Literally Dead Book Club discussion
The Other People by CJ Tudor
>
check in | chapter 45 - The End
I really flew through this book and enjoyed it a lot, but I have to agree with most of the people here on the supernatural element. It felt like it was either in it too much or not in it enough, and it seemed to simply be there to solve things quickly or keep us guessing. I also felt like the end maybe connected a few too many things together, it felt a little messy in the last part. But overall I really liked it, so I'm giving it four stars.
I just finished the book, I liked the supernatural stuff at first but it keeps getting messy and it was just an excuse to not explain a lot of things.like who is the sandman and why Isabella is afraid of him? who is Lou’s ex-boyfriend “the cop” and who sent him?
overall I still enjoyed reading it I’ll give it 4 stars
All around, it was a very good book and I gave it five stars, but I do think having Miriam be the bad guy as opposed to someone we already knew was a cop out and I also wish that the whole mirror thing had been explained better (or at all tbh). I still enjoyed the book and I’m glad I read it!
Erin wrote: "(Double post but I had another thought) did anyone else feel like The Other People was a real thing? There were multiple occasions where I went to look it up and had to remind myself I was reading ..."Lol yes!
Agreeing with a lot of comments that are saying the supernatural element was slightly disappointing, everything else, super enjoyable. 4/5.
Crystal (VanillaHearts62) wrote: "With that being said, do we need every little thing spoonfed to us? Sometimes not explaining everything makes the book more intriguing."I agree with this so much!!!! Imagination is a wonderful thing as long as there aren't any plot holes.
Alright... here are some thoughts.What I liked:
C.J. Tudor did a brilliant job setting up the mystery and the characters. She really made me feel for Gabe and his grief and obsession to find his kidnapped daughter was portrayed in a very believable way.
The book kept me hooked and guessing to the end and I loved how the first few reveals were happening. The book invites you to come up with your own theories which was good fun!
Didn’t like:
The last quarter of the book where the final reveals and twists happened and Miriam revealed herself as the villain including a full why-she-done-it-monologue. I don’t like when that’s how the mystery gets revealed and it also happened in that manner with the Samaritan and Miriam.
I also agree with everyone above saying they didn’t like the paranormal/supernatural element. I was expecting a mind-blowing non-supernatural explanation and I feel like that could have been way more impactful than a simple “oh I guess it’s really just magic” explanation. That’s where the book eventually fell flat for me.
So overall... I liked this... but hmmm. In the end it sits at 3.5 stars for me (3 stars goodreads rating).
Elisabeth wrote: "Alright... here are some thoughts.What I liked:
C.J. Tudor did a brilliant job setting up the mystery and the characters. She really made me feel for Gabe and his grief and obsession to find his..."
I also gave this a 3.5 and you voiced my thoughts PERFECTLY
I finished this book in a few days but I felt like I was struggling to make myself finish. I was expecting to enjoy it a lot more than I did. I ended up giving it 3 stars because there were some parts of the story that I liked, but I felt like I was forcing myself to keep reading at points. I agree with what has been said about the supernatural elements, I don’t usually tend to like that in thrillers but I think if CJ Tudor was going to go with that she should have taken it further. It felt like it didn’t fit in with the story because so little was explained and it felt randomly sprinkled throughout to me. Also, I really hated how Miriam died. It felt really cheesy to me and then there was no mention of what happened with her after? Gabe was suspected of murdering his family when he had an alibi but no one was suspicious that someone died in the same room as him with seemingly no explanation? My favorite part of this book was how the Samaritan’s story wrapped up. I wasn’t expecting him to have a son who was involved and that was the only twist that ended up surprising me. Overall I thought this book was just okay.
I really enjoyed the journey of the book but feel a little meh about the ending. The issue with the car driving toward his house was something I was wondering about from the beginning. I did like several of the reveals along the way but definitely agree with everyone regarding the supernatural element. I would have liked more of an explanation or nothing at all. It was trying to be subplot but I just wasn’t interested because it felt like there was more important things to focus on.
