Happy publication day to ‘The Safe House’ – 14th September, 2023.
I enjoyed Cameron Ward’s first book, ‘A Stranger on Board’ so was delighted to receive an early copy of ‘The Safe House’ for review. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for my copy – opinions are, as always, entirely my own.
This book follows Jess, a Metropolitan Police employee who – for her own reasons – wants to get away. The ideal solution presents itself (*alarm bells*) when Jess’ friend discovers a remote luxury house in the Australian Outback is in need of a house-sitter. It seems to offer the peace and respite that Jess needs – but she hasn’t considered the wild fires ravaging the local area or the mysterious visitors that appear. As the fire gets closer, Jess finds herself in danger – but is the real peril inside or outside the house?
As with Ward’s previous book, this is a real page-turner. I found myself – along with Jess – trying to work out who to trust and who is not who they say they are. They’re a pretty unusual bunch thrown together by the fires, so it was quite tricky!
Ward manages the tension and pace well. The group in the house are in so much danger from the wild fires sweeping through the outback – and that’s even before anything happening within the house. As the fire gets closer, Jess’ situation becomes even more dire as communication is cut off and escape routes are blocked. I did find myself reading so quickly as things just got worse and worse on the build-up to a pretty spectacular finale.
As a Brit reading this, I found the location interesting – I’ve not been to Australia but Ward makes it sound both beautiful and also slightly terrifying (spiders, snakes, fire…). I loved that the local wildlife is also featured, although it’s so sad that the animals are in the path of the fire too.
I’d recommend this to lovers of pacy and lively thrillers – there’s plenty here to keep you reading as you root for Jess in her hostile and ever-changing environment. Pick up a copy, clear the diary and enjoy!
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Header photo by Maxim Tajer on Unsplash
