Book info

• Title Safe House
• Author Chris Ewan
• Year 2012
• Genre Thriller

When Rob Hale wakes up in hospital after a motorcycle crash he is told that Lena, the woman he claims was travelling with him, doesn't exist. The woman he describes bears a striking resemblance to his recently deceased sister, Laura, but has he really only imagined her? Rob sets out to find the answers to who Lena is and where she has gone. He is aided by Rebecca Lewis, a London-based PI, who has come to the Isle of Man at the behest of his parents to investigate his sister's suicide. But who is Rebecca really and how did she know his sister? Together Rob and Rebecca follow the clues to discover who took Lena. In doing so they discover that even on an island where most people know each other, everyone hides a secret, and that sometimes your best option isn't to hide but to stay and fight.

Thoughts

I was really fascinated by the opening few chapters of this book - wherein a TT racer has a motorbike accident on the Isle of Man, comes to after blacking out and asks about the welfare of his passenger, only to be told he was riding alone. The “doubting your own senses” thing has intrigued me since watching Flight Plan, and I thought that’s what this would be.

As each chapter flew by, however, it turns out there was a lot more mystery to be had. In fact, I’d argue there was too much mystery, too many twists and turns. I got lost - who was good, who was bad, what was I rooting for anyway? At some point, I definitely thought I’d just have to stop trying to fathom it and wait for everything to become clear. Which it did in the end. Sort of.

It’s also really difficult to get someone normal wrapped up in an abnormal world - one of spies, of hostages, of threats and gunfights and beatings with a baseball bat. I thought the author did a good job keeping our protagonist grounded, and it helped that we saw other sides of the story. Although the switching between first and third person did take a bit of getting used to.

Overall, I enjoyed it. It was a bit too complicated to rave about, but it was intriguing and well-written and I kept on turning the pages.

Rating: 3 / 5