The Drift

 

Author: C.J. Tudor

Publisher: Ballantine Books

Year: 2023

❄️ 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 ❄️

“You’re either a good guy or you’re a survivor, someone had once told him. The earth is full a dead good guys.”

- The Drift 

The Drift is a mash up of a locked room mystery and a virus-induced post apocalyptic survival story. The overall plot has three different threads. The first follows Hannah and a group of fellow students from her boarding school. The bus they are on is involved in an accident during a ferocious snowstorm. The survivors must work together to survive the snow, the virus, & their secrets. 

The second thread finds former police officer Meg & several others trapped in a cable car going up a mountain during a huge snowstorm. They’re on their way to a place called “The Retreat” which might have something to do a vaccine for the virus. One of the passengers has been murdered & the gondola is stuck high in the air due to the storm. Will the killer strike again? Is anyone coming to rescue them? 

The third thread takes place at a ski chalet that’s equipped with a lab to manufacture a vaccine against the virus. How very convenient to have a science lab in a ski chalet! Carter & a few others at the chalet begin to worry when the aging generator starts going on the fritz because that could lead to some virus infected people escaping from the lab. A terrible snowstorm hits and bodies start piling up. 

There are clues throughout that start sewing the three plot lines together & by the end the whole thing comes together. But to me, the layout felt like a gimmick- almost like the author was trying to be a little too cleaver with the writing. Don’t get me wrong, overall I thought the story was interesting and entertaining. But some parts were just too unexplained & a few plot points felt smidge too contrived. So for me it’s 3.5 ⭐️. 

QOTD: how are you doing today? 

I’m actually a little annoyed with myself. I’ve been on a quest to learn to make good bagels. I made the dough and shaped them yesterday. They proofed in the fridge overnight. This morning I baked them a little too long & burned them. 😳😡 I have another batch still proofing so I’ll try again later. 

#thedrift #survivalfiction #lockedroommystery #snowstorm #postapocalypticfiction #virus #thrillerfiction #alothoingonhere