The Gathering by C. J. Tudor was a thriller with heavy horror vibes that I was immediately sucked into. The overall atmosphere was one of a heavy horror influence a la your old school vampire (vampyr in this novel) stories where they are vicious blood suckers, and something to be feared. But on top of this there is the focus more on a story of a thriller-like nature, with the horror aspect being more of a world-building tool than actual horror-esque events taking place (such as serial murders and the note of constant fear to the story).

For a few reasons this book gave me 30 Days of Night vibes, though not in the story as it was nothing like the movie, more in the general creepy, horrifying tone of it. By this I mean the fact that it takes place in Alaska, at a time when there are very limited daylight hours and there is the looming threat of a Colony that has potentially gone rampant and murdered a human for their blood. In a time when laws have been created to allow humans and vampyrs to coexist side by side, with rules dictating vampyrs cannot feed from humans and humans cannot kill or hunt the vampyrs they desperately hate, this has the small Alaskan town up in arms and demanding a culling. Enter Barbara, the vampyr doctor so to speak sent to investigate the cause of death and the murderer to determine whether a culling is justified or not.

There were a few different glimpses at other points of view periodically besides Barbara’s, though hers was the most predominant. The others gave little glimpses into very relevant and necessary information for the reader, that the main character would not know so they served a purpose throughout the book and were never tedious. There was also an obscure glance at a mystery point of view throughout these chapters occasionally which was perhaps the most intriguing to me in that it kept me guessing the most. No real details are given in order to keep those involved unidentified and it had me constantly guessing and analyzing details to suss out who it might be, whether it was happening in the past or concurrent with the main story’s timeline. I liked that it kept me guessing and thinking and catching these little bit and pieces that had me making guesses on identities and other possible factors that might lead to revealing what was happening and who was involved.

I definitely recommend The Gathering by C. J. Tudor for fans of thrillers, and especially those who like a hint of horror their books. I very much enjoyed this book and by the ending I’m really hoping for another book in this world.

The Gathering is a captivating, creepy, atmospheric crime thriller with fun paranormal elements. This author always does an amazing job of using the setting as a character to amplify the mood of her stories. Her main character, Detective Barbara Atkins is a specialist in vampyr forensics which makes her interesting. Add that to her disturbing backstory, a well-rounded cast of secondary characters, and a twisty plot, and you get a real winner of a story.

🧛‍♂️ T O O T H Y 🩸 T U E S D A Y review 🧛‍♂️ featuring “The Gathering” by CJ Tudor!

BOOK REVIEW: 🖤🖤🖤.5/5

Detective Barbara Atkins is a Forensic Vampyr Anthropologist who travels to Alaska to take a look at the body of a teenaged boy whose throat has been ripped out and body totally drained of its blood. It is up to Barbara to determine if a culling should be authorized in this situation.

The small town of Deadhart believes that The Colony, a group of Vampyres, are back again to terrorize the town and its people. It has been 25 years since the last brutal attack and The Colony being banished from the community. But as Barbara digs deeper into the case and the town’s longstanding secrets, she isn’t sure what she’s dealing with here. Was this a staged murder?? Or a colony killing??

“A mirror hung above the cracked sink. There was writing on it. Scrawled in red: THE SUN WILL BE TURNED INTO DARKNESS, AND THE MOON INTO BLOOD. And just in case the message wasn’t clear, the visitor had left her a present, hung over one of the taps. A rudimentary cross on a leather choker … fashioned out of two sharp vampyr incisors”.

I don’t think I have read a vampire story since reading the Twilight series a long time ago! I am a huge fan of CJ Tudor and this quirky horror story pushed me out of my comfort zone for sure and I had fun with it!

Thank you kindly to @cjtudorauthor @doubledayca @penguinrandomca @netgalley for my advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review! This book releases on April 9, 2024!

Thank you to NetGalley, C.J. Tudor and Penguin Random House Canada for the free ebook in exchange for an honest review.

It took me a few chapters to get into this one and really get into what was happening, but then I was addicted. This is hopefully just the first we’ve seen of detective Barbara and the vampyrs because I’m obsessed. Loved it!

After a murder in small town Alaska, Detective Barbara Atkins is summoned to investigate and determine if a local vampyr colony could be to blame.

This was a pretty good read with unique plot. It started off really strong but I admit for me there were a lot of characters to keep track of so a few pertinent details snuck past me. The main character was great and there was good development on many other characters as well. The setting of the dark Alaskan town was eerie and perfect. The pace was set so well with the right amount of mystery and tension to keep you going, and several OHHH moments that were very satisfying. The underlying messages in the story were quite powerful as well.

3.5/5⭐

This was a unique take on a police procedural murder mystery, set in small-town Alaska, with a vampiric twist. It was incredibly atmospheric, the mystery kept me guessing until the end, and Detective Barbara Atkins was a compelling main character, but plot-wise it was a little slow at times & I wanted some more vampire action.

