Not your typical vampire tale. Lots of character and emotion brought this forth to a nail biter. The ending was typical but overall a blast can’t wait for the next one.

Thank you Netgalley for this arc

THE GATHERING is an addictive, small town Alaska mystery and the detective that finds herself caught up in the dark secrets and superstitions of a small town.

I really liked the different take on vampirism in this one, and found the lore to be well crafted. I'm also a fan of character driven crime stories (not so much procedurals) so this was the perfect read for me! A few twists and turns, a little spooky and a lot enjoyable. I continue to be a CJ Tudor #stan and this one just reinforced that.

Thank you to Netgalley for my #arc!

What I liked about this book: setting (small, remote town), interesting characters, suspenseful mystery , well written

What I didn’t like: the vampire aspect, by that’s just a personal preference.

Overall this was a good book, but just not my cup of tea.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Random House Canada for providing me with an eARC of this book to read and review.

This was gifted to me as an ARC and I struggled. I even tried the audiobook by buying it in Audible and I since then got a refund. The reviews are amazing but I did not like it at all. I couldn’t get into it.
So sorry I hate giving up but I just cant get through it.

DNF for me on this one

I just finished The Gathering by CJ Tudor and here are my thoughts.

When a boy is found murdered, that is unique enough in a small town that has 673 people in it, but what makes it even more unique is the fact his throat was ripped out and the body… drained of blood. It’s been 25 years since the town has seen anything like this and the vampyr colony was blamed back then. Now the town wants a culling. They want the whole clan destroyed.

It’s up to Detective Barb Atkins, a specialist in Vampyrs, to determine whether it was a vampyr that killed the boy or if something else is going on in the town. The more Barb digs into the town and its history, the more she sees that there is a lot more going on than meets the eye and no one is safe, not human or vampyr.

I really liked how the author made this vampyr book feel realistic and not like a fantasy novel. The fact it was written as a thriller got my heart racing. It was done beautifully. I am already a massive fan of the author so I had high expectations and they were met in spades. The story is set in the present day and flashbacks to a vampire who is trapped by a human and it covers their story of their captivity.

Barb is great. She really works to make sure that vampyrs do not get blamed for murders they didn’t do as there is an anti-vampyr sentiment that runs deep within humans. There is an undercover anti-vampyr group and all kinds of dark stuff going on in that town and it's tiny! The town is teeny but the dark history is raucous there and just shows you that small towns aren’t always fluffy.

It is so dark and well paced that it held me captivated through until the end. I really enjoyed the flashbacks too. It helped round out the story and it really isn’t clear who the captive is until the very end and then it all makes sense. It was well done. Very well done. I need more thrillers to be like this.

4.5 stars I loved loved loved it!!!

Thank you @netgalley and @penguinrandomca for my gifted copy

You just never know what you're going to find in a book from C.J. Tudor - other than a great read! I never read the flyleaf of her books - I just know that I'll like it! But have a second look at that cover of the newly released The Gathering to get an idea.

The book is set in the town of Deadhart Alaska. There's also a Colony of vampyrs further out. When a teen boy is found with his throat ripped out, it seem pretty easy to know who is responsible - right? But the law needs to be followed as vampyrs are a protected species.

Detective Barbara Atkins is called in as she is also a specialist in vampyr killings. She is a the perfect protagonist - she's older, heavier and is often discounted by someone's initial assessment of her - which actually works for her. She's intelligent, reads people well and doesn't give up easily.

There's a large cast of supporting characters. The one thing that all have in common is that they all lie
- about the past and the present. Barbara has to deduce who the killer is, and do it before anyone else dies - including the vampyrs. Tudor has created her own set of traits, abilities and more for the vampyrs. (Hint - don't bother buying any garlic.)

The melding of a murder case alongside with the race issues kept me interested from first page to last. There's also a number of pages that are the inner dialogue of an unnamed captive. We have no idea who she is and when this is happening. I really like it when I don't know what's going to happen on the next page and the next chapter etc. I like being kept on the edge of my seat. Kudos to C.J. Tudor - that last page is perfect!

Simply Fantastic! I just finished reading one of my favourite reads of 2024. Easy. Grab this book as soon as you can, and clear your schedule.
C.J Tudor is a great writer, with books that have great storytelling. But hold onto your socks for this one, in my opinion this is her best work yet.
If you are looking for a plot that sucks you right in, this is the book for you.

