Slump buster!!!

Such an exciting adventure of a book.

Author of Chalk Man, which I need to read because I loved this one.

Dystopian, virus thriller and I’m here for it.

This book requires you to keep 3 separate situations clear in your head. If you hate that, or have issues keeping characters straight, you might not love this.

But if that doesn’t bother you and you like a puzzle or trying to figure out how the 3 things are going to come together, you’ll love this book.

It’s a mystery and a thriller and it’s a escape-the-virus novel and it just overall busted the slump I’d been in.

This is just page turning fun.

It’s violent, to be sure, so be aware. There’s all manner of blood and gore and guts and post-plague creatures called Whistlers - so called bc of how the sound when they breathe.

This is a great cold weather book, the snowy landscapes figure prominently here. I was delighted to be under the covers reading all the horrible thing’s happening to these poor people.

And isn’t that what reading is all about???

When my request to get this ARC was approved, I was so excited about it, this was my first approach to C. J. Tudor and since I had heard great things about The Chalk Man, I started reading The Drift right away. Unfortunately, this book was not for me, it was very hard to know how the characters were related to each other in the story, and very often I would get confused because of it, making it a very chaotic read for me. I am still planning on reading The Chalk Man since I really want to know the author's writing style more.
Thank you, Net Galley for this Advance Copy!

The Drift follows three characters in a fight for survival during an infectious crisis. One that will pit them against nature, disease and each other.

Suffice to say, I finished this book in one sitting. The grip it had on me to keep reading is impressive. The twists were unexpected and really kept me wanting to go on. I just had to know how it all ended. I’ve come to expect a lot when it comes to Tudor’s writing and this did not let me down. One scene in particular, if you’re afraid of heights, is enough to give you goosebumps and the shivers.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy of the book.

From the very start, I loved everything about this book!

Author CJ Tudor, takes off at a sprint’s pace with this creative, eloquent, thrilling, and multi-narrative story! Complexity to the storyline, this was one was I did not put down!

A sincere thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group, and Ballantine books for providing me an advanced copy of “The Drift” in exchange for an honest review. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to read this story and leave my review voluntarily.

The Drift was a different sort of book than I'm used to, and I struggled to get through the first few chapters. But I pushed through and found myself in the middle of a twisty, mysterious and gruesome story, which kept me guessing. I knew eventually all of the characters would connect, but couldn't figure out how. While this is not the best book I've ever read, I liked it for being something totally different and would recommend. Thanks Netgalley for the ARC!

Set in a pandemic world (not Covid) which has decimated society, the story line is told from the perspectives of three individuals. Hannah, a student at elite Acadamy, where her father, a noted scientist, is director. She awakens to find herself one of the survivors in a bus accident. Meg, an ex-cop, who lost her daughter to the virus, is on a path of self-destruction due to grief. Meg awakens to find herself swaying in a cable car with five other individuals, none of whom know how they got there. And finally, Carter, who resides at a ski chalet known as The Retreat; isolated and self-sufficient, until the generator begins to fail. And what, exactly, is hidden in the basement?

As I began reading this novel, I wasn't certain it was one I would enjoy (subject matter) - by the end of the second chapter I was completely hooked. Well written with good character development. The unexpected ways the lives of the primary characters intertwine was great fun. Not a mystery exactly, more of a suspenseful thriller. Enjoyable read!

The Drift is a novel that is clearly written during the time of the Covid 19 pandemic as it takes a very bleak outlook on the spread of an unknown virus in apocalyptic proportions. Three stories -- each fighting to survive -- are wound together to formulate a very dark narrative. The pace was fast and kept you moving quickly to the next obstacle that the characters must endure only to meet a very depressing end. Many questions remain unresolved.

Clever clever cleeeeever! I was so pleasantly surprised with this one! This is one of those gems that the synopsis doesn’t do it justice. There’s so many moving parts the synopsis felt a bit clogged with information and it didn’t hold a candle to how GOOD this book truly is.

You get three different point of views and locations. Hannah is in a crashed coach with other students. Meg is suspended in the air in a cable car. Carter is at The Retreat. All of these places are enduring snow storm chaos, virus and other infected, danger and death. It sounds blasé or maybe I’m making it sound a bit side eye exciting, but CJ Tudor does a spin and twist and dive into extraordinary when it comes to the big reveal. I was captivated by the scenery and gore and anxiety of just wanting to survive! Jump into this one as clear minded as possible, you won’t regret it!!

Thank you Random House and netgalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

A superb fast paced thriller. I absolutely loved the story and couldn’t stop reading it. It’s perfect for all readers, especially thriller lovers.

I have loved all of CJ Tudor’s other books. This one, not so much. Set in a world where a pandemic is winning, this is told from three POVs, each character in a different setting. One is in “the Retreat,” an isolated laboratory where a mysterious scientist is working to find a cure for the virus. Another is in a cable car stuck on its way to the Retreat. The last is in a bus that crashes while headed to the Retreat.

Usually, Tudor does a great job of building suspense and creating a chilling atmosphere. With The Drift, it felt forced and almost comedic. In fact, a few of the chapters had cliffhanger endings reminiscent of Maxwell Smart heading to a commercial break. I actually laughed at one and pictured Max looking toward the camera.
With short chapters that break so quickly between characters and POVs, I never got engaged with any of them. The pandemic world she created is interesting, but the story didn’t entertain me, and I lost interest quickly. I like her work and will read her next offering. This one just wasn’t for me.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author in exchange for my honest review.