This is a wonderful addition to the vampire genre, atmospheric & with its own unique lore. I found the aspect of vampires being a known entity quite interesting, mixed in with a murder mystery & it became a real page turner. Atkins is a good character to follow, thorough & with her own dark past. As she tries to dig through the history & the prejudice, the real story of Deadhart reveals itself.

Really this book is more than just a vampire story, at its heart it’s about history, discrimination & hatred (from both sides) towards the “other.” There’s also an interesting ending that leads me to think there may be (hopefully) a sequel.

I’d definitely recommend you pick this one up. One of better vampire novels I’ve ever read. Tudor has become a great new voice for the horror genre. This is my favorite book of hers so far.

WOW. I loved this one.

The Gathering was a great murder mystery with a great atmosphere. I love a story set in a secluded town in the middle of no where, honestly it's a vibe like no other for horror stories. Throw in some vampyres and you got me intrigued! This one hooked me from the start and had me guessing all the way to the end.

The vibe gave me "30 Days of Nights" which I loved.

4.75

The Gathering by C.J. Tudor is a gripping horror mystery that's True Detective: Night Country meets Midnight Mass. Set in an alternative world where vampires and humans co-exist, with vampires living a segregated life with laws protecting them, and humans being forced to accept their existence.

This story takes place in a remote Alaskan community where the murder of a teenager by an alleged vampire with connections to a murder from the past sends the town into panic, threatening human and vampire relations. In comes Detective Barbara Atkins, a vampire investigator who comes to the small Alaskan town and is forced to endure its freezing temperatures and equally icy reception she receives from the locals who believe she is on the vampires' side. Her investigation uncovers startling truths and shocking secrets beneath the frosty exterior where justice, revenge, trauma, and evil collide with the past and present in bone chilling ways.

I really enjoyed this story and thought the alternative world was fascinating without it being fantastical. It is the most unique vampire story I have read and the cold Alaskan setting added a harsh, creepy, and desolate feeling to the story, which amplified the horror and thriller aspects. The pacing was excellent which was supported by an interesting investigation that became more and more complex as the story progressed. Every character was unique and well developed which made each of them suspicious. There were lots of characters but they each had a role to play in the story, showing and telling different dark sides of the community. By the end of the story, the reader may question who exactly the evil ones were...the humans or vampires? The monstrous side of humanity was explored as was the humanness of the vampires, but the author does not ask the reader to be sympathetic towards either one, but rather, to think about how we treat the "other" and how our own wounds and pain can keep us in a frozen state, neither alive nor dead, not unlike the wintry landscape of Alaska nor the vampires themselves. My only criticism is that the big reveal was a little anticlimactic and a minor character ended up stealing the show at the end of the story.

Overall I enjoyed The Gathering by C.J. Tudor for its unique take on the vampire genre, its biting atmosphere, and edge of your seat mystery.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a free arc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Tudor is a solid author, with marvellously descriptive prose, but I think it's time we part ways. Creepy small town in Alaska is a trope that I adore but I am so over vamps. I get that they are a marginalised group in this book with an underlying message but I'm done. Plus, if I am reading vamps, I want the old school variety, a la Salem's Lot.

Thank you to Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read The Gathering by CJ Tudor in exchange for a honest review

4.5 star read. This book is about a small town in remote Alaska that is home to humans and vampyrs. Vampyrs are real and the world is aware of them but they are not living in harmony with humans.

Barbara is a detective who specializes in Vampyr killings is called to town to investigate a murder of a teenage boy. The town is blaming the Colony, a group of Vampyrs living just outside of town. Barbara realizes how deep the hatred goes in this town between the vampyrs and the humans and as she starts uncovering secrets, she realizes how much history there is between them. She wants the truth of what happened to think young boy and if The Colony is really to blame.

I really enjoyed this book. I loved the feel of the small town far in the north. I also loved the idea of humans and vampires trying to both live and exist in the same world. You can really feel the isolation and despair in the book. The descriptions of the town and the townspeople make you feel like you are actually there. I ate this book up and recommend checking it out!

Vampires, Rednecks, and mystery, oh my! A unique combination, brought together, that will either work for readers, or not. It will really depend on wether or not readers accept a world where humans and vampiers co exist.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.

This was a fun read! I am already a fan of the author and this book reinforced that. There was a lot going on in this book and it all came together nicely by the end. I have but one complaint, and it is the same one I had for the TV Show "True Blood": do not compare Vampyr/Vampire rights to any other sort of prejudice. As we saw in True Blood, Vampires did indeed do a whole lot of the things humans accused them of. It isn't quite the same as being, say, racist or homophobic for zero reason other than one's own bigotry, prejudice and narrow-mindedness. Anyway, that little irk aside, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I got lost in the world-building of this bleak and cold Alaskan urban fantasy.

