BOOK REVIEW: The Passengers by John Marrs @johnmarrs1 @berkleypub #thepassengers #bookreview

John Marrs is officially one of my favorite authors! I have read his books before and LOVED them, but it was before I had a blog or a bookstagram and if I’m honest, I should go back and feature those books I’ve read because they deserve to join the echelon of books I’ve promoted. His books are so fascinating—truly they have completely unique storylines and execution. This one was SO outstanding and different that I can’t wait to share it with other readers!

About the Book

It was supposed to be safer…

In the U.K. legislation is in effect mandating that all cars on the road are required to be fully self-driving. These level 5 vehicles use high-speed data processing to avoid accidents, reduce traffic, and save human lives. They also don’t have a manual override for the driver. In a country where all people are now passengers rather than drivers, the benefits are huge.

It was supposed to save lives…

It was a typical morning. People left their houses, got in their vehicles, programmed their destinations, and set off for the day. But when eight passengers in eight different vehicles see their destination reprogrammed before their eyes, their car locked down, and no cell service, they realize something went horribly wrong. And then the hacker begins to speak.

In two and half hours, all eight of them will be dead…

Meanwhile mental health worker Libby is pulled for a sort of jury duty. A secret committee meets monthly to review deaths involving self-driving vehicles and determine who is at fault. One member of the public is randomly pulled to serve on the committee. But on the second day of the committee review, something different happens. Eight vehicles have been hijacked by a remote hacker, and the events inside of those vehicles are being broadcast across the globe.

The secret jury now becomes public…

In the midst of the attack, Libby and the other jury members find themselves broadcast alongside the eight passengers, and they’ll have a very important role to play. One passenger will be saved, and it will be up to them to choose who lives and who dies while the world is watching.

Reflection

The premise of this book feels at once futuristic and terrifyingly realistic. It isn’t too far of a stretch to imagine a time in the future where self-driving vehicles are the norm. And the truth is, they are much safer is so many ways. When well-designed they make way less error than a human driver and are much more precise. That is what makes the events of this book so suspenseful and horrifying. Because when the person in the car has no control over the vehicle, they can’t stop this from unfolding.

I thought each of the eight passengers were so interesting, and I really connected with Libby. These are normal people, with families, friends, reasons to live, and reasons someone could say they shouldn’t be saved. The psychology of this book was executed to perfection! How do you decide who to save? What makes a life worth saving versus dying? What if you aren’t given the chance to truly advocate for yourself? And if you do advocate for yourself, how will you go on living knowing that for you to be saved, seven others had to die?

Thought-provoking is an understatement!

John Marrs peppered the book with multi-media excerpts—news stories, legislation, tweets, social media posts. This leant a real-time feel to the book that made the suspense ratchet up to full intensity! I thought these were clever, engaging, and really punctuated key moments in the story. As things unfolded on the pages, we would see the public reaction as they watched it live.

There are so many twists—both big and small—that keep this book moving at break neck pace. I was so engrossed in the story that I almost missed my train stop one day because I lost touch of where I was. I truly felt like I was with Libby in that war room, watching the horrifying events unfold on screen. Two twists in particular were so good that I reread them several times so try to process what they meant!

I won’t say more in fear of spoiling anything. Do not skip this one!

Thank you Berkley for my copy. Opinions are my own.