Literally Dead Book Club discussion
The Other People by CJ Tudor
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check in | chapter 45 - The End
I just finished and think I'm going to rate this 3 stars. I did like it better than The Chalk Man so at least there's an improvement lol. I wished the supernatural element was more fleshed out and built up into the climax a bit more.
I loved the concept of The Other People and the Dark Web angle and maybe would have enjoyed it more if they were more of a focus.
Overall, it was an average read for me.
I was really enjoying the first two thirds of this book. I agree that the Dark Web social media group element was a great idea for a thriller. But the author piled on so many unnecessary twists and turns that really ended up ruining the book for me. There were way to many layers in the story that all interfered with each other.If it stayed a more straight-forward thriller about a man getting his daughter back, and a family getting revenge, I would have given it 4 stars. The last third bugged me so much that I've dropped the rating down to a 2.
By the end of the book I wanted to grab the author and tell them to calm down and focus on telling a great story, and less on trying to surprise the reader with random twists.
I really enjoyed this book, 4.5 stars for me. I did not enjoy the rushed ending was hoping that there was more to the mysterious pebbles and Isabella’s role in the end. I really loved The Samaritan/Sandman character. Overall enjoyable and at times creepy.
cat ♡ wrote: "Simms wrote: "Just wanted to know more about How the other people worked."100% agree! I wish this was more focused on because I was so interested in that aspect."
Agree!! After reading the epilogue, I need more information about the modus operandum of this organization.
Sam wrote: "2/5 stars sadly.Things I loved:
- The dark web element
- the other people organization
I think this book could have benefited from being a longer story and fleshing out some of the ideas. The ch..."
YES! agreed. Too much co-mingling of the characters. I didn't care for the "6 degrees of separation" element. I really felt that the supernatural element could have gone deeper. Kind of glossed over I felt.
A good, edgy read in the end with a few flaws (personal taste flaws)
Mmm, this is my first Tudor's book and I know it won't be the last one but The other people didn't work out for me.I ended up giving it 3 stars because it keeps the reader interesting and hooked but there were a lot of things that didn't seem right or real for the story.
I started and finished this book in one night. I enjoyed it I think because I read it so fast but I still stand by I don't like supernatural elements in psychological mysteries. I think this would have been just as good, if not better had she fleshed out the characters more and made them read more realistic, to me anyways, and left out the odd sleeping sickness and sandman pebbles. Also what happens to Miriam? I don't like the fact she died by obvious neck injuries and nothing is said about it after. It was overall just a three stars for me but it got a better rating than The Chalk Man which I hated! Also it is a super fast read, so that counts for something!
Wow so many comments to catch up on here. Makes me excited for all the books to read in future. I’ve been totally MIA as I had a baby last week but finally feeling ready to enter the world again! How did everyone find the different voices? Like a lot of authors write from different perspectives and some do it well and others not so much. I found that the adults were done well and I felt like I was reading a different persons thoughts but I couldn’t say that I felt the child sounded anything like a child, kind of pulled away your sympathy for her a little as she sounded so grown up and almost pessimistic and enigmatic for a character that was supposed to be so young.
This was my first C.J. Tudor book. I went in knowing very little and was instantly hooked. Read the whole book in a day because I couldn’t put it down, I needed answers! I few of my theories were right and I had a great time reading this.That said, I gave it 4 stars. While I love a good supernatural element in a book, this one just didn’t really seem to make much sense. I did enjoy trying to figure out how everyone was going to end up being connected in the end.
I just finished the book. I am giving it 3 stars. I really enjoyed the beginning and read basically the first 200 pages in a couple of hours and then I found that it began to move slower. Not only that, I found that I did not enjoy the weird supernatural scene and Miriam’s death was weird. I agree with some of the others who said the police would have a a lot of questions about it. Overall, this was not my favourite book but I did enjoy the reading experience somewhat.
