This one was so good! The small-town Alaska setting was the perfect atmospheric backdrop. The town is rife with history (none of it too positive, of course) around how they humans have treated vampyrs in the past. Some of that history gets pretty dark, so do check trigger warnings if you have topics that you prefer to avoid. This history is layered over the usual small-town drama and while I'd find that to be too much drama for me, Tudor has worked the vampyric drama and history seamlessly into the small-town life.

The thriller elements were great. I didn't even come close to guessing all the twists. The world-building was also incredibly well done with a lot of showing not telling and minimal info dumps.

I'm crossing my fingers that the ending means we might get a book 2, which would be incredible.

A huge thank you to the author and the publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

Detective Barbara Atkins is sent to a remote Alaskan town to investigate a gruesome murder. As she begins her investigation she uncovers secrets that reach far into the past. There were a few twists and turns throughout the storyline but no real surprises. I typically enjoy detective and futuristic books, but this book failed to hold my interest. I didn’t realize it was about vampires and it seemed to be slow moving to me. #netgalley #TheGathering

Manu thanks to @randomhouse and @netgalley for my #gifted (free) copy. Pub date 4/9/24.

I am not a huge vampire fan, but THE GATHERING is an exception. This was so chilling that I literally got goosebumps. There are many different characters in this book, so make sure you are paying close attention. Book 2??? I'M IN!!!!

***Note to the Publisher, I plan to post the following review on Goodreads and a mini review on my Bookstagram in accordance with the request to post on or after the publish date of April 9th 2024. Both page links will be provided. If you approve of this review and want it available earlier than previously asked please notify me. Thank you!***


Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine books for my eARC copy of one of my most highly anticipated books.
I became a fan of CJ Tudor last year when I first read The Burning Girls on a bookstore employee's recommendation. Then I picked up the newest of last year The Drift and enjoyed it as well.
If C.J Tudor wants to keep on her writing kick of Supernatural Mystery Thrillers, I am all for it!
This book was her take on if Vampyres were a part of this modern world and what that would mean for mysterious murder cases.
The book does follow many POV's, but our main person is Barbara, a detective who specializes in cases of vampire attacks. Her job is to find the murderer, but also to prevent a “culling” of a vampyre clan that may or may not be innocent. This particular town in Alaska has had issues with this clan before and is a little bit trigger happy when it comes to taking out vampyres.
Tudor has the usual vampyre folklore but also creates her own within this modern world, both negating some of the “stereotypes” and also adding fictional historical aspects of how and why laws were placed to protect both humans and vampires from each other.
This book was very easy to binge, each chapter was “bite-sized” and short. There was some minor political commentary and very radical thinking characters and it irked me a little at first because I want escape when I read, but by the end I remembered that CJ Tudor makes all her characters flawed in one way or another.
I did not see how this book wrapped up in the end at all. I sort of had an inkling for one thing, but otherwise it was a wild, very chilling ride. This book made me want to cozy up with hot cocoa even though its already Spring.

"The Gathering", by C.J. Tudor was one of the best books I have read in a long time. Being a vampire fan already, I loved how this book incorporated vampires in the real world living amongst the rest of the mortal world. This book also had great symbolism in describing the discrimination seen between both groups that can sometimes lead to biased reactions and unfair treatment. In addition, the true crime/thriller element made it come alive even more.

3.5 ⭐️'s. The Gathering is an enjoyable read that held my attention. It has an open ending, so perhaps a series starter? I'd recommend this book for anyone looking for a non-traditional take on a human-vampire (or vampyr as spelled throughout the book) dynamic: no Twilight-esque star-crossed lovers and no terrifying cloaked figures stealing the innocent at night. Instead, the narrative shows a relationship between vampyrs and humans similar to any other predators co-existing in the same ecosystem. Show respect, and leave well enough alone - don't hurt us, and we won't hurt you. I really enjoyed this perspective, and it created a unique dynamic among the characters in the book. I sympathized with the vampyrs and wished I had seen more of their story.

The Gathering follows a fairly typical detective procedural, except that the main murder suspect is a vampyr. This book is not scary or even horror-adjacent. I confidently classify it as a suspense mystery. Vampyrs are a species protected under the law and live on the outskirts of human towns. So, in the context of the book, there is no supernatural element either.

