The Other Passenger
A rainy night.
A killer on the road.
Two unlikely worlds collide.
On the run from their pasts, a man and a woman are forced together by the weather and by necessity.
When a radio news broadcast reports that a body has been found further back along the road on which they are travelling, tensions rise and it's only so long before the truth must come out.
But the truth is never quite what you imagine.
This gripping psychological thriller from JE Rowney, the bestselling author of Other People's Lives and Gaslight, will hook you from the first page and shock you to the twisted end.
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Community Reviews
Author Louise Candlish relates that she was inspired to write The Other Passenger by the 1944 classic film "Double Indemnity" starring Barbara Stanwyck as a femme fatale; generational conflict -- in this case between Millennials and members of Generation X; her love of thrillers set on modes of transportation and commuter culture; music -- lyrics of songs mentioned provide clues to her characters' motivations and plans; and real estate. In The Other Passenger, Candlish incorporates a family home -- a valuable Georgian town house by the river in which Jamie and Clare reside -- which stands in stark contrast to the apartment in a rundown area for which Kit and Melia struggle to pay the monthly rent, The stately home helps emphasize the economic disparity between the couples.
Incorporating those elements, Candlish has crafted a clever, suspenseful, and atmospheric thriller reminiscent of not just "Double Indemnity," but also "Body Heat," the 1981 film starring Kathleen Turner and William Hurt. She employs a first-person narrative by Jamie that begins with an interrogation at the pier on a December morning as he attempts to board the river bus and begin his commute to his job as a barista. Kit has not shown up for the morning commute -- he has gone missing, and it quickly becomes clear that Jamie has come under suspicion. They were seen fighting the previous night, and Jamie has to ensure that the bruises on his collarbone remain concealed by his sweatshirt. The detectives suggest that it was an unidentified passenger who observed Jamie engaging in suspicious behavior and reported it. But Jamie has no idea who that passenger could be. Or if the informant could be someone related to an earlier event in his life who has been stalking him.
From there, Jamie describes the events of the prior eleven months, beginning with Clare announcing that Melia has begun working at the real estate firm where Clare serves as a rental agent. Jamie and Clare's relationship is strained because Jamie's career imploded after what he describes as a "mental health episode suffered a year and a half ago among total strangers" and he has not made satisfactory efforts to resurrect it, in Clare's estimation. They live in that aforementioned Georgian town house that actually belongs to her parents -- they bought it in the 1980's before gentrification made it a sought-after location. Kit and Melia are would-be actors struggling to pay the bills with Kit toiling at an insurance brokerage. They have unpaid student loans, have defaulted on credit card payments, overdrawn their bank accounts, been evicted, and owe overdue rent for their new residence. "Their salaries barely touch the sides of the money pit."
Candlish deftly reveals the conflicts in the four characters' relationships that develop over time. Clare wants Jamie to take advantage of the opportunities she has afforded him to get his life back on track, utterly unable to understand why the former marketing executive seems content working a dead-end job far below the professional standing he previously enjoyed. She is anxious for him to become her equal in every way. Jamie is happy to reap the rewards of Clare's privilege (they live in that beautiful home rent-free), but emasculated by his understanding that he must sufficiently placate Clare to avoid becoming homeless. "The truth was that by leaving my white-collar career I'd rendered myself as economically helpless as the Ropers." He is gradually unmasked as a man who is not as principled as he initially seems -- a liar who deceives Clare in order to maintain the status quo, justifying his mistakes because he has "to grovel." Candlish injects jaw-dropping revelations at expertly-timed junctures, compelling the story forward at a steady pace.
Envy plays heavily into the plot as Melia and Kit openly long for and not-so-secretly resent the lifestyle Clare and Jamie enjoy. Jamie, Kit, and Melia characters are, in varying degrees, duplicitous and willing to form alliances and double-cross each other to attain the standard of living to which they aspire without having to earn it. One character is particularly hapless and gullible, failing to observe and heed the clues that Candlish simultaneously presents to him and readers, at his own peril. As the story progresses, allegiances shift, secrets are disclosed, theories proffered and discarded, and those generational divides, coupled with old-fashioned morality, prove to be impactful. Candlish incorporates astute observations about the difficulty young adults face as they emerge from college burdened by student loan debt and find home ownership an elusive dream.
