The Other People, by CJ Tudor {Book Review} ⋆ An Ordinary Gal

I have a fantastically good book review for you today!!

Between homeschooling, cleaning, working and cooking….reading has been keeping me semi-sane! I have been a fan of CJ Tudor’s writing ever since I picked up a copy of The Chalk Man last year, so when I saw The Other People being released, I was ecstatic. Even more so when Penguin Random House sent me a review copy a few weeks ago! I don’t even need to read the synopsis, if I see a book with her name on it…I’m interested. I’m getting it. Her writing style is just so clean and easy…..and she’s a remarkable storyteller. Okay, enough rambling…let’s get into the review!

Side note: Do you like/loathe the ‘what is this book about’ in the review? My thought is that if you come here for a specific book review, you know the synopsis….skip it. No need to read that paragraph, right? However, perhaps you’re just browsing for a non-specific book review…which is why I do include the synopsis. I saw a debate on Goodreads about this. I agree on Goodreads I don’t need a synopsis in a review, but I think a blog review is different. Anyways….let’s get back to it….

What is The Other People about?

Driving home one night, stuck behind a rusty old car, Gabe sees a little girl’s face appear in the rear window. She mouths one word: ‘Daddy.’ It’s his five-year-old daughter, Izzy.

He never sees her again.

Three years later, Gabe spends his days and nights travelling up and down the motorway, searching for the car that took his daughter, refusing to give up hope, even though most people believe that Izzy is dead.

Fran and her daughter, Alice, also put in a lot of miles on the motorway. Not searching. But running. Trying to keep one step ahead of the people who want to hurt them. Because Fran knows the truth. She knows what really happened to Gabe’s daughter.

Then, the car that Gabe saw driving away that night is found, in a lake, with a body inside and Gabe is forced to confront events, not just from the night his daughter disappeared, but from far deeper in his past.

His search leads him to a group called The Other People.

If you have lost a loved one, The Other People want to help. Because they know what loss is like. They know what pain is like. They know what death is like.

There’s just one problem . . . they want other people to know it too.

My Review

Characters and storyline

There are quite a few characters in the book…the protagonist, being Gabe….the grieving, maybe crazy father, in search of his maybe dead daughter. We also meet a mysterious Samaritan, who seems to be an ally of Gabe. Then there is also Fran and her daughter, Alice. We also have a waitress named Katie. Lots of people! The story is told from multiple points of views, all seemingly unrelated, but it all comes together as the story unfolds. There are also alternating timelines, as we learn a bit of backstory on some of our characters.

Guys….The Other People is a page turner like no OTHER! The story line immediately grips you. A father searching for his daughter, who everybody believes is dead??? As a parent, one cannot think of anything more painful. I cannot say too much in this review, because I’m afraid everything may be a spoiler. The writing was stellar and as I said above, easy to read. This is no slow burn…it’s fast paced and from page 1…you’re heading down the highway at 160km/hr! I could not put this book down once I started reading. Every chapter made you crave just one more and I eventually read this in one go!

I usually have an issue with too many characters and story lines, but this one had me engaged and 100% interested. The suspense and the twists did not stop coming.

Critique

I did feel that the pace of the writing slowed down in the last 1/3rd of the book. The first 2/3rds….was like a POW, POW, POW…with every page turn. I would imagine that it’s difficult to do that all the way throughout. Also, I don’t know if the supernatural element really added much to the story.

My rating

The Other People has a Goodreads rating of 3.88 stars out of 5. I’m giving it a solid 4 stars myself! This is my FAVOURITE CJ Tudor book to date. I find myself so impressed with her brain, her writing style and her ideas….that I truly cannot wait to see what she brings us next! #NoPressure right???

Also, can we take a moment for the cover of this book? I love it….and also how she’s kept that stick figure theme going!

If you’re interested in some of her previous books, check out my reviews over here: