An intriguing concept handled in a workmanlike fashion without many surprises. The people of the fictional Garrett Island, a small island off the coast of Massachusetts, agreed to an experiment / publicity stunt that turned the community into an all-autonomous vehicle town; they had no idea what they were letting themselves in for. The target of a piece of corporate subterfuge, the experiment immediately goes awry, with the “Arrival” vehicles unleashed against the townspeople as predators. The result is cinematic attacks on the mall and rescue vehicles arriving from the mainland on a ferry, kids in peril, and townspeople banding together to defeat the angry cars. With 432 pages to work with, I would have thought we could have gotten some insight into a smooth running town of self-driving cars, to let the tension build a little, but Barclay opted for instant action instead. I’m sure we’ll see this theme again, however, and it will be interesting to see what other authors do with it.