📚BOOK REVIEW📚⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
#safeandsound by #philippaeast @hqstories

This is a very well put together thriller. I was completely hooked after a couple of lines of page one. The book uses a duel timeline which is executed cleverly to come perfectly together at the end.

I thought the voice of ‘Jenn’ was excellent; you really got sucked in deep to her world and felt the anxiety, confusion and often desperation alongside her.

The story was pretty unique and easily blurred the lines between reality and fantasy to the point I wasn’t sure who or what to believe and therefore it kept my interest but I did find myself disappointed with the overall ending.

There was such a build up and I felt it didn’t really amount to all that much - I wanted an extra twist or just something to catch you out rather than just a slow plod to the end....

Overall, it was definitely a gripping and spellbinding thriller which plays with your mind and is well worth a read but I was left feeling like something was missing in the end.

➡️for synopsis

This one is a #arcread so thank you to author #philippaeast, #hqstories and #netgalley for allowing me to read this one early!

Due out Feb 18th.

Book 1 of 2021 completed! 👏

-Emily

📖Book Review📖
Safe and Sound by Philippa East
Publication date 18th February 2021.

Thank you to @netgalley and @hqstories for my advanced readers copy, in exchange for an honest.

I couldn’t read this book fast enough (and I’m fast 🙈).

I loved this book and I’m hoping subsequent books keep up with this standard as it’s my first five star of the year.

I liked ‘Jenn’ from the start and enjoyed reading about her interactions with others and following her journey in finding out answers to what happened to Sarah.

I thought I had the story figured out, but I completely went down the wrong path 😂.

I would highly recommend this book, I haven’t read the authors debut novel but it has already been added to my TBR pile.
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟/5
#safeandsound #philippaeast #netgalley #netgalleyreview #bookreview #arc #bookstagram #booksofig

I absolutely loved this book and was engrossed from beginning to end. It’s the best book I’ve read in a very long time. So beautifully written – what a talented lady. Very relevant for people who are suffering mental health problems, or who are from a dysfunctional family. I felt sad and emotional at times, but I was gripped throughout and couldn’t stop reading. A really good plot with a few twists and turns which kept me guessing to the end. I loved the two connecting stories, the totally believable characters, and the way everything came together in the end to give us the answers. A brilliant piece of writing that left me emotionally shattered!

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC copy.

Sarah Jones. Pretty and full of life. Just how did she end up dead and alone in her bedsit, undiscovered for months?

Jenn. Single mum to Charlie, living in their small flat in London, trying to cope with her job and the pressures of life. Jenn's job as a housing officer means she is the one who finds the sad, lonely scene in Sarah's bedsit.

A back and forth between past and present into the lives of both women and the struggle they both face with mental health. A sometimes uncomfortable but important read with some surprises along the way.

Well New Year's Day is a good time to start a new book but I didn't think I'd finish it on the same day. Great book and twists & turns all in one so it was a great start to my new book challenge on Goodreads. The main character was very relatable and you wondered what was going on in her mind throughout.

This book is so intense, it literally feels like you are on the edge of your seat sometimes. This is an extraordinary psychological thriller, the writing is so incredibly immersive. The story is good but it is the writing that makes it so good. A real sense of anxiety and that something bad is going to happen is there all the time as you race through the pages. The ending wasn’t what I was expecting but to be honest the ending is far better than anything I could have imagined and is actually quite emotional. This book is so relevant at the moment for the times in which we are living not just because of the pandemic but because of social media and people’s busy life’s and gets you thinking would anyone really notice if you just disappeared...

After reading Phillipa's debut Little White Lies {which was gripping} I didn't think this new book would be as good, but OMG! WOW!WOW!WOW!, what a bloody brilliant thriller/psychological/mystery read. I can't find words good enough to explain how much I loved this book. Yes, it's very sad in parts and it has a lot to do with how people deal with mental health problems. Jenn is a driven woman who wants to do her best for her son whilst trying to find out what really happened to her tenant Sarah Jones. Her relationship with her son little Charlie is amazing but I was asking myself all the way through the book "what happened to Charlie when he was a baby? and why is Jenn acting in a possessive manner?". It all comes together in the end with a mind blowing conclusion. There is a few twists along the way and all the characters are relatable, the plot is consistent throughout and to be honest there isn't one boring page in the whole book.
Watch out Cara Hunter and K L Slater because Phillipa East is going to be on the bestseller list without a shadow of a doubt..
Awesome read, totally gripping and now I can take a breath after finishing this unputdownable read.