Admittedly, I wanted more action. The murder(s) are fairly gruesome, but readers discover everything with the detective, so there isn't much in-the-moment suspense.

Vampyr vs. vampire? I did a quick Google search. There was a lot of information, most of it conflicting. Some sources state vampyr is simply an archaic term. Others claim vampyrs are a less sinister version of vampires who use blood (often from animals) to sustain themselves and do not threaten humans. And then there was a tidbit about vampires being mythical and vampyrs being a "truer" form. I really wish there was a note explaining this at the end of the book!

Thanks to Netgalley for my ARC

I had a good time with this one. The idea of vampires and humans trying to coexist in the same world was interesting. The exploration of the different conflicts between characters was well done. There were some pretty brutal moments , but it felt like a realistic depiction of what happens when one group truly hates another. There is a strong message about the dangers of bigotry and hatred throughout the story.

My only issue was that it was fairly slow for the first half. It took me a while to really get invested.

When you get offered an ARC for CJ Tudor’s newest novel, you say yes immediately!

Or maybe that’s just me.

This is maybe her most ambitious novel to date, setting up an entire world where vampyrs are very really, living in colonies and about as welcome in the average town as you could probably expect.

When a teenage boy is killed in a remote Alaskan mining town, seemingly the work of a vampyr, it’s up to Detective Atkins to determine whose at fault, and if there’s enough evidence to authorize wiping an entire colony out of existence.

This book has everything you could want from a CJ Tudor novel! Enticing characters? ✅ A tense, engaging mystery? ✅ Eerie setting? ✅✅✅ And now there’s an added bonus of supernatural creatures, with a mythology that actually feels really realistic, all things considered.

And in a note just for @cjtudorauthor, if we don’t get another novel featuring Detective Atkins, I might have a full breakdown. 😂😭

A murder mystery with Vampires 🧛… tell me more!! I absolutely love CJ Tudor books and The Gathering was just fabulous. I stayed up late into the night to finish it and it was worth every second of lost sleep. I don’t read many books with paranormal themes, but this worked so well for me. It was dark, gory and emotional. There was so much to love about this book ❤️

Set in a small town in Alaska in the middle of winter, in a world where humans and Vampyrs coexist. A teenage boy is found murdered, this throat ripped out. The townspeople want the Colony to be be culled, wiped out. Enter vampyre expert Barbara Atkins. She is not convinced that this is a colony attack and investigates more. She find herself up against the majority of the town who just want revenge. But there is more than meets the eye here and she is going to find the truth.

I really could not get enough of this story. There were some very unlikeable humans and vampires. The setting with the snow and the isolation just added to the atmosphere, it was tense and uncomfortable. As always with this author, we had many plot twists that I did not see coming and I was all in.

Thank you so much to Random House Publishing Group, Ballantine Books for my advanced copy to read. Published on April 9th.

As a huge fan of all things '30 Days of Night' I could not say yes to reviewing this book fast enough. C.J. Tudor is also a favorite author of mine. The setting, the mysterious colonists and eerie atmosphere all set this vampire tale apart from other new releases. I love that the main characters in 'The Gathering' are adults, by that I mean forties or older. It is a refreshing take on the vampire genre. I recently just finished watching True Detective Night Country and reading book 2 of Brenda Novak's Evelyn Talbot Chronicles so I was primed for more Alaskan mysteries.

The pacing is slow but beautifully written with a certain dawning horror to it as the plot unfolds. 'The Gathering' is a complex social commentary on prejudice and a vampire murder mystery mashed together. As is sometimes CJ Tudor's style there are multiple narrators but a group of core main characters. As compared to 'The Drift', this was a much easier book to read where the point of view changes are concerned. Funny enough though, after finishing both books 'The Drift' was the better.

Of the main characters, Athelinda is compelling and vividly fully fleshed. Barbara Atkins has a mature Clarice Starling vibe to her that I enjoyed. The plodding creeping pace stalls a bit in the middle of the book. I'll admit to losing some interest. However what I know of CJ Tudor's books are that the endings aren't to be missed, so I pressed on. Unfortunately it felt a little silly to me. It wasn't scary or thrilling all but if you're a fan of mysteries you might enjoy it. Don't get me wrong it's not a bad book, I liked it but didn't LOVE it. Is it library or buy-worthy? I'd say get it through your local library.

