I’m such a big fan of C. J. Tudor but unfortunately this novel didn’t resonate with me.

I’ll start off by saying that I’m not a fan of apocalyptic/sci-fi storylines so this may be a great hit for others!

At first I didn’t realize that there were 3 storylines to follow. If it hadn’t been for the names I wouldn’t have noticed. Two of them are very similar.

I found the pace of the book to be very slow until about 70% of the way through. It did pick up and tie everything together fairly well.

It is completely different from her other books which bring in creepy, supernatural elements. This was a full on thriller that would definitely make a great movie!

There were a lot of characters to follow in this story, but they all play a role. The plotting is well executed and sneaky to prevent readers from putting together what’s happening until near the end.

Thank you Net Galley for giving me this opportunity to read the book 'Drift'. I have to admit that I have never heard of C. J. Tudor.
The story revolves around three groups of people.
Meg is a former detective and she finds herself in a cable car stranded mid-air. There are others in the cable car all dressed exactly alike. She knows none of the orhers on the cable car or even how she got their. One of the passengers is found dead. Who could have killed this person as all weapons were confiscated.
Hannah is on a coach bus in a snow storm. The bus crashes and there are some survivors. As night closes in on them they need to find a way out of the bus but all exits have been compromised. The bus driver is nowhere to be found amongst the living or the dead.
Carter lives at a place called the Retreat with a small group of people. One by one they are being killed.
There is the Professor who is Hannah's father and works for an organization called Drift. There is a virus going around and the Professor is trying to develop a vaccination.

This was an unexpected read for me. I loved having three storylines to follow. This definitely kept me guessing and trying to figure out how to connect these timelines. This story made me feel uncomfortable (this is a compliment) in that it deals with a virus and the government stepping into to isolate those who are infected. I don't ever expect this to happen in the real world but it is scary to think about. I connected quickly to these characters. This has a great pace, that keeps you interested and reading rigt until the climatic end. This will definitely be a book I recommend to others!

5+++ STARS!

This will without a doubt be one of my top reads of 2023!

This was a well-crafted post-apocalyptic horror/thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time! I loved everything about it; the plot, the characters, the setting, the writing – everything was top notch! I could not put this book down!

I highly suggest going into this blind and sincerely hope you all get to read it before hearing any spoilers!

***Received with thanks from Netgalley and the Publisher in exchange for my honest thoughts***

If you’re a fan of ACTION and horror, The Walking Dead, The Thing, The Drift is for you! It’s a book you could read in a weekend. If you like more psychological thrillers WITHOUT a lot of added gore, The Drift is NOT for you.

I had so many issues with this book but I feel like a LOT of people may be obsessed, so keep reading to determine if this is for you.

Summary: The Drift is a post-apocalyptic horror/thriller that takes place after an epidemic has wiped out 75% of the population. The chapters alternate between 3 groups of people - one group working at “The Retreat” where vaccines are developed, one group in a cable car with no memory of how they got there, and one group on a charter bus on route to The Retreat. No one is trustworthy or who they seem. How do these strangers all connect?

Here are my unfiltered thoughts:

Let’s start with the word HECTIC…. various plot lines with A LOT happening. We meet about 30 characters , who all have basic-bro names like Carter, Daniel, Josh, Sean. Don’t worry too much about remembering them, because most are unimportant and die violently and quickly. The over-the-top killing at least helped me keep track of the remaining characters.

So many “shock value” moments that are so unnecessary and gratuitous, just in case you want descriptive violence and gore for no reason. Every other chapter seems to have a gun fight, also.

Cringe metaphors weaved in that made me L-O-L “dusk dropped quicker than a teenage boys pants at third base” 😂 …what now? Is this for real?

This book did NOT work for me, it was just too gritty and ridiculous. None of the characters were redeeming or likeable. I felt nothing when they were killed off except, here we go again.

BUT there are so many that loved this book according to Goodreads. I do think if it was a TV series it would do well.

I personally will give it a 2⭐️😮‍💨😅

Thank you @netgalley and @doubledayca for an advanced copy in exchange for honest review!

Thank you for the advanced readers copy for an honest opinion

This was a quick paced read told in 3 points of view. Quite interesting after we’ve dealt with COVID-19. At approximately 75% you star putting it all together.

