Review: The Other People by C.J. Tudor

Author: C.J. Tudor
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Publication Date:  January 2020

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.

Of the three books that I have read by this author, The Other People is probably going to be my least favorite.  It was one of my most anticipated books of the year.  I wish I could say I loved it, but it ended up being just OK for me.  The story follows a couple of story lines:  a father who swears his daughter was kidnapped, but no one believes him,  a nurse taking care of a girl in a coma and  a mother on the run with her daughter.

I'm not sure I can pinpoint any one thing that made this kind of a bland story.  The characters were a little forgettable. I wanted a thriller and I just didn't get one.  It has been a couple of weeks since I finished the book and I honestly forgot most of what happened in the story.  Good thrillers tend to stay with me.  The story was a bit convoluted with a couple of twists.  The ending does wrap up the story fairly well but I still had a couple of questions.   I'm still a fan of this author's so I do look forward to the next book.  It's not the worst thriller I have read, it's just not the best either.