“Either you’re a good guy, or you’re a survivor.”

C.J. Tudor has done it again with not one, not two, but three locked room connected mysteries in The Drift!

Carter is trapped at The Retreat
Hannah is trapped in The Coach
Meg is trapped in The Cable Car

Likely inspired by the Covid-19 pandemic, The Drift explores a fictional deadly virus’s impact on humanity ten years after its discovery.

At the end of the world, what are people willing to do to survive? Everyone holds a secret, no one is who they appear to be, and all are seeking redemption.

Who will survive?

“The devil was an angel once.”

Tudor realistically captures the horrors of a deadly pandemic through depicting a fictional society that cleverly mimics our own.

But oh my! Poopity poop poop poop! There are so many disgusting scenes involving poop!

This book definitely explores the grotesque, so be prepared for some very gruesome scenes. If you enjoy zombie thrillers, there’s something for you too!

Overall, I enjoyed all three settings equally and liked how they eventually tied together. Another great book from C.J. Tudor!

4/5 stars

Expected publication date: 1/31/23

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing - Ballantine for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Drift is intelligent, diabolical, thrilling, horrifying, on the pulse of current (future?) events. All of CJ Tudor’s work is fantastic, but this one is different. It was next level. I cannot find a single thing wrong with it. I hate to compare, but this was like reading Stephen King or Blake Crouch. I honestly go into everything Tudor writes blind, because she is an auto-buy author for me, but this one floored me. This needs to be a movie.

C.J. Tudor comes through with another winner! If you thought “The Chalk Man” was a stellar read, then make time for “The Drift”.

Though the stories are different, one being about childhood games, and this new one about Post Apocalyptic survival and horror, C.J. Tudor, weaves a compelling, twisty, riveting, and sometimes darkly humorous tale.

Three storylines make up this new novel. The centerpiece of the story is the Department of Research into Infectious and future Transmissions (DRIFT). Three characters, Hannah, Meg, and Carter have found themselves trapped in very dangerous situations, all in very different places. The world is crumbling due to a virus, that has no cure and turns people into ‘Whistlers’. So these three characters have to endure not only the claustrophobic situation they are in, the people they are with, but the fact, those infected are downright monsters.

So how do you do it? Who do you trust? Do you fear the monster or the person trapped with you? In a world gone bad, what is the worse thing you face, danger, monsters, or your own weaknesses?

The story is chilling, relentless and in a few parts rather unnerving. The world that C.J. Tudor creates, has echoes of the COVID Pandemic. So when you are reading this book, each of you should feel some of the claustrophobic elements, as well as the “I hope I’m not infected” thoughts that many of us felt over the last couple of years.

Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are mine.

What an adrenaline rush! This thriller was intense, anxiety inducing and pulse pounding the whole way through! I'm still trying to lower my heart rate over here. The post-apocalyptic setting is reminiscent of Resident Evil and The Walking Dead, where there is a viral outbreak and not much hope left for humanity. From the very first paragraph, you will immediately be immersed into a literal snowstorm of chaos, feeling every bit as trapped and claustrophobic as the characters.

The storyline is told in three different POVs, alternating between Hannah, Meg and Carter. Hannah wakes up to find herself trapped on a bus with strangers, some alive and some dead. Meg wakes up to find herself in the same predicament, but she is trapped in a cable car, swaying high over the mountains. Their only knowledge is their planned destination, The Retreat. A safe zone for evacuees to be protected from the virus. Carter is at The Retreat in an isolated area when the generator starts to malfunction. All three will have to fight against the elements, lack of sustenance and the risk of catching the virus in order to survive. But that's not all. They also have to watch out for the infected.

I really enjoyed this book, but I did get confused at times. There are a lot of different characters, and I wanted a little more of an explanation at the end. Still...this is one of Tudor's best books yet and I highly recommend it!!

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, and the author for allowing me access in exchange for my honest opinion!

CJ Tudor is truly one of my favorite authors!! I jumped at the chance to read this ARC and I am so glad I did. Fabulous writing!! My skin is still crawling from this book.

The Drift was my first experience reading CJ Tudor, and it was a good one to get me started! This is a post-apocalyptic thriller, set amidst a virus that has ravaged mankind, turning those affected into a violent, zombielike state. The book starts with three main characters (Hannah, Meg and Carter) and their groups, which slowly intertwine over the course of the novel. Hannah is stranded in a coach car that has wrecked on a snowy road, Meg is stranded in a cable car high in the mountains; both are trying to get to The Retreat, where Carter is stranded. There are some really nice twists throughout, some of which I saw coming and some I didn’t. I don’t want to give too much away, so that’s all I’ll really say about that.

