I don’t like to put caveats on my reviews, but I feel like I have to with this one. The closer we get to release date, the lower the Goodreads rating has gone. Typically this doesn’t happen until after release, when more people have access to the book. So, when I saw the rating, I didn’t have high hopes. And honestly? I think that made a better experience for me. I had such low expectations, that it exceeded them. Take that for what it’s worth, but expectations do ultimately set the tone.

I really enjoyed the author’s humor written into the characters’ dialogue, especially The Beast’s. And I have to say, I honestly didn’t see the twist coming.

I really couldn’t stand any character, but that’s okay. I also wish each person had a more unique voice, given it’s written via multiple POVs. There was also one side plot that came out of nowhere and didn’t serve much purpose?? But if you can look past all that and just enjoy the ride, it was a good read.

Thank you Atria Books and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was really looking forward to diving into this ARC from NetGalley! While it won’t make my top reads of 2025, I can definitely see it being a hit for others—especially fans of locked-room mysteries.

The setup gives serious And Then There Were None vibes: ten strangers, a mysterious mansion, no memory of how they got there. The doors are locked, the windows are sealed, and they’re all racing against time to save an abducted girl. Oh, and each of them has a countdown timer strapped to their wrist. No pressure, right?

This book is often compared to Shutter Island, but to me, it felt more like the movie Identity. The eerie, psychological twists were engaging, and I found myself most drawn to the “Beast” chapters—the writing in those sections was especially strong, showcasing the author’s distinct voice and style.

That said, the story as a whole didn’t fully click for me. The characters weren’t particularly likable, and something about their decision-making made it tough to stay invested. I usually love multiple POVs in thrillers, but here, they didn’t quite work for me. I struggled to stay engaged and ended up taking longer to finish than I expected.

Overall, while this one wasn’t a personal favorite, I think readers who love mind-bending mysteries with a dark, psychological edge might really enjoy it!

“𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬, 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 - 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐬 - 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐮𝐬.”

C.B. Everett's The Other People is a WILD ride and a clever homage to And Then There Were none - with a shrewd cover to match.

I knew that I was into this book from the cover alone, and the overall premise: a group of strangers gathered at a mysterious country house who are being picked off one by one, while trying to stop a serial killer. Everett takes the bones of Agatha Christie's infamous mystery and gives it a Saw-like edge, with a massive sense of claustrophobia that is used super effectively and some pretty grusome deaths. Sometimes homages to Christie's work can feel reductive, but I thought Everett's tribute worked well with smart twists. For example, the paintings on the wall that changed after each person's death, was both a clever play on the Ten Little Soldiers disappearing figurines and a smart addition to the sense of dread and paranoia that the characters experience. I loved fourth-wall breaking Beast in the Cellar; I not only questioned who he was, but loved his interactions with the reader. There are a ton of characters, but Everett makes them all distinct (and equally flawed and horrible in their own ways). The short chapters from these different points of view, alongside the many cliffhangers and red herrings, keep the pages turning until its breathless ending, reframing all the questions I had.

The Other People is an unputdownable thriller (I read it in two sittings) that would make a fantastic movie. If you love the idea of a high-concept take on And Then There Were None, I highly recommend. Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for the ARC!

The plot line bears the hallmark of Agatha Christie's AND THEN THERE WAS ONE with a few added twist to bring it to this era. Ten people wake up in a locked house with no idea how they got there. Can you hear the spooky music, yet? They are here to play a game and find a missing girl, but the rules keep slipping and sliding around. As the number of players goes down one by one, the stakes go up. If you've read any Christie, you know that there's more to the story and the ending will be a HUGE surprise. CB Everett has done a great job of trying to fill Christie's shoes!!!

DNF -- Wasn't super hooked from the start, then we got a chapter with the POV of a pedophile and I was out.

The Other People by C. B. Everett is a darkly fascinating locked-room mystery, which straddles the line between a Christie-esque murder mystery (like And Then There Were None) and a horror story.
The narrator, named “The Beast in the Cellar,” has a pithy, sardonic voice as he breaks the fourth wall, speaking directly to the reader. This device seems to be more common in current thrillers I have read. The Beast introduces and describes all 10 guests, who have awakened in a strange, old, remote mansion. They are informed that their task is to find a missing young woman who will be murdered by a notorious serial killer very soon.
As you can imagine, strange, sinister situations occur as the guests are found dead, one by one. Unfortunately, I struggled to care about these characters, as they are quirky, self-absorbed, and overall unlikeable. Their broadly drawn behaviors are stereotypical, but gain more gravitas and depth as the story progresses. The “named” chapters are told in each guests’ own voice, which adds interest and understanding for a reader.
The plotting is clever enough to keep me engaged throughout, and the final twist is excellent!
Grab this thriller if you enjoy locked-room mysteries and dramas that are written in a farcical and witty manner.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for the ARC. This is my honest review.

Rounded up from 2.5 stars. This fell a little flat for me - the characters were very hard to stand.

Thanks to Netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

I Tried Really hard to love this book but it has so many POV i couldn't keep up and kept getting lost.

Do not take my personal review in mind if you want to read this one. I didn't get hooked up but maybe you will.

I was excited to read this book but found the execution lacking and story dragged on. I had a hard time keeping all the characters straight because there were so many of them and all of them were unlikable.