I think I liked it more than the Chalk Man and would definitely read more of her work.
Holy s&£ t this was soo good I loved it for I loved the slight paranormal element it made it more intriguing. However the ending was not quite what I thought it would be but I still loved this book such a good first pick can’t wait to see what is next from this author too as I think I’ve found a new favourite.
for my first thriller, I really enjoyed this book... I feel like the ending didn't quite match the rest of the book, felt slightly rushed, but it didn't take away from my enjoyment of the story as a whole... the supernatural element didn't feel necessary to me, it felt like an add-on that could have been left out, but again i still enjoyed it... I was concerned when I saw the epilogue, but I really liked it, kind of confirmation that the other people will continue on
Seems many people feel like I do. I'm not sure what the supernatural element added to the story. And it doesn't make any sense to me that just because baby Izzy and Isabella were in the same spot for 1 hour that such a huge connection would be made. And the whole pebble/shell thing I still don't really get. Overall though, I really enjoyed this book. It kept me guessing until the very end. I didn't want to put it down. And goodness, the car going the wrong way and the fact that it was Gabe that sent Fran into hiding. This book really kept me on the edge of my seat.
My final rating I think is a 4star. Probably would be have been 4.5 if not for the "connection" of Izzy/Isabella.
I absolutely loved this book! It gave me everything I love in this genre as a thrilling thriller.If I’d have been told about maybe a “supernatural “ plot in here I’d not have read it. I must be the only one that didn’t take it as that. Unexplained yes. But a lot of things in life have no answers. And I satisfied myself comfortably in that 😂
We could share our reviews maybe so we can support each other? Just a thought. I’m happy to like and comment😁 if Kayla agrees?
Here’s mine
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I really enjoyed this it was a fun ride for me.
4⭐️ read for me. There were some elements that seemed to blend in too seamlessly and some that seemed a little forced. Overall, I enjoyed the writing style and I’m still thinking about it.
Just finished in one day and honestly not sure if I'm satisfied or not. I really loved the writing throughout the first 75% of the story but I'm not so sure about the conclusion. Kind of ended with everything being ok because magic, oh and millions of dollars. I think I give it 3.5 stars personally, enjoyed it but not fantastic.
Lauren wrote: "I really enjoyed this it was a fun ride for me."Oh me too!
⭐️ 5 Stars ⭐️ Absolutely adored this book! Everything wrapped up so well, in my opinion. I agree it was a bit rushed at the end but that didn’t sway my mind. The Samaritan/Sandman himself said that not everything ends like the movies and you don’t always get the answers you’re looking for.
This book truly was a wild ride. I had to keep stopping for breaks to be able to digest it all. But wanting to go back into reading it straight away. I LOVE that about a book.
The supernatural and magical elements were right up my street. I like how we don’t really have a definite answer as to how that all came about.
I truly did love this book and would recommend it to everyone I know.
ok, I'm tentatively giving this 4 stars. I just finished it and while I liked the simple, tied up ending I disliked how it happened. I also disliked fran still being alive because I didn't need that question answered. but i did really like gabe, katie and izzy as characters, i loved the purgatory/beach stuff (death stranding anyone???). but i would have liked more hands-on stuff with the other people.
I just finished and decided on 4 ⭐️s. I didn’t really like that the supernatural element wasn’t explained more. I loved the Samaritan/Sandman storyline. Overall I think it was a great read.
loved this! Would have been 5 star but I didn't like the Izzy/ Isabella ending. I didn't mind the connection but the ending of it just didn't sit right with me.
I gave this book 4 ⭐️s because I loved:- the writing, plot, and characters.
- The Samaritan at the end and his little story, really wasn't expecting that! I was nervous that Tudor wouldn't wrap his story and we would leave guessing.
- The whole aspect of The Other People being some secret society
- Gabe & Katie's happy ending and not having their future fully laid out with some room to 'maybe there is still danger'.
I disliked:
- The supernatural aspect. I'm not even sure I understood what was happening. It was just there in a page and even though I knew they had some connection, that whole aspect seemed weird to me.
