The Passengers

By: John Marrs

Narrated by: Clare Corbett, Roy McMillan, Tom Bateman, Shaheen Khan, Kristin Atherton, Patience Tomlinson

You’re riding in your self-driving car when suddenly the doors lock, the route changes and you have lost all control. Then, a mysterious voice tells you, “You are going to die.”

Just as self-driving cars become the trusted, safer norm, eight people find themselves in this terrifying situation, including a faded TV star, a pregnant young woman, an abused wife fleeing her husband, an illegal immigrant, a husband and wife, and a suicidal man.

From cameras hidden in their cars, their panic is broadcast to millions of people around the world. But the public will show their true colors when they are asked, "Which of these people should we save?...And who should we kill first?"

Read by Clare Corbett, Roy McMillan, Tom Bateman, Shaheen Khan, Kristin Atherton, and Patience Tomlinson

Critic reviews

“Virtually every plot beat seems plausible and imminent…Marrs laces his fast-paced tale with delectably mordant satire.”—The Washington Post

“A fast-paced thriller that offers a discourse on morality and ethics…Marrs excels at thrilling readers by creating a real sense of tension and delivering a believeable, harsh criticism of modern society through this dark and entertaining story. Driving…will never feel quite the same.”—LA Times

“One can almost hear the Hollywood music in the background as the action unfolds; the plot twists are truly gripping...Summer blockbuster entertainment at its best. All that's missing is a slo-mo pre-disaster montage.”—Kirkus Reviews

“I absolutely loved it. It sucked me right in and kept me gripped right until the end. With some real jaw dropping moments, it was an edge of your seat read.”—Claire Allen, USA Today bestselling author of Her Name is Rose

“[A] savagely clever near-future thriller. Provocative, terrifying and compulsive.”—Cara Hunter, author of Close to Home

“One of the most exciting, original thriller writers out there. I never miss one of his books.”—Simon Kernick, author of We Can See You

“Not only is John Marrs a master of the written word, but he is also a master of character development, storyline twists, suspense, relevance, intelligent writing and the gift of creating something inherently unique.”—Totally Booked

“The Passengers is pure genius: shocking, menacing, and utterly thrilling. I bloody loved it!”—Emma the Little Bookworm blog

“One of the most twisty thrillers I’ve read.”—The Bookwormery

More Praise for John Marrs

“A shock on every other page.”—The Wall Street Journal

“Marrs's engrossing, believable thriller raises intriguing questions about our science-tinged future.”—Booklist

“Like a lengthy episode of the dark TV series Black Mirror...so expertly written it gets you thinking that it could happen in real life.”—Peterborough Telegraph

“It's a real joy to read something totally original, smart, and thought-provoking.”—Peter James, international bestselling author of Dead If You Don't

“Wonderful concept, ridiculously entertaining...an absolute pleasure, the malevolence and impishness of a young Roald Dahl.”—T. A. Cotterell, author of What Alice Knew

“Engaging concept, craftily executed.”—Adrian J. Walker, author of The End of the World Running Club

loved it!

This is the 3rd John Mars book I have read, all in the last few months. And, it is the 3rd time I have stopped all else I could to keep reading.

Really good

This is my first book by this author but not my last! Enjoyed this one and already have added a few others by him to my TBR list. Highly recommend him to readers and listeners!

Fun and unique

I really enjoyed listening to this book. I liked it much better than “The One”. The narrators in this book are on point. I appreciated the use of multiple actors for the voices. The cars in the story are not too far from reality which makes this an even better read. Highly recommend!

Unique original and scarily possible

This is not necessarily a genre I would choose BUT…
So glad I did - enjoyed every minute - and will probably listen again in the very near future

I found the story line to be interesting

I would recommend this book. I found the story line to be very interesting and I actually did not see the ending playing out the way it did. I am usually pretty good on predicting it.