This was my first book by CJ Tudor and it definitely won't be my last! This book took me on a wild ride in a completely different direction than I originally thought but I enjoyed every second!

Told from 3 different characters with 3 different stories, at first it's hard to see how they all connect. But by the end, you start putting all the pieces together and it's equally as horrifying.

Hannah is trapped in a bus that was in an accident in the middle of a snow storm. Half the people on board died in the crash. She needs to figure a way out to survive but is calling for help going to actually get her help?
Meg is trapped in a cable car with 5 others but 1 of them is dead. How did they get there? Is 1 of them a killer?
Carter is working at a ski chalet with secrets in the basement and a generator that keeps going out.
All of these stories are connected with a virus. Where did it start? How will it end? And how far will people go to protect themselves and people they love?

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House - Ballantine for the ARC.

A bus crash in the snow. A cable car stranded in mid-air. A secluded installation hidden in the forest. These are the settings for this post-apocalyptic thriller. Set after a viral apocalypse has ended humanity as we know it. Ten years of raging infection has wiped out the population and left some survivors as barely-human “whistlers.” Those who are not infected must protect themselves from the whistlers, and from those who would exploit the situation for personal gain.

Hannah, Meg, and Carter are all in separate locations, but something ties them together. As the story weaves onward, the connections become clearer. Hannah has to figure out how to get her fellow students and survivors of the bus crash to safety. Meg is stranded in mid-air in a cable car with others who were drugged and left there. Carter is in an abandoned ski resort with others who are protecting something in the basement and making vaccines against the deadly virus. Going outdoors into the snowstorm risks exposing oneself to the whistlers and the bitter cold.

The story is told from their three perspectives in alternating chapters. Eventually, things begin to weave together. It was fun to try to figure out how these people were related and what their backgrounds were. There are elements of suspense, and horror, as well as some sci-fi. There are bloody scenes. There is gore. The storyline itself seems to be a sort of commentary on our current situation with a raging virus and the human responses to it. It wasn’t overtly political though. It does offer one idea of “what-if?” The end was not what I expected though. I think the end was also a commentary, in its own way. I’ll leave it up to you to figure out what it’s trying to say.

This is a good novel if you like horror and don’t mind bloody scenes. Hannah’s father was a particularly villainous character. I’m not really into zombie tales and the whistlers were a little too zombie-like for my tastes. I do like how the three story lines eventually tied together so neatly. That was superbly well-done. The characterizations were also nicely written and detailed. For me, the best thing about the book was how skillfully the different lives of the characters were brought together. There are some elements I just didn’t like much, but some worked very well. I recommend it if you like this kind of tale.

First off, thank you to the publisher, the author and NetGalley for this ARC!!!

Wow wow wow this book was SO GOOD! The chapters were 3 alternating POVs and were short so this 400 page book flew by… I couldn’t read fast enough!!! I preordered this book the second I was done reading it so I can re-read!! Go in blind and be surprised!!!!

I think I should start with the bottom line, which is that I will read anything C. J. Tudor writes. I find her to be one of those writers who immediately captures me and keeps me captive until she's good and ready to let me go.

This book is a departure from the others I've read by her. Usually Tudor writes dramatic thrillers, sometimes with a twist of the supernatural, always with great character development. These books are right up my alley--the narratives combined with her addictive voice are always winners. This book, though . . . is different. Honestly, I might not have picked it up had it not been by Tudor. But I'm glad I did because it was a thrill ride.

This novel is a dystopian-esque "what if" novel: what if Covid would have been something worse even than it was? What if the world never got a hold on it and what would happen as civilization started to break down (and in case you're interested, the time it takes in this novel is 10 years: 10 years till the world we know is pretty much gone--or well on its way there). It's frightening and made all the more terrifying by the proximity of what we've all lived through in the past few years. A slight shift one way or another and those bad things could have been a whole lot worse.

Anyway, the narrative moves at a breakneck speed. As has been one complaint of mine with other Tudor novels, here too you're initially introduced to a huge cast of characters. But, hang in there: you'll come to see that there really is a central character in each of the three POVs the books shifts between and once you start following the central storyline, it becomes easier to recognize and follow all the other characters. There were also a few questions I was left with at the end, but . . . it doesn't really matter. The book is fast, entertaining, terrifying, and heartbreaking.

While I hope we return to the terror of the here-and-now in the future, this was a welcome diversion and another winner from Tudor--who has become one of my "must-reads" over the last few years.

I think this will be a good book for some but not for this reader. A little too on the gross side for me. I don't mind some violence but I draw the line at people pooping on ski lifts and all the description that that entails.

