Review of "The Drift: A Novel" by C.J. Tudor

In an interview C.J. Tudor said she got the idea for The Drift in 2019, thinking of the book as a mosaic of locked room mysteries. Then the Covid pandemic hit, and the entire plot came together. The book is a page-turner with 'thrills, twists, and turns, and edge of your seat tension'.....perfect for mystery fans.

*****

The story takes place in the not-too-distant future when a virus pandemic has devastated the world.



An especially ghastly viral variant called Choler turns victims into creatures called Whistlers, who look like skeletons sheathed in skin. Whistlers have black gums, blood red eyes, and pitted scarred lungs that cause a whistling sound when they breathe.



The only reliable vaccine against the virus is blood plasma taken from living victims of infection. Therefore survivors - such as Whistlers - are isolated in rural seclusion centers, called Farms, where they're milked for plasma 'for the greater good.'



Patients who don't survive the infection are incinerated, to help contain the spread of the pathogen.



To try to get the virus under control, a research center, run by a scientist called Professor Grant, is built on the campus of a school named The Academy.....



.....and a nearby abandoned ski resort is converted into a facility called The Retreat, to house medical personnel and research subjects.



Much of the story takes place during a raging blizzard with massive snowfall and gale force winds. The book has a large cast of characters, but there are three main protagonists: Hannah, Meg, and Carter.

⦾ Hannah

During a huge snow storm, a coach carrying twelve students from The Academy to The Retreat overturns into a large snowdrift, and the occupants are trapped inside.



A medical student named Hannah, who happens to be Professor Grant's daughter, assesses the situation and determines that about half the occupants are dead, one is seriously injured, and the rest are relatively alright.



The survivors find the coach was sabotaged, since the exits are jammed shut and the hammers to break the windows are missing.

The passengers' cell phones and duffel bags are locked in an outside luggage compartment, and the students know they're doomed if rescue doesn't come soon. Fresh discoveries make the situation even more dire, and the survivors take measures to try to save themselves. This is especially risky with hungry wolves sniffing and creeping around the coach and someone out to kill everyone on board the bus.



⦾ Meg

A former cop named Meg wakes up in a ski lift cable car that's stalled on it's way up a mountain. Meg realizes she was drugged, and looking around, observes five additional doped passengers, most of whom are beginning to stir.



Meg understands she and the others are trapped in the small swaying cable car, buffeted by the howling wind, with the windows caked with snow.



As the roused passengers introduce themselves, they realize they're all volunteers on their way to The Retreat. One rider remains still, however, and when Meg tries to awaken him, discovers that he's dead....stabbed.

Meg determines someone on board must have committed the homicide, and unease escalates when another person is killed. The remaining passengers feel helpless, knowing the situation is futile if they're not rescued, or if the car doesn't make it to the cable-car station, a few hundred yards away.



Meg hardly cares about being saved, since she's been inconsolable since her daughter succumbed to the virus. However, the ex-cop feels compelled to help the volunteers and to discover the murderer.

⦾ Carter

Carter, half of whose face was eaten away by frostbite, is currently residing at the old ski resort that's now The Retreat.



The former ski chalet, which once housed a fair number of medical personnel, research subjects, and staff, now contains seven people and a dog. The Retreat is relatively comfortable, with a gym, a pool, a community room, a barbecue grill, and bedrooms for the residents. The Retreat also has a basement with locked cubicles that are carefully secured. Things are shaky though, because the power fails periodically, leaving the cubicles unsafe.



On a rotating basis, a resident from The Retreat skis down the mountain to the one open store, to pick up groceries and send a package. Carter grumbles when it's his turn to go down the mountain.....



......and as Carter is climbing back up with the provisions strapped to his skis, he's stymied by whipping snow and fierce winds.



When Carter finally gets back to The Retreat he finds one resident dead in the swimming pool and another resident who's dying. Things go from bad to worse as more people are killed and Whistlers in the surrounding woods make their presence felt.

The three story lines intertwine as the book approaches it's climax, and the denouement is clever and engaging in this smartly constructed novel.

I don't often find it hard to put down a book, but I found myself anxious to get back to this one, to see what happens in the freezing coach, icy cable car, and decaying ski lodge.



Highly recommended to fans of thrillers and suspense stories.

Thanks to Netgalley, C.J. Tudor, and Ballantine Books for a copy of the manuscript.

Rating: 4 stars