at least in his mind) doctor in charge of it all.

Suffice to say, I continue to enjoy C.J.'s books. They definitely put the fright in all who read her stories.
Thanks, once again, to C.J. Tudor, Ballantine Books, and NetGalley for a copy of this harrowing story. Keep 'em coming, C.J.

This is one of those books that is going to be hard to review without any spoilers. There are a lot of characters, and the author does a good job of developing each one just enough to help the reader keep track, but in the beginning, I struggled to remember who each name belonged to. The addition of three different settings, each with its own main voice, added to the difficulty, but it didn't take long to get into the flow of each narrative. The voices are distinctive, as are the motivations for each main character.
On the surface, this is a survival story, but at the core, it's about the main characters deciding who they really are, and the mark they want to leave on the world.
I believe this is the first book I've read by CJ Tudor, but I fully intend to seek out more.

This is my favorite kind of story. Multiple perspectives, first person POV.

The Drift follows three main characters; Meg, a cop stuck on a cable car in the sky with strangers; Hannah, a medical student who wakes up on a crashed bus and Carter, a man holed up with other survivors at The Retreat, a CDC type bunker for the control and research of infectious diseases.

The reader is thrown into the middle of the action and you’re not certain how the characters tie together or even what the timeline is.

I loved it! Twists galore. Lots of action and post apocalyptic/plague horror. Perfect for a horror winter read.

This was a bit different from the usual CJ Tudor books I’ve read. Dystopia and big on the horror and gore. I’m not objecting, I actually didn’t mind that. The book pulled me in immediately and was a page turner for me. I lover her writing and I wasn’t disappointed. I try to read all my thrillers without reading reviews or synopsis and I would recommend going into this blind.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. 4⭐️

The Drift is a weird amalgamation of horror, dystopian science fiction and thriller. It involves three main characters, each who find themselves in a different catastrophic situation in the middle of a violent snowstorm. Meg is a medical student who survives a bus crash. Hannah is an ex-police officer who awakes to find herself on a stopped gondola halfway up a mountain. And Carter is an employee at The Retreat, at the top of the mountain, where the power keeps cutting off. And all this is happening during some sort of viral outbreak that makes Covid look tame.
The story shuttles back and forth between each of the three characters as we learn that each has secrets. The writing includes little bits of sick humor.
Unfortunately, the tale quickly spun off into unbelievable action scenes with gaping holes in the plot.
Another warning - this is an incredibly violent, gruesome book.
I’ve enjoyed other books by Tudor, but this one didn’t do it for me. I recommend it more for fans of horror stories.
My thanks to Netgalley and Random House/Ballantine Books for an advance copy of this book.

What a clever well thought out book by C.J. Tudor! I will admit there were times when I thought "where is this all going?" and then Tudor took me there!!! Yet again, Tudor has blown me away with her well thought out plot, use of tension, level of danger, interesting characters and bleak environment.

Survival is the name of the game in The Drift! A virus has led to catastrophe and those who are not infected have learned to live in a dangerous world full of Whistlers. Survival is not an afterthought; it is in every thought.

This book is told through three storylines/characters:

Hannah was on a bus that crashed in the middle of snowstorm. She is one of the survivors who are trapped inside the bus with no heat, no way out and full of survivors with secrets. She also has a secret and is smart and clever. She and the other survivors must work together to escape the crashed bu and survive the harsh environment.


Meg is a police officer who has woken up with a bunch of strangers on a cable car suspended over snowy terrain. There is a storm brewing and she and those on the cable car were headed to "The Retreat". They were drugged, their possessions taken and are now wearing the same uniform. Soon Meg realizes that there is a dead man on board, she recognizes him, but keeps it a secret.

Carter is in an abandoned ski chalet with others. They call it home and manufacture a vaccine for the deadly virus in exchange for the items they need for survival. The generator at the Chalet begins to go in an out during a storm and as the power fades, danger mounts.

I love books set in cold environments. Not only are the characters up again the virus, but they are also up against the cold, and up against.... (read the book). There is a feeling of desperation running throughout the book. What does it take to survive? What does surviving mean?

C.J. Tudor does not disappoint, and I loved how she brought everything together. She kept me on my toes while thoroughly invested in the plot. Wowza, Wowza! I can't wait to read what she writes next!

Grab a blanket and curl up on the couch with this book. Stay warm, stay safe and if your dog has bad breath, give the pup a greenie!

Gripping, atmospheric, tense and dark, take a snow day and read The Drift.

Oof. That was… dark. I appreciated how clever it was, and I don’t need sunshine and roses, but this was not quite for me. I've really enjoyed Tudor's previous novels, so was surprised to find that this one didn't quite hit.

Loved the tension and characters in this story. Each character played a huge role in the overall outcome of this story and their escape from the Department was one filled with violence, secrets, and death.

From the description, I anticipated The Drift to be a story of survival and it was, to a certain degree. The Drift has three parallel storylines that each contain a locked room mystery and are set in a world reeling from a deadly infection.

