Book Review: The Drift by C.J. Tudor

About the Book

Hannah awakens to carnage, all mangled metal and shattered glass. Evacuated from a secluded boarding school during a snowstorm, her coach careered off the road, trapping her with a handful of survivors. They’ll need to work together to escape—with their sanity and secrets intact.

Meg awakens to a gentle rocking. She’s in a cable car stranded high above snowy mountains, with five strangers and no memory of how they got on board. They are heading to a place known only as “The Retreat,” but as the temperature drops and tensions mount, Meg realizes they may not all make it there alive.

Carter is gazing out the window of an isolated ski chalet that he and his companions call home. As their generator begins to waver in the storm, something hiding in the chalet’s depths threatens to escape, and their fragile bonds will be tested when the power finally fails—for good.

The imminent dangers faced by Hannah, Meg, and Carter are each one part of the puzzle. Lurking in their shadows is an even greater danger—one with the power to consume all of humanity.

My Review

Okay I’m a huge CJ Tudor fan and at this point I pretty much automatically pick up her newest book, without checking reviews or the blurb simply because I really enjoy her writing style. She tells creepy eerie tales with unusual quirks and twists and I haven’t met one I haven’t enjoyed. Until now.

This one just did not do it for me… The three parallel story lines were weirdly similar and yet somehow that fact didn’t intrigue me so much as irritate me. I didn’t find the characters to offer any opportunities for emotional connection at all, and ultimately I wasn’t able to hang in with this one long enough to see how the three story lines threaded together.

Normally I pick up one of her books and can’t stop reading until I finish it. But post-apocalyptic is generally not my jam, and even in the hands of an author I normally adore, I was unable to find myself connecting to the story in a way that made me want to slog through what felt like a series of tropes in a genre I nearly always have a tough time with. This one just wasn’t a good fit for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my obligation-free review copy. The book releases in the U.S. on January 31, 2023.