So the premise is this...three different scenarios, three sets of people, same events in motion. As the story progresses things get more mixed up and interconnected. It is definitely an interesting read. It was a bit disjointed for my taste, without a nice flow from one scenario to the next. However, I did enjoy it.

This book reads so much like a high tense movie. The pacing kept you on edge as you jumped between the three POV. It kept you not fully grasping what was happening. It was fun gathering the pieces of the puzzle and figuring out what was happening. I was able to figure out some things pretty early, but it was fun to find out.
I did not need the SA, no matter how quick it was and how it ended. It served no purpose. I did not get all my questions answered by the end , but the pace and suspense made it a good book.

Thanks to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for the digital ARC.

'Tis the season for virus pandemic novels. :)

It's hard to review the way I'd like to without introducing spoilers so I'll just say that CJ Tudor's structure for this story is fantastic. We're presented with three different sets of characters in alternating chapters and witness how they're dealing with various aspects of living in a post-apocalyptic, pandemic world and there are a couple of tenuous common elements between all of them. It's really well done.

The characters are believable, the 'monsters' are well done and believable, and the good v evil trope is very well played out and manipulated throughout.

The only thing I would've changed is the amount of times different characters had something important tickle their mind, or had something on the tip of their tongue, or could feel that something wasn't quite right but couldn't put their finger on it. That happens a lot in this book. Not a big enough gripe to impact my enjoyment of it.

As well as tapping into the pandemic fears that we've all been forced to face since 2020 there's a real nod to the incipient authoritarianism that's happening now around the world and how it could pan in out in a devastating pandemic or global crisis situation 'for the good of the people.'

CJ Tudor is a really good storyteller and this is a quick and exciting read.

During a severe snowstorm, Hannah’s boarding school is evacuated and she finds herself trying to survive the bus crash in the middle of nothing but snow drifts. In a separate storyline, Meg finds herself stranded with strangers in a cable car during a snowstorm, with no sign of help coming for them. In a third POV, Carter is trekking back to the ski chalet where he lives and works, trying to get to safety before the storm becomes impassable. How the story comes together for these three individuals, all facing dramatic life-or-death situations is absolutely riveting. How are their lives related and who will survive in the end? I wasn’t sure about this book at all, but it sucked me in and held me captive until the last page. Highly recommend, especially for a snowy evening read!

Special Note: Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

(Links of actual posts to social media provided)

I finished this a couple weeks ago and then sat on the post because life got busy. Coming back to it has made me realize that maybe all reviews should be pushed off a while? Because how else will you know if a book has that certain something special that stays with you? This one has it. I can picture all 3 scenarios vividly, even after having read 2 or 3 books since. That’s pretty rare for me.

Some amazing aspects:
Post-apocalyptic
A viral pandemic
Human monsters
Told from 3 perspectives
Smartly woven stories
Gruesome action scenes
Lots of mystery

Difficult to comment further on this one without spoiling, so I’ll leave you by saying this: Solid author, solid book. Definitely recommend. ⛄️

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

4+ stars

In the near future there is a pandemic raging. The novel follows three characters. Hannah wakes up in a bus with several others after a crash while fleeing their boarding school. Meg wakes up in a cable car high above the ground with several strangers. Carter and his crew make vaccines against the virus in exchange for supplies. All three face different survival challenges and they are all somehow linked together.

As the links are revealed you keep thinking "Oh Wow." Highly recommend.

This was the perfect “post pandemic” read! Such a fast paced thriller that I couldn’t put down! There are different POVs so it could get confusing but it was a fantastic read. This was my first book by this author, so thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

In the beginning: corpse in the snow in the woods being beset by scavengers. First crows, then bigger preds at night. Then rolls on to a wolf bagged by hunter for food & death of hunter after consumption along with crows falling from the sky so corpse was somehow contaminated. Thus begins this I Am Legend viral apocalyptical tale. This was an easy fast moving read. One slight nod that brought out my college paleo/anthro chords twinging was something most don't know: Aryans are Assyrian/Babylonian ethnic type base & Germans are Teutonic. The author uses the multi character in each group type narrative which I like if done properly. There are three groups & each chapter goes from one to another sequentially & seamlessly which is easy to follow. The best little blurb in this thriller can sum up the twists & turns: "Their existence had always been a fragile balance. Now the pendulum had swung, the scales had tipped, and the house of cards had come tumbling down. Not to mention, metaphors had been well and truly murdered." this was a wild little ride & author was ingenious on how he put this together.

Absolutely everything I could hope for in a post-apocalyptic thriller following the fallout of a pandemic. Some may say ‘too soon’ but I say bring it on! It happened and, let’s be honest, a pandemic is fabulous material for a horror story. What’s scarier than a potential reality? So I guess it should be clear, if you read to escape then steer clear. This is bleak, macabre, and suspenseful. My type of read!

Three character POVs and plot lines is tricky, especially with such a large cast of characters, but Tudor did a phenomenal job. There was not one point of the story where I was bored. All three were well executed and they blended together so seamlessly. A+ work for creating tension, making everyone untrustworthy, and building such a scary and claustrophobic world. Truly an edge of your seat type of read.