- Miriam's confession. It was a little cliche and I wished it was something more shocking...
- Fran in the end. I disliked it a lot. Again cliche.
Kelsey wrote: "Hannah wrote: "So, I started and finished this book on release day - I just couldn't put it down. I'm not an avid thriller/mystery reader, so I'm not usually amazing at predicting twists or conclus..."I agree. I wished the supernatural element was expanded a bit more. It definitely felt like it wasn't addressed properly after the climax, and everyone just moved on and forgot about it. The book mentions that Izzy's fainting spells did get better, but still no real explanation on why she was connected to Isabella through the "beach world" in the first place.
The beach world seems to be an in between, between life and death (like limbo), since the Samaritan said he was there once too when he tried to take his own life. But why did Isabella and Izzy's connection give them superpowers?
Still have a lot of questions about this one, but overall I enjoyed it and gave it 4 stars.
I really enjoyed the experience of reading this book, but the end disappointed me. The way things wrapped up with Miriam felt anticlimactic and rushed, and the supernatural aspect was so random. Normally I like paranormal/supernatural elements in my stories, but not in this case, unfortunately. I couldn't help but feel that it was unnecessary, and that the book would have been better without it. Certainly I think removing it from the story would have forced the author to come up with a better conclusion/confrontation between Miriam and Gabe. Allowing the supernatural elements to take the stage in this crucial scene meant that Gabe was not forced to make any of the difficult decisions facing him...about how to thwart Miriam, or what to do about Isabella. I think this is what ultimately left me feeling so unsatisfied. There were some other nitpicky things...I'm not sure how I feel about Fran surviving for instance, and I agree with others that Alice/Izzy read much more like a teenager than an 8yr old. And some of the dialogue didn't work for me. However, I did have a super fun time reading this overall, and for that I'm giving the book 3.5stars. I'd definitely try this author again, and I'm glad I read this book.
Mikey wrote: "ok, I'm tentatively giving this 4 stars. I just finished it and while I liked the simple, tied up ending I disliked how it happened. I also disliked fran still being alive because I didn't need tha..."Haha Yes! I also kept thinking about Death Stranding with the beach scenes.
I gave this 4 stars. The pace kept me involved although I didn't like the supernatural aspect. Coincidence I live in Sussex where Gabe's inherited house is located. Plus I used to live in Bedfordshire by junction 11 of the M1 motorway - just a few miles from the coffee shop where Gabe was reunited with Izzy at J12. How weird!! I felt the reuniting of Gabe with Izzy was rushed with it just taking up 2 paragraphs. This is the first book I've read by this author and would definitely look at reading some more.
I too gave this book 4 stars. I am not into supernatural and the ending disappointed me. I would still recommend this book.
Christine wrote: "I too gave this book 4 stars. I am not into supernatural and the ending disappointed me. I would still recommend this book."Same here. But an enjoyable read
Hello everyone! I finished the book last night and just isn't a fan of the way Miriam was "dealt with". Like... yeah.. is there a supernatural element involved? I just didn't find it realistic so that took a star off my rating. But overall, it did for me what I look for thriller/mystery: grip me from start to finish.
it was entertaining to listen to, gave it 4 stars.. I don't like how Miriam ended up with a broken neck and that's it? how would he get away with that? lol but yeah the supernatural bit was a little confusing and really wasn't needed in my opinion
Mixed feelings. I LOVED the beginning and could not put the book down. But the ending.... really did not do it for me. I agree with some comments here that Izzy's paranormal connection came out of left field for me. I wish Tudor expanded on this more because I felt like it was the most interesting aspect. Also, the Other People were.... underwhelming? I really thought the Samaritan was going to end up being one of them and pulling Gabe along the entire time...
