Author Q&A: C.J. Tudor
THE OTHER PEOPLE
C.J. Tudor has quickly become one of my absolute favorite suspense authors. Her previous novels - The Chalk Man and The Hiding Place - have established her as an author with an impeccable sense for all things creepy. The more C.J. Tudor I read, the more I fall in love with her creative and wholly original voice, and I couldn’t be more thrilled to welcome her to Crime by the Book today to discuss her brand-new release, THE OTHER PEOPLE—a gripping, inventive thriller following a father on the hunt for his missing daughter. THE OTHER PEOPLE is, true to form for Tudor, an utterly entertaining and seriously chilling thriller that blends elements of supernatural suspense with a mystery very grounded in reality. It’s a book that starts small, and slowly but surely grows into an intricate, masterfully plotted work of suspense. This is the kind of book that you’ll want to stay up way too late reading, and I’m so excited to give CBTB readers the chance to get the inside scoop on it from Tudor herself!
Today on the blog, I’m beyond excited to share a conversation I had with C.J. Tudor about THE OTHER PEOPLE. In our conversation, we covered everything from the story’s dual plotlines to Tudor’s approach to plotting her novels to her next project (which, if it’s possible, sounds even better than anything she’s written thus far). I’m so excited to get to share this Q&A with CBTB readers—it truly never gets old to be able to connect with and learn from my favorite authors, and I hope you will enjoy reading this Q&A as much as I enjoyed conducting it! A huge thank you to C.J. Tudor for taking the time to answer my questions, and to her US publisher for making this Q&A possible. Read on for more information on THE OTHER PEOPLE, and to catch my full conversation with C.J. Tudor!
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THE OTHER PEOPLE by C.J. Tudor
About the Book:
Q: Why are you called the Other People?
A: We are people just like you. People to whom terrible things have happened. We’ve found solace not in forgiveness or forgetting. But in helping each other find justice.
Driving home one night, stuck behind a rusty old car, Gabe sees a little girl’s face appear in its rear window. She mouths one word: Daddy. It’s his five-year-old daughter, Izzy. He never sees her again.
Three years later, Gabe spends his days and nights traveling up and down the highway, searching for the car that took his daughter, refusing to give up hope, even though most people believe she’s dead.
When the car that he saw escape with his little girl is found abandoned with a body inside, Gabe must confront not just the day Izzy disappeared but the painful events from his past now dredged to the surface.
Q: What sort of justice?
A: That depends on the individual. But our ethos is a punishment that fits the crime.
Fran and her daughter, Alice, also put in a lot of miles on the road. Not searching. Running. Because Fran knows what really happened to Gabe’s daughter. She knows who is responsible. And she knows what they will do if they ever catch up to her and Alice.
Q: Can I request to have someone killed?
A: If your Request is acceptable, and unless there are exceptional circumstances, we fulfill all Requests.
Praise for THE OTHER PEOPLE:
“Hugely enjoyable and deliciously creepy . . . I was hooked from its gripping opening, all the way through its many twists and turns. You may think you’ve got it worked out, but C. J. Tudor is always several steps ahead. She is a brilliant storyteller.”—Alex Michaelides, New York Times bestselling author of The Silent Patient
“The Other People is a creepy, intense novel that drew me right in and never let go. C. J. Tudor’s books keep getting better and better, and this one won’t let you stop reading until the very last page!”—Samantha Downing, author of the international bestseller My Lovely Wife
“C. J. Tudor has done it again. . . . A mesmerizingly chilling and atmospheric page-turner.”—JP Delaney, New York Times bestselling author of The Girl Before
“The Other People is tight as a straitjacket, diabolically clever, and propulsive as a roller coaster. If you like twisty thrillers that leave you guessing till the very last page, this is a must-read.”—Alma Katsu, author of The Hunger and The Deep
“Tudor’s narrative is saturated in menace, and the action, once it starts, barely lets up. . . . Dean Koontz fans, in particular, will find much to enjoy in this sinister, unsettling treat. Tudor just keeps getting better and better.”—Kirkus Reviews
Author Q&A: C.J. Tudor
THE OTHER PEOPLE
Crime by the Book: First things first, thank you so much for stopping by Crime by the Book to give us the inside scoop on your fantastic new psychological thriller, The Other People. Can you identify a particular moment that sparked the inspiration for this book?
C.J. Tudor: Thanks so much for having me!
It was a very specific moment, actually. We were driving back home from visiting relatives and found ourselves stuck in slow-moving traffic on the motorway. It was late and we’d been sitting behind this same car for miles; a beaten-up old car with loads of faded stickers around the rear window.
My mind started to wander, and I found myself thinking, what would happen if a face suddenly appeared in the rear window? What if it was someone in trouble, being kidnapped? What if it was someone I knew? And then my mind tumbled down the darkest rabbit hole: what if it was my own child, being driven away in a strange car when she should be tucked up in bed at home?
CBTB: Who are the story’s titular “other people”? How did you come up with the idea for this group?
CJT: The Other People could be anybody - me, you, your friends, neighbours. In essence, they are everybody. But the focus is a website on the dark web. A place where, if you have lost a loved one and if you feel you haven’t received justice, you can request help or a ‘favour’ as they call it. But once you’ve enlisted their help, you owe them. And the price is very high indeed.
I got the idea when I was reading a newspaper story about the tragic death of a child. Anyone who has a child knows the unique mix of joy and terror they bring. Their existence is a wonder, but you spend pretty much every second of every day, for the rest of your life, terrified that something might happen to them.