Desolate town in Alaska with a population less than 700, a murder of a teen boy, a Forensic Vampyr Detective named Barbara Atkins (loved her character ) and a Vampyr Colony. What could possibly go wrong? A lot.
The town is outraged, and immediately assume the teen was killed by one of the vampyrs. At first glance the evidence points that way, but Det Atkins isn’t so sure. The town folk demand a “cull” of the colony. They want to get rid of them once and for all. While the police and Atkins get to the bottom of what happened to Marcus, all the secrets and twists and turns begin to unravel themselves. While the story unfolds, I found myself really caring about some of these characters. Sometimes, things are not what they seem.

This book is a bit horror, a bit thriller, a bit mystery, and an absolute page turner.I flew through this book, the suspense at the end of every chapter had me hooked.
5 humongous stars! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for the opportunity to read this fabulous book early.

The Gathering by C.J. Tudor  is a horror novel, set in Alaska, about "vampyres".

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Penguin Random House and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
 

My Synopsis:    (No major reveals, but if concerned, skip to My Opinions)
Detective Barbara Atkins is a doctor of Forensic Vampyr Anthropology as well as a homicide detective, based out of New York.  She is called to the rural town of Deadhart Alaska to investigate the death of a boy who was found with his throat cut out.  The town, as well as the Chief of Police (Nicholls), are sure it is the responsibility of one of the Colony, a group of vampyres who recently returned to the area.  They want to cull the group.  Barbara is not so sure, and only she can authorize the cull.  Then there is another death.

Barbara enlists the help of the old Sheriff, Jenson Tucker, who almost lost his life 25 years ago when he investigated a similar murder.  Since then, Jenson has favoured a more solitary life.  But he feels guilty, and both sides want him to get involved.

Some of the Colony want to be attacked, which gives them the legal right to fight back.  Needless to say, the humans have more to lose.

As anger rises, Barbara and Tucker are both wondering if the deaths are really the responsibility of someone in the Colony, or do they just have a human psychopath on their hands.

But the town of Deadhart has a history, and some never forget.

 
My Opinions:
CJ Tudor has another blockbuster on her hands!  This was really good.  Part murder mystery, part horror novel, the book was filled with both gore and intrigue!

I loved the characters.  Both sides had their good and bad  (maybe a few more bad on the human side of things). Tudor's imagination shone through as she created a rather different vampyr scenario, where there are some who will tolerate their existence.

The overall plot was really good, and the dialogue was spot on.

It looks like their may be another book in this series....and will be first in line to read it!

✨E-Arc Book Review✨
The Gathering - C.J. Tudor

HAPPY PUB DAY to The Gathering 🖤

I will read anything C.J. Tudor writes, I’ve read I think 5 of their books now and have had a great time with all of them.

When I saw this available on NetGalley I requested it immediately and was so happy to find out I got an advanced copy to read! Thank you to @penguinrandomca for the copy in exchange for my review.

This was such a unique thriller concept, it involves vampyrs who exist in colonies near humans and the vampyrs and humans have a long history of hatred between the groups. When the murder of a young boy occurs in a small remote Alaskan town, a forensic vampyr anthropologist detective is brought into town to investigate and finds things really aren’t what they seem. I personally was skeptical about the vampire element but honestly thought it was quite clever and fun to read in a thriller. This was a wild, creepy and bloody ride!

If you are someone who likes supernatural elements in their thrillers/horror then I highly recommend this one to you!

3.5/5⭐️ I loved some of C.J. Tudor’s other books more but I still really liked this one and I’m very intrigued to see what comes from their mind next!

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for this read. It was okay and hit the best for ME! I am not a fan of. Twilight which I tried to read many times when I was young and only failed. This has some of that feel and I was not for it but if you are or want to read something like that as an adult this is for you. It was not written bad or anything. Her boos are good most of the time for me but this was not for me because of the comparison.

