Not the best of Nicci French (The Safe House - Nicci French)

Member Name: jo1976

Product:	The Safe House - Nicci French
Date:	10/09/09 (97 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Well-written, fast-paced, lots of twists and turns

Disadvantages: Too many sub-plots, ending was a disappointment

I've read a few novels written by Nicci French in the past and thoroughly enjoyed each and every one of them so I snapped up a copy of 'The Safe House' when I saw it in a charity shop. Her novels are generally quite intense thrillers - the literary version of films that make you jump at the slightest movement because the tension has been built up so much!Despite reading other work by this author, I only recently discovered that 'Nicci French' is actually a pseudonom for a husband and wife team, Nicci Gerrard and Sean French. Had I known this beforehand I might have been put off from reading their work, as I'm not a fan of collaborations. I can honestly say that this novel, as well as others I've read, show no signs of being disjointed whatsoever so somehow this writing partnership really seems to work!

The principal character of the Safe House is Samantha Laschen, a doctor who specialises in post-traumatic stress disorder. She is asked by the police to temporarily house a nineteen year old girl, Fiona (Finn) McKenzie whose parents have both been brutally murdered and who is believed to still be at risk. The back cover hints at the risks that Samantha and her young daughter, Elsie, are exposing themselves to by allowing this young woman into their home and lives.

From the outset of the novel, I found the writing compelling as it opens with the discovery of Finn's parents' bodies. I did find the idea that a totally unrelated random person would be approached by the police to house a murder victim to be a stretch of the imagination. In spite of Sam's medical qualification and experience in the trauma field, I really doubt that she would be asked to do this and was particularly sceptical that anyone would go along with the idea, particularly if they have a young child in the house. Nevertheless, I was more than happy to suspend my disbelief for the sake of a good story and this is certainly well written with elements of tension and emotion.

There are lots of sub-plots and secondary storylines within the story, aside from Sam caring for Finn. To be honest, I thought there was a little bit too much going on. The story considers Sam's on-off relationship with her partner, Danny which I found a little distracting from the thriller/murder mystery element which I was most interested in. I didn't really feel that their relationship was all that strong with both Sam and Danny appearing to be quite ambivalent to each other. I didn't really see the need for them to be quite so passionate towards each other either. In a Mills and Boon novel, I expect the characters to be panting and ripping off each other's clothes at every opportunity but it isn't really necessary in this sort of story. There was also another love interest included which didn't really add up either and left me feeling both annoyed and distracted. I also felt that the character of Finn wasn't given the depth that you'd expect, particularly in light of the ending of the book.

There are lots of twists and turns within the story, particularly towards the end of the story where the pace seems to hot up and lots of details and information are revealed in quick succession as everything falls into place. Lots of the twists had been fairly easy to deduce but there were other aspects of the story that I hadn't been able to predict beforehand and I was kept gripped right up until the end.

The ending is this novel's greatest weakness. Essentially, this is a novel based around a murder but, as a murder mystery, it didn't provide the great 'denouement' that I've come to expect. Perhaps I've become a bit conditioned to expect the great unveiling of the murderer and the facts, having spent many years reading Agatha Christie classics. I suspect that the rather open ending of this novel is supposed to leave a sense of eeriness and unease but I was just left feeling disappointed and a little deflated. The last section of the book just seemed to be going at such a fast pace and then it all builds up towards a great shocking conclusion...that just never happens. What a shame!

Despite the disappointing ending and some minor issues about the plot and characters, this is an enjoyable and captivating read. It's certainly not the best example of Nicci French's work, based on my own experience so far. For anybody new to her (their?) writing, I would recommend Killing Me Softly as a much better introduction.

ISBN: 0141034122
First published 1998
Copies available on Amazon from 1p used and for £5.99 new

Summary: There are better Nicci French thrillers out there