The biggest problem I had with The Drift is that I wanted to hear more about the virus and the effect it has had on the world. Of course, the virus is really just a sub-pot, so I didn’t get nearly as much of that as I wanted. Other readers may not feel this way, but I’m a fan of post-apocalyptic fiction, so I wanted to know more about that. This is not to say that the main storyline (the mystery) isn’t compelling, because it definitely is. I just kept waiting to hear more about that, but the bits and pieces I got didn’t satisfy me completely. There is room here for another novel or ten, I think. I’d read them.

Tudor is a great writer and keeps the suspense coming, ending just about each chapter on a cliffhanger to keep you reading deep into the night. The main characters are likeable and keep you interested as to their fates moving deeper into the pages. Overall, if you like a good mystery, you will probably really like The Drift and turn pages relentlessly. If, like me, you are into world building and care about the deeper aspects of the background, then you may find yourself somewhat disappointed at the end, but excited by the prospect of future novels that may get into the virus and its effects on the world. Otherwise, it’s a great fall/winter read that will keep you engaged. Thanks very much to Random House, Ballantine Books and Netgalley for providing me with an advance copy to enjoy.

This book left my skin crawling! A horror story about catastrophe and survival that will leave you on the edge of your seat. It’s jam-packed full of action (if I’m being critical…maybe one too many action scenes for my taste). However, I still gobbled this book up and I think horror and dark sci-fi fans will, too.

While I love post-apocalyptic novels and I’m a fan of Tudor’s previous work, this book missed the mark for me. There were three competing storylines that were expected to come together, and eventually did, but in such a way that was completely disappointing. In many ways, too much information was given. But, worse, there were many ways not enough information was given. This misstep left me, as a reader. frustrated and impatient. About three quarters of the way in I was ready for the book to simply end and I was glad when it did.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book.

This CJ Tudor novel is a bit different than the rest. It is told told from three different perspectives that feel like seperatre stories at first but finally converge into a cohesive end. The world is facing a viral pandemic that very well may be the apocalypse. On a mountain at a ski resort turned research facility a group of individuals search for the cure and harbor secrets deadlier than the virus they seek to eradicate. Down the mountainside a ski lift has left its passengers stranded high up in the air with very little knowledge of why they are there in the first place. Further down the mountain pass, a bus carrying a group of students escaping the worse of the epidemic, has overturned leaving the survivors struggling to survive. Overall a good novel, but it probably juggled a little bit too much at the same time to make it perfect.

C. J. Tudor scores once more! What a riveting read! The Drift would be a chilling even if it didn't take place in a wretched winter. The plot is even more engrossing in the wake of the global COVID-19 pandemic. The book is centered around three characters. It's impressive how engaging each of their storylines are. Tudor adroitly links each of them in a very satisfying way. Love. Revenge. Survival. What would a person do in pursuit of them? Tudor shows us in this terrific tale. Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Ballantine Books, & NetGalley for the advance reading copy in exchange for my honest review. #TheDrift #NetGalley.

My rating (*****) -- This is my first book by Tudor and I admire the author's ability to dole out information naturally; no info-dumps here. The twists and turns were remarkable, as well as the descriptions and suspense. Ultimately, it was a bleak look at human nature under stress. The editing was excellent; I saw no errors.

Two personal items: First, there is no need to Americanize the writing. There were no language issues that detracted from clarity. And second, the use of names alone for chapter headings is hard on a reader who switches reading devices. The use of a number along with the character name would help me find my reading place on another device.

** Thanks so much to C.J. Tudor, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, and NetGalley for this ARC! The Drift will be out January 31st, 2023. **

Plot: The Drift is told from three perspectives - that of Hannah, a student at an elite university whose bus has just crashed in a snowstorm on the way to the mysterious Retreat, Meg, an ex-cop who is trapped on a cable car far above a mountain as she also makes her way to the Retreat, and of Carter, who lives and works at The Retreat. The three storylines start separately and weave together over time, telling a story of a dystopian near-future ravished by plague and human weakness.

Review: I really liked this! It definitely terrified me. The pacing with three separate perspectives made it almost impossible to put down, as I was always desperately waiting to see what happened to one character as I read the other two. I wish the ending had answered a few more questions, but overall I enjoyed this one a lot!

4 Stars!

CJ Tudor is one of my favorites, so when I received this ARC, I jumped for joy!

3 interwoven storylines - a crashed bus, a stranded cable car, and an isolated retreat, seemingly not connected, but eventually the picture is painted. I loved the parallels that could have been drawn to what the world just went through.