Allow me to introduce you all to my favorite horror novel of the year so far!

This is THE most unique and creative detective and vampire storyline. It perfectly blends the genres of crime thriller with horror as it takes place in reality but with the exception that society recognizes Vampires as real. They live as "Vampyrs" in colonies on the outskirts of towns forced to be treated as sub human and faced with hate and prejudice.

When a teenaged boy turns up dead in a rural Alaskan town, a vampyr expert and detective is sent out to decide if the murder can be proven to have been performed by a vampyr or if the reality is more twisted than that.

Interesting how humans so often tend to be worse than the monsters they chase. Also, the story ends in a perfect set up for a sequel! 👏🏻

I loved this from start to finish and recommend it for anyone looking for a fresh take on crime investigation and vampire stories. I want to read everything this author writes now.

I happily requested an ARC of The Gathering based on my review of The Chalkman. Once again C.J. Tudor nailed it. I loved the characters, the setting, and the plot -- everything came together perfectly. Don't sleep on this one!

I love C.J. Tudor - one of my favorite authors. So when I heard a new one was coming out, I didn't even read the synopsis! I instantly just requested it and I'm so glad I did!

In the outskirts of Alaska is a small town. There are the usual small town squabbles, but this town is unique. It has a long history with a colony living next door, a colony of vampyrs. Barbara, our mc, is called in to investigate a murder that appears to be done by a vampyr. The town wants a mass murder - they want a cull, the whole colony murdered.

I loved every bit of this. It's a great mystery, as you try to unravel who is lying and who is holding the biggest secret. I loved missing all my guesses as the freezer piled up. I loved the way the author seamlessly introduced these vampyrs along with introducing the town. I loved how the cold and isolation jumped off the page, and the creepy feeling of being watched was present every page.

Such a fun, compelling mystery with a main character I really enjoyed. Was that an opening for a book 2, maybe a series at the end! YES PLEASE! I'm definitely here for it!

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

Can vampyrs and humans coexist? In this book, vampyrs live in colonies, ostracized by humans. When an Alaskan teenager is found with his throat ripped out, a specialized detective is called to investigate.

A different take on vampyrs. Alaskan small town. Mystery / police procedural. I found myself rooting for the vampyrs, even though they might be the bad guys. I also liked the female detective. Hoping this book is first in a series.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for this ARC.

4.5 stars

What a thoroughly enjoyable reading experience! This was my first time reading from this author and it will definitely not be my last. I loved this book from the first page to the last.

First, a crime story with vampires? Yes please. A small frozen town in Alaska? Again, yes please. A main character that is in her 50's and a regular person? Stop! It's too good! The characters were wonderfully written, the atmosphere was so real my nose got cold reading this. I could not have loved the main character Barbara more. She was so relatable, I want to be her friend in real life. The characters were fantastic in that they were so real. I think I know a lot of these people. And this was a story that includes vampires and even they were relatable. Sometimes the flaws that are written into characters are tropey or clearly added to illicit sympathy or hatred. In this case, the flaws didn't seem to be added simply for effect, they just seemed like natural parts of the whole person.

The author did an incredible job writing a book about vampires where that was just an aspect of those characters without taking over the narrative. The themes of discrimination, racism, religious zealotry, and all the evil that comes with it were definitely present, and the representation was subtle but effective. I love vampire stories, horror stories, and a good crime story and this had all the things I loved in just the right amounts.

I would definitely recommend this to anyone who likes light horror, crime stories, and vampires. Honestly, I would also recommend this to people who aren't sure if they like vampire stories too, this might work for them.

4,5 Stars! C.J. Tudor's book "The Gathering" is set in Deadhart, Alaska as winter and darkness descends where a teenage boy has been recently killed. Deadhart is not a normal town, A Vampyre colony occupies the outskirts of town. The town's people immediately point fingers at the Vampyre Colony for the death of Marcus, the teenage boy. Barbara Atkins, a Forensic Vampyre Anthropologist is sent on assignment to Deadhart to determine if Marcus's death was caused by Vampyre or humans. If the Vampyre Colony is found guilty, does this murder deserve a judgement of a "Cull" The law states that "Cull" can be sanctioned when a colony is a threat to human life. Barbara soon learns she is dealing with a close knit town with deep secrets and limited resources, Can Barbara solve what happened before the two communities unleash their anger on each other?

