I really thought everything came together well in this book. The details of life in winter without modern tecnhology was great. And the mystery was actually very well plotted as well.

The Brannings are now into their eight month living in a world without the comforts of electricity, mass communication or technology. After watching how the family tries to adapt to their new way of life, the story now turns towards the ugly side of this new society. What happens to the criminals and prisoners? With the jails full of those who’ve committed petty crimes to mass murderers, it’s getting harder and harder to find those who will watch over these lowlifes. What will happen when the police stop watching and the criminals are allowed to roam around freely with no one to stop them?

This was my favorite book out of the series so far. I think the characters have become more well developed. The Brannings aren’t as shallow as they were in the beginning of the series. They finally act as if they want to get along well in this new society they are living in. The scenes in the jail were surprisingly realistic and difficult to read. You really felt for Mark as he chooses to turn the other cheek and ignore the hurtful remarks made by the prisoners. It’s also scary to think about a world where criminals run free because we have no means of keeping them separated from society. Very suspenseful reading about the police chief’s son wanting to get revenge. What I like best about this series is how much is really makes you think about how we take technology for granted. In the first book, the community is clueless about what to do without electricity. Even simple things like heating water or even using the bathroom are now almost impossible to do. If a situation like this would happen in our world today, I think it’s a possibility our country could collapse. How would governments work without communication? It’s interesting to think that all the top moneymaking jobs in this country like engineerings or informations technology would be useless. That’s when all the jobs like history, geography, and geology would be high demand again. I’m really looking forward to the last book in the series because I want to know if, when and how society will be able to truly function again.