Barbara was a great character. A diligent member of the Department of Forensic Anthropology, she is sent to Alaska to report on whether a murder was committed by a Vampyr from a nearby colony (Vampyr settlement) and if it was, to authorize a cull - the ultimate punishment for crimes committed by the colony. She is diligent and yet knows when to bend the rules which makes her just perfect to crack the case with the help of Tucker, the former Police Chief in Deadhart, Alaska. What follows is a layered mystery that kept me guessing right up until the end. I actually think I need to reread the final couple of chapters to digest it all properly!

There could potentially be a sequel which would be exciting. I can't say much other than that without being spoiler-y.

Some final thoughts: unlike a Vampyr, this book did NOT suck and like a Vampyr, it is really something you can sink your teeth into. A great mystery where, by the end, everything is at stake.

I've been looking foward to this book ever since I saw that C.J. Tudor traveled to Alaska while writing it. This book does not disappoint.
There are vampires in the world, but both humans and vampires are bound by fairly strict laws. Interactions and punishments are usually followed despite some who would rather not.
The story starts with an investigator traveling to a small town in Alaska to see if a vampire has killed a human. If they have, then there is the potential for a cull. If they have not, then the people of that town need to settle down.
Her job is to see what really happened.
There is a lot of history in the town between humans and vampires and almost none of it good. Feelings are running hot and Barbara, the investigator, has her work cut out for her.

I found myself torn between racing to finish this book to learn the whodunnit, and slowly reading and enjoying the story. I was kept guessing the entire way through and was completely wrong on the ending. Did not see it coming at all and was pleasantly surprised at the end.
Great characters, compelling story and writing that makes you feel like you are an observer on the wall. You feel the cold of the wind, you hear the screams, etc.
As with her other novels, this is an excellent read. Highly recommend.

What a book. If you love this Uthor , which I do , you will not be disappointed. Mystery to be unraveled. Vampire them and a cop that wants to find out the truth. Dive into this and don't breath until you are finished.

Thanks to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for an early release of this book.

This was a fun one! As a Buffy, The Vampire Slayer fanatic, I may have a thing for fangs. This novel takes us to a small town in Alaska, in a world where vampires and humans co exist. Sort of. A young boy is killed and Detective Barbara Atkins is sent to determine what exactly happened and what to do now. I really enjoyed the fantastical elements of this, the human side of it and the manner in which small towns function. If you enjoy the make believe and some mystery, you’ll enjoy this one.

C.J. Tudor does it again. Another fantastic read. This is a fantastic paranormal winter mystery set in Alaska.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for a Chance to read and review this book

I tried to get into this one but unfortunately it just did not do it for me. I had to DNF as I was not being engrossed by the story at all.

A book that I truly did not want to end!

I can’t even begin to describe how much I loved this one!! Going in, I was expecting a horror book with a great setting and it definitely gave those things but I am blown away with how much depth this book had. We follow a detective trying to solve a murder in a remote Alaskan town. Everyone believes it’s the vampire colony that lives on the outskirts of town and it’s up to the detective to determine if the entire colony should be killed. So yes, this sounds fabulous on its own but I LOVED how the author pulled themes of oppression and racism and made the story feel so real and heartbreaking. This was so well done, fast paced, twisty and honestly the perfect book. Tudor has quickly become one of my favourite authors and her talent truly shines in this one!

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐈𝐟…
✨you love remote, winter settings
✨you’re after a really unique read
✨you want a book you can binge

𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🫶🏻Thank you so much to Penguin Random House CA & NetGalley for the ARC!
🚨Pub Date: April 9th, 2024

What is a book you’ve absolutely loved lately?!

👏👏👏👏👏
The Gathering thus far has been one of the most atmospheric books I've read. I finished hours ago and still can't shake the cold from my body , even as I sit wrapped in my heated blanket I am still shivering !

Thank you Netgalley , Penguin Random House Canada and C.J. Tudor for this digital ARC.

" It wasn't just the gnawing pain in her stomach . This was something new . Yet Old. Half forgotten .A sense that she was not alone . A faint murmuring in her mind . A scent , a tingling in her bones. There was someone coming . And like her , he was hungry"

If you like books with small town settings, mystery , smart characters , Plot twists and vampyr's , then The Gathering is one for you , and the town of Deadhart Alaska are waiting for you , and they have a secret, many secrets.

Barbara is a forensic vampyr anthropologist and she has been called to Deadhart to investigate the murder of Marcus, a young teenage boy . It seems that many things are not adding up and Barbara ( who is a very likeable and relatable character, who is smart and also comical at times) is determined to get to the bottom of things even if the town is against her.

The murder reeks vampyr's are behind it all, but Barbara has a niggling the whole time she is in Deadhart , something is off and she is willing to put her life in jeopardy to get to the bottom of this mystery !

The Gathering is such a captivating and thrilling read, I love the way C.J. spellbound us and wrapped her incisors around us , taunting us knowing that what may me lurking around the corner could end us in an instant .

Such brilliant story telling that will make you quiver the whole time your reading , I felt like I was with Barb the entire time seeing everything through her eyes!

Save this one and pre-order now , you will not be disappointed with this masterpiece !