Safe as houses (The Safe House - Nicci French)

Member Name: kirstymack80

Product:	The Safe House - Nicci French
Date:	27/07/06 (111 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: gripping thriller from the start

Disadvantages: annoying ending leaves you frustrated

As I'm slowly reading my way through Nicci French's books, I was glad to find 'The Safe House' for a mere 50 pence on one of my many hospital visits in the local shop there. At such a bargain price would I find it as good as some of the others? Let's find out.

* The plot *

A brutal murder starts the first chapter - Leo MacKenzie and his wife are found dead in their own home - horribly mutilated. The housekeeper that finds them makes a further grim discovery - their daughter Fiona (Finn) is in her bed, taped up and bloody, and barely alive.

Severely traumatised after a long stint in hospital, Finn is sent to stay with Samantha Laschen, a doctor who specialises in post-traumatic stress. Sam has moved to the Essex coast with her young daughter Elsie, leaving London far behind and boyfriend, Danny, who comes and goes as he pleases. Finn is in need of refuge and, with a little push and a shove from the authorities above, Sam is asked to provide a safe house.

* Characters *

From the start Sam is a likeable character - the story is told in the first person and we quickly move into her life and her home and we can understand her reluctance at having a house guest when she is still getting used to a new routine and is about to start a new job. Sam is an unconventional heroine, described as lanky and with shaved bright red hair who can‘t cook and enjoys a game of chess. Her love for her daughter, Elsie, is evident throughout the book.

Finn is a quiet character, nervous and meek. We learn that she went from being an obese teenager to an anorexic in a short time. With Sam, she is silent and withdrawn and spends as little time as possible in the same room. Progress is slow but soon she lets down her guard and starts to interact, befriending Elsie first. She also refuses to attend her parents’ funeral. She begins to depend on Sam a little too much, her intensity becoming a burden and at the same time Danny starts to pull away, brooding. Soon, things start to go horribly wrong.

Sam arrives back one day to a note left by Danny - a goodbye note. Beside that is a note from Finn ‘It’s a madness, I know … We couldn’t live without each other’. Their bodies are later found in a burnt out car - an apparent suicide. But the story is far from over.

* What I thought *

The book is easy to read - the first day I started it I read 100 pages. The chapters are usually less than 10 pages and also have frequent breaks enabling the reader to easily pick it up for just a few minutes or as long as you wish. I found I did read huge chunks at a time, eager to find out where the story was going.

For the most part, this doesn’t read like a typical thriller. After the initial murders the story calms down to introduce the Finn character to her new environment and we get to learn more about Sam. I felt like this could be a red herring - give the reader a sense of stability and then hit them with the bad stuff.

Michael Daley, Finn’s doctor, also starts appearing at regular intervals to ‘check on’ Finn but does he have feelings for Samantha? What exactly is his involvement with the MacKenzie family?

There are lots of twists and turns in this book - the last 100 pages are especially tense and gripping. However for those that are familiar with Nicci French books, this doesn’t keep you on the edge of your seats as previous works such as ‘The Red Room' have done (Mack got shut in the train so engrossed was she in that book!). In fact the beginning is rather slow and it only heats up towards the end even though by then we’ve kind of worked out what’s happened. With French's books we know there are still some surprises to come and I haven't given too much away with the bare bones of the plot.

* Overall *

The story covers a range of emotions - grief, betrayal and love. The shock factor wades in around half way through the book as the reader is almost lulled into a false sense of security with the cozy surroundings Sam has made for herself. The betrayal of her lover and friend forces her to take drastic measures and find out what really happened. Finn still remains, in the most part, a mystery. Sam is determined to find the answers.

I did enjoy the story - I read it in three sittings because the writing does draw you in and the people are realistic up to a point. I had to ask myself how much influence would the police have over a young mother when trying to force her hand into taking into her home a complete stranger who is the target of a murderer?

So I am going to take one star off because I really didn’t like the ending. Plus Sam’s one woman army to find the truth makes the police involved look *really* silly and that just didn’t come across too well. I like to see the gal win and all but, to me, it wasn’t a satisfactory conclusion and there were some events that were skimmed over, leaving me feeling a little cheated.

So to sum up. A taut psychological thriller with a plot which will keep you guessing up to the last page. I’ve read a few books by Nicci French and have yet to be disappointed. Four stars and a recommendation from La Mack.

* About the author *

For those that don’t already know, Nicci French is the pseudonym for a husband and wife team called Nicci Gerard and Sean French.

Other books include Killing Me Softly, The Memory Game, The Red Room, Beneath The Skin and her latest, Catch Me When I Fall.

* Extra info *

The RRP of this book is £5.99 but, like I said, I found it at a practically giveaway price, making this a real steal.

It's available on play.com for £5.49 with free delivery.

ISBN 0-14-027036-1
362 pages

Thanks for reading.

Summary: Just how 'safe' is this safe house?