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..."Totally agree! I loved the book and honestly what made me love it was the focus on The Other People...but I felt like the supernatural element made no sense to the story, wasn't explained or fleshed out, and was just kind of there as a plot device. I think it would've been just as chilling if we only focused on the dark web element instead. I have it 4 stars for that reason because I was so confused when Isabella smelled like seawater and then when the windows opened by themselves I was like "ok" lol
For me the real enjoyment was the experience while reading the book. I felt anxious, I liked the movie references and went mouth wide open when something got discovered or told.But overall I gave 3,5 stars. I didn’t felt super emotionally attached to the story or characters, I didn’t mind the supernatural element, but that kinda just happened and never got discussed within the characters.
And... the lack of diversity. I know the setting is England (and probably not close to London), but there were only one black character (and his son) and every girl and women in this story was either blond or had white hair. 🤷🏼♀️
Enjoyed this! Gave it a 4 star. However, I’m trying to figure out if we were SUPPOSED to know that Alice was Izzy the entire time or if I caught on way before the reveal? Also, I wish the supernatural aspect had more of a star role in the story. I am still confused on how it was all connected and would’ve loved a more fleshed out explanation. But, I really loved all of the connections with the people and instances in this book. The reveal with Miriam shocked me. I wasn’t prepared.
I just finished! This was my first CJ Tudor and whilst I thought it was great, I didn't love it. I am a fan of the supernatural element though, I think it's meant to be a metaphor for death as the themes of loss and grief permeate the book. I like the idea of there being a shore between the world's, a waiting space for the unknown. But that's just my own personal take on it and it didn't detract from the story for me. The thing that did was possibly some of the twists and turns, some of them took me totally by surprise but the twist with Miriam just made me roll my eyes.I am eager to read more CJ Tudor though and own her other books, so I have a feeling I will be reading them soon!
A 4 star read I think.
I honestly have no words. I adored this. Midway, I was thinking it was just a 4 star. 5 stars, for sure.I’d be curious to see if the Samaritan comes back for Fran if he finds out she’s not actually dead. Somehow I don’t think that Fran is very useful if The Other People think she’s dead. They wouldn’t be coming after her, and it sounds like there are never any constant members. Just people asking and then fulfilling favors.
I really liked it, it was a rollercoaster for sure, full of twists and turns. I very much enjoyed the epilogue, the show must go on after all, and people will always be desperate enough to seek that kind of revenge. I would have loved more insight into the system, but I understand it would be telling and would lose the mysterious vibe. Like, who processes these requests? Was Steve someone that owed a favor, or someone they hired? I have to say that I was rooting for Katie and Gabe, and families of choice, so the ending pleased me. The death of Isabelle and the supernatural aspect felt a little rushed, and I didn't care that much for them, but this didn't really affect my interest in the book. Miriam, I expected it to be her, but not in that way, and I was actually surprised that she was that kind of greedy, nice touch, more interesting than her being all earnest and loving.
One thing I noticed is that Gabe just can't live without secrets can he, first he was hiding Isabella from his wife, and now he's hiding the fact Fran is alive from Katie, not the best foundation for a tentative relationship, but oh well.
All in all, I appreciate that the book didn't leave anything about the central story to our imaginations, apart from the organization, and the supernatural. I would have liked to maybe see Evelyn and Harry, or DI Maddock once more before the end, but I can live without that. I will give it 4.5 stars, rounded up to 5 because I just couldn't put the book down, and this is the first thriller I finished.
Gave it a 4 star on Goodreads but for me it's more like a 3.5 star. It was my first book from CJ Tudor and I love the way she writes but the whole storyline was a bit "predictable". I did love the cult thing though but I regret that we don't really go deep down in there, I still have a lot of question about The Other People.
I find the connections between the characters a bit to easy even though I didn't see it coming for Fran and Katy.
I loved the story about the main character and Isabella, and why The Other People are after him and chasing his daughter.
But the thing a find a bit too much was the person who hired The Other People to kill his family. I mean the reasons were quiet basic and maybe didn't really explain such an deseperate act only for money. I was looking for a better explanation.
The supernatural thing kind of lost me and I found it maybe not necessary because nothing is explained at the end.
