The Other People ✭✭✭✭✭

About the Book

She sleeps, a pale girl in a white room…

Three years ago, Gabe saw his daughter taken. In the back of a rusty old car, covered in bumper stickers. He was driving behind the car. He watched her disappear. But no one believes him. Most people believe that his daughter, and wife, are dead. For a while, people believed that Gabe was responsible.

Three years later and Gabe cannot give up hope. Even though he has given up everything else. His home, his job, his old life. He spends his days and nights travelling up and down the motorway, sleeping in his camper van in service stations, searching for the car that took her. Searching for his daughter.

Katie spends a lot of her life in service stations, working as a waitress. She often sees Gabriel, or ‘the thin man’ as she has nicknamed him. She knows his story. She feels for him, because Katie understands what it’s like to lose a loved one. Nine years ago, her father was murdered. It broke her family apart. She hasn’t seen her oldest sister since the day of the funeral; the day she did something terrible.

Fran and her daughter, Alice, put in a lot of miles on the motorway. Not searching. But running. Trying to keep one step ahead of the people that want to hurt them. Because Fran knows the truth She knows what really happened to Gabe’s daughter. She knows who is responsible. And she knows that if they ever find them, they’re dead.

My Thoughts

Wow. This was an intense read. I started reading the first chapter before bed and had to put it down and wait, as I knew I’d be up to the early hours finishing it otherwise.

This is a dark and creepy thriller that will have you hooked from the very beginning.

The Other People focusses on the lives of three people that slowly converge. Gabe has spent years searching for his daughter when he finds out that her disappearance has something to do with ‘the other people’, and organisation that gives justice to its members. But what has Gabe done to deserve such an awful punishment?

Tudor takes the reader on a dark and twisted journey. This wonderfully combines a thriller with the emotional impact of loss, while exploring the lengths people are willing to go to in order to get ‘justice’ for their loved ones.

I thought that The Chalk Man was overrated but The Other People truly shows the depth of Tudor’s writing. She made me feel empathy for all of the characters. I understand the motivations for all of the characters actions, and the reasons behind their decisions. It’s hard to see any of them as the villain, or to judge them for their actions.

This is a 5 star read and I’d advise you to clear your schedule before starting it.

 

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy of this book.

Eeny Meeny ✭✭✭✭

About the Book

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The girl emerged from the woods, barely alive. Her story was beyond belief. But it was true. Every dreadful word of it.

Days later, another desperate escapee is found – and a pattern is emerging. Pairs of victims are being abducted, imprisoned then faced with a terrible choice: kill or be killed.

Would you rather lose your life or lose your mind?

Detective Inspector Helen Grace has faced down her own demons on her rise to the top. As she leads the investigation to hunt down this unseen monster, she learns that it may be the survivors – living calling cards – who hold the key to the case.

And unless she succeeds, more innocents will die . . .

My Thoughts

This was an intense read. The opening chapter throws you straight into the action and it doesn’t stop.

The first in the Helen Grace series, Grace is hunting a particularly gruesome serial killer. Except this killer isn’t the one pulling the trigger. Two victims are kidnapped, and given an impossible choice, kill or be killed. The victims are resistant at first, but days without food or water soon take their tool. Those who survive have to live with the guilt of what they’ve done.

This book sucked me in straight away, and I read the entire thing in one go. It had a good balance of backstory and character development (Grace’s vice is very different to most detectives) and action. The chapters from the victims point of view give you a good insight into their thought process, and how they cope afterwards.

Chapters focussing on the police investigation, and the lives of the officers, give you a break from the action to catch your breath, but I was still racing through the book waiting for the next twist.

Arlidge does an excellent job of making you feel horror at what the victims are going through, while keeping you so intrigued that you can’t stop reading. Even though there were many different points of view, and short chapters, I still felt like I connected with the characters.

I’m definitely going to continue with the series, and I can’t wait to start reading the next one.