This book wasn’t for me. I was bored and didn’t enjoy it at all.
I didn’t like the plot or the characters

Sometimes all it takes to bring a family together is the possible end of the world

Meet the Altman family.

Fifty-something Dan is struggling to cope with a mid-life career change. MBA-educated wife and mother Jen has dealt with life’s disappointments by becoming a closet alcoholic. Seventeen-year-old Chloe is obsessing about getting into the right university and her state tennis semifinals. Fourteen-year-old Max is trying to figure out when he can next sneak a puff on his beloved vape and plotting revenge on the school bully.

They’re a normal family with normal problems.

Until, one day, the lights go out.

Mobile phones don't work. Lights, laptops, cars, trains – anything that uses electricity – just stops.

And what happens next will change everything…

I found this to be a superb read, which kept me guessing and which kept me on the edge of my seat throughout. Very good novelist.

Well Observed….
What happens when the lights go out? Is it like the end of the world? In this well observed, character based tale we meet the Altman family when those lights go out. What happens next may just change this particular group of people.. but will it be for better or for worse. An interesting and amusing read.

I found this book extremely hard to get through and the characters to be completely self absorbed. Whilst the family did come together in the end, which admittedly made the book more readable it was far to slow in getting to that point. The majority of the book felt like a preamble into each of the characters personas which I am not a fan of personally.

That being said, the author did a fantastic job of creating a unique storyline which did not feel predictable. Not sure I will be rushing to read any sequel

*Thanks to Simon & Schuster UK / Net Galley for this ARC*

Thank you to the author, publishers Simon & Schuster and NetGalley UK for access to this as an advance reader’s ebook. This is an honest and voluntary review.

When the power goes out the Altman’s are sorely unfit for surviving on their wits. Dan’s TV writing career hasn’t prepared him for defending his family. Jen’s day drinking is harder to hide when everyone is home. Daughter Chloe’s lifeplan of tennis championships, school tests and early admission to her first choice university doesn’t allow for a world where her admissions essay is trapped in Google docs on a bricked laptop and back up in a cloud which might no longer exist. And, Max just wants a dog and to power his vape pen.

Lights Out In Lincolnwood is an engaging story about society breaking down as seen through the eyes of a suburban family. The action all takes place in a few days after all electricity dies suddenly, including all battery powered devices. An electromagnetic pulse (EMP) is mentioned a few times as a possible cause, as are aliens, terrorists and the Democrats as rumours and conspiracy theories run wild. But, this isn’t a story about the why, it’s about what happens next.

We switch the perspectives between each of the Altmans throughout the story. This prevents any of them becoming too annoying, as their decisions makes sense in the context of what they're each going through. As Dan was on his way to work in Manhattan when whatever it was happened the reader does get a sense of the scope of the disaster early on, but the real joy of this story is the small scale focus. It really boils down to the Altmans and their nearest neighbours. The result is an excellent study of suburban life and how quickly structure falls away.

A tense and well-paced drama exploring the fallout of a widespread blackout on one family with a lot of tension beneath the surface - Rodkey makes a surprisingly strong transition to adult fiction as much of his published work is for children. I really enjoyed the sense of place in this book especially as I grew up in Bergen County, NJ and could picture Lincolnwood perfectly! I sometimes found the tone a bit scattered - it was sometimes a bit too funny for a book about a crisis - but the characters were well-developed and recognisable.

What would you, and your family, do if all of a sudden everything stopped working? That's what Geoff Rodkey asks in Lights Out in Lincolnwood. Everything technological is dead...lights, phones, computers, cars and even trains. Over the next four days we find out what the Altmans do and it is at times hilarious yet also very dark.

Even with everything going on right now in the world this apocalyptic family drama was an excellent read. I liked how at first everyone was out for themselves but in the end they realized they were, and worked, better together. This was a very unique premise and the writing was declamatory. My only niggle was the ending, after five-hundred and forty-four pages I was a little let down because the ending felt a little rushed.