But overall, I liked this book because it was an easy reading, especially for me that isn't an english native speaker, the writing was really enjoyable and the story was really captivating, and really suspensful thanks to all the questions we kept having chapter after chapter, until the end.
(Sorry if I made some mistake in my writing).
I'm looking forward for the next book!
I really loved the beginning and middle of this book, didn’t really feel the end. It just felt rushed in my opinion but other than that I really enjoyed the story!
4.5 stars, wow.This book really hit my personal feelings because my 18 year old step brother was murdered in 2017. I could easily understand each characters perspective on grief and the motives behind their actions.
Unlike most people, the “supernatural” element going unexplained in the book did not bother me. I think that it’s much like life, those little unexplainable things that happen. If you believe in things like this, is there ever a good explanation for those events? I’m okay not knowing what was happening. The ending with Fran hinted towards maybe the afterlife or limbo, but either way, I remain unbothered by that.
The request was never fulfilled when it comes to killing Izzy and The Other People were aware of this fact. Would Gabe and the others be able to live in that house without constantly waiting for The Other People to show up? The Other People could have easily come to the conclusion that the house is where Gabe ended up living. But at the same time, like life, you never know what’s lurking out there, people live with constant anxieties about strangers and fears for their children.
I did not see the twist about the Sandman/Samaritan being the father of the boy who killed Katie’s father coming. That was a nice touch, because I was curious of his motives and how he became the Samaritan/Sandman.
Overall, loved the book. Finished the whole thing in five hours.
I didn’t like The Chalk Man because I thought she fully ripped off IT, so this book was an uptick for me purely based on originality. That being said, I think she is a mediocre writer who played with some interesting ideas but failed to really execute any of them well. I am positive she takes a lot of inspiration from King because they both have a tendency to wrap up stories with a messy confrontation followed by simple exposition that ties up loose ends. I am the type of reader who can enjoy ambiguity in an ending, but the lack of an explanation on the supernatural elements seemed less like an artistic choice and more like a misstep simply because all other elements were wrapped up and fully explained.
I think I’d give this a 3.5 if I’m generous and based on pure readability- but I wouldn’t actually recommend it to a friend.
3.5 stars for me. (Why, oh why, won't goodreads go to a half-star rating system?) I was immediately pulled in and captivated by all of the little tidbits of information being parceled out. Most chapters ended on a lovely little cliffhanger and made me so eager to keep reading. I love a good speculative story, but I felt like it wasn't used effectively here. Since it wasn't woven seamlessly throughout the story, I would have preferred it was left out entirely. I would have been interested to know more intricate details about how The Other People system worked and evolved since that was the book's title.
Sitting on the bench with everyone who didn’t like the supernatural aspect. I mean, if you want to go there, then go all the way there. She could have easily left that aspect out and it would have basically been the same story. The trauma of what Izzy experiences could explain all kinds of behavior.
I was a little put off by the motivation of the nurse being introduced so late in the book, but I’m guessing that if I did a close re-read I could find hints of that earlier. In general, however, I am not a fan of characters being introduced so late in a story. Especially in such a significant way.
Yeah, there was just a little bit too much deus ex machina action happening in the last quarter of the book. Everything was just all too convenient. “I thought you were dead,” really pushed it over the top for me. Someone tell me why Gabe needed to know Fran actually lived. What was the point there??
And I can’t say it too much, but the Izzy/Isabelle supernatural connection was ridiculous. Izzy remembered being at the house at the age of nine months? Uh, no. Wasn’t there a reference earlier in the book to the concept of childhood amnesia and how children don’t remember things from early childhood??
solid 3 ⭐️ for me! the story did really keep my on my toes and surprised me but the writing was so mediocre and none of the characters really jumped off the page. all their internal monologues sounded the same and izzy was way too mature for a 7 year old.
i don’t know why i cannot reply to comments but yes! the ending was wrapped up too neatly! and the supernatural element was so unanswered!