"Safe and Sound" is the story of Jennifer Arden, a single mother grappling with mental health issues, who happens to be present in her role working for a housing association when the body of a tenant is found on the sofa in her flat, where she has been for the last ten months. The table is set for visitors, there are flowers - so why has no-one reported her missing?

Jenn quickly spirals into an obsessive relationship with the deceased woman, digging into her background using whatever means necessary. But what is Jenn really trying to find? Is it the truth about the dead woman - or the truth about her own sad history?

The novel started out slow, with a lot of internal dialogue as Jenn went round and round wondering about the dead woman and what sad set of circumstances might have led to her lying undiscovered in a bedsit for ten months. As a literary device it's claustrophobic and crafty, though at times I did feel like it stalled the plot.

I enjoyed the complex character of Jenn, and her relentless need to ferret out the truth, and her mental health issues were portrayed realistically and with sensitivity. I also enjoyed the narrative switching back and forth between present day Jenn, and then the two little girls in the past, Prin and Jane, whose identities remain concealed until fairly late in the novel.

This is a deftly written thriller by an author who knows how to hook in a reader - it does take a little longer with this one, but do persist as the pay-off is worth it.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for providing me with a free ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

Safe and Sound is a very different read .A young woman is found dead in her flat so you would imagine this would be a Police Procedural but it is not .Jenn the Housing Manager who found her is deeply affected and saddened that nobody missed her as she had been dead for months so she decides to find out why .There are a lot of questions to be answered throughout this gripping story but they are all answered finally .This book is about mental health issues as well as dysfunctional families so sometimes I found it quite a difficult read .Many thanks to the Publisher ,the Author and NetGalley for my free copy in return for an honest review .

Jennifer Arden is a single mother living in Brixton and works as a Housing Manager. On the day where the story begins, Jenn has the task of evicting a tenant who is in arrears. When she arrives with the bailiffs, what she discovers in the flat that morning triggers an obsessive need to make sense of what has happened; even if it means destabilising the equilibrium of her mental health and revisiting the dark secrets of her past.

This story hooked me from the beginning. It's structured in the format of a dual timeline where we are in the present day following Jenn and 'back then' where we follow the story of a young girl called Prin and her family. I liked this format because I really became invested in finding out how these two storylines were connected, especially because both were equally as mysterious, eerie and thought-provoking as the other.

We learn early on that Jenn struggles with her mental health and this heavily influences how she processes and responds to different situations. She is portrayed as an unreliable narrator and this really gets your head spinning because one minute you are supporting her and the next, you are suspecting/doubting her. Also, seeing the intense relationship she has with her young son leaves you uncertain of how to feel about her.

The author creates so much doubt over the true intentions of nearly all the characters in the story that you struggle to trust anyone. I couldn't even trust my own memory of what I'd read in earlier chapters and kept saying to myself "did they really say that?". This kept me turning the pages - wanting to know why a particular character was acting so shifty and trying to figure out if they can be trusted.

I definitely recommend this book for its suspense, twists and exploration of mental health and dysfunctional relationships. This is the first book I have read by this author and I would definitely be interested in reading more by her.

Thoroughly enjoyed Safe and sound. The story of Jenn finding the body of a tenant who had been dead in their flat for months... something resonates with Jenn about Sarah - does she know her? Why would no one notice her death? There are secrets In Jenn’s past and some similarities to Sarah. The tension ramped up from the start and at times I was almost afraid to turn the page, I was so worried about Charlie! I felt myself holding my breath, dreading Jenn’s next move - willing her not to get involved. And... Who is Prin and what happened to Jane? The novel sensitively explores issues around mental health and Jenn’s ability to self manage her behaviour.

This is the first book I have read by Philippa and it certainly will not be the last. Very different form my normal detective reads as the main character is not a detective but a housing manager.
It is an interesting premise and though it is a little slow to start once it des I was hooked. A brilliant read and I will be looking back on the authors previous book to see if it is as good as this.

It’s the first time I’ve read this author and it certainly won’t be my last I found it very addictive and couldn’t wait to read more, poor Jennifer a very complex person who was a housing manager for Housing Association when she had a terrible and shocking discovery but nothing is as it seems which you will soon find out it was very enjoyable and can’t wait to read more from this author and want to thank Netgalley and the publisher for an early copy.