Felt bad for the main character. Great read

Thank you to #NetGalley for the chance to read an ARC of this new book by C.J. Tudor. I haven't read anything by this author before, but was intrigued by the book description. I will definitely be checking out other books that have been written by this author. I really liked the book and found it kept me intrigued right to the end. There are 3 different perspectives or view points that the story is told in...One is a man named Carter, the others are a woman named Hannah and a woman named Meg. It's really very interesting how the author has connected all 3 of these people. It takes a while to figure out which order that each of these characters events happened in the timeline of the book, but once you do, a big twist becomes evident. Nicely done! I'd recommend this book to anyone that likes a good mystery/thriller and also anyone that enjoys any books where the setting is a post-apocalyptic world. I'd have given this 4.5 stars, but it wouldn't let me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read this book before being published. I have to say I wanted to get this review in before publish date, but I'm only about half way through because... life. Anyways, so far this book is extremely fast paced, three different points of views/stories happening, I can't wait for everything to come all together and see how it will shape up. Just as this book is very creepy and interesting from page one. I know I'll be staying up late trying to get through most of it tonight so I can hopefully finish it tomorrow.

***Update, I'll try not to have spoilers!
My rating went from 4 stars halfway through up to 5! Too sum it up, HOLY CRAP. I loved the different points of view and stories interchanging. Extremely well written, as I was reading it felt like I was there with the characters , it came naturally and vividly. Also gave me the creeps too. Once you figure out why all three points of view are trying to figure out why Daniel and Peggy are so important kind of just leaves you a bit shook. Also the main story behind everything, with a man made virus and how controlling the elite are, makes you wonder how far off we are from that happening in the real world. I hope everyone else who reads this book enjoys it as much as I did!

“𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙴𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚑 𝙸𝚜 𝙵𝚞𝚕𝚕 𝙾𝚏 𝙳𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝙶𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝙶𝚞𝚢𝚜.“

Happy Release Day to 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘵 from author, C.J. Tudor! Last year, I discovered Tudor and I’m so glad that I did! After reading 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘔𝘢𝘯, I found myself seeking out and devouring backlist after backlist. So, you can imagine how excited I was to get my hands on an eARC of the author’s newest read. Thanks so much to the publisher for the early copy!

“𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙳𝚎𝚟𝚒𝚕 𝚆𝚊𝚜 𝙰𝚗 𝙰𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚕 𝙾𝚗𝚌𝚎.“

In this riveting, chilling thriller, we are introduced to 3 main characters: Hannah, Meg, & Carter. All 3 of these characters are trapped, in one way or another, fighting for survival in a harsh, cold world. We are introduced to each of them through a very chaotic & intense narrative that mirrors the situations they each find themselves in. Through short, quick-paced chapters, the reader is treated to non-stop action & twists and turns of the highest calibre. The hits just never stop coming! And, the way all 3 storylines come together in the end? Masterful.

If you haven’t already, make sure to grab this one. You won’t regret it!

This was quite a ride -- I would say it's more of a thriller than horror though but there's definitely a horror tinge to it. Lots of outrageous situations and the way the three storylines tie together is intriguing. For a 'zombie' book, there are definitely a lot more parts about the regular humans than the zombies.

I really enjoyed the build-up of this story, although I thought that it faltered as I reached the ending. The Drift follows 3 storylines, all taking place during a snowy winter. In the first one, Hannah is the survivor of a bus crash that was heading to The Retreat in a snowstorm. In the second, Meg awakens in a gondola that was supposed to take her to the Retreat, but instead she is stuck hanging in a stopped gondola. And then in the third storyline, Carter is stuck in the mountaintop Retreat, trying to keep it together while everything slowly falls apart around him.

It's not clear how these storylines will converge or how they are interrelated, but I enjoyed the mystery and the slow reveals as I read. I think that this is likely best enjoyed without knowing too much.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author, and Penguin Random House Canada for an opportunity to read an e-galley in exchange for an honest review.

A story of survival in a post-apocalyptic world that I struggled to finish reading.

As if surviving an apocalypse isn't enough, the author tried to ramp up the suspense by having one character wake up trapped in a bus that went over a hill during a snowstorm. The second character wakes up trapped in a suspended cable car, and the third character is also trapped--just kidding! The third character is not trapped, trapped, but isn't really free to leave wherever he is. Wait, so he's trapped too! Despite all that, there was no sense of urgency.

The MCs were flat and didn't feel any more developed than the secondary characters. I feel like Hannah and Meg were pretty much interchangeable.

Unfortunately, I also found the ending where the three stories are connected underwhelming. 

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Random House for the digital ARC.

I just finished the Drift by C J Tudor and here are my thoughts.

Hannah wakes to find the coach she was in has crashed during a blizzard. They were all fleeing their private school. The problem is someone is infected with a virus sweeping the world and a bunch of already dead bodies.
No one wants their secrets laid bare but they will have to work together to find a way out or die trying.

