The Gathering by C.J. Tudor - Book Review

Publication Date: 09th April 2024

Genre: Paranormal Mystery 

One Liner: A good mystery but not enough vampire chills 

Alaska 

Deadhart is an Alaskan small town. It has a few hundred human population and a Colony of vampyrs, who recently came back to settle down in their home. Soon, a young boy is found dead with his throat ripped. The townsfolk are sure it is someone from the Colony and want all the vampyrs culled. 

Detective and forensic doctor Barbara Atkins, with specialization in vampyr killings, arrives to determine if it is indeed a Colony killing and decide the status of the request for a cull. Soon, she realizes there are secrets and discrepancies everywhere. With help from former police Chief Jenson Tucker, Barbara sets out to find the truth. As another body surfaces, the tension rises. 

What’s going on in Deadhart? Are the new killings related to the death from twenty-five years ago? Is it a vampyr on a bloodlust? Is it a human psychopath taking advantage of the prejudice against the Colony? Can Barbara solve the case before it’s too late? 

The story comes in the third-person POV of Barbara, Beau, Jenson Tucker, Jess, Reverend Colleen, and Athelinda. 

My Thoughts: 

The premise gives you more than a clear idea of what the story would be. The vampyrs are a replacement for indigenous people, and the others are well, humans (white). As a mystery, it does have quite a bit to offer. 

The MC is a combination of what we expect and what we don’t. Barbara Atkins is 50-something, single, not entirely fit, and a darn good detective. She also has a tragic backstory, which is almost a must for detectives in thrillers. Still, I do like how it connects to the plot. 

The mystery has a few twists, and the information is revealed in stages. There are some clues, too, which can be red herrings or real clues. I like how this is done. The suspense holds well until the last quarter. 

The pacing is uneven – slow, fast, slow, fast… which dampened my reading experience. This is because of the excessive emphasis and repeated scenes where the townsfolk show their hatred and prejudice for the vampyrs. As a pagan, I happily support books that highlight this. However, it should crowd the plot. 

Additionally, there are a lot of characters to track. I stopped listing them at one point (ran out of space on that sheet). This doesn’t leave room for character development. They are what they are. That’s it. Also, one of those could have been removed or presented from another perspective. However, I quite liked Athelinda’s POV. If only there was more of it! 

Is the book horror? Nope. There is a bit of gore and some creepy moments, but nothing on the horror scale. Of course, it has triggers, which aren’t graphic but can make you uncomfortable. 

I’m not sure why the vampyrs don’t get enough space given their importance in the book. Apart from a vague idea of what they could be, we get very little about them. Instead, we got way too much of what the townsfolk think about them. This got tiring, TBH. Knowing when to tone down is also important for a writer. 

No idea if the book will turn into a series. The last chapter has nothing to do with the plot but is a hook for the next book. If it won’t be coming, then, keeping that chapter would be a bad idea. I know contemporary thrillers tend to have unwanted final twists, but this book doesn’t need it. The book could be a series, but we’ll need more than socio-political hate and bigotry to hold it together. 

To summarize, The Gathering is a worthy mystery with a good setting and some chills. Don’t look for any vampirish stuff, though. 

Thank you, NetGalley and Random House (Ballantine Books), for eARC.  

#NetGalley #TheGathering 

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TW: mentions of pedophilia, sexual abuse and violence, torture (not graphic), and phobias (a few, I guess).