Okay, this was a fantastic story! Are there vampires? YES! Yes, there are! Should it be categorized as horror, though? Absolutely not. So, with that being said, if you enjoy a good mystery crime novel with a vampire twist, then this is the book for you. It turns out that I do enjoy a good mystery crime vampire tale. The story was gripping, full of interesting characters, (you'll dislike a lot of them), and has a mystery that I wasn't able to figure out ahead of time. My only criticism is the fact that I felt like I was reading a sequel, because it read like we should already know there are such things as vampire colonies living alongside humans (I looked it up, it's not a sequel. But someone please tell me if I'm wrong!) I would have loved some history on how this came to be. That would be fascinating!! Maybe a prequel, perhaps?
This was my first book by C.J. Tudor, and even though I was a tad disappointed that it wasn't really what I think of as a horror, it definitely won't be my last!
Highly recommend!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of the ebook! It comes out tomorrow, April 9th, 2024. A book that I will definitely be adding to my physical library!

This was like a very dark version of Twilight, minus the love. I'm not a huge fan of books with a lot of characters, and unfortunately this one did. The story was just a bit too slow, and I guessed what was going to happen about a third of the way in. Ultimately, not for me.

Thank you NetGalley, CJ Tudor and Penguin Random House Canada for a copy in exchange for a honest review.

Each book by CJ Tudor I think is just getting better writing wise. I love the Vamprys in this. It’s kind of a mix of 30 days of night since the story is in Alaska crossed with a detective story crossed with that one Lisa jewel book (invisible girl I think). It’s a good mix of horror and thriller. I think this is just a fun read that you can’t put down. If you like CJ Tudor’s other works you’ll love this. I think if you enjoyed Salam’s lot you’d like this too.

This book left me speechless! I picked it up solely because it's written by one of my favorite authors, without knowing much about it. I'm grateful I didn't pass it over just because it involves vampires. It turned out to be a gripping tale, delving deep into themes of human nature, prejudice, minority rights, and murder within a small town.

I have read and enjoyed all previous thrillers by C. J. Tudor, with some of her books being among my favourites. Although I try to avoid vampire stories, I was pleased to receive the ARC for 'The Gathering. ' This novel offered a unique approach, but modern-day social and political implications marred it. The strong storyline was captivating and well-written, but I found it slow-paced, with many characters to keep straight. This was a police procedural/murder mystery with a theme of bigotry and intolerance toward ethnic/racial minorities and interracial and same-sex relationships. It focused on hatred, fear of the unknown and cultural differences. The slow-moving storyline had the gruesome parts toned down but implied. The setting in America uses British terms that seem out of place.

The plot is set in the small town of Deadhart in Alaska, which is physically and emotionally dark, cold, and chilling. Vampyrs settled in the region more than a century before its present-day human inhabitants. Strict laws were established to keep the vampyrs isolated on reservations (colonies) and place them under human settlers' laws.

'The Gathering ' refers to a future final war between present humans and the vampyrs. In 1983, the Vampyr Protection Act recognized vampyrs as an endangered and protected species. Their drinking of human blood was strictly prohibited, and they were forced to exist on animal blood. They must remain isolated in their Colony deep in the forest. They were without schools and the opportunity to apply for jobs. Modern technology, such as the internet and smartphones, were forbidden. Very long lives were possible, and rules made the situation boring and unchallenging.

The murder of a young man twenty-five years earlier seemed to have the makings of a vampyr killing. This stirred rage among the humans and led to deaths and the remaining vampyrs fleeing the Colony. Now, a new group has returned to the outskirts of Deadhart. A teenage boy, Marcus, has been found dead with his throat gouged and his body drained of blood. A video purports to record his killing by a vampyr. Barbara Aitkins from the Forensic Vampyr Anthropology Department, and also a homicide detective, has been called in to prove that this was murder by a vampyr that would result in the humans carrying out a legal mass murder (culling) of the Colony.

Barbara is a dedicated, honest investigator. She is determined to uncover the truth within the town whose residents want the vampyr Colony demolished. Despite the townspeople's refusal to acknowledge or consider a possible human killer, she is calm, steady, and polite. She is in her 50s and physically not in shape for combat or chases. She recruits the former police chief for assistance. He, Jensen Tucker, has been a recluse since the killing twenty-five years earlier.