I guess underwhelmed is an adequate summary of how I felt upon finishing the book. I wanted more because the beginning was so promising- 3 stars
Dani wrote: "Mixed feelings. I LOVED the beginning and could not put the book down. But the ending.... really did not do it for me. I agree with some comments here that Izzy's paranormal connection came out of ..."I agree with you, Dani. I think I expected more out of the Other People, knowing how extreme and dark the Dark Web could be. :(
Okay hi... Reading through the other comments on this thread makes me feel better about not *entirely* loving this book. I’m giving it a 3/5... the overall ideas of the book was super interesting and I was excited to read it. But i feel as though the execution could have been better.. like others are saying, as equal would be nice, or even if she made this book longer and took time to expand on parts of the story/characters (especially the supernatural parts - like I was HERE FOR IT but it felt out of place.) it felt like a slow burner thriller (more puzzle-y and less action-y), which is good and i liked the short rapid-fire chapters a lot. It kept me reading so I could find out what happened next in each storyline and I did enjoy some of the twists, and at times I did smirk at some of the story, but overall it was just okay for me because I wanted MORE words! Haha
I finished this book last night. Although I enjoyed the story most of the way through I was left feeling underwhelmed with how it ended. I felt the ending was more thrown together and was disappointed the connection between the two girls wasn’t explained more. I rated it 3.5.
I loved this book and the not knowing didn’t bother me ( any chance to make theories lol ). I finished this last week and I haven’t stopped thinking about it’s my new favourite thriller.
I really liked this one, but it suffered from what I call “big red bow ending,” like a car at a used car sales lot when it is purchased. That took it down a star for me.
I gave it 4 stars. the only reason is because of the supernatural element and I was really confused about it. I really dont like anything supernatural and it being thrown in like that is the worst (like stephen king does with his books). otherwise I loved it a lot, I listened finished it after one and a half day after all lol. I will definitely read more books by the author.
reading all the comments makes me more convinced the author did a mistake by doing the supernatural thing and not explaining it by the very least
Hi, I loved it and I didn't even care that the supernatural mirror sleep thing wasn't explained it left some mystery and tied things up so that we at least knew it was the samaritan that was the sandman. I give it a 5/5 for keeping me engaged for every single page and I loved the experience of reading it and I loved the story as I was reading.Heres a good discussion point I think we don't talk about enough:
Everyone has their own opinions on how books should or how they would love to see a book end and I think that sometimes we have such high expectations for endings of books and it makes us forget how much we enjoyed the other 90% of the book. Some people don't like the big bow finishes and if the supernatural thing was explained I think a lot of yall would have liked it even less because the book would have been too tied up in the end. It is always such a large pressure on the author to satisfy everyone with the ending so I think this was as close as you can get to do just that.
I gave this book a 4. I really liked the fast pace of the story and the way everything was just leading to more questions. I feel disappointed in the last bit of the book because I felt like everything was wrapped up too neatly. I felt like the ending was leading to a darker place and then poof everything is better. I feel like the other people seem more sinister and we were not given enough to fear them? I also didn't like how the connection with Izzy and Isabella was not fully explained. Overall I was really engaged in book and was happy to have finished. I look forward to the next book we all read!
I thought the supernatural elements of the book was an interesting thing to do, but I would have liked those elements to have been explained in some way. Or fleshed out more. It felt more like a weird sideline to the story, rather than part of the plot. The book works super well on its own without those supernatural elements, so I question why it was added if there wasn't going to be much of an explanation.Still, a 4 star read for me. This was my first C.J. Tudor and I'll definitely be reading more of her stuff in the future.
I have ONE HOUR left in the audiobook. *teeth chatters*. There were so many big reveals and it seems like things are wrapping up... but still several chapters to go. AHHHHH.
Okay, now I'm finished. I listened to the audiobook and it was soooo good. It wasn't a perfect book by any means, but I thought it was wild how all these stories intersected and how the title came into play. I'm surprised to see all the 3 stars though. This was one of the more refreshing takes on a thriller I've read in awhile. Since The Other People is not a whodunit mystery, I didn't overthink the logic of all the events and motives. Like, the whole concept of The Other People is already unrealistic so I was able to suspend my disbelief for everything else, lol. I don't think thrillers are meant to make sense.
Things I didn't care for:
- Fran being alive but off the grid.