This was a 3 star for me. I don’t mind a little unexplained magic. What threw me was how much of the book seemed to really be building that part of the story up to some huge reveal. In the end, it almost seemed unimportant. The disappointing thing is that I think the book still would have been a solid story without that element. But I do really love CJ Tudor’s writing. I’ve read and own all three of her books and as of now, I will continue to pick up everything she writes.
This was a really great book with a disappointing ending. I was wanting to know what the supernatural element was all about and it wasn’t really explained. Somehow Izzy and Isabella and a connection and that was it. The whole story was wrapped up too neatly in my opinion. I really loved the twists and turns along the way, but the end ruined it for me. 3 stars for me.
I really enjoyed this! The only part I wasn't a fan of was the mirror and pebbles part of it, because it wasn't explained. No other part of the story was supernatural and I didn't feel it added anything to the story. I just want an explanation, why/how can it happen?Other than that, this was amazing! I was hooked right from page 1. The way she wrote the different perspectives kept me constantly intrigued and on the edge of my seat. I loved trying to piece all the little details together.
I can't wait to read more from C.J. Tudor.
I'd say 2 stars...maybe 3...The writing style is good. However the story just fell short for me. I figured out everyone's roles pretty early on. The ending was meh. I'm not all that surprised as I felt the same way about The Chalk Man and ended up giving that 3 stars.
I still need to go threw and read everyone's posts. :)
3 stars for me. The beginning of the story started strong and kept me intrigued but it lost steam towards the middle. Agree with some of the others about the supernatural element, it wasn’t really necessary. It actually made the ending seem a touch hokey.
3 stars? 4 stars? 3.5 stars? Still trying to process my feelings on this book despite finishing it last night and sleeping on it.So the paranormal element: I feel like there should have been more or none at all. It felt a bit weak and I don't understand what the point of it was.
Totally could see Gabe and Katie coming together a mile off. Predictable. Bleh.
I can't believe we had such a confusing, meandering path to get to the bottom of the mystery and.. it was meh. Don't get me wrong. I did enjoy this book but I was expecting more twists and turns at the end.
The twist of Fran still being alive: I feel like that was only added in so we could get a full explanation of what happened that night. Literally no other reason for her to be alive.
I'm giving this book 4 stars for a few different reasons.1. I was completely sucked into this story from the first chapter. C.J. Tudor has a way of making every point of view extremely interesting and you need to know more after every single one of their chapters. I had so many questions that I needed answers for and I needed to know right away.
2. The writing style of this book was very easy to follow. Although I was hesitant at first because there are a few POV and I didn't think I'd be able to follow them all, I was pleasantly surprised at how I could.
3. Although the first half of the book completely shocked me and made me fall in love (I genuinely thought at that point, if the craziness continued I'd be giving this book a full 5 stars) the ending did fall flat for me.
I was expecting another huge plot twist, and sadly did not get that. The questions I had, did get answered.. however the ending was in a way a bit predictable. I'm super sad that Miriam was the reason for all of this, to be honest, it seemed like an easy way out.
My heart strings were definitely tugged on multiple times when Gabe would bring up that he was visiting Isabella when his daughter got taken and his wife was murdered, and how he continued to visit and care for her from a distance for so many years. I also expected a more emotional reunion between Izzy and her father, it wasn't as dramatic and heartwarming as I would have liked.
Overall, I really did enjoy majority of this story, but was sadly a bit disappointed with the predictability of the ending. I do think this book would make a good movie though! I will be picking up C.J. Tudors other books!
I am really happy with this book. It was a bit predictable, but not in a bad way. The characters were great, and the ending had a decent amount of action. I also liked how the Samaritan tied into everything. I didn't want him to be the 'big bad' of it all. And as much as I don't love a thriller with a perfectly explained/mostly happy ending, I did like the ominous vibe of the end. The idea that the bad guys are still out there and they could literally be anyone.
