First of all, can we talk about how good this cover is? It feels both very current and very timeless, and immediately grabbed my attention. I was also very intrigued by the locked-door setup, but all of the POVs threw me for a loop. I rarely find multiple perspectives that work for me, and unfortunately, this wasn't one of them.

Not very original work. The twists were explained away too plainly. The suspense built up fades easily when you get to the beast in the cellar. Overall it had some good parts, very thrilling but not enough to recommend this title to others.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
This book took me forever to read. I loved the summary of it and the ideas but the book itself was difficult. Tons of characters to keep track of. Random disappearing and a bit of a supernatural theme too. Or sci-fi theme.
I really wanted to like this book but it just wasn’t really for me.

I love the cover for this one. I also really loved the blurb and the (at first) bizarre seeming description of Agatha Christie by way of Shutter Island. Once I started reading that made more sense - although it was more than a bit of an overstatement to use those two as the comparators. Both Christie and Lehane use a more straightforward linguistic style that cuts to the heart of what they are trying to say, even when they are couching things in red herrings and scene-setting, and this book rambled all over the place aiming to do the same thing - and as a result missed the mark in a number of ways for me.

The characters are really quite odious. I get that that is the point. But still, a lot of the descriptions just felt so melodramatic and over the top, that I felt like I could skip half of what each character said or thought because it was the literary equivalent of villainous mustache twirling in the old silent films... It was overdone and became repetitive and monotonous quickly, and kept pulling me out of the forward momentum of the actual mystery and the Beast storyline, which I found the most compelling from the beginning.

I struggled mightily with this one... It was not a good fit for me.

I enjoyed this. I though the story was interesting and that the cover and premise were unique enough. Definitely started off slow but I enjoyed!

Everett writes a cleverly constructed locked room mystery that will have you questioning everything from start to finish. The guests gather for dinner in an old country house not knowing how they got there. They now have 12 hours to find a missing girl and they’ll be set free. The house comes equipped with its own beast in the basement, that sometimes jumps into the narrative adding to the creepiness of the story. If the guests would quit turning up dead, they might have a better chance of finding the abducted girl. As the time dwindles so do the guests until there’s just two. Will that be enough?? While this was a bit on the graphic side at times, the mystery propels you to turn the pages faster and faster until you reach the satisfying ending. Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

Yikes! The second book I’ve read this year that almost takes it’s an entire plot from a film. Here it’s a 2007 movie that I won’t mention because it will spoil the entire book. Sadly, the publisher gives away a huge chunk of the plot by mentioning the book is similar to Shutter Island, what a terrible marketing idea. If you’ve read that book, then you already know everything that’s taking place here. This is also my second book of the year with at least 10 first person narrators, all tell no show. Clunky, inauthentic dialogue, a plot that drags, packed with info irrelevant to the story, dreadful characters and no reason at all to care whodunit.

Thanks to Atria and NetGalley for an early review copy.

10 people wake up in a house and don't remember how they got there. They have 12 hours to find a missing girl or she dies, but they're getting picked off one by one...
Honestly did not love this book until the end. I didn't like the characters very much, didn't find myself rooting for any of them to survive.. but that ending!!!!
The ending saved it! Omg!

I didn't expect this to be so dark and the reveal at the end was shocking. However, I encourage everyone to read the trigger warnings before picking this up. "The Beast" was hands down the best character and those chapters were entertaining. If you are a fan of whodunit books with dark twists and turns, then I think you will enjoy this.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this arc! This book was great at the beginning, fantastic ending, but the middle 75%was TOUGH to get through. Many characters and unclear where the story will go.

This book is a refreshing twist on the classic locked-room mystery, combining a nod to Agatha Christie with a modern, gritty edge. The setup is familiar: a group of strangers, isolated in a locked house, begin to die one by one. But this story takes things further by diving into the distinct personalities of each character, bringing depth to their inner lives and motives. Each chapter alternates between these characters’ perspectives, immersing the reader in their thoughts and fears, which helps keep the characters straight and makes it easy to invest in their stories.

Adding to the intrigue, the book includes commentary from a separate narrator, who seems to oversee the entire event and interjects with clues, hints, and often witty observations. This unique narrative device acts almost like an invisible guide, sometimes teasing, sometimes revealing just enough to keep the reader guessing. It’s cleverly done and adds a darkly humorous touch to the suspense.