Although I did enjoy the last 10% of the book and how everything is pulled together, for most of the story I found that there were too many characters to keep track of, many of whom lack the depth of personality to distinguish them from one another. I also felt that too much time was spent on characters who ultimately did not have a very strong part in the plot line and not enough detailed attention or explanation was given to the virus at hand or the Retreat. I frequently found myself confused and wondering if there were pages that I had missed with pertinent details as to what was going on.

Overall, an interesting apocalyptic thriller/mystery with a few surprise twists, but for me personally, fairly forgettable.

Thank you to NetGalley, CJ Tudor, and Ballantine Books for this advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

An outbreak of a deadly disease has ravaged the world. Some people have gone into hiding. Some have volunteered to help test cures developed by "The Professor", the only scientist that seems close to discovering the remedy. There are three groups of people with converging paths. This story has eerie similarities to what we experienced with the Covid pandemic. Civilization has crumbled and the elements of life such as food production, farming, and grocery stores are a thing of the past. People have to scavenge for canned food or for wildlife to sustain themselves. The precious few that own generators have electricity but it is not available everywhere.

Each group has trouble. The group located at the Retreat struggles with following their self-appointed leader. Some of the group have decided to try life in the wild. The group stuck on the cable car can see where they were supposed to dock but the power is out and for how long? Another group is stuck in an overturned transportation vehicle waiting to be rescued. Some of the people onboard are showing signs of having the virus. Will the others be rescued before becoming sick?

Each of these groups has one element in common and that commonality doesn't become apparent until later stages of the story. This book is a study of human behavior and how we react to stress and trauma. There are twists and turns galore in this apocalyptic tale. I suspected some of the surprises but there were others that I did not anticipate which always makes reading fun.

This book really hits home since we have all come through a trying time with the Covid pandemic. Some of the actions of people trying to survive are horrific. Panic and fear seem to bring out our worst behavior and the characters in this book vividly demonstrate it. I would recommend this book to book clubs because there is much to discuss.

Snow-bound thrillers with psychotic killers are a trope that's getting old. In the last couple of years, I've seen variations of it with The Hunting Party, One by One, and the abysmal Sanatorium. So, despite my fondness for C.J. Tudor, I opened this book with misgivings and was absolutely delighted to find something completely different and genuinely frightening. Because it's not just a snowbound thriller, it's also a pandemic book and it turns out this is a delightful cross-genre. The story is told from three alternating points of view that we know must converge, but it doesn't become apparent how they are related until well into the book. Recommend, recommend, recommend!

The Drift by C.J. Tudor follows three storylines featuring three main characters: Hannah, Meg, and Carter. Hannah awakens after her bus carrying students to a mysterious location called The Retreat crashes. Meg awakes to a gentle swaying and realizes she is stuck in a cable car during a snowstorm. Carter is at an abandoned ski chalet with several other people maintaining the premises. All three perspectives face the reality of a deadly virus that has been sweeping its way around the globe, killing many and turning others into so-called Whistlers. They all struggle to survive in their own circumstances.

I actually loved how this book was set up. All three storylines feel like separate stories until you near the end of the book. I loved trying to guess how they were all connected, and I felt like each one had its own tension and suspense that led me to keep flipping pages. I do agree with other reviewers that keeping track of all of the characters was a struggle at times, but it didn't hinder my enjoyment of the book.

I did find that this book had a fair bit of what seemed to be commentary on our experience with COVID-19. It didn't deter me from my overall enjoyment of the book, but a few lines here and there pulled me out of the story a little bit. Perhaps it was just my reading of it and not the author's intent. It is a story about a deadly virus, and given our recent experience with COVID, it's hard not to make those connections.

Ultimately, I found this to be a gritty fast-paced read with a wonderful snowy atmosphere that I would highly recommend! I loved the distinct storylines and liked how they came together. I had some reservations about the ending, but I don't want to spoil anything. You should definitely be able to handle a bit of gore and language to enjoy this book!

Thank you to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

The Drift by C. J. Tudor (book review)
Thriller - Available on January 31st.
352 pgs.

"Three ordinary people risk everything for a chance at redemption in this audacious, utterly gripping novel of catastrophe and survival at the end of the world, from the acclaimed author of The Chalk Man."

The Drift by C. J. Tudor is set after a mysterious disease has spread throughout the world. Three main characters are all isolated by accidents, made more dangerous by winter snow storms. At first, it seems like a lot to keep up with, but you adjust quickly. It soon turns into a mind-bending book you don't want to put down. Tudor leaves readers wanting more at the end of each chapter, and there are many plot twists.

Since this is a somewhat stark and tense read, I highly recommend proceeding with caution if you are still dealing with depression or anxiety. It is not for the faint of heart. There is a strong horror element to it. The style reminds me of Stephen King's.

Synopsis:
Hanna is involved in a terrifying accident as she is being evacuated from her boarding school during a snowstorm. There are only a few survivors of the crash. They’ll need to work together to survive this devastating situation.

