Synopsis:
Three ordinary people risk everything for a chance at redemption in this audacious, utterly gripping novel of catastrophe and survival at the end of the world, from the acclaimed author of The Chalk Man
Hannah awakens to carnage, all mangled metal and shattered glass. During a hasty escape from a secluded boarding school, her coach careened over a hillside road during one of the year’s heaviest snowstorms, trapping her inside with a handful of survivors, a brewing virus, and no way to call for help. If she and the remaining few want to make it out alive, with their sanity–and secrets–intact, they’ll need to work together or they’ll be buried alive with the rest of the dead.
A former detective, Meg awakens to a gentle rocking. She is in a cable car suspended far above a snowstorm and surrounded by strangers in the same uniform as her, with no memory of how they got there. They are heading to a mysterious place known to them only as “The Retreat,” but when they discover a dead man among their ranks and Meg spies a familiar face, she realizes that there is something far more insidious going on.
Carter is gazing out the window of the abandoned ski chalet that he and his ragtag compatriots call home. Together, they manage a precarious survival, manufacturing vaccines against a deadly virus in exchange for life’s essentials. But as their generator begins to waver, the threat of something lurking in the chalet’s depths looms larger, 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 threat–one that threatens to consume all of humanity.
Edition:
E-ARC via Net Galley (I know, I’ve been posting a lot of these lately – I have such a crazy ARC backlog)
Click here for other books I’ve reviewed by this author.
My Thoughts:
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?
OHMYGODWHATTHEFUCKISEVENHAPPENINGHERE?!
If you like edge-of-your-seat thrillers and well-crafted mysteries, I highly recommend giving The Drift a go. And it comes out in January, so…good time to read a snow-bound horror/mystery!
Rating:
C.J. Tudor is an incredibly talented storyteller. I am going to go find any of her work that I’m missing and devour it. I suggest that you do the same.
The Drift By C.J. Tudor Ballantine Books ISBN: 9780593356562 Expected Publication: January 19, 2023 Hardcover, Paperback, E-book, Audio 352 Pages