I was loving questioning what was happening…I couldn’t wait to see how the final picture turned out….the picture was super cool but there were still lots of questions, I was slightly unsatisfied with the conclusion.

A special thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group - Ballentine, and CJ Tudor for providing me with an ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and C.J. Tudor for this ARC of The Drift. I am a big fan of Tudor and her writing so when this book became available I was immediately excited. This would be perfect to read on a cold, snowy night. The threee different POVs are extremely easy to follow which made it a winner for me. This book was so incredibly twisty but came together very well with everything neatly describe. The viral apocalypse is a setting that is very controversial and I loved to see all of the characters emotions and thought processes behind their decisions and the things that had brought them to their current status. This book was very well-done, thought provoking and overall enjoyable.

The Drift by CJ Tudor is a fast paced thriller where we follow three characters on very different situations. A crashed bus, a cable car that is stalled, and an isolated research facility form the backdrop of this novel. With chapters that rotate through all three perspectives, it’s very easy to stay engaged in this story. Also, make sure you have a blanket because you will get cold reading about this snowy mystery!

I really enjoyed this book! I am a sucker for any book with multiple, seemingly unconnected stories that slow unfold into a bigger picture and this was no exception! I love how Tudor’s books always do new things so you never know what to expect. This book is so different from anything else I have read from her.

I can see some people not enjoying this book. There is a lot going on and yet, a lot of big things aren’t talked about in detail. There is a mysterious illness that isn’t really talked about in depth but I find I like that more because it really feels like we are learning things as the characters learn them. There are a few parts where you have to really suspend your disbelief which I sometimes have a problem with but this book was interesting enough that I could.

If you are a fan of the vibes of The Thing, The Walking Dead, or Dawn of the Dead, I think you would like this book. Not that this book is exactly the those, but it’s more the way the survivors behaved and the way situations were resolved. This was a solid four star book for me.

2.5 rounded up to 3 because it held my interest

In a remote snowy mountain area, three separate stories are taking place. A bus carrying a group of students fleeing their boarding school crashes. A secluded compound on lockdown housing secrets in the basement. And finally, a cable car traveling up the mountain with volunteers taking part in a research project suddenly stalls. All three stories focus on survival and secrets, and the reader is left to wonder who will make it out alive.

I was instantly drawn into the beginning of this story. The history is never clearly explained, however it's obvious there is a plague or pandemic that occurred a decade ago. I tend to enjoy apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic writing, however this story never actually explained the beginning of the sickness that almost wiped out the world. We were never presented with how the characters in the story came to be. I would have loved for even the first chapter to give an introduction with some more background. Once we were presented with each story and scenario, the story fell apart a little for me. There was too much going on at the house and I had a difficult time keeping track of the characters. There was a twist towards the end which slowly came together, but the story was too all over the place for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC

This one started so well for me, but finished badly.

I was very intrigued at first. We have an end of the world as you know it scenario, featuring 3 different groups. It was grim, exciting, and seemed like it would be so epic. I was in.

Unfortunately, though, as I read on, it started to disappoint. The author chooses a storytelling structure that simply wasn’t for me. I won’t tell you exactly what because it would be a complete spoiler. I’ll just say that while some would find it clever, I found it irritating. And what seemed epic in the beginning became a tale that was really very minute in scope.

I ended the book feeling slightly let down.

• ARC via Publisher

The Drift is one of the most intense stories I’ve read in a long time. It has all the ratcheting tension of an exceptionally well-written zombie apocalypse novel (think The Living Dead), but without any actual zombies. And how thankful I am for that. I know zombies were kind of the It Girls for a while there, but I’m really glad we’re backing off. I think they seriously over-saturated the market.

There are also really solid elements of mystery to unravel. I mean really – what is the connection between Hannah, Meg, and Carter? Who are the people they are stuck with? What is everyone’s deal? What is going on with The Retreat? Is there sabotage? Who? Why?

If you like edge-of-your-seat thrillers and well-crafted mysteries, I highly recommend giving The Drift a go.

*review goes live on my site 11/2/22*

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

There were a lot of elements I liked about this book. Isolated setting, post-apocalyptic, and the way the three perspectives came together was intriguing and capitvating.

Unfortunately, the end of this book really let me down. It just kind of...ended? It's not fair to say there was no resolution, because there certainly was that, in spades. But it felt so unsatisfying. I kept checking to see if I had missed a few pages.

Overall, while I had a fine time with this book, it definitely was not a favorite.

An amazing read! Fast paced with a big twist at the end!CJ Tudor does it again with this thriller! Told from 3 different point of views, you never want to get caught in a snow storm after reading this thriller.