The writing style is also very slow paced, not just the plot, and I found myself skipping huge chunks of text to get to the dialogue. It’s not meant to be a fast paced book, it’s not action heavy or plot driven, it’s a quiet book and is more about the eerie feeling you get reading it, but it’s still a long time for nothing to happen in. We meet this family going on holiday, follow them as they go shopping, go to the beach, laze around the pool, and then suddenly I was at like 45% and nothing had happened. I flew through this book, despite it being quick slow paced, especially the first half. Can they take this couple at their word? Just what is going on in the city? They bring news that there has been a black out in New York City, but with no phone signal in this remote corner of the world, and the TV now down, it’s hard for Amanda and Clay to know how to react. Except they’re not alone, not on the night when an elderly couple knock on their door claiming to be the owners of the house needing to stay the night. Together with their two children, they have ventured into the countryside, away from the city, for a quiet break spent reading, relaxing, and playing in the pool of their rental home in Long Island. This book is shocking, terrifying and impossible to put down - one of the best I’ve read this year.Īmanda and Clay feel like they’re the only ones around for miles. The fear he manages to evoke with the use of a sound, or an unusual number of deer (explaining the cover!) is quite incredible because it feels all too possible and apocalyptic.Īside from the mystery and fear created in this story though, there are poignant observations of race, class, parenting and sexuality which make for a compelling dynamic of characters - Alam gets straight to the essence of unconscious bias in a way which leaves you feeling very uncomfortable. The way in which he manages to avoid telling the reader exactly what is happening outside the home, but leaves little breadcrumbs for you, allows you to imagine the absolute worst, and is far more frightening than if it was spelt out. and Ruth who they say they are? And are they telling the truth about strange events outside of the house? As the two families settle in together, they soon realise they have far more to worry about than their fears about each other.Ītmospheric and chilling doesn’t even begin to do this book justice - Alam is a genius. So when a black couple claiming to be the owners of their rental come knocking on the door late at night asking to stay, they are wary - are G.H. Believe all the hype about this book - it’s absolute perfection.Ĭlay and Amanda and their children Archie and Rose are escaping the city for a week of relaxation in the middle of nowhere.
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