Survival by Lisa Harris asks the question what happens if the Grid goes down? Harris paints a vivid picture of a world where everything has changed instantly. It opens with a bang. The Sheriff’s been shot and the grid goes down. When Chapter 2 begins, the grid is still down 264 days later and the world is in a mess.

If you read the prequel The Last Days, you’ll know Shadow Ridge is in the middle of nowhere, but this remote town makes for a great location that transports readers back to the Wild West. Outlaws roam the country and wreak havoc on law-abiding citizens who are just trying to survive in a world with limited necessities.

The hero in this story is Jace McQuaid. He’s ex-military and home for a visit when the world changes. His dad, the sheriff, is still trying to recover from the gunshot injury and Jace has taken his place as sheriff. His brother Levi works with him along with other town members. Jace is a good guy who wrestles with demons from his military days.

Morgan Addison is the heroine who lost her husband in a car wreck when the grid went down. Her little boy finds a dead body in the town warehouse where supplies are kept and guarded.

The Crime

It turns out the crime is more than a murder. A group of outlaws are stealing supplies and selling them on the black market. And before long Jace has two murders to solve, plus an explosion at the bank where people have stored their important belongings. I’m not giving anything away here because it’s on the back of the book, but one of the gang members is Morgan’s brother-in-law. And, he’s a really bad guy.

Without all of the modern crime solving tools like facial recognition and fingerprint databases, it’s interesting to see how Jace goes old school to solve the crime.

The Love Story

As Jace tries to solve the crime, he discovers Morgan’s brother-in-law is a prime suspect, which causes him to spend a little more time with Morgan. As they get to know each other, sparks ignite and their romance develops over the course of the book.

Redemption

Jace has a few demons that he needs to overcome. He feels responsible for something that happened in the military and he has to find peace with the situation before he can move forward with his life. There’s a nice faith thread as he comes to grips with his past.

Final Thoughts

I liked the use of the grid failing as the backdrop. It’s hard to imagine all our amenities in this modern world are here one second and in the next gone. Harris shows how a group of people can pull together and survive in a world where everything has changed. She also shows how in a land of scarcity, crime could soar. It’s all very intriguing and well done. While each book appears to be set up with a crime to solve, the overarching storyline is who brought the grid down and why. I’m looking forward to reading the next installment.

Survival by Lisa Harris will entertain you and cause you to think.

You’ll find more reviews on my blog.