The only way to get through the terror is denial. To kid yourself that terrible stuff, the stuff you read about in newspapers, won’t ever happen to your family. Bad stuff only ever happens to other people. But of course, it can. And what would you do if you felt that you has been denied justice. I think for some people, maybe even you or me, that could take us to a very dark place indeed.
CBTB: The Other People features two distinct storylines that will ultimately collide in truly shocking ways. Let’s start with the first storyline: that of Gabe and his missing daughter Izzy. Who is Gabe, and what has happened to him when readers first meet him here?
CJT: When we first meet Gabe, he is driving home from work one night when he sees his daughter’s face in the rear window of the car in front. It’s impossible. She shouldn’t be there. And then Gabe discovers that his wife and daughter have both been killed in a home invasion on the same night.
Three years later we meet Gabe again, but now he’s a broken man; a man obsessed. He has given up everything to drive the motorway every day and night searching for the car that took his little girl, convinced that there has been a mistake and she is still out there, somewhere.
CBTB: The “missing persons” thread of this story is crucial, but it’s not the only mystery you have going on here. Tell us about our second prominent storyline: that of Fran and her daughter, Alice. Who are these women? What does their life look like when we meet them?
CJT: We also meet Fran and Alice on the motorway, in a service station. It becomes apparent pretty quickly that they are not on vacation. They are on the run. We don’t know from who, but we know that they must be dangerous. They are exhausted and frightened, moving from place to place, shedding identities. Fran’s sole mission is to keep her little girl safe.
CBTB: We need to talk about Alice. Alice is a young girl who suffers from narcolepsy - but there’s something a bit different about what happens to Alice when she falls asleep. Without spoiling anything, can you hint at what makes Alice narcolepsy a bit unusual?
CJT: Alice’s narcolepsy is triggered by mirrors. When she looks in mirror, she sees more than just her own reflection and when she ‘falls’ (as she calls) she ends up somewhere else. A strange, deserted beach. Every time she wakes up from one of her episodes, much to Fran’s disquiet and puzzlement, she brings back a pebble from the beach. As the book progresses, we learn more about the meaning of the beach and what Alice sees in the mirrors.
“I’m always interested in the dark and light side of human nature. How they co-exist and how much it takes to drive someone to do something terrible, because I think we’re all capable of it.” —C.J. Tudor
CBTB: Something you are so excellent at - and which you did flawlessly in The Other People, particularly when it comes to Alice’s story - is combining realistic, earthly mysteries with touches of supernatural suspense. How do you strike this balance? Is it instinct, or an intentional part of your writing process?
CJT: Thanks so much. I don’t think I can help it, really ! The original idea for The Other People could have worked as a straight thriller. But that just wasn’t enough for me. I always like to do something more, to add in another dimension. Once I had the idea about Alice and the mirrors and the beach, it started to weave its way into the rest of the story and somehow it completed it.
CBTB: I’m completely in awe of authors who can do what you did so beautifully in The Other People: write a suspense story that begins with two distinct storylines, but ultimately shows these stories to be inextricably linked. Walk us through your writing process - what kind of plotting went into writing The Other People?
CJT: Thanks again! I never plot or outline. I just find is unbearably tedious – it takes all the fun out of the writing for me. Basically, the plot developed as I wrote the book. I started with my main group of characters and they pretty much began to write their own stories. Having said that, I did have vague ideas about where the plot was going but lots of things changed as I got further into the book. Two particular twists were very much spur of the moment, ‘Hey, I could do this, and no one would expect it’ decisions. I like to write by the seat of my pants, even if that means things get a little, erm, sticky at times!!
CBTB: The Other People is your third novel to be published. When you look back over your books thus far, are there any common themes or questions that you feel drive your storytelling and influence your novels?
CJT: Hmmm. Children, I suppose. All three books have children as prominent characters, whether it’s in the past or present. That continues to a degree in my next book as I have a teenage character as one of the main protagonists. Also, ordinary people thrown into extraordinary situations. I’m always interested in the dark and light side of human nature. How they co-exist and how much it takes to drive someone to do something terrible, because I think we’re all capable of it.
CBTB: What are you working on next?
CJT: Book 4, which as a working title of The Burning Girls.
It’s set in a small village in the south of England called Chapel Croft.
Five hundred years ago, eight protestant martyrs were burnt to death in the village. Thirty years ago, two teenage girls, Merry and Joy, disappeared without a trace.
Now, Reverend Jack Brooks has arrived in the village; a single parent with a fifteen-year-old daughter and a heavy conscience. After leaving a previous church under a cloud, Jack hopes that the new position will be a chance to find some peace. But peace is the last thing Jack finds. Instead, someone seems determined to ensure the village’s bloody history is not forgotten.
When it transpires that the previous vicar may have discovered something connecting the fates of the martyrs with Merry and Joy’s disappearance, Jack is drawn to uncover the truth. As secrets unfold, Jack is forced to question whether there is such a thing as true evil, or whether we are all capable of doing terrible things to protect the ones we love . . . even a priest.
I described it to someone as The Wicker Man meets Sharp Objects, so that should give you a good idea!
A huge thank you to C.J. Tudor for taking the time to answer my questions! Her newest release, THE OTHER PEOPLE, is now available at your favorite bookseller. Catch my full review of the book here!
Book Details:
Hardcover: 336 pages
Publisher: Ballantine Books (January 28, 2020)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1984824996
ISBN-13: 978-1984824998
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