I personally think C.J. Tudor’s books are a tiny bit derivative and sometimes not fully thought through. There is always a great idea in her books, but something goes wrong midway, and overall, her books, even though super-enjoyable, usually just fall short of the mark. They are those sorts of books that I compulsively binge-read and enjoy thoroughly, but her endings don’t land, and the overall book turns out to be just mid.
That said, I think The Gathering has been the strongest offering from her so far.
About the book
In a small Alaska town, a boy is found with his throat ripped out and all the blood drained from his body. The inhabitants of Deadhart haven’t seen a killing like this in twenty-five years. But they know who’s responsible: a member of the Colony, an ostracized community of vampyrs living in an old mine settlement deep in the woods.
Detective Barbara Atkins, a specialist in vampyr killings, is called in to officially determine if this is a Colony killing—and authorize a cull. Old suspicions die hard in a town like Deadhart, but Barbara isn’t so sure. Determined to find the truth, she enlists the help of a former Deadhart sheriff, Jenson Tucker, whose investigation into the previous murder almost cost him his life. Since then, Tucker has become a recluse. But he knows the Colony better than almost anyone.
As the pair delves into the town’s history, they uncover secrets darker than they could have imagined. And then another body is found. While the snow thickens and the nights grow longer, a killer stalks Deadhart, and two disparate communities circle each other for blood. Time is running out for Atkins and Tucker to find the truth: Are they hunting a bloodthirsty monster or a twisted psychopath? And which is more dangerous?
~ Synopsis from GoodReads
My Review
I really liked the premise of this book—a murder mystery set in a world where humans live side by side with vampires, with mutual distrust and hate. The vampires are, in many ways, stand-ins for marginalized people in our society. Replace them with blacks, trans, and so on, and there wouldn’t be much difference in the way the societal dynamics are portrayed in this book.
The atmosphere and setting of Alaska are also well done, although I think the author missed the opportunity to dial up the atmosphere a little. I was hoping for something more scary or gory. Some horrific things do happen, but not in graphic detail. I doubt this book will keep anyone up at night.
The mystery was clever, too. I am usually good at guessing the murderer, but here it was really well done and the reveal was note perfect. That said, I felt neither the killer nor the victim was developed fully enough for me to get invested in the solving of the crime.
So overall, a fun, compulsive, but not too memorable read. I enjoyed it, and based on the ending, it looks like a sequel will be in the works. Do I like it enough to read the sequel? Probably, but it’s not going straight to my TBR when it comes out.