“The Drift” is a cracking plot-driven thriller about a post viral-world, and three sets of people fighting for survival in killer weather. One set is stranded in a rocking cable car, another in a crashed bus and still a third in the place they’re all headed for—a safe haven called the Retreat. Or maybe it’s not so safe any more.

C.J. Tudor creates an intriguing cohort of people in each set, each with trauma a-plenty and lots of reasons to be suspicious of each other. Could someone be infected? Who put that gun there? But this is a book about action, and the characterizations are secondary.

In the mood for skillful escapist fare? This is it, and you will not be disappointed.

I liked this a lot! Perfect winter read, I could feel the cold in the descriptions. There was a horror vibe going, along with the atmospheric descriptions. I didn’t know who to trust. I had no idea where this one was going, and I loved that. The ending was a surprise, and I was really pleased with it. Can’t wait to read this author again!

The Drift by C.J. Tudor

I chose this book for it's mystery/thriller potential and hadn't realized it was so heavy on the horror/apocalypse side of things. I'm a wimp with horror and apocalypse stories so the blood, guts, and gore was hard for me to take in this story. Tudor does a great job of bringing out the wimp in me, which isn't very far under the surface. What I enjoyed about this story is the mystery. There are three small groups of people with each group finding themselves in dangerous and almost impossible to escape circumstances. Death is an escape so there is always that option.

Hannah and her group have just been in a bus crash, the exits are blocked, and the only windows exposed are unbreakable. There are dead and injured people and if the living people don't get out they will die. If they do get out, they have a really good chance of dying, too. Meg and her small group wake up in a cable car that has been stopped midtrip. The ground is 1000 feet below. Each person had been drugged and put on the car and freezing to death is a very real unwanted option. Carter and his group seem to have the best circumstances, by far. They are living in an abandoned ski chalet with access to their own rooms, living quarters, a pool, gym, food and water. But their situation is precarious and it's obvious that not everyone can be trusted. The generator is going and it's a difficult trip to stay supplied. Also, there is a very horrifying type of "supplies" that no one wants to discuss.

All three groups have been facing life and death with a horrible virus that has changed life as they used to know it. The virus is on everyone's mind all the time and surviving it might be some people's worst nightmare depending on how a person is left to "survive". Maybe facing death and getting it over with is better than facing what horrors life has to offer.

I enjoyed the mystery of this story almost all the way through the book. I wanted to know how these three groups of people might be connected. It was hard to hope for the best for them when the best seems to be a dangerous and hopeless existence in a world that is all about survival. And it seems that many of these people don't have much of a future left without being trapped where they are because their choices were so limited even before the story begins.

In the end though, the trip through this bleak existence left me feeling like I wanted some answers, which often happens when I read Tudor's work. I'm always left wanting to know more and I know I won't get my questions answered. This is not a feel good story, if you haven't already guessed by now.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Ballantine Books and NetGalley for this ARC.

The Drift is a thriller from start to finish. For Tudor it's a step away from her typically spooky stories. This felt like three locked room mysteries rolled into one. Tudor doesn't ease us into things, she throws us headfirst over a cliff into a snowbank. At first, the number of characters and three different frozen locations may seem dizzying and disorienting, but when things eventually solidify with icy clarity, I was surprised and satisfied. The Drift has edge of your seat pacing and mysteries that will keep you guessing until the end. Go in blind, wrap yourself up in a blanket, and settle in for a winner this winter!

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for providing an eArc. All opinions are my own.

I absolutely love CJ Tudor. I want to be best friends. I want to know how her mind works. How do her books get better and better??

This one is CREEPY. Imagine every winter claustrophobic nightmare you have ever had, in a sci-fi dystopian setting.

This book is great if you want to have an anxiety attack! You are truly dropped in this world. Once you pick it up, you won’t be able to put it down. So make sure you’re not home alone when you start it!!

I stayed up until 3 am to finish this book. It is hard to put down! Tudor brilliantly keeps the tension high and the reader on the edge of their dear. Tudor gives us what we look for in a thriller and then takes it up a notch. Maybe if I had read this book four years ago, my reaction would be different, but to me, this is a horror story. It is set in a pandemic in which humans chose to save themselves rather than do the right thing, and as a result, humans destroyed themselves. It hits close to home. The critique of our pandemic response is clear, but it never takes away from the plot and action. This is a high-paced story, perfect for plot-driven readers. There are three storylines, each with a group of humans in a tight, enclosed location facing life-and-death circumstances. The story won't work for those that prefer character analysis since most of the characters end up being cliches, and only three are fully rounded out to the point where we understand all their motivations. There is also quite a bit of fatphobia. For most, it won't jump out, but if you are sensitive to it, it is very pronounced.

The book about survival.

