The Other People

I was hoping it would be spooky but I was pleasantly surprised by how clever the story was with just a hint of the paranormal.

It makes you wonder if there really is a group like that on the dark web but thats a rabbit hole I don't want to go down haha.

The story was really gripping.

4.5 stars

If Chalk Man was a nod to IT and Taking Of Annie Thorn was a nod to Pet Cemetery, then this is pure CJ Tudor. What I really liked about this book was the fact that all the things you are trying to work out in your head are pretty much explained with 100 pages to go and then wham, there's more, and more. There are so many WTF moments and all of them work, non of them seem overly ridiculous, Can't wait for the next one.

2/5 stars

Overall this thriller was underwhelming. I was intrigued and hooked in the beginning but it was very slow paced in the middle. I wasn't really thrilled with the ending but I think it could have been a lot worse of a twist. At some parts I was also a bit confusing with the different storylines but they connected quite well. The “is it supernatural or not” aspect was really intriguing in the beginning. I listened to the audiobook and it was mediocre.

This thriller was a fine one but it is very forgettable in my opinion and I doubt I'll remember the twist in a couple of weeks from now.

On reflection and balance, this is another winner from Tudor with the same rich narrative and creepy undertone. I didn't enjoy it quite like I did her previous books and found myself drifting off at points. I didn't feel much of a connection with the characters until the latter part of the story, which is a shame. But the pace did pick up and I ultimately enjoyed how things came together.

I listened to the audiobook and found the pacing to be really good at 1.5x speed. I saw a lot of criticism that this book was boring, so perhaps the format I chose to consume it helped it be more engaging to me. I liked that the paranormal element was introduced early on, and I felt compelled to keep listening because I cared about the characters. I appreciated that everything wasn't saved as a reveal at the end too. Figuring out the connections and who people were didn't hinder my enjoyment either, since the story wasn't relying on the shock of those reveals. I really appreciated that.

I would have liked a little more explanation of the paranormal stuff and feel like it was missing a lot. It felt very surface level and like something more was waiting to be revealed that ultimately never was. I also don't love writing that says super obvious stuff like it's profound, like “Parents love their children and will do anything for them.” Yeah, we know. The end was pretty cheesy too.

All in all, I think this was a really good book with just a couple things that didn't work fully for me. I'll definitely check out more by C.J. Tudor.

I mean... It was not for me.

the audiobook was not the move

The beginning of the story started strong and kept me intrigued but it lost steam towards the middle. The supernatural element wasn't really necessary. It actually made the ending seem a touch hokey.

likes:
- I loved the “is it supernatural/is it not” aspect
- was super engaging at first
- the Other People concept is really interesting & different

dislikes:
- although I really liked the supernatural aspect at first, I didn't love where this storyline went
- this hooked me from the beginning but as it went on it felt really slow to me
- I wish the Other People concept was explored more - I think it could have went darker & more in depth to it
- the ending felt a bit messy to me, like it wasn't really well thought out and some things I'm still confused by. somehow at the same time everything was wrapped up a little tooo neatly.

overall, this was just okay!