Rating: 3 stars (out of 5)
Genre: fiction (creepy)
Review: On the second night of their vacation in the Hamptons, Amanda and Clay answer the door of their Airbnb rental to a couple claiming to be the owners of the house. Apparently, there's been a major blackout in New York City and they didn't know where else to go. The mystery, the creep factor, has little to do with the question of whether these people are who they say are. It becomes clear fairly quickly that they are telling the truth and that there has been a major event of some kind, but with cell phones, landlines, internet, and television all out, no-one knows any details. Cue the dramatic music.
This book was very suspenseful, due to two things: First, the characters' lack of knowledge. The reader, through the omniscient narrator, knows quite a bit more than the character do about what's going on. Not that it helps. Second, this book is deeply introspective. Alam slides seamlessly from the perspective of one character another, and we are privy to each one's sense of insecurity that they aren't responding "well" to the crisis. And it turns out that the inside of peoples' heads during a mysterious calamity is a deeply creepy place.
FTC Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for this review.
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