Well written, and a page turner. I needed a chart to remind me which of the three stories I was in but later found out why that was important. Brilliantly woven together and a satisfying end. I enjoyed this one.

This book was dark but with a really good story. Set in a time where a virus has reached the world and those not infected are fighting for their lives in often disturbing ways, the story focuses on 3 separate storylines- Hannah, who is involved in a bus crash; Meg, who is trapped in a cable car; and Carter, who works at a remote lab high in the mountains. The 3 storylines converge in a surprising and very satisfying way.

The personalities of the protagonists were developed well and each had a unique voice. While flawed, I felt that they evoked empathy at times, with Meg being my favorite. There is a ton of death in this book and I always enjoy a read where you know that no character is safe. I stayed to figure out the twist at some point but had no idea what was coming for much of the book. The twist was really well done. The book is atmospheric and it’s not hard at all to draw the creepy connection between the situation the characters are in and our current pandemic situation.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and thought it was unique, scary, and engaging. Is definitely recommend to those who like dystopian thrillers as well as mysteries. I’m going to check out more by this author ASAP. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Definitely different. Surprised. Three stories in one told from various points of view.
Parts were slow and I had to make myself keep reading. The end was great. Twists. I enjoyed it.

CJ Tudor knows how to keep the pages turning and this foray into dystopian fic is no different. A recommended purchase for collections where her previous titles are popular.

Well done C.J. Tudor! Well done.

When a snowstorm hits, panic ensues.

Meg is a medical student, trapped on a bus that has crashed in the woods.

Hannah is a former police officer, stuck on a Cable Car, high up in the air.

Carter is an employee at a facility known as The Retreat, where vaccines are manufactured to protect against a deadly virus that is impacting the world. When the power goes out, all hell breaks loose.

What can I say except that no one is safe. And I mean no one. In The Drift: “Either you’re a good guy, or you’re a survivor.”

Thrilling and chilling, The Drift, was unputdownable. These stories intertwined beautifully and kept me glued to the pages until the absolutely fabulous end. I will admit that I guessed a major plot twist about 2/3rds of the way through and from then on knew what was going to happen however that didn’t take away from my enjoyment in any way whatever. I found everything about this twisty-turny thriller to be brilliantly plotted and equally terrifying.

This was a buddy read with Kaceey - that I enjoyed a teeny bit more than she did.

Thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the arc via NetGalley.

A devastating viral disease is sweeping the globe, leaving 2 types of people in its wake- those who have the disease, and those that will. Amidst this backdrop, three scenes play out: a bus with students overturns during a snow storm; a cable car hangs precariously when there’s a power outage; and the staff at a mysterious abandoned chalet called The Retreat, where vaccines are manufactured, are threatened from within. Sounds crazy? Just wait until you devour The Drift, a brilliantly plotted thriller that may hit just a little too close to home. The plot alternates between the three settings, each chapter more suspenseful than the last. Throw in a claustrophobic blizzard, a deadly virus, and desperate characters and you have a head-spinning 5 star thriller. Seriously, don’t miss this one!! I received an arc of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

In this dystopian thriller, the world has been ravaged by a horrific virus. Research is being conducted to find a cure, but not everything is as it seems.

There are three storylines with three very different POVs. The first is Hannah, who finds herself awakening after the bus that she is in crashes and is half buried in snow. She and her fellow passengers must work together to find a way to escape their metal prison and survive.
The second is Meg, a former police detective, who awakens to find herself in a mountain lift cable car with several other research volunteers. They were headed to a research facility called The Retreat when the cable snapped.
Lastly, there is Carter. He is a member of a research team working at The Retreat. He doesn’t trust anyone and with good reason.

Spine tingling reveals occur as these three storylines start to converge. Who do you trust? What are you willing to do to survive? Are you a good guy or a bad guy?

Thank you to Random House- Ballantine, C.J. Tudor, and NetGalley for providing me with an ebook ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This started off really well... but as the survival rate of characters went down, so did the storytelling.

I REALLY wanted to like this book... I loved the Chalk Man, and CJ's storytelling and the brutal honesty of the action. But this was just a touch too out there for me. With 3 criss-crossing storylines, many (many many) characters and settings that are constantly tly shifting, I found it difficult to follow the action (or at one point to even care about a storyline). As I got further I to the story even the setting became a mystery with pieces revealed over time.

In the end, I think The Drift was just trying to do too much, and lost itself along the way.

My thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a nice dystopian novel told from 3 Points of View. If you like bleak, dark novels this is for you. The imagery, dialogue and urgency were all very intense. I did enjoy it but felt stressed out after reading.
It was nice to have different perspectives as to what was happening but I found it hard to keep track of all three and the extreme perils they were going through.
The ending was a bit off and I do hope this world is explored further.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!