Agree with many of the above comments. Supernatural: Either more or less. But I did like that the Samaritan found himself on the beach as well. And the “powers” were very Beach in a storm so maybe Isabella drew strength/power from living there? As far as Steve and the Other People, I was thinking maybe since he was a cop and saw people being punished much less than he believed they should be, he joined up with the others. Let’s face it, there had to be SOME people who weren’t the pawns in charge of The Other People. So maybe Steve was part of that hierarchy? I don’t know.
Really enjoyed Katie and Gabe and kiddos. Izzy/Alice did speak fairly more mature but maybe because of all she’d been through? Not like she was hanging out with other children, only Fran and creepy mirror gal.
I gave this a firm 4 stars. My first Tudor read, though I’ve had ChalkMan on my shelf for MONTHS!
Oops, I forgot to add....why was this the end of The Other People? Wouldn’t there still be someone out to get Izzy, since she was part of the punishment against Gabe? I would think such a nefarious organization wouldn’t keep ANY witnesses to misdeeds. Or doesn’t it matter now that Miriam is dead? And yes, her death was a little bit too curious. I mean the police would be called regardless, right? Isabella died so you could call officials for that, but what DID they do with Miriam? I did think as soon as that happened, uh-oh, how are you going to explain that to the cops?
I really enjoyed reading this book, I loved the writting style and I've found it very intriging. Although at the end( around the last 80-100pages) kinda ruined it for me. I did not like the supernatural element and felt wrapped up to quickly. Also how convinient is that Fran is alive and she can share the missing details? But I gave 4* just because I really did enjoy reading it.
I enjoyed it immensely in the beginning, started to unravel in the middle, tied up loosely by the ending. I liked it but feel it’s not her best effort
Did anyone else notice that she used the word “fusty” like six times throughout this book? Maybe I’m an annoying reader but that really bothered me lol. Use a synonym!!!
Well that was underwhelming. Same emotional rollercoaster that The Chalk Man took me on: the first half was gripping and then it fizzled out pretty quickly. It’s a shame, I really wanted to like this and the concept was super intriguing. There was nothing I particularly disliked but I feel like it tried to do too much, it should have been a gritty thriller about the dangers of the Dark Web OR it should have been a kidnapping story with a supernatural twist. I liked both elements separately but Tudor didn’t manage to convince me that they should go together.
I didn't like it in the end. The very beginning was interesting. I think I just wanted something different, something that I haven't read before. And I wanted more dark web, conspiracies, and things that you can explain in reality. The reveals didn't excite me, didn't shock me. The motives were weak, even on the Samaritan's side of things. The supernatural was just weird in this book. Maybe if it was a bigger part of it and not just trickled in I would have liked it more.And we're adding a romance in at the end, after things have resolved? Ugh. I guess I won't be picking up another C.J. Tudor book. Too many other authors I would rather read.
I would recommend people who liked the dark web to read The Chain if you haven't already. That was a great book.
3 stars. The beginning of the book started off strong and I do have to say that it was nice to have such a fast read. However, I found a lot of the twists predictable, meh, and sometimes cringe. Gabe and Katie ending up together was something I predicted from them being introduced to each other in the cafe at the beginning. I also found Miriam’s motive to ask the other people to kill Gabe’s family just not enough - if it was money she was after, Gabe was more than willing to set Miriam up for life yet it wasn’t enough for her? And the way she died was so cringeworthy and silly and unrealistic. And the paranormal aspect - either needed more of it or none at all as it didn’t actually make much of a difference to the plot and I still can’t wrap my head around how it connected the Isabella’s, or why the pebbles were so important. There were also characters that were introduced but not well rounded such as Katie’s mother and Steve. Steve would have been a great character to use to see more about what the other people were actually like and about. My favourite character out of the whole book was the Samaritan probably
Just finished the book. I rated it 4.5 but marked it as 5 here on GR. The ending I found it a bit rushed but liked how all the loose ends got resolved. That the Samaritan was the young killer Dad, I didn't see that coming.
Now all the supernatural connection between Isabella and Izzy, I found it unnecessary to the whole story and plot, reason for not giving it all five stars.
Overall it was a great suspense thriller which was hard to put down!
