Safe House by Jo Jakeman

Val Penny ♦ August 14, 2020 ♦ Leave a comment

I was given Safe House as a Secret Santa gift and it took me until lockdown to catch up with it. I am sorry about that, because it is an excellent. gripping novel and beautifully paced.

The Blurb

The morning after a terrible storm, a woman turns up in a remote Cornish village. She calls herself Charlie, but it’s a name she’s only had for a few days. She keeps herself to herself, reluctant to integrate with the locals. Because Charlie has a secret.

Charlie was in prison for providing a false alibi for a murderer. But Lee Fisher wasn’t a murderer to her; he was the man she loved. Convinced of his innocence, Charlie said she was with him the night a young woman was killed. This sacrifice cost her everything.

And now she has a chance to start again. But someone is watching her, waiting for her, wondering if she’s really paid the price for what she did.

The Review

Safe House is a beautifully paced, psychological thriller telling the story of a woman who suffers domestic abuse and pays the price. On her release from prison, Steffi Finn moves house, county and even her name to keep herself away from her past.

Yet it haunts her. She is suspicious, jumpy and sees danger around every corner, except where it actually exists.

After many brushes with injury she is confronted by a victim who is still looking for justice and is determined to get it from her. Luckily a friend is there to help. But even then, it is not as it seems.

A clever, gripping novel. I thoroughly enjoyed.

The Author

Winner of the Friday Night Live 2016 competition at the York Festival of Writing, Jo’s debut novel Sticks and Stones was shortlisted for best revenge thriller at the Dead Good Reader Awards. Born in Cyprus, she worked for many years in the City of London and now lives in Cornwall with her husband and twin boys. According to her children she is the Best Author Ever. According to her mum she’s Not Bad. Find out more at http://www.jojakeman.com

Val Penny