She encounters unpleasant and criminal activities among the characters, secrets, twists, and cover-ups. A man who has previously hunted vampyrs keeps their heads mounted on his wall as trophies (artifacts). The doctor has become wealthy from dealing drugs, supplying the Colony with human blood, and smuggling vampyr trophies to sell. He also devised a deception to make killing seem like the work of vampyrs without any human involvement. The local pastor stirs up her congregation by declaring it is God's will to stamp out these Spawns of the Devil. A secret anti-vampyr organization, the Helsing, is attracting young people.

With all these impediments in their way, can Barbara and former chief Tucker solve the case, especially when more murders occur? Is the Colony doomed? The ending is inconclusive but appears to set up a sequel with Barbara Aitkins as the main protagonist. I would read any of her further investigations.

I wish to thank Netgalley and Penguin Random House (Doubleday) for this compelling ARC, which will be published on April 9th.

I absolutely loved this book! CJ Tudor’s books are the perfect mix of thriller and horror in my opinion. This book had great creepy small town vibes, with an intriguing murder mystery to solve, mixed with a lot of vampire content. I loved our main character Barbara, it was so nice to see an older woman as a main character, and I really enjoyed her perspective. This book was very action packed, I never got bored reading it and had to keep going because I needed to find out what happened. Highly recommend this one. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Overall, a pretty fun read but not quite as advertised.

The Gathering is more of a slow burn, small town mystery rather than a fast paced vampire horror. I thought a lot of the characters were uniquely interesting and the writing itself was well done and a pleasure to read. I did also really enjoy the discussions on humans vs vampires and the challenges of having an active vampire population.

There were a lot of dark themes, and Tudor executes the twists and turns in a fun way, but I did find it a little slow through the middle. There were also a lot British-isms here that kind of took me out of the Alaskan setting (CV vs resume, jumper vs sweater).

Pretty solid read, just didn’t grip me the way The Drift did!

The way I ate this story up. The characters, the setting, the vampires! I love a good vampire story and this did not disappoint. The vampire lore was different from some others popular in media so it was great to discover all the ways the Colony operated in Tudor’s “The Gathering”.

Barbara, a detective who works for the Forensic Vampyr Anthropology Department heads to a small town in Alaska for a case where a teenage boy has been brutally murdered. The town wants to orchestrate a ‘cull’ - killing all the vampires who exist in the vampire Colony of the town of Deadhart.

Barbara is a woman who believes in a thorough investigation and will only call for a cull if she finds that the murderer is really a vampire. But the town is full of incredibly angry people sitting on many dark and sinister secrets.

As a storm closes in, blocking all roads in and out of Deadhart, Barbara needs to find the murderer before long simmering tensions in Deadhart explode.

Barbara, Athelinda, Tucker - these were such great characters that I loved seeing every time they were on the page.

I would totally read more stories about Barbara going town to town investigating potential vampire crime.

This was a bit outside of my normal type of book, I usually read mystery/thriller and though this does have those elements in it, the whole vampyr setting was very creepy. Barbara Atkins is from the Forensic Vampyr Anthropology Department, she gets called whenever there is a human that may have been killed by a vampyr, and if she finds it had happened she can order a cull of vampyrs in the area. She is sent to Deadhart AK, a remote town with less than a thousand people, and a vampyr gathering living not far from them. A local child has been found with his throat ripped out and if Barbara finds that a vampyr has done it, the locals want her to authorize the cull. But Barbara is methodical and she starts to find out that things are not like they seem, yes the boy has been killed, but she's not convinced a vampyr has done it. The pressure grows for her to authorize the cull, but Barbara takes her time, talks to a lot of people, including the previous sheriff of Deadhart, Tucker, someone who lives isolated from the town and shares a unique connection to the local vampyr group that is facing a cull. She enlists Tucker's help and digs deeper into the history of Deadhart, finding out that someone has been collecting vampyr artifacts (heads), something that is illegal to do. More death follows, a blizzard blows in trapping her in a town where everyone has a itchy trigger finger. A very interesting and believable book, one I would recommend. Thanks to #Netgalley and #Ballentinebooks for the ARC.

CJ Tudor never disappoints and The Gathering is no exception.
Set in small town Alaska, during the winter, The Gathering is an extremely interesting take on the traditional vampire story. I loved watching how she built the lore and the history of the creatures. Seeing that paired police procedural was an incredible interesting take.
I loved every second of this story.
For a more indepth review please check out my spoiler free youtube review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgD4e1TksJU