The only other Tudor novel I’ve read is The Chalk Man, and I really was not a fan. After recently reading and enjoying her short story collection, A Sliver of Darkness, I decided to give her another chance. So glad I did! This was completely different than The Chalk Man and just better in every way. I really loved the King vibes I got from this one. Excited to check out her other books now.

I’m not sure what to say about this book! There’s Hannah on a bus trip in a blizzard in a dystopian world and the bus crashes. Then there’s Meg on a cable car stuck during a blizzard and discovers a dead body on board. Then Carter who is at The Retreat and things start to fall apart. Some how it all connects. This is a rough story to read. But it did keep me reading to see where the author was going to take me. I would recommend but with a caution attached. Thank you NetGalley for letting me review this book.

This was so good! Creepy and atmospheric, I also enjoyed the post-apocalyptic setting. I’m a huge fan of CJ Tudor and this did not disappoint! Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

I've enjoyed all of C.J. Tudor's books so I was so excited when I got a chance to read an early release of "The Drift" on Netgalley. This apocalyptic thriller was right up my alley. Not only was it full of suspense and action, it also had. mystery and a post-covid feel. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to any other book by this author.

Thrills on top of thrills on top of more thrills. What a whacky and grotesque adventure. this book is about three different timelines that converge into one at it's ending. Take a zombie causing virus that has caused an end of the world crisis with characters from all walks of life. I loved everything about this book but must have missed something towards the end because I had a very hard time following how a few of the characters tied together. There were definitely a ton of bOh, shit moments and a ton of very vulgar killings! I loved it! I've never read a book by C.J. Tudor but will definitely be reading more soon. Many thanks to the author/publisher for the ARC. Will definitely reccomend.

Wow! That was truly an amazing read! I was on the edge of my seat page after page. Heart thumping thriller, with just enough gore. The details were so captivating, I was able to set the scene in my head. From the sights, different smells, it felt like I was actually there with the characters enduring these horrific events. So many different twists too which made it even more exciting.

Quite different from Ms. Tudor’s previous works but exceptional as always.
Sci-fi, horror and mystery in one.
Pick this one up.

I was so excited when I was approved for C. J. Tudor's newest book as I have loved all of her previous works and I am happy to say this one did not disappoint! She does a fantastic job of world building and you can feel the terror the characters are going through. While reading I knew the three groups would be connected somehow but I was not expecting the reveal of how.

Tudor did an amazing job of bringing this apocalyptic story to life.

First of all, big thanks to Penguin Random House for the publisher recommendation and advanced access to this book. There were absolutely parts of this book that had my enthralled, and other parts that left my scratching my head a bit.

Generally, I enjoy books that have multiple POVs. However, I felt that this one was a bit confusing. Eventually, it all wraps together (and nicely), but for the first half of the book, it was a bit tricky putting together who was who and what was going on.

The storyline, overall, is pretty depressing. There is a lot of sickness, death, anger, revenge. Very few allies are made and very little trust is had by anyone. I was about to hate the ending, but the very last chapter made up for it a touch. I genuinely enjoy & appreciate the quest for survival (and being a survivor), but disagree with some of the methods these characters chase after it.

This is the first novel I've read from CJ Tudor. Man, what an Awesome Storyteller!!!!

The intrigue, suspense and back & forth of the different characters. Each character had their story and secrets that they wanted kept. The end delivered a punch to the whole storyline, that was masterfully done. Trying to guess where the next shoe was going to drop was never easy and I was always wrong.

If you want an edge of your seat thriller, then The Drift should be your next read!

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started this book. I briefly read the synopsis, saw people were trapped in snow, and decided to go for it, despite vague talk of the end of the world (well, “danger…consuming all humanity”). I was pleasantly surprised by how creepy and intertwined this story is!

As we know from the synopsis, Hannah awakens in a snowy coach crash. Many of the students aboard are dead, and the rest of them are left wondering if help will come before they freeze to death - or if they even want help to come.

Meg awakens in a cable car, hundreds of feet above the snowy peaks below. She has no idea how she got there, along with the others who are also waking up. The car is stuck, hanging on by one cable, and they are trapped. They, too, wonder if anyone will come for them before they succumb to the cold.

The third group of people are at “The Retreat”, a secret place in a secret location, doing secret things, and the snowstorm is putting them in danger as well. Their generators are on the fritz, and without those, they will certainly freeze. They are also low on supplies (in more ways than one) and going to get more may be deadly. Will help come for them, and again, do they want it?

All three groups are tied together, though they and the reader don’t know it at first. The world is in the middle of a decade-long pandemic, and some of these people have agendas. Some of them have paranoia and anxiety. Some of them have secret pasts. All of them are just trying not to be infected or freeze to death while stuck with random strangers.

The first half of this sped along and had me immediately engaged. I felt that it started to lag a bit around the 50-75% mark, but then things picked up again as my jaw repeatedly dropped throughout the last few chapters. This is listed as an apocalyptic mystery/thriller, but I’d class it as a thriller/horror. It was creepy as hell, and I really enjoyed it! Four stars for this book that had me huddled under a blanket for more than one reason…

(Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, C.J. Tudor, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review. This book is slated to be released in January, 2023.)

Ooohhh goodness! An accident leaves survivors stranded in the middle of a snowstorm. But wait, there’s more! It’s also the end of the world! I think that is all you should know going in to this book. Let the rest keep you in the edge of your seat as you race to the conclusion.