The Drift: The spine-chilling ‘Waterstones Thriller of The Month’ from the author of The Burning Girls
£4.30£8.50 (-49%)
THE HEART-POUNDING NEW NOVEL FROM THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE BURNING GIRLS WHICH HAS NOW BEEN ADAPTED INTO A HIT PARAMOUNT+ SHOW!
‘The wildest thriller of the year is three thrillers in one. Buckle up’ LINWOOD BARCLAY
‘If you like my stuff, you’ll like this’ STEPHEN KING
‘Now this is a real horror story’ 5 STAR READER REVIEW
‘One of the best thriller’s I’ve ever read!’ 5 STAR READER REVIEW
Survival is murder . . .
An overturned coach full of students. All of them are trapped.
An isolated chalet full of friends. Soon they’ll be enemies.
A stranded cable car full of strangers. One of them is dead.
Outside, a snowstorm rages.
Inside each group, a killer lurks.
But that’s not their only problem.
Why is no rescue coming? What are they trying to escape from? And who are the terrifying Whistlers?
Praise for C. J. Tudor:
‘Some writers have it, and some don’t. C. J. Tudor has it big time’ LEE CHILD
‘C. J. Tudor is terrific’ HARLAN COBEN
‘C.J. Tudor should be on everyone’s must-read list’ CHRIS WHITAKER
‘A dark star is born’ A. J. FINN
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Additional information
| Publisher | Penguin, 1st edition (26 Oct. 2023) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Paperback | 416 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 1405948272 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1405948272 |
| Dimensions | 12.8 x 3.6 x 19.2 cm |
by The Cookster @ Reviewer ranking #31
Rating: 4.3/5
The wait for C.J. Tudor’s latest novel has been a little longer than originally anticipated after plans for the novel she was originally working on were shelved. Disappointing though that delay was, I can happily report that the wait has been worthwhile. Her fifth full length novel once again hits the mark and delivers a gripping read full of tension and suspense.
That said, “The Drift” has a markedly different feel about it compared with this author’s previous publications. In her earlier offerings the influence of Stephen King has been quite evident, but that is far less noticeable this time around. This has a much stronger mystery thriller bias and I would venture to suggest that its style is the most filmic of her work to date.
The narrative is presented in loops of three perspectives. Each of the three is almost a story in its own right, but as a reader you know that the separate strands must relate to each other at some point, because that is just how these things work. The challenge facing the author is to knit the threads together in a way that works effectively – and C.J. Tudor achieves just that.
Not everyone will feel comfortable with the content. There is a darkly apocalyptic premise underpinning the story and there are some disturbing developments along the way, which might not be to everyone’s taste. It may also be that fans of C.J. Tudor’s previous novels look less favourably upon this shift in style – but, personally, it only raises this author higher in my estimation, as it displays another dimension to her writing, while still being wonderfully enthralling.
by Books_by_your_bedside
Right, first things first. Everyone, however you can, get a copy of this book. It’s absolutely fantastic. Horrifying but in the most wonderful way.
It’s hard to believe but I haven’t actually read a CJ Tudor book before. I believe I owned The Chalk Man a number of years ago, but I lent it to someone before I’d had a chance to read it and that was the end of that.
It is the mother of all thrillers. In fact, you basically get three thriller stories in one. It is the very epitome of what a thriller is. It is bone chilling.
This book is creepy and grim and scary and bloody and isolating and claustrophobic and riveting and captivating and thrilling. It makes you hold your breath, you cannot believe what’s happening, and you can’t wait to see what’s on the next page.
Strangely, given it’s horror elements, there were moments I found quite humorous and some I found rather sad. It makes it a more well rounded story and you realise the characters are very human and very vulnerable.
We have three points of view. Firstly we have the people stuck in an overturned coach. Then the people stranded in a cable car. And finally those living in an isolated chalet. Each situation Is as uncomfortable as the next. I expected to like one situation better than the others, but I didn’t. They were all brilliant in equal merit. They all exposed human nature, what we do when we’re afraid, whether we’re willing to kill, the sacrifices we’re happy to make if it means we survive.
There are some very dark moments. Moments that take you just to that line of comfortable, or palatable, but that’s what makes it such a thrilling read.
