THE DRIFT
C.J. TUDOR
*****
Prepare for the big chill . . .
An overturned coach full of students.
A stranded cable car full of strangers.
An isolated chalet full of friends.
Outside, a snowstorm rages.
Inside one group, a killer lurks.
But which one?
And why is no rescue coming?
What are they trying to escape from?
And who are the terrifying Whistlers?
A locked-room mystery.
A dystopian thriller.
A nail-shredding horror.
One mind-bending twist.
THE DRIFT - survival can be murder.
MY REVIEW
*****
I previously read The Taking of Annie Thorne (or ‘The Hiding Place’ in the US) by CJ Tudor and I’ve heard a lot about her books in addition to this. In my previous review I compared her to Stephen King with her writing style and preferred genre of domestic thrillers with a supernatural twist elements.
The Drift is a venture away from this in that it is a straight up horror and dystopian thriller which completed surprised me. It’s better if you can remain as spoiler free as possible before diving into the book so I will try to not give away as much as possible in my review! The book is set in a dystopian future, and there’s a virus element to the plot as well. I would have been a touch apprehensive had I known this going in as since covid, virus-set thrillers seem to have lost all their fun and have become a little unrealistic. This book touches on this really well - there’s not too much explanation into the previous event which started everything off and the plot mainly focuses on our three characters and the dangerous predicaments they have found themselves in as the chapters unfold.
Each chapter switches narrative between Hannah, who is trapped on a crashed school-bus, Meg who is trapped on a stopped cable-car and Carter who works at the mysterious retreat that Hannah and Meg are trying to get to. The book is a beautifully plotted - drip feeding us information in snippets until we start to get a feel for what might be going on as a whole. Each perspective is interesting and gripping with small cliff-hangers left at the end of each chapter to keep you guessing. I didn’t feel myself wanting to rush other perspectives to get back to a preferred one at any time. Sometimes Hannah and Meg’s characters felt a little too similar, particularly as both of their storylines involved being trapped - this led to overly repetitive phrases interchangeably used for either character. This then carried over to an over-use of characters working something out and then a second later, the thing that they had worked out coming true – the timing of this made some parts feel unrealistic.
The plot progresses well, and I had roughly worked out the twist that joined all of the stories together only a few chapters before the reveal happened. The pace is kept high throughout, and I could not put the book down, wanting to find out what would happen next. I really loved the ending and especially enjoyed that not everything was neatly wrapped up which kept you thinking about it long after you put the book down.
Overall, The Drift is a clever thriller which kept me on the edge of my seat, unable to put the book down – my first Kindig Gem for 2023! Thank you to NetGalley & Penguin Random House - Michael Joseph for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
LINKS TO BUY
I also loved this novel. I enjoy this author's work and have read all she has published to date, and I definitely recommend them all.