I loved the main character Barbara, She is tough detective that keeps a cool head. She is very self aware of her weaknesses. She loves a good beer and burger. I would follow Barbara through any future cases and I hope this book leads to a future series.
I loved following the clues the author drops along the way. The twists and turns were paced well. The atmosphere set in the book had me grabbing a warm blanket and beverage,
The main theme of the book was that fear and assumptions lead to bad decisions. The bad decisions can ripple from generation to generation if mistakes are not learned from in the end. Hate never ends well.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group and C.J. Tudor for this opportunity. Publication April 9, 2024.

The Gathering
By C.J. Tudor
This is a book I received from the publisher, and NetGalley, and I thank you so much!
First, I like that the main character is a chubby, middle aged woman! She's smart, fearless, and incredibly observant. Move over Sherlock! I like those qualities in this character who is having to take on a case that the whole town, and her boss, already seems to think it is a done deal. It makes her brave and honorable too!
Vampires are living in this world and treated horribly. Any thing that goes wrong, the vampires must have been involved. There was a teen boy found dead and our main character is called to investigate. Being the expert, she has to decide if the vampire colony will be culled. She wants to be absolutely sure she is right.
She gets some unexpected help and together they uncover many secrets in the sleepy little town.
I loved the lonely, isolated atmosphere, the twists, the clues, the characters, and crazy situations. A great read from start to finish! I hope this author has a book two with an investigation in another town!

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. I've been reading books by C.J. Tudor for a while now, and may be biased since Tudor is on my auto-read list. However, I have not yet been disappointed, including this book. Vampires (or, in this case, vampyrs), detectives, and a delve into a town's history make for a thrilling novel in this new book.

I'd describe this as a small town murder mystery that is a police procedural with strong horror elements. I think if you go into this expecting straight up horror, you may be disappointed, but if you are cool with it being a strong flavor in what is otherwise a detective story, this would be a great one to pick up. Aside from some pacing issues early on, this was super fun and entertaining - a very "me" book. I'm not sure I'm interested in continuing with what seems to be a series set up in the epilogue but I enjoyed this quite a bit

"The Gathering" is a captivating paranormal murder mystery set in a small Alaska town. This was such a unique and interesting read to me and with the way its takes such a dark tone and delves into darkness, had me hooked from the very beginning to the end with me being at the edge of my seat at constant times by this book!

The story follows as the murder of a teenager sets off a chain reaction of violence and prejudice against vampires in the town as the discovery of the murdered teenager with a ripped throat and drained of blood echoes a murder that happened 25 years ago. The townsfolk suspect a connection between the recent murder and the Colony, a group of vampires led by Athelinda.

Barbara, a vampire anthropologist, investigates the murder and determines if a cull on the vampire inhabitants should be enacted. She also partners with ex-sheriff Jenson Tucker to solve the escalating murder cases and prevent a war between humans and vampires. I noticed how the plot combines elements of "True Detective," "True Blood," and "Fargo."

This book skillfully delves into the history and struggles of the vampire Colony, shedding light on their complexities and challenges in a world that fears and ostracizes them. Through Barbara's interactions, readers gain insight into their culture, beliefs, and internal conflicts.

I absolutely loved how the author redefines vampires by removing clichés such as vulnerability to sunlight and weaknesses to holy water and garlic.
The residents of the town grapple with the concept of "vampire racism" as the story explores themes of hatred, racism, and fear of the unknown.

It explores the political divide between those who believe vampires should be killed and those who believe minorities should be protected. The story provokes thought on prejudice, fear, and the power of empathy to bridge divides between communities. It challenges readers to question their biases while providing a thrilling and suspenseful story.
With a unique take on the vampire genre and compelling characters, "The Gathering" offers a fresh and engaging twist on a classic theme.

Despite some flaws though, the book is an enjoyable read and definitely my favorite among the author's works.

To mention a quote that I really liked:
"Soon, we may live in a world where they are nothing more than a legend."

Overall, a very fun read and I would recommend it to anyone who loves vampres and thrillers!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc!