From the back cover:

Something is out there...

Something terrifying that must not be seen. One glimpse and a person is driven to deadly violence. No one knows what it is or where it came from.

Five years after it began, a handful of scattered survivors remain, including Malorie and her two young children. Living in an abandoned house near the river, she has dreamed of fleeing to a place where they might be safe. Now, that the boy and girl are four, it is time to go. But the journey ahead will be terrifying: twenty miles downriver in a rowboat—blindfolded—with nothing to rely on but her wits and the children’s trained ears. One wrong choice and they will die. And something is following them. But is it man, animal, or monster?

Engulfed in darkness, surrounded by sounds both familiar and frightening, Malorie embarks on a harrowing odyssey—a trip that takes her into an unseen world and back into the past, to the companions who once saved her. Under the guidance of the stalwart Tom, a motely group of strangers banded together against the unseen terror, creating order from the chaos. But when supplies ran low, they were forced to venture outside—and confront the ultimate question: in a world gone mad, who can really be trusted?

Interweaving past and present, Josh Malerman’s breathtaking debut is a horrific and gripping snapshot of a world unraveled that will have you racing to the final page.

My thoughts:

Fantastic novel. I was a little hesitant at first due to some of the mediocre to poor ratings (on Goodreads) but I went with my gut and am so glad I did. I haven't wanted to keep reading a book even though I had other stuff to do in a long time. This one I wanted to continue regardless of bedtime or appointment. I finished it sitting in a parking lot after my last errand for the day, if that tells you anything. The format, with short chapters recounting events leading up to the chapters in the present are presented well and help move the book forward quickly. They also help build suspense, often ending on small cliffhangers.

This book was initially presented to me by Kobo as being in the horror genre, but I don't think I would classify it as that as much as post-apocalyptic suspense with some light elements of horror. The elements of horror touch more on those creepy little feelings you get sometimes when you feel like somebody else is in the room with you or when you suddenly feel like you need to sprint up the stairs from the basement to the main floor of the house because if you're too slow something might get you. There is no real gore so typical in the harder horror stuff out there. I think that's why I call it suspense more than horror in the traditional sense of the horror genre.

One of the hesitations I had to picking up the book was the seemingly (to some) disappointing ending. I didn't end up feeling disappointed at all and I thought the resolution of the protagonist's journey was a good one. Would I liked to have known more about "the monsters"? Sure, I suppose, but the reasons for the apocalypse aren't really the point of the novel. The reasons are secondary to the primary purpose of the protagonist's evolution and bravery in light of a changed world.

I liked this book a lot and definitely look forward to more from the author. I don't often give 5 stars to a book. To me, 5 stars means the writing is excellent, the story is excellent and if I had the ability, I would immediately read more from the author. Mr. Malerman delivers; his prose is solid, simple in tone but consistent as is his grammar (he writes consistently and doesn't overdo it in an attempt to sound like a modern day Hemingway), the story flows very well between flashback and present and by the end of the story both timelines are resolved and brought back to a final resolution, and of course, if Mr. Malerman had more to read then I would be dropping all other reading planned to continue his works.

In closing - read this book!

Edit: Some formatting