The overall atmosphere was one of a heavy horror influence a la your old school vampire (vampyr in this novel) stories where they are vicious blood suckers, and something to be feared. But on top of this there is the focus more on a story of a thriller-like nature, with the horror aspect being more of a world-building tool than actual horror-esque events taking place (such as serial murders and the note of constant fear to the story).
For a few reasons this book gave me 30 Days of Night vibes, though not in the story as it was nothing like the movie, more in the general creepy, horrifying tone of it. By this I mean the fact that it takes place in Alaska, at a time when there are very limited daylight hours and there is the looming threat of a Colony that has potentially gone rampant and murdered a human for their blood. In a time when laws have been created to allow humans and vampyrs to coexist side by side, with rules dictating vampyrs cannot feed from humans and humans cannot kill or hunt the vampyrs they desperately hate, this has the small Alaskan town up in arms and demanding a culling. Enter Barbara, the vampyr doctor so to speak sent to investigate the cause of death and the murderer to determine whether a culling is justified or not.
There were a few different glimpses at other points of view periodically besides Barbara’s, though hers was the most predominant. The others gave little glimpses into very relevant and necessary information for the reader, that the main character would not know so they served a purpose throughout the book and were never tedious. There was also an obscure glance at a mystery point of view throughout these chapters occasionally which was perhaps the most intriguing to me in that it kept me guessing the most. No real details are given in order to keep those involved unidentified and it had me constantly guessing and analyzing details to suss out who it might be, whether it was happening in the past or concurrent with the main story’s timeline. I liked that it kept me guessing and thinking and catching these little bit and pieces that had me making guesses on identities and other possible factors that might lead to revealing what was happening and who was involved.
I definitely recommend The Gathering by C. J. Tudor for fans of thrillers, and especially those who like a hint of horror their books. I very much enjoyed this book and by the ending I’m really hoping for another book in this world.