I struggled to get to part 3 of The Other People but when I did OMG! The ending made it worth the read! So creative.

There is a lot of gore in this book so be warned if you’re squeamish.

Thank you to NetGalley & Atria Books for letting me read this ARC.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC copy of The Other People!!

I'm sorry, but I deeply disliked this. I thought the premise was super interesting when requesting this ARC, but the execution fell incredibly flat for me. Everything felt very one-dimensional and I did not enjoy the depictions of mental health. I had such high hopes going into this, but it was just not for me.

This one was enjoyable until it wasn't. It had too much going on, too many characters. Even though I found the end somewhat interesting, it wasn't enough to redeem the rest of the book for me.

Ooooo I have so many good things to say about this book. I am shocked that so many people didn't enjoy it as much as I did, to each their own I suppose. First, I loved the Agatha Christie references and the overall premise behind it. I still thought it was very different from her book, and would love to give more detail regarding the use of it, but I'm afraid that would be a spoiler. I absolutely loved the whitty, sarcastic, beast in the cellar character. It brought some good humor into the story. I will say it was a bit of a slow burner for a while, but totally worth it. That ending though!!!!! I never would have guessed. The entire time I was like ok let's figure this out, if it's like And Then There Were None, I should be able to guess what is happening. NOPE, I could never have guessed that ending. It was done so well and the explanation pieced together perfectly. I loved it!

Thank you Atria Books publishing for providing me an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for my review.

The idea of this was really intriguing but the execution just missed, for me. The narrative voice of the beast was cool and I thought that was a unique story element, but unfortunately the pacing and the characters just dragged this story down. I saw someone say that this could have been a good novella and I definitely agree--the Beast was such a compelling voice, but the length of the story didn't do itself any justice. I just didn't like the characters and ultimately ended up not liking the book very much. I can see why people will like this, it had its moments, but this just really wasn't for me.

The Other People: 🧍🧍‍♀️🧍‍♂️⁣
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Thank you @atriabooks and @simon.audio #AtriaPartner #SimonAudio for my gifted copies. ⁣
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“They say that if you want to see what someone’s really like, give them what they want. It’ll accentuate their real character. Especially if you give them money. And power. That’s why so many famous people behave like arseholes. Because they can.”⁣
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This was a miss for me. I had the highest of hopes and the premise was amazing but the execution just didn’t hit for me. My favorite character was the beast in the cellar. I liked their banter and snarkiness to break up the tension and provide some insight on the characters. But that was about it.⁣
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Now even audio was a miss for me and that’s rare. Ramona is from Texas. Let me tell y’all, no she ain’t. 😂 Her accent would slip into some European country accent, but it definitely wasn’t hitting Texas. Also, why?? Why was she from Texas? What was the reason??⁣
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My husband read this one before me and he said “who you think is bad is bad” and he was right. It was very obvious, but I still enjoyed the majority of the jury. I’m such a fan of lock room mysteries, but this was not for me.

Ten Strangers wake up inside a locked house, unsure of how they even got there. They are told that if they want to escape alive, they must solve the disappearance and save a young woman. But as the time to solve the mystery ticks down, they are slowly being murdered. Can they figure out why they are all here before the time runs out? Or before they are all picked off?

My high review of this book comes from the ending. At the start and middle, I was a bit confused where the book was going and was thrown off by some odd events and character interactions. But once I made it to the end, everything kind of came into focus. I will warn, that at the beginning of the store, it does take some time to meet all of the characters and get a vague idea of what is going on. I honestly had no guess about the twist at the end, but that is why I enjoyed it so much. The potential confusion at the beginning was ignored for the thrill of the end. A very interesting and different take on a closed door mystery.

Thank you to Atria Books, NetGalley, and C.B. Everett for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

What a fun read! I still think about how clever this book was - how creepy this book was. It was a great representation on mental illness all while diving into a new reality of thriller. I read this quickly and enjoyed my time immensely.

I really liked the plot of this book! It kept me on my feet trying to figure out who the killer was. I didn't see the plot twist coming and really enjoyed how the whole book pulled together and wrapped up! Super fun read, especially if you enjoy Agatha Christie!

Ten strangers from different walks of life wake in a house with something chained to their wrist are told they must find Claire or risk their own life. Shades of other locked room mysteries but this one has more characters, an omniscient narrator, and a fair amount of gore. I'm usually a fan of the genre but this one had both too much and not enough going on. And it felt too derivative. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. No spoilers from me because I'm sure there are readers who will enjoy it.

For me, this book had too many points of view and felt scattered. I love a locked room mystery, but I feel the key to the success of one is attention to the setting (claustrophobic) and characters. If you don't mind a book with many POVs, give this a try!

The Other People started off strong, with an intriguing premise and a compelling narrative voice from the Beast, whose direct address to the reader added an engaging, almost playful menace. That aspect alone made me feel like this could have been an excellent short story.

Unfortunately, as a full-length novel, it overstayed its welcome. The pacing dragged, and the multiple POVs often blurred together, making it difficult to track who was narrating at times. The only truly distinct voice belonged to the Beast, while the rest of the characters felt too similar. Additionally, there was a lot of filler—sections that didn’t add to the plot or deepen the story, making it feel unnecessarily long. Some characters could have been cut entirely to streamline the narrative.

The twist at the end did redeem it slightly, but overall, I struggled to stay engaged. Two stars, and that feels generous.