I gave 3 Stars to this. it took me a while to get into the book. but after the first couple of chapters it got better and i was just sitting there, asking myself: WTF! at all the twists. i am not a big fan of the ending but couldn't pinpoint, what is bothering me.
It's a four for me. Have to strongly agree with many of the others on here that the book could have done without the supernatural element. There needed to be more explanation since it was kept in. I would have also liked for more storyline regarding The Other People - there are a few logic plot holes with the way it works that I would have liked explained. Maybe some backstory and less vagueness. Who runs the website/operation? It seems like no one's "Favor" is the actual killing, just helping with the setup. So who goes about actually getting the deed done? The book also mentions that a lot of people reach the website because they receive it (or a hint to it) on a card. If they switch around the website so often, what happens to people who receive the card but only decide to act upon it a year later? Since these people are somehow linked, what happens when the police are involved in the investigation?
Maybe I might want a follow-up for that. The writing is great, really drew me in. I just cab't give it a 5 because there are some loose ends. Everything that wasn't a loose end was pretty much spoon fed. There's not really a point in the book where I came to a realization - it was more so like "this character you never met is now linked to this other character in this way", and the character recieving this bit of information always reacts with *insert shocked pikachu face here*.
I've just finished the book and I'm kinda disappointed. The connections felt kinda too much for me. A lot of the reveals were way to obvious, and the ones that weren't that clear was because the author mentioned them later on. I also didn't like the supernatural aspect as it was not explained at all. And I also had to remind myself that Izzi was 7/8 yo, she sounded like a teen for some reason, unlike Sam and Grace.
I didn't like the characters, specially Gabe, and I thought the writing was awful.
But I did enjoy reading it and it was fast paced that I didn't struggle to finish it. I just think that the book had so much potentials but the author chose the easy road.
So i've finished it and i didn't like it but i also didn't hate it i ended up giving it 3/5
I finished this book in record timing. I had a hard time putting this one down, which really shows me what a fantastic storyteller CJ Tudor is. This book could have given me a few more action packed chapters on the supernatural element and less of bringing back Fran and the old man in the graveyard...although it does seem to me that it may become a series now. Let us only hope!!
I'm not 100% sure how I'm rating this yet, I'm torn between a 3.5 and a 4 because I enjoyed it but I didn't LOVE the book.I do have a recommendation for anyone who enjoyed shadowy network of "The Other People", it's a short story called Maneki Neko by Bruce Sterling. You can read it for free online, and I definitely recommend it.
http://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fic...
I think I'm going with a 3.5. I liked the first 75%. But how the "other" element escalated so drastically and then "resolved." I mean... what the what. A big old flapping end I'm supposed to accept? I might be okay with it if this was an opening to a series, if there was a chance to dig deeper into what really happened in a broader scale. It had such myopic views of this HUGE concept with a lot of potential. I just hate not getting answers, it is so unsatisfying XD
Things I loved:
- The dark web element
- the other people organization
I think this book could have benefited from being a longer story and fleshing out some of the ideas. The characters seemed to be SO conveniently intertwined that it really took me out of the story, especially when it came to Katie and Gabe. Like of course, they are just always at the same coffee shop and her sister kidnapped your daughter AND her boyfriend is a hitman...
Overall I liked CJ Tudors writing, this book did have a bit of a *I'll just tell you rather than show you* type of quality, which I really don't like in thrillers. If the author tends to have to explain the plot through characters expositions in dialogue at the end of the book, it tends to get a low rating from me, but I am willing to give The Chalk Man a try to see if I'll like it more.
Didn't like the supernatural element but I think that's a commonality for a lot of us. I'm fine with going supernatural, as long as there is a reason for it, and how the events went down at the end... nope it really wasn't for me
Also I was just kinda disappointed with how little The Other People were really involved in the story, I really wanted to know more and have a deep dive into their dark organization, but that's just a personal preference that I didn't get.
*Nit Pick* but can ya'll believe how easily Gabe guessed the password to get into The Other People on the dark web?? Good god.