There's no way out for Meg as she is trapped in a cable car high up in the mountains. She is with five strangers who have no idea how they got there. Their destination is "The Retreat". Are they all going to make it there alive?

It is snowing outside Carter's ski chalet, which he and his companions call home. Something deep within the chalet threatens to escape as the generator weakens due to the storm. Carter and his close friend's relationship is tested when they lose power.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for allowing me to review this amazing thriller. I look forward to reading more from C. J. Tudor.

Brief review - Take notes or outline the beginning, multiple povs, confusing beginning but worth it for that glorious ending, murder mystery in the midst of an outbreak, secret remote laboratories, claustrophobic/trapped environments, blizzard conditions, complex storyline:

From moment one, readers are dropped into the tail-end of a roaring viral epidemic, but this is not an apocalyptic book. It's a book about the people in the apocalypse. Narrated by multiple characters and with each chapter ending in a cliff hanger, the initial confusion over the setting, society and the many character introductions that happen quickly it's a challenging first 15% to say the least. Despite the beginning being a jumble of various points of view, different settings and confused characters, it actually sets the mood for the plot to come nicely. The reader feels as panicked and uncertain as the characters themselves, which I think was genius. The chapters do clearly mark narrator changes but I kept having to refer back to my outline to remember who everyone was. Just when I felt like I was getting a handle on it, the pov changes back to another setting. That said, if you can push through the beginning 15% then typical fantastic CJ Tudor style mystery takes over and the purpose of the cable car and coach riders is revealed. The characters are so beautifully developed. There are nice nods to CJ Tudor's previous books as well.

To paraphrase, we have stranded Invicta Academy students that have been evacuated from school, and are now trapped in a wrecked bus/coach with the infected. Next up there are volunteers and recruits on a suspended cable car with limited power and trapped with a potential murderer. Then there is 'The Retreat' itself (a former ski resort turned into a 'Seclusion Centre') with it's secrets, staff, recruits and 'Whistlers' to remember. But nothing is as it seems.

Fortunately I started taking notes from page one otherwise I would've missed all the subtleties. Had I not at leasted outlined the beginning, I think I would've given up on this book frankly. Even having taken notes there were still important characters that I'd missed and couldn't remember. The bottom line is this isn't a quick easy read and it won't be for everyone. The Drift could be described as a puzzle (where every piece of information reveals more of the plotline) with the vibe of an escape room. I was intrigued enough by the mystery to continue reading and thank god because when the plot opens up at 25% then it's utterly fantastic. Have patience with the beginning, it is so very worth it for that ending. I absolutely hate unreliable narrators but in this case CJ Tudor made me love this one. It's a testament to how good the twists were for me to say that. I can appreciate this book's complex storyline and the superb storytelling. I'll definitely be buying a finished copy of this book. Trigger Warnings for suicide attempts, child death, graphic C-section, claustrophobic/trapped senarios and acrophobia.

3.5 stars

This was exciting and pretty fast, and a great winter horror/thriller. It didn't quite live up to other CJ Tudor books for me, but thank you to @netgalley and @randomhouse for the early copy!
*
This starts off right in the middle of the action. Hannah wakes up after the bus escaping from her boarding school crashes, killing about half of them. and leaving the rest of them trapped. In the next chapter, Meg wakes up trapped in a cable car with several other people, one of whom has been murdered. The third group, with Carter, is at an abandoned ski chalet with the power failing and threats all around.
*
For the first half or so of this book, I really thought I was going to love it. It was fast, people keep dying, and the characters are at risk of being killed by each other, a deadly virus, or the elements if they are able to escape their confines. There's a lot that can go wrong so I looked forward to seeing how it would develop.
*
But it (and I) started to lose steam. There are a lot of characters to keep track of, and with everyone suspicious of each other, it got hard to get invested in them. I also found some of their underlying motivations, once those were revealed, to not quite sit right for their actions.
*
Don't get me wrong, it's a wild ride, and I enjoyed the twists and how they came together. I just wasn't necessarily super invested in the outcome, but I flew through it in 2 days!

Wow, what a dark and brutal book! Tudor did a great job weaving together three stories and showing how the world dealt with the aftermath of a viral outbreak (definitely hit a little close to home) and how humanity has changed to survive in this dystopia. While I enjoyed the book as a whole, it was really the end that cemented my fondness for this book. The twists and turns and reveals had my jaw dropping over and over again. Even when I thought I knew where the story was going, Tudor would throw another wrench into the works. Great winter read!

I am a huge Tudor fan. I’m have LOVED all of her other novels. I was jumping up and down when I was approved for The Drift. However, and I cannot believe that I am typing this, this book was almost unbearable for me to read. There were just too many characters. Also, the characters themselves lacked development and I didn’t “bond” or care about any of them. My brain just felt discombobulated reading this. Such a disappointment, but I won’t stop reading her novels!