Saturday 2 January 2021

Review: Safe and Sound by Philippa East

Title: Safe and Sound
Author: Philippa East
Publisher: HQ (HarperCollins UK imprint)
Publishing: 18th February 2021

Rating: 2/5

Book synopsis: Home can be the most dangerous place…

In a small London bedsit, a radio is playing. A small dining table is set for three, and curled up on the sofa is a body…
 
Jenn is the one who discovers the woman, along with the bailiffs. All indications suggest that the tenant – Sarah Jones – was pretty, charismatic and full of life.

So how is it possible that her body has lain undiscovered for ten whole months?


I found this to be a slow book and one I didn't really get on well with  or enjoy - although I finished it to see what the outcome was...the book isn't one that took me on a journey. The main character, Jennifer has her own issues and from the start...I'll be honest - she irritated me. She isn't a character that I felt empathy for as I found the story and how it unfolds to be bitty and self centred and it felt as if Jennifer was making a big deal out of nothing most of the time due to her own issues...which is more than likely one of the points of the book...but it just didn't sit well with me. A few points in the book surprised me because if they'd been real-life, I would have expected to see proper boundaries and implications because of certain actions which Jennifer had undertaken.

I think this isn't a comfortable read as it deals with mental health issues and also doesn't give the reader enough answers in a short space of time. I felt there was a lot left unknown at first, to try and build the suspense but it didn't work, and for me the book felt very one sided and not realistic that an outsider would go to such lengths and undercover details that the police hadn't managed to bring to light. I could see this playing out at the cinema, but as a book it didn't manage to capture my imagination.

I wanted to like this book, but it wasn't for me.


Source - I received a digital copy in return for an honest review



No comments: