The premise of Rumaan Alam’s Leave The World Behind was intriguing: Amanda and Clay take their teenage children on a week-long getaway from their home in NewYork City to a luxury vacation rental (think top-of-the-line AirBnB) and find their peace and quiet abruptly ended by the arrival of a frantic older African-American couple (Ruth and G.H.)  in the middle of the night. This couple claims they are the owners of the house, and they say they have come to stay in “their” house because a sudden blackout has completely shut down the City. There is iffy cell reception in this quiet rural area, and they are all without cell service, TV, or Internet, so they don’t really know what is going on…then creepy things start to happen. 

All kinds of questions come up: can Amanda and Clay believe what they are told by this couple? What exactly is happening? Apparently, some cataclysmic event has taken (or is taking?) place, but what? And is this a safe place to be? Should Clay and Amanda try to get home? Or stay in the home that they feel is rightfully theirs for the coming week? 

Should Amanda and Clay trust this couple—and vice versa? What happened back in New York? Is the vacation home, isolated from civilization, a truly safe place for their families? And are they safe from one other? 

The biases, fears, and issues of age, class, and race all enter into the story, and the gradual revelations about WTF is going on are REALLY creepy…but in a good way. The writing is sharp, and I loved the way I came to know things about each of the characters by their actions and thoughts, without being hit over the head by declarations about their past situation or current challenges.

I had just read that a movie is planned with Julia Roberts and Denzel Washington, so I had a nice visual aid while I read this book (provided by Harper Collins Ecco and NetGalley in exchange for my honest review). It’s a bit dark, and the ending may leave some readers frustrated…but I keep thinking about it and can’t come up with an ending that would have been better.

Highly recommended, and might be good for book clubs. Five stars