As the story progresses, deeper themes emerge, with some characters grappling with existential and spiritual questions that provide layers beyond the mystery. However, the author’s recurring focus on religious themes can feel heavy-handed at times, leaning more toward the author’s voice than the characters’. While this might not resonate with all readers, it does give a sense of the characters’ turmoil and adds dimension to their desperation.

There’s plenty of suspense, and the sense of impending doom is palpable as the characters race against the clock. The plot twists keep coming, and while some sections may feel repetitive, the story manages to pull it all together with an unexpected, satisfying ending. For fans of a thought-provoking mystery with psychological and philosophical undertones, this one delivers a dark, engrossing tale that will keep you hooked until the last page.

The Other People by C.B. Everett brings a familiar, Agatha Christie-style mystery into a new, chilling context. Ten strangers wake up in a locked, decaying house with no memory of how they got there. To survive, they have to solve the mystery of a young woman’s disappearance while a killer lurks, picking them off one by one. With hints of Shutter Island, it promises tension and twists—but this comparison does give away more of the plot than it should. Knowing this angle removes some of the story's suspense and ruins a bit of the thrill of discovery.

The beginning felt a little slow and left me wondering about the direction of the plot, but the pacing picked up and proved itself as a clever, well-constructed story. Despite the large cast, it was easier to keep track of the characters than I expected, and they fit well into the mystery’s layers. There were moments of repetitiveness, and while that slowed things down a little, the mystery’s tension kept me engaged, and I was pleased to find a surprising, unexpected ending
Overall, The Other People is a solid pick for fans of classic whodunits with a dark edge. While it occasionally stumbles in pacing and lacks a bit of subtlety, it delivers enough intrigue to keep readers hooked. For anyone in the mood for a tense, twisted mind game set in a sinister old house, this story has plenty to satisfy.

In this gripping psychological thriller, ten strangers wake up in a mysterious house with no memory of how they got there. With cryptic details scattered around them and a shocking death right from the start, the strangers are thrust into a deadly game of survival, suspense, and discovery. Each must confront their hidden fears and secrets as they race against time to unmask the killer lurking among them—and to find the missing girl who may be the key to their survival.

Drawing on an Agatha Christie-esque atmosphere reminiscent of And Then There Were None, this story delivers tension and intrigue in spades. The characters’ personal explorations add depth to the mystery as they grapple with what drives them and who they truly are. This high-stakes, edge-of-your-seat thriller keeps you guessing until the final, surprising twist.

A must-read for mystery fans—I highly recommend it! Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

I'm very torn. While I was entertained for hours with 'The Other People', the feeling I'm left with isn't exactly positive.
This book is much darker than the cover suggests. (Recommend checking tw's, really.) All around polarizing, with a make or break ending that wasn't what I wanted and rarely enjoy. I can appreciate it for being different from my usual thriller, at least. I particularly liked the earlier 'beast' chapters but felt the women were written ....oddly.

This was a wild story - a locked room mystery with ties to Agatha Christie. I had trouble at times understanding all of the characters but absolutely loved it by the end.

This was a really good locked door murder mystery book. It had so many twists and turns, and my guess on who the killer was has changed many times throughout reading this book. It was really thrilling!


Thank you to NetGalley, to the author, and to the publisher for this complementary ARC in exchange for my honest review!!!

Locked room mysteries are some of my favorites and this book did not disappoint. It was so much fun that I just wanted to sit down and devour it all in one setting, and thankfully I was able to do just that. All ten of the guests have secrets, and no memory of how they got to the mansion. It is rather intense. There are a lot of pov’s but it was okay, I ended up rather liking hearing the story from so many perspectives. It added spice and flavor. This is one of those books that you might want to have a notepad handy for notes, because you will want to use it. It helped me get through it with everything straight. Then the twists started coming, and they were great. The final twist was amazing and just made the whole book.

If you’re looking for a uniquely done mystery, then check this one out.

well
i somewhat saw that coming
due to the synopsis y’know?
some things are best left unsaid, not compared to
was quite a ride
but…. as said, some things are best left unsaid

I really enjoyed the way the thriller element that worked with what was going on in this universe. The characters were everything that I was looking for and enjoyed how they worked in this. It had that feel that I was looking for and thought the serial killer element perfectly. I enjoyed the way C. B. Everett wrote this and can’t wait for more.

While this book had a strong start, it got really slow about 35% in and I ended up bored. I barely finished the book and the ending was terrible. I can see that this would be a fun read for other people but this just was not the kind of book for me.