“You’re either a good guy or a survivor. And the earth is full of dead good guys.”
On the back of reading The Chalk Man and The Burning Girls, we’ve become big fans of C.J. Tudor’s books. Her stories all seem to strike the perfect blend of dark themes, gripping mysteries and shocking twists. Her 2023 book, The Drift, has been on our TBR list ever since it was first published back in January 2023, and it’s fair to say that it is a decent departure from the two other reads we’ve read from her. There’s plenty of horror to be had and the dark tones in here other books are more than prevalent here, but C.J. Tudor really flexes her creative storytelling abilities by weaving in more of a locked-room mystery feel in The Drift. But, how did this post-apocalyptic compare to the other stories we’ve devoured? Join us at What We Reading for our The Drift book review to find out!
Date Published: 2023
Author: C.J. Tudor
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Pages: 340
Goodreads Rating: 3.71/5
Premise
The Drift is set in a post-apocalyptic world that has been ravaged by a deadly pandemic. Readers follow three individuals who find themselves caught in life-or-death scenarios at the end of the world.
Hannah and her group of fellow students have just survived a bus crash during one of the year’s heaviest snowstorms, trapping her inside with just a handful of survivors, a virus brewing amongst them and no means of calling for help.
Meg wakes up in a cable car suspended far above a snowstorm surrounded by strangers in the same uniform as her, but with no memory of how they got there. When they discover that one of the strangers is dead, a man that Meg recognises, she realises that there is something sinister happening.
Carter and a ragtag group of survivors are living in an abandoned ski chalet, living a precarious existence manufacturing vaccines against the deadly virus. But, as their generator begins to fail, threats from both inside and outside the chalet soon threaten to shatter the fragile bonds between the group.
The immediate dangers that Hannah, Meg and Carter face are all just small pieces in a larger, more insidious puzzle. Lurking in their shadows is an even greater threat – one that threatens all of humanity.
What Worked
First off, there’s something about the way in which C.J. Tudor writes that we can’t help but love. She conveys tense atmospheres superbly, making it so easy to picture yourself in these scenarios and think and feel as the characters do. There’s a slight snark to her tone that gives each character a relatable voice, and she doesn’t shy away from putting their shortcomings and complexities on show. She also never shies away from hammering home the tones present in her stories, these tales are all deliciously dark.
What makes The Drift such a captivating read are the three locked-room mysteries that Hannah, Meg and Carter find themselves caught in. Usually with stories like these, there’s normally one or two of the perspectives that aren’t as interesting as the others. That isn’t the case with The Drift. All of the perspectives feel unique and equally terrifying, and the fast-paced nature of the story helps sell the breathless, high-stakes feeling in all of them.
However, perhaps the biggest success of The Drift comes from how C.J. Tudor is able to bridge the three of them together and show how they all fit into the bigger picture. Without going into spoilers, Tudor nails the perfect balance between dropping in some helpful nudges and winks with a couple of storytelling devices that pull everything together and more than deliver a few shocking, yet satisfying, twists and reveals.
What Didn’t
There wasn’t a whole lot in The Drift that we didn’t like. As mentioned earlier, this is much more of a horror book than it is a typical mystery thriller. There is a fair amount of gore described and some of the language and descriptions could be a bit heavy for certain types of readers.
There’s also the case of this being essentially three stories in one, which we know some readers may also not be a massive fan of. There are a lot of characters introduced very quickly, however, Tudor whittles this number down equally quickly so keeping track of who is who isn’t a huge problem.
However, for us, the biggest question mark for us about The Drift would have to be about the decision to have this as a post-apocalyptic book. The cynic in us would make us think publishing the book on the back of COVID might have had something to do with it, but it ultimately doesn’t feel like it adds much value to the story. The atmosphere itself of a world ravaged by a virus is suitably eerie, but there are certain elements of the worldbuilding that feel unnecessary.
Verdict
We’ll be honest here, we weren’t sure if we were going to love The Drift as much as we did The Chalk Man or The Burning Girls, both of which we gave a perfect score. But, within a few pages of reading, we found ourselves hooked on this snow-covered, frosty thriller. The three perspectives are all suitably high-stakes and stand on their own merits as gripping survival scenarios, the dark and almost tragic themes are fitting for the premise and the way in which Tudor ties it all together is a demonstration of an accomplished writer in her flow.
The post-apocalyptic world works in conveying a helpless and desolate atmosphere, however, if there’s one thing we’re going to be critical of, it’s the various institutions and other worldbuilding elements Tudor tags on in the background.
Nevertheless, this is undoubtedly another one of the best C.J. Tudor books and one of the most pulsating horror thrillers from the past few years. If you’re looking for a dystopian mystery story with a bit more bite, The Drift is a must-read recommendation from us!
Our Rating: 4/5
Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