- The fact that The Samaritan is The Sandman and that weird convo they have at the end. Like? He's so dangerous. I feel like he wouldn't just be like, "Okay, Gabe. Have a good life now even though I was screwed over." That convo took me out of the story.
- There was a chapter, I can't remember which, where I thought the book should have concluded. I think the second to last convo with the Samaritan.
- Also, Gabe and Katie just casually hanging out without the PTSD of all those deaths because they have moneeey. Everything is fine now.
Those are my minor criticisms and I ultimately enjoyed this one!
Quick question - My audiobook has an epilogue and then 3 additional stories after that. Do I need to read past the epilogue?
I rated this book 4 stars. THIS BOOK was extremely spooky. I read this within two days and I remember getting into bed and feeling weird chills all over my body when thinking about what was happening in the book. That's ultimately what I always want from a book; the book should stick with me even when I am not reading it. The Other People consumed me entirely. It was very, very captivating and engaging.
Another thing I really enjoyed was the writing and the structure of the story. The writing was very accessible and the short chapters made the book go quite fast and gave an illusion of the plot moving fast although I felt it dragged a bit when I hit about 40% mark. But, it did pick up and tied up all the strings neatly.
I didn't give it 5 stars only because I felt the supernatural angle in the book kind of put me in a whoa mode and not in a good way. I felt it should have been explored more in terms of Izzy, Isabella, Pebbles, Beach and Samaritan and the plot or completely omitted. I wouldn't mind a sequel at all if C J Tudor is up for exploring that angle more because I am intrigued. It just left a bad taste in my mouth because it wasn't completely explored and was rushed and left me confused. I had to reread that chapter to see if I was processing the words right.
This was my first time reading C J Tudor and it has left me wondering if all her books have supernatural element. But, I am definitely up for trying her The Chalk Man!
The consensus seems to be that everything was going well until chapter 60 or so and I totally agree.I managed to guess the identities & ties of all the involved characters just a few chapters before they were confirmed and it felt good! Not predictable in a disappointing manner, but in a satisfactory way - like the plot was set up so well, it was unraveling and untangling in a way that made sense, so the predictions came naturally.
And then it all went downhill when there wasn’t any sort of catharsis at the end. Like untangling an extremely complicating knot that turned out to be just separate pieces of rope that didn’t have to do anything with each other. The easiness in which everything felt into place with the Sandman & his son & Fran... it felt a bit forced and this is what brought it down from 5* to a solid 4.
And I can’t even address the supernatural or the lack of it? I can’t decide if it made things easier to understand or if it was the opposite and left me lacking some info. Maybe my imagination is just not rich enough to comprehend this part....
This one went from a 5 star to a 3 star for me because of the supernatural element. I have read both this and The Chalk Man and in both of them I was left feeling like, “but why?” The supernatural element felt like an afterthought, or it felt like a way to add in red herrings when you can’t think of any other ones. Either way, it just felt lazy and incomplete. The overall story without that element was great though, I just wish more time had been spent dissecting the online portal and presence, and less time had been spent on this weird Isabella storyline.
This was my first time reading a thriller/mystery, and i really did enjoy it. I like the shorter chapters and viewpoints of all the characters. It had me guessing at the end of every chapter. I never really knew what was going to happen. I still don’t quite understand why “Uncle Steve” had really any point in the story. I think he was kind of an unnecessary character.
My first C.J Tudor and I’m definitely gonna have to pick up her last books. Really enjoyed this book only wish it didn’t wrap up so quick it felt slightly rushed.
However, I have to say that the mystery part of the book wasn't really a mystery for me. There was no real plot-twist that shocked me or even surprised me, I saw everything coming from miles away, and so I kind of feel luke-warm towards the mystery.
The ending, as many in this discussion have said, was rushed and a lot of things were left unexplained (like the supernatural aspect), but on the other hand it felt like the author tried to just hand the solutions to all possible questions to the reader on a silvr platter (e.g. the whole Fran came back from the dead thing).
Overall, this book sadly didn't do it for me :(