Reviewed by Jeff Sexton on
Reading updates
- Started reading
- 26 June, 2021: Finished reading
- 26 June, 2021: Reviewed
The Other Passenger
by Louise Candlish
FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF OUR HOUSE, WINNER OF THE CRIME & THRILLER BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD
‘The Other Passenger is just brilliant; gripping from the first page with an incredible first person narrative and a sense of place that pulls you through the pages fast enough to make your head spin. Louise Candlish just gets better and better, I love her’ Lisa Jewell, author of The Family UpstairsYou’re feeling pretty smug about your commute to work by riverboat. No more traffic gridlock or getting stuck on the tube in tunnels (you’re claustrophobic). Now you’ve got fresh air, an iconic Thames view, a whole lifestyle upgrade. You’ve made new friends on board — led by your hedonistic young neighbour, Kit — and just had your first official ‘water rats’ get-together.
The day after the drinks, Kit isn’t on the morning boat. The river landmarks are all the same, but something’s off. When you disembark, the police are waiting. Kit’s wife, Melia, has reported him missing and another passenger saw you arguing on the last boat home after your drinks. Police say you had a reason to lash out at him. To threaten him.
You protest. You and Kit are friends — ask Melia, she’ll vouch for you. And who exactly is pointing the finger? What do they know about your private lives?
No, whatever coincidences might have occurred last night, you are innocent, totally innocent.
Aren’t you?
'Prepare to be gripped;Louise Candlish shows us the dark side of suburbia – and of ourselves' Erin Kelly
Praise for The Other Passenger:
‘I’m a HUGE fan of Louise Candlish’s writing but she really knocks it out of the park with this one, with its Hitchcockian atmosphere of mounting dread and almost unbearable suspense, building to its astonishing conclusion. And it’s all so frighteningly credible because the characters are so brilliantly drawn, so knowable. A must read!’ Lucy Foley, author of The Guest List
'A smart, twisty thriller that explores how money can warp relationships and destroy lives. A compulsive read that builds to an unimaginable climax. I couldn’t put it down!' Shari Lapena, author of The Couple Next Door
'A novel like a roulette wheel at full tilt: smooth, hypnotic, relentless, exciting — and ultimately, just as unpredictable… Like every Candlish thriller, The Other Passenger is psychological suspense at its most elegant and sinister' AJ Finn, author of The Woman in the Window
‘A stunning masterwork of style and suspense. The Other Passenger is one of those novels that grabs us from the start, then keeps us up all night by brilliantly peeling back the layers of the story until we arrive—shockingly—at the truth. I can’t think of another novel in which the characters are so perfectly drawn’ Jeffery Deaver
Praise for Louise Candlish
‘Sharp satire and a plot that builds to a roiling boil with a couple of oh-so-clever final twists in close succession: Louise Candlish is one very clever writer’ Sarah Vaughan
‘Twists aplenty, and such wonderful observation - I loved it' Clare Mackintosh
'An addictive, twisty page-turner that will give you nightmares about the suburban dream' Alice Feeney
'A delicious slice of suburban noir. I loved it' Harriet Tyce
'Oozing with scandal, it's a compelling read' Woman & Home
'A devilishly good thriller with a wicked ending. Loved it' Laura Kemp
'Utterly gripping' RED
'Louise Candlish captures the mores of middle-class life and our worst, curtain-twitching tendencies like no one else' RED, online
'Full of marvellously toxic characters' Best