The Other People

by C.J. Tudor

Ballantine Books

Publication Date : January 28, 2020

Pages :366

Synopsis From Publisher :

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.

Loving an author’s first book can be a gift and a curse. Discovering a new author is wonderful but I tend to measure all subsequent books released by the author against the first book. Creating an unfair standard which is almost impossible for the author to meet. Tudor’s latest release The Other People did not manage to dethrone The Chalkman as my favorite but it is a close second. 

Three years ago while driving home, Gabe Forman got stuck behind a rusty old car, covered in bumper stickers. Through the car’s rearview mirror a little girls appears, his five year old daughter Izzy. Initially he believes he is mistaken; however he is disturbed by the little girl’s resemblance to his own daughter. Gabe calls home to make sure his family is OK. They are not and Izzy has disappeared. Three years later, Gabe now drives the highways in search of the rusty sticker covered car and his daughter. This is not the first time tragedy has struck Gabe. Is his daughter’s disappearance a result of a random tragedy or has Gabe’s past come back to haunt him? 

I love a flawed character and Tudor does flawed characters extremely well. In every book I have read by Tudor she has created a character who behaves in an unscrupulous manner but I still found a portion of their character to like. In fact I grew to even cheer for the character in spite of their questionable behavior. Authors who are able to make a reader feel such strong  and extremely different emotions are rare. Tudor does this flawlessly. 

I am extremely critical of crime fiction books with a supernatural element. In some cases the mystic element takes over the entire story; overshadowing the central mystery. However Tudor was able to strike the perfect balance between a ghost story and crime fiction. The mystic aspect links all of the characters together, in a unique and enthralling manner. 

It is extremely hard for me to believe The Other People is Tudor’s third novel. The writing has a seasoned and engaging quality. Tudor is an author to watch, her storytelling evolving as she incorporates different types of fiction (horror/ghost) into her books. I am so excited to find out what else Tudor has in store for readers. 

*Thanks to Ballantine Books for my free review copy of The Other People*

Murder and Moore Rating: 

4 out of 5 Stars