As someone who loved Anne Rice back in the day, The Gathering by C.J. Tudor, with its horror theme of vampyrs not being myths but part of society, was right up my street. So yes, fully immerse yourself in the world of The Gathering and get ready for a cracking small-town murder mystery. With added vampyrs.
Opening sentence: Like many indigenous species, vampyrs have been demonized and terrorised by human settlers, to the point where only a few colonies remain in remote areas.
What if vampyrs were real?
Meet Detective Barbara Atkins from the Forensic Vampyr Anthropology Department. (Side note: there just aren’t enough characters called Barbara, such a great name.) She is sent on a case to Deadhart, Alaska, where a boy has been murdered and a vampyr seems like the most likely suspect.
A colony of vampyrs returned just over a year ago to live in the forests on the outskirts of Deadhart and the town has been uneasy ever since. There has been a truce in place since 1983, Vampyrs don’t kill humans for blood, but 25-years ago a boy was killed by a vampyr and now it seems it’s happening again…
If Barbara deems the murder was at the hands of a vampyr, she has legal authority to destroy the colony. Obviously the vampyrs will do everything to ensure that doesn’t happen. So who is the real murderer? Vampyr or not? That’s what Barbara must discover.
The Gathering was the last mythical battle between humans and vampyrs.
Secrets and lies
There is a fantastic cast of characters in The Gathering. All written in such a way that you’re not sure any of them is telling the full truth at any time. This layers up the intrigue so well and gives Barbara a lot of twists and turns to deal with.
Sometimes, lies are the things that bind a family as much as love.
From Colleen Grey, the unlikely pastor to Jensen Tucker, the reclusive ex-sheriff who was around for the killings 25-years ago to Athelinda – child vampyr and leader of the colony – who is hundreds of years old and might just hold the key to what’s really been going on, the cast list is varied and wholly exciting.
I thought The Gathering was a fantastic horror story with a great murder-mystery at its heart. It’s been ages since I’ve read in this genre and I love C.J. Tudor’s easy writing style, making the whole experience even more enjoyable. I also loved her previous books The Chalk Man and The Taking of Annie Thorn.
Even better, the ending lines up a sequel for Detective Barbara Atkins, so very much looking forward to reading that.
- Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC;
- Get your copy of The Gathering here;
- Published by 11th April 2024;
- 352 pages;
- My rating:
Books on the 7:47 
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