The Other Passenger is a tautly-crafted, character-driven thriller. Replete with with surprising plot twists, the contemporary setting and relatable struggles Candlish's characters confront enhance its believability, making it thoroughly entertaining.
Thanks to NetGalley for an Advance Reader's Copy and the publisher for a physical copy of the book.
Incorporating those elements, Candlish has crafted a clever, suspenseful, and atmospheric thriller reminiscent of not just "Double Indemnity," but also "Body Heat," the 1981 film starring Kathleen Turner and William Hurt. She employs a first-person narrative by Jamie that begins with an interrogation at the pier on a December morning as he attempts to board the river bus and begin his commute to his job as a barista. Kit has not shown up for the morning commute -- he has gone missing, and it quickly becomes clear that Jamie has come under suspicion. They were seen fighting the previous night, and Jamie has to ensure that the bruises on his collarbone remain concealed by his sweatshirt. The detectives suggest that it was an unidentified passenger who observed Jamie engaging in suspicious behavior and reported it. But Jamie has no idea who that passenger could be. Or if the informant could be someone related to an earlier event in his life who has been stalking him.
From there, Jamie describes the events of the prior eleven months, beginning with Clare announcing that Melia has begun working at the real estate firm where Clare serves as a rental agent. Jamie and Clare's relationship is strained because Jamie's career imploded after what he describes as a "mental health episode suffered a year and a half ago among total strangers" and he has not made satisfactory efforts to resurrect it, in Clare's estimation. They live in that aforementioned Georgian town house that actually belongs to her parents -- they bought it in the 1980's before gentrification made it a sought-after location. Kit and Melia are would-be actors struggling to pay the bills with Kit toiling at an insurance brokerage. They have unpaid student loans, have defaulted on credit card payments, overdrawn their bank accounts, been evicted, and owe overdue rent for their new residence. "Their salaries barely touch the sides of the money pit."
Candlish deftly reveals the conflicts in the four characters' relationships that develop over time. Clare wants Jamie to take advantage of the opportunities she has afforded him to get his life back on track, utterly unable to understand why the former marketing executive seems content working a dead-end job far below the professional standing he previously enjoyed. She is anxious for him to become her equal in every way. Jamie is happy to reap the rewards of Clare's privilege (they live in that beautiful home rent-free), but emasculated by his understanding that he must sufficiently placate Clare to avoid becoming homeless. "The truth was that by leaving my white-collar career I'd rendered myself as economically helpless as the Ropers." He is gradually unmasked as a man who is not as principled as he initially seems -- a liar who deceives Clare in order to maintain the status quo, justifying his mistakes because he has "to grovel." Candlish injects jaw-dropping revelations at expertly-timed junctures, compelling the story forward at a steady pace.
Envy plays heavily into the plot as Melia and Kit openly long for and not-so-secretly resent the lifestyle Clare and Jamie enjoy. Jamie, Kit, and Melia characters are, in varying degrees, duplicitous and willing to form alliances and double-cross each other to attain the standard of living to which they aspire without having to earn it. One character is particularly hapless and gullible, failing to observe and heed the clues that Candlish simultaneously presents to him and readers, at his own peril. As the story progresses, allegiances shift, secrets are disclosed, theories proffered and discarded, and those generational divides, coupled with old-fashioned morality, prove to be impactful. Candlish incorporates astute observations about the difficulty young adults face as they emerge from college burdened by student loan debt and find home ownership an elusive dream.
The Other Passenger is a tautly-crafted, character-driven thriller. Replete with with surprising plot twists, the contemporary setting and relatable struggles Candlish's characters confront enhance its believability, making it thoroughly entertaining.
Thanks to NetGalley for an Advance Reader's Copy and the publisher for a physical copy of the book.
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