If you can make it past the beginning, Tudor’s horror-tinged survival thriller is a great twisty wintery ride!
I give this disclaimer because we are immediately following 3 different story lines in each one has at least 5 characters to keep track of… so it does feel a bit overwhelming at first until you get into the groove of each story. but it’s definitely worth sticking with the book! there were some surprisingly horror-esque groy scenes that I didn’t expect going in, but I always love when a book surprises me and gets darker than I thought.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC copy of this book for an honest review. I don't like writing bad reviews, and honestly The Drift wasn't a bad book, just not a great book.
The Drift is in a genre that I really enjoy, it was an apocalypse story where a strange virus kills an anonymous person out in the snow and it is transmitted by the various carrion eating the corpse. And it snowballs from there, with what seems to be an earth covered in snow.
I liked the characters, but the books chapters, each named after one of the main characters, didn't seem to flow together and they jumped around. I didn't realize until the last 20% of the book how the characters were connected and that past and present were intermingled. Also disappointing is that as a character died, they would have thoughts or experiences that gave them closure, but left me wondering, at first, if they were actually going to live rather than die. I found that quite confusing. I didn't find myself overly interested in the story until I was around 75% finished, which was when the author started tying together the loose ends and finally making the whole disjointed story make sense. The end of the book held left me disappointed,

I appreciate the post-apocalyptic feel, the snowy setting, and the writing. Even so, I failed to connect with the story or the characters. The twists that should have been surprising just left me confused, which I suspect may be in part due to the way the book is structured. At times I felt the story was more like a suspenseful, action-filled tv series than a book, and there wasn't much philosophical meaning that I crave in dystopian stories. It is also likely that I didn't care enough about the characters or the story to look deep enough.

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher, for the ARC. Three solid stars.

I almost quit reading this book from the start. The writing seemed choppy and unrealistic, dialogue flat. However, I hung in there and I became wrapped up in a mystery that was hard to connect, yet clearly was connected. In the end everything made sense as events were not occurring simultaneously, but linearly. While the back story of global pandemic explained current events, the focus moved to the characters and their relationship with those possibly alive out there, and those who had already passed. The downside of the book was that while the characters were well developed and interesting, the action sequences of the book barged into the story in an almost comically perfect timing. The hard-to-believability of the events as they occurred brought this book down a level for me. This book was trying to be a dystopian tragedy, cautionary tale and action adventure novel at the same time, and it did not pull it off well.

So the premise is this...three different scenarios, three sets of people, same events in motion. As the story progresses things get more mixed up and interconnected. It is definitely an interesting read. It was a bit disjointed for my taste, without a nice flow from one scenario to the next. However, I did enjoy it.

This book reads so much like a high tense movie. The pacing kept you on edge as you jumped between the three POV. It kept you not fully grasping what was happening. It was fun gathering the pieces of the puzzle and figuring out what was happening. I was able to figure out some things pretty early, but it was fun to find out.
I did not need the SA, no matter how quick it was and how it ended. It served no purpose. I did not get all my questions answered by the end , but the pace and suspense made it a good book.

Thanks to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for the digital ARC.

'Tis the season for virus pandemic novels. :)

It's hard to review the way I'd like to without introducing spoilers so I'll just say that CJ Tudor's structure for this story is fantastic. We're presented with three different sets of characters in alternating chapters and witness how they're dealing with various aspects of living in a post-apocalyptic, pandemic world and there are a couple of tenuous common elements between all of them. It's really well done.

The characters are believable, the 'monsters' are well done and believable, and the good v evil trope is very well played out and manipulated throughout.

The only thing I would've changed is the amount of times different characters had something important tickle their mind, or had something on the tip of their tongue, or could feel that something wasn't quite right but couldn't put their finger on it. That happens a lot in this book. Not a big enough gripe to impact my enjoyment of it.

As well as tapping into the pandemic fears that we've all been forced to face since 2020 there's a real nod to the incipient authoritarianism that's happening now around the world and how it could pan in out in a devastating pandemic or global crisis situation 'for the good of the people.'

CJ Tudor is a really good storyteller and this is a quick and exciting read.

During a severe snowstorm, Hannah’s boarding school is evacuated and she finds herself trying to survive the bus crash in the middle of nothing but snow drifts. In a separate storyline, Meg finds herself stranded with strangers in a cable car during a snowstorm, with no sign of help coming for them. In a third POV, Carter is trekking back to the ski chalet where he lives and works, trying to get to safety before the storm becomes impassable. How the story comes together for these three individuals, all facing dramatic life-or-death situations is absolutely riveting. How are their lives related and who will survive in the end? I wasn’t sure about this book at all, but it sucked me in and held me captive until the last page. Highly recommend, especially for a snowy evening read!

Special Note: Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

(Links of actual posts to social media provided)

I finished this a couple weeks ago and then sat on the post because life got busy. Coming back to it has made me realize that maybe all reviews should be pushed off a while? Because how else will you know if a book has that certain something special that stays with you? This one has it. I can picture all 3 scenarios vividly, even after having read 2 or 3 books since. That’s pretty rare for me.

Some amazing aspects:
Post-apocalyptic
A viral pandemic
Human monsters
Told from 3 perspectives
Smartly woven stories
Gruesome action scenes
Lots of mystery

Difficult to comment further on this one without spoiling, so I’ll leave you by saying this: Solid author, solid book. Definitely recommend. ⛄️

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

4+ stars

In the near future there is a pandemic raging. The novel follows three characters. Hannah wakes up in a bus with several others after a crash while fleeing their boarding school. Meg wakes up in a cable car high above the ground with several strangers. Carter and his crew make vaccines against the virus in exchange for supplies. All three face different survival challenges and they are all somehow linked together.

As the links are revealed you keep thinking "Oh Wow." Highly recommend.