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.

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!

What a ride! For someone who was on the fence about vampires and any sort of fantasy elements in my horror books, I'm so glad I took the plunge and read this one. I knew Tudor wouldn't disappoint.

The highlight of this one that stands out most is the atmospheric setting. Tudor did such a phenomenal job setting the scene here and dropping the reader right into it to make for a more intense and enthralling horror filled with twists, turns, and secrets galore.

The pacing was a bit slower in the beginning but I found that once it picked up, I was struggling to put it down. The character development really stood out to me, especially among this genre. I will be highly recommending this one to any horror fans!

I enjoyed this book more than I expected to. Let me explain. When I first realized the book included vampires, I was surprised. (Not a spoiler. You learn this almost immediately.) I don't usually read vampire books, but I soon realized the mystery and the atmospheric setting of the book would be the main drivers of the story. There were unfolding twists and red herrings provided, however I have this book 3 stars for the following reasons. I felt there were too many similar characters that were not developed enough to keep them straight in my mind when mentioned. Also, I enjoyed the story well enough but never got that "I can't wait to get back to the book" feeling.

The Gathering by C. J. Tudor is a mystery/thriller with some horror vibes that follows Detective Barbara Atkins who is a specialist in vampyrs are she is sent to investigate the murder of a young man in a small Alaskan town. While the murder looks like it was done by the Colony, Barbara isn’t completely convinced and doesn’t want to accuse the vampyrs without evidence. As more and more is revealed, Barbara isn’t sure who she can trust and who might be an enemy in disguise.

I am a huge C. J. Tudor fan so I was so excited to see her do a book with a paranormal element. There were a lot of things I liked about this book and a few things I didn’t. I love the fact that we got vampires just in the story. There isn’t any looking around to see if they exist. We know from chapter one that they are there and that they have their own little colony. I loved the Alaskan atmosphere. It is winter in this book so there is a lot of snow and the daylight is barely there which adds to the creepy vibes of the book. I really enjoyed Barbara and thought her character was interesting to follow even though I don’t always love a detective perspective.

I think my biggest complaint about the book is there are so many characters and some of them do not get fully fleshed out so it makes it hard to be invested in what they are doing. This caused reveals to not be as impactful because there were just too many storylines going at once. I also think there were too many plot points on this book. It seemed like every other chapter, a small mystery was being solved and it was just too much for me. I think if this would have only been on Barbara’s point of view, it would have been better. I do with there would have been more about the vampire lore as well because that was really interesting.

Overall, this was a fun read but I wanted something a little different.

A solid 3.5/5 (rounding up to 4)! Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC. Very entertaining and fast paced. A little all over the place and some of the twists felt a bit too contrived and forced. Seems to be setting up for a sequel, and I like the Detective Atkins character. Wish we got a little more vampyr perspective and world building, but overall a fun read!

I didn't refresh myself with the synopsis before I started reading The Gathering so I was excited to see there was vampires. I haven't picked up a vampire book in a few years and I'm kinda glad it was this one. The Gathering is an atmospheric (wintery and cold) slow burn of a murder mystery. It's the kind of vampire book where they are NOT necessarily the villains. There IS a lot of characters mentioned but it wasn't hard to keep them separated. Everything is wrapped up at the end but the groundwork was laid for a sequel.

If you liked Twilight for the vibes and lore but wish it had cut out the love story, wolves, and sparkles you will definitely like The Gathering!

An imagined world where vampyre and humans live side by side.

Tensions emerge when a young man is found dead under mysterious circumstances. Was it suicide? Murder? Did humans kill him or have vampires overstepped their bounds?

Intrigue. Religion. Politics. They all collide in this dark thriller!

4 stars to this unique, supernatural spin on the police procedural.

This book definitely isn't your typical vampire story, but in a good way. It is full of originality as it approaches vampirism through the lens of prejudice and discrimination. It took a bit of time to get into the story; there were a lot of characters and I had trouble keeping them straight at first. But the lead characters were well developed, especially Barbara, who I really enjoyed, and who I would love to see in a sequel, which is hinted at in the epilogue. I'd recommend this to anyone looking for a fresh take on a murder mystery.

Thank you Netgalley for the e-arc of this upcoming book! Right off the bat, at the conclusion of chapter 1, I knew I was hooked. Hooked, line and sinker kind of hooked.
CJ Tudor is an author that had always been on my radar but I never read before. The book is written with such a fiery pace, that there is never a point in time where it lulled. This does have enough horror elements to it, to satiate my horror loving heart. I don’t want to spoil anything, but I will say just go in with an open mind and be ready to be swept off with the mystery of this Alaskan town!

I have been waiting for another C.J Tudor to love. As the last two were disappointments to me.

This book follows a more traditional and enjoyable storyline for me. A detective is investigating a crime that has happened in Alaska.
This small town is not used to crimes like this happening, and the detective must uncover what is going on, before the town loses it.

As I said before, I really like the story even though it was not anything revolutionary. I like the way that Tudor weaves and tells us a story.

Thank you to netgalley & the publisher for my arc copy!

The Gathering is an intriguing vampire detective story.. In this world, vampires live in colonies and are none to the world.

When a teenager in Alaska is apparently killed by a colony vampire, Detective Barbara Atkins of the Forensic Vampyr Anthropology Department is called in. The detective faces a challenging task trying to gain the cooperation of a small Alaskan town who are ready to hunt down all the vampires while trying to untangle the truth.

A really unique murder mystery. The town of Deadhart, Alaska grudgingly accepts the existence of a vampyr colony set up on the site of an abandoned mine on the outskirts of town, but when a local boy is found with his throat torn and his blood drained, the residents are calling for a cull (basically genocide of the colony). Vampyrs are somewhat protected and although they aren’t allowed to work or mix with general society, it is no longer legal to hunt them for sport and claim body parts as trophies. When there is a suspected vampyr related murder, a government official is called in to investigate.

Enter Detective Barbara Atkins. Despite the town’s pressure to authorize a cull, she delves deeper and uncovers ties to a quarter century old murder, a right wing evangelical sect, a racist group and an old boys hunting club.

An entertaining read. Highly recommended.

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As with my previous experiences with this author...I was expecting one part horror and 2 parts thriller. I quickly realized I’d need to add vampires into the mix, or should I say Vampyrs !🧛‍♀️

I was a bit concerned it wasn’t going to work for me. I’ve never read a vampire-themed book before and not really sold on starting one now. But, it found its way to my shelf, and I've been wanting to expand my reading... so why not!

And yes…🥁🥁 it worked! This is a tale of small town America living next to a Colony of vampyrs. Can they coexist? Or is one group bent on seeking total control, eliminating the other? Who will win this centuries-old battle?

In Deadhart Alaska a teenage boy has been killed. And all roads point to a vampyr as the murderer. To solve the case and bring those responsible to justice, Barbara Atkins is brought in. Not only is she a highly respected homicide detective, she’s also a doctor of forensic vampyr anthropology. (2 for 1…can’t beat that!)

When Barbara is handed evidence of the killing in the form of a video, everyone assumes it’s an open and shut case. Everyone but Barbara! Can she get to the bottom the killing before an all-out killing spree (I mean culling) erupts?

This was quite a suspenseful and captivating read and was pleasantly surprised how much I really enjoyed it. I applaud, and tip my hat to CJ Tudor for always writing outside the box and tackling something just a bit different! Can’t wait for her next!

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group -Ballantine via NetGalley