The Other People by C J Tudor - Review

The Other People was published by Penguin in January 2020. I was provided with an electronic copy of the book for review purposes, but was not otherwise compensated for this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I am just sorry that it took me so long to read this because I thoroughly enjoyed it!

I have heard of C J Tudor but never read anything by them, although I know my partner read and liked The Chalk Man. So I requested this, taking a bit of a chance, and I'm really glad I did, because I raced through it and was really intrigued throughout. I'm giving it four out of five and I would definitely read something else by the same author.

So at the beginning of the book, Gabe is travelling home to his wife, Jenny, and daughter, Izzy, when he gets stuck in traffic behind a car bearing lots of stickers on it. He's distracted, but suddenly a little girl appears in the back window. He is certain it is his daughter, Izzy, and he's certain that she says 'Daddy' and needs help. He then gets a phone call from the police to say that his wife and daughter have been murdered. 

We are then taken three years into the future to Gabe's life now. He lives in a camper van and spends his time driving up and down the motorways, looking for the car he saw that night, searching for his lost daughter. The police think he is crazy. Jenny's parents have very little to do with him, also telling him that he's mistaken in what he thinks he saw. But Gabe is determined, and he has help from a man called The Samaritan. The Samaritan calls and tells Gabe he has found the car from that night. 

Meanwhile, Fran and her daughter Alice are on the run. This has happened before, Fran is good at running. They're in a motorway services when Alice sees a mirror, and in it she sees the same thing she always sees - a girl. Alice falls asleep, like she always does, and when she wakes up, she has a tiny pebble in her hand. 

Then there's Katie, who works in the coffee shop at one of the services that Gabe often stops at. She's a single mum with two small children; her sister Lou looks after them overnight while Katie is working. Her family is fractured after the murder of her father. She hasn't spoken to her older sister in 9 years and her mum is an alcoholic. 

Then there's the girl who sleeps, who has a nurse called Miriam. Who is she, and who are The Other People?

I found this an intriguing thriller, it definitely kept me reading and guessing. I liked the supernatural element and thought it worked really well.