There are so many amazing characters, too many to dedicate an appropriate amount of time to, especially as I’m bound to forget someone and then I’ll feel bad. But I’ll say there is not one wasted character here. They’ve all got their flaws, their skills, secrets, loves, pasts and futures, morals, survival instincts, fear. No one is safe. We have heroes and we have villains, and it’s not always clear which is which.
It is expertly plotted. I won’t say if and how and why any of the stories are linked, but you do get this feeling that they’re intertwined. It’s so cleverly done. It’s not obvious. But nothing is quite as it seems and it’s fascinating to discover why.
It never feels slow or rushed, perfectly placed. I don’t usually like to reread thrillers as I feel the excitement is gone, but I think this is the kind of book where you’d notice things on a second read that you missed on the first.
In the acknowledgements, she says that she had the idea before covid, but ended up writing it during covid. It’s interesting to think how the pandemic may have, even on a subconscious level, affect what was written, and how different the book might have been if we hadn’t gone through that. Yes, this book is a work of fiction, but living through – albeit a slightly less serious version – a similar situation, it gives you a different appreciation for the characters.
It’s not very often that I read a book in one sitting, let alone one that’s about 400 pages long. You need to ignore everything else, tune out, and focus. But this book gives you no choice. It sucks you in. You’re absorbed and the outside world just melts away.
It’s mind boggling, full of twists and turns, shocks and surprises, red herrings, truths and lies. You don’t know who to trust or who to believe. Who is the good guy and who is the bad.
She also mentions in the acknowledgements that her next book will be slightly different from this one, as were her previous. But that doesn’t matter to me whether it’s the same genre or not. Her writing is so skilled that I’m sure it could be used to maximum effect in every work, and I cannot wait to read more.
by Yvonne – The coycaterpillar Reads
The Drift has a dark pulsating heart, a constant reminder of the evil that humanity can do. C.J. Tudor has the ability to wrong foot her readers at every turn. Superb.
The Drift was immediate cover love…I know, I know, shoot me! But it called to me like a siren awaiting its next prey. Well let me just say, this book got its talons into me nice and early. I know its likely an unpopular opinion, but I love a story about viruses and post-apocalyptic worlds. And this take had me salivating with its torturous narrative and blood thirsty scenes. What made it even better was just how all the intricate storylines interweaved into a final reveal, I’m not ashamed to admit that I had no idea what was about to smack me upsides the head.
C.J Tudor is a relatively new to me author and I’ve instantly fallen in love with her storytelling. It’s sharp and punchy and she isn’t afraid to tackle those hard-hitting themes. I think especially during lockdown times we became so insular – we had no routines, no sense of anything else going on in the world, just those four walls, day in and day out. It was a form of torture for many. Anyway, I digress, Tudor created a story that allowed the reader to experience many different perspectives. The effect these conditions created the longing for loved ones and time to plot against those who have done us wrong.
The Drift follows three groups of people, narrated by Hannah, Meg, and Carter. Hannah and her group have been involved in a crash after the bus that was taking them to “The Retreat” to be involved in trials that could significantly help them if they were to become infected. Hannah’s father, Dr. Grant is the professor running the establishment and boy is he a cold son of a cow if you ever met one. Absolute rage this character brought out in me. The trials aren’t exactly legal nor ethical but don’t let that stop powerful men. Hannah and her group wake up after the crash, feel discombobulated and realise that they’ve been drugged. They are surrounded by the dead and very quickly realise that either the cold will kill them or the department because at least one of them is infected.
Meg and her group are trapped in a cable car. They are around 1000 feet in the air with no where to escape. They were also on their way to The Retreat. They also awake after being drugged and find that someone has stabbed a member of their group. Who managed to smuggle a knife on board. Quickly they become weary with exhaustion and hunger and tempers become frayed. Meg is an ex- police officer who has nothing left to live for and a palpable sense of resentment towards The Department. Her six-year-old daughter died during the outbreak and just desperately wants to be with her again. Her pain made my heart ache.
Carter is a member of staff within The Retreat. Boy, has he had a hard time of it. After being trapped in the hypothermic conditions his face is a mess from nerve damage. It used to bother him but now not so much. It means that mostly people keep away from him. The Retreat has few numbers now and they take it turn to do chores and the dreaded grocery run – this involves a trek down the mountainside on ski’s. You just have to watch out for the Whistlers – the infected that now live in droves around buildings. One thing you need to remember is to keep out of the basement, that’s where the isolation chambers are kept.