A former detective, Meg wakes to find herself on a stranded cable car with zero memory of how she got there. They were all heading for the retreat but that was all they remember. They don’t have food or water and one someone ends up dead, Meg finds herself having no suspects but suspecting everyone.

Carter works providing vaccines against the virus, in a chalet with others who ended up there. Soon the dead bodies start piling up and when the generator starts to fail, what they were keeping out may now be able to get in and no one is safe.

What do these people all have in common? The threat lurking is more dangerous than anyone can comprehend.

I will admit, the beginning of the book was a bit confusing. Trying to figure out whose POV was who and what was going on… Took me a while to get into the swing but once I did….. WOWWWWWW.

The settings were clever considering they were all self contained little stories. I always find when I read multiple POV that I will always gravitate to one POV more but that didn't happen here. I was equally invested in how they ended up where they did, who they all were and what was going to happen.

There was a lot going on, a lot of mystery and intrigue that kept me clinging on until the very end. I seriously had no idea what was going to happen at any point. I loved that. I usually figure books out but not this one. It kept me on my toes and the writing was lucid and shockingly brilliant.

The plot was really well constructed and I loved the idea of a virus that didn’t create a zombie but something different. It felt unique and original with some really clever mystery undertones. The author is a master of her craft!

I loved the ending! The only downside to the book was just the confusion I had at the beginning but that was just me I think! If you love a little mystery and dystopian vibes in your general fiction then this has to be your next book.

4.5 stars. So glad @netgalley gifted me a copy of this book and thank you to @penguinrandomhouseca for this opportunity.

Holy what a crazy ride this book was told from 3 pov each in an entirely unique situation navagiting a virus and trying to save themselves, I was hooked right from the beginning and was invested in each pov waiting to see how the stories connected it was a whirlwind of a book for sure

A fast paced post apocalyptic horror story. I've always enjoyed books where desperate desperate groups of characters must work together in order to survive against insurmountable odds. This book has a lot of action, excitement and many surprises along the way. Very well done.

3.5 stars.
C.J. Tudor presents us with three storylines, all linked by a place called The Retreat, and a virulent plague with a high mortality rate that leaves its sufferers as essentially zombies. These are:
-Hannah, who wakes up in a crashed bus with a few survivors of her fellow boarding school students. It's cold, there's no food or way to communicate with the outside world, and someone on board is sick.
-Meg, a former police detective, awakens with several strangers aboard a stopped cable car in snowy mountains. One of these strangers has been murdered by one of Meg's fellow passengers.
-Carter lives at the isolated Retreat with several other individuals. A blizzard begins, and knocks out power. But getting too cold is actually the least of the residents' worries, as there are Whistlers (the zombies) outside in the wilderness.

How these three storylines intersected kept me turning pages quickly, and the tension was great as Tudor left one questioning everyone's motives and actions. The atmosphere and overwhelming sense of danger was good, from the bite of the cold, to the devolving dynamics of each stranded group, to fear of the illness, to Whistlers. I loved the moment when I realized just how the stories connected.....

Thank you to Netgalley and to Penguin Random House Canada for this ARC in exchange for my review.

Thank you to Net Galley for the advance copy of this novel. I really enjoyed this story. I got into it right away and had a hard time putting it down. Each chapter gave you just enough information that you wanted to keep reading to try and figure out what was going on in the story. I really liked how the stories of Hannah, Meg and Carter connected. It was not at all how I expected. Which is really great. I love a good surprise.

I would definitely recommend this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada, Doubleday Canada for a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
This is an exciting thriller set in cold, harsh winter. There are three different interconnected POV’s -Hannah’s, whose account takes place on a bus that has crashed and is stuck in the snow in the middle of nowhere; Meg’s, whose group is suspended in a cable car; and Carter’s whose group works at the Retreat that Hannah and Megs group are trying to get to.
I don’t want to give anymore away in this suspenseful disconcerting story, but I was riveted until the end which held an unexpected final twist.

What a Thriller! This book caught my attention from the beginning to the end. You are getting three views of the same story and the ending will shock you. I read this in one sitting so be warned, do not read this late at night because it is hard to put down. The characters telling their story are Hannah, Meg and Carter. There is an infection that is turning people into the infected called whistlers. These people are used to help find a cure. Hannah and Meg are going to the retreat for different reasons and Carter is already there. Each story is compelling and it shows what people can do when they are threatened. I really liked this book and would recommend it. I will have to find more books from this writer.