THE DRIFT by C.J. Tudor (Ballantine Books, January 2023) Hardcover, 340 pages. ISBN # 9780593356562
Synopsis on the Goodreads website . . . . .
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
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.
My Five-Star Rating on the Goodreads website . . . . . .
THE DRIFT is an edge-of-the-seat thriller told from three separate points of view that are inter-related and revealed in the final chapters. It is absolutely brilliant, the best work so far from a very promising author. The chapters are short and alternate between three main characters.
This is an intense read loaded with surprises and fleshed-out characters that you will worry about, and some you may even mourn for. Events in the story often require drastic measures/solutions that are harsh, and the author does not hold back.
In a spin on the locked-room mystery genre there are passengers trapped in an overturned bus during a horrific snowstorm; travelers stuck in a no-longer functioning cable car suspended over snowy slopes; and a group of volunteer lab workers isolated in a high mountain retreat/compound surrounded by snowbound mountains and fears of unknown intruders in the woods. A blinding blizzard serves as a foil in each scenario. Add to this the reality that everything occurs during the final days of a deadly global pandemic that threatens all life and the tension continues to mount and grow with every chapter. In her acknowledgments, Tudor aptly sums up the novel as "a triple-locked room mystery/post-apocalytic horror thriller."
This is the third novel I've read by Tudor, and I've just added the remainder of her work to my want-to-read list. There are two things among the many that impress me and stand out: 1) A talent for rich characterization and 2) an ability to build twists, turns, and surprises into the chapters. With THE CHALK MAN she drew notice for those abilities. In THE BURNING GIRLS she honed them even further, with a mother/daughter relationship to empathize with and worry over. In THE DRIFT she has perfected those abilities.
Despite a large cast of characters, each portrait in THE DRIFT is highly detailed - enough for readers to understand them but also with some critical details withheld or concealed in order to complete the mystery.Likewise, almost each of these chapters ends with a surprise reveal, a key plot point, a subtle comment, or a cliffhanger. It doesn't stop. Intense is a word I can't use often enough.
There are many scenes and parts of this novel that I marveled over how they were presented. Among my favorite lines were those on Page 169-170 and Page 212 (but don't read them until you get to this particular section of the book).
I hesitate to share more and spoil the pleasure. Put some time aside on your calendar for this one.
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