Lights Out by Louise Swanson

I am old enough to just about remember the power cuts in the 1970s. I remember the candles dotted around the house and cooking on the fire. Toast has never tasted better. It was such fun, it was exciting. As a grown up I couldn't think of anything I'd rather not have than no electricity. And yet, with the cost of living crisis and the climate crisis, this could be a reality very soon. 

In this novel the government has decided to turn off power between the hours of 8pm and 7am every day. They give information and tips on how to deal with this, through their website, such as to turn off all appliances before the power cut so that there isn't a surge when the electricity  comes back on, and not to open the freezer for at least two hours after the power is back up. Fascinating stuff and very probably how it would actually be in these circumstances. I'm taking these tips on board, just in case.

The story is set in Hull and around that part of Yorkshire, and is about a woman who has a severe fear of the dark. By day she is a palliative hospice carer looking after people at the end of their life. But at night her anxiety is increased by not just the darkness phobia but also that things  mysteriously appear in her house when she is alone, such as a live fish and cryptic notes.  Her rituals become repetitive and obsessive and her paranoia increases. I didn't quite feel the tension though, at the start. That soon changed. Her story is punctuated by that of a man with severe anxiety and he is visiting a counsellor. Their stories have to be linked somehow...

This is a totally captivating story that becomes more intense as it goes on. Deeply psychological, sometimes a bit ethereal, mysterious and spooky. It is about facing fears and protecting loved ones, the use and abuse of power - including electricity. When the fuel is taken away crime rates increase as does domestic abuse, mental and physical health, and relationships in all walks of life deteriorate.

This could be a dystopian novel but there are too many similarities to the recent lockdown that it feels very plausible and current. That is actually quite scary.  A powerful, chilling and absorbing book.

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Published by Hodder and Stoughton on 5 September 2024.
​Advance review copy supplied by the publisher.

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