A claustrophobic and gripping novel! My heart rate went up a couple of times reading this brilliant unassuming story. What begins as the discovery of a body soon becomes a delve into the human psyche and how the lines between truth, lies and fantasy can become blurred. A really interesting and different read which does not disappoint!

What an excellent story this was! The mystery of one woman’s death and the time it took her to be found is the crux of this novel.

My first book by this writer but not the last. A dark enthralling tale of a woman's obsessive interest in why one of the tenants, of a flat she manages, is found dead many months after her demise. I loved the premise of this story, something that happens all too often. The execution was sensitive and strong, the MC, Jenn, mirroring the instability and lonliness of the unfolding tragedy as her own life continues to implode. Excellent.

The story begins when Jenn, a housing association worker, has to deal with a tenant who is in arrears with their rent. Jenn goes to the tenant’s flat to meet the bailiffs but when they arrive, they find the body of the tenant - who has clearly been dead for some time - in a dusty flat with the table set for 3 guests. Who is she and why has no one found her before?
I read this book in a day over Christmas and got really engrossed in the story. A really intriguing and absorbing read. Thank you NetGalley for my copy.

Wow. This book really moved me, in ways I wasn’t expecting. The plot was so well woven, fast paced but not overly loaded with sub-plots and extraneous characters, and although I put things together quite early on it was still a tense and gripping read.

Housing officer Jenn, who has a history of mental health problems and lives an isolated life, discovers the long-dead body of Sarah Jones in her flat, triggering a descent into madness and mystery. Who is Sarah and why did she lie undiscovered for so long? Why is investigating the circumstances of Sarah’s death causing such a decline in Jenn’s own mental health?

I found both Jenn and Sarah’s back stories poignant, and the childhood descriptions were so evocative. The author doesn’t overdo the sentimentality and the descriptions never felt mawkish or over the top - but still managed to evoke a deep sense of sadness and empathy in the reader. In particular the scene on the roof - with Jane ‘seeing’ her parents in the sky- was very powerful.

I could identify with Jenn’s constant anxiety over her son and although some of her choices and decisions were questionable at best, I found her a likeable character who I wanted to understand. I think her character captures the constant struggle of many mothers to navigate the sometimes overwhelming emotions we have towards our children- the frustration and fear, the dizzying level of love which can feel at times terrifying and claustrophobic.

I felt Prin’s parents (and indeed Jenn’s) could have been explored a bit more - we had glimpses of an overbearing father who didn’t allow for any displays of emotion in Prin’s case and a mother with a strong need for control in Jenn’s case, but I wondered if this could have been developed further to better explain Prin and Jenn’s behaviour as adults.

My only other minor gripe would be the slightly inconceivable and convenient coincidence of Freya being in the role she was in, which allowed her access to Jenn’s medical history and an opportunity to try to hamper Jenn’s attempts to unravel the truth.

Overall though I loved this book and I think it will stay with me for a while. Look forward to reading more by the author! Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Loved this book. There was so many intriguing parts to the story that kept me hooked, I was imagining all sorts of endings all the way through ; it kept me guessing. Loved it.

In Philippa East’s second novel based in Brixton, Jennifer Arden is a housing manager who is due to evict a tenant for non payment of rent. Alarm bells start ringing when together with the bailiffs, Jenn is unable to gain entry into the property despite their belief the tenant is inside. With the help of the police a shocking discovery is made, the nature of which disturbs Jenn’s fragile equilibrium, setting her off on a path to determine how a young woman could end up so isolated and alone, apparently no one concerned for her whereabouts. In a bid to assuage her guilt over her own role in this discovery , Jenn’s rush to uncover the mystery surrounding the life of Sarah causes her to confront her own state of mind potentially triggering a decline in her own wellbeing.

I was immediately hooked by the opening pages, wondering what the possibly unreliable narrator, Jennifer Arden is hiding and what is causing her so much anxiety and tension. I didn’t trust her from the outset concerned by the allusions to trouble in her personal life that has interfered with her professional conduct. I questioned how the discovery of a dead tenant would impact on this seemingly fragile character and its relevance and potential connection to another storyline, belonging to the past, which unfolds alongside the current one. As for her son Charlie, I was constantly trying to understand why his mother is intent on wrapping him up in cotton wool to the extent I feared for his welfare. Is Jennifer a doting if anxious single mother with Charlie’s best interests at heart or does her overly cautious protection hide another side to her?

The format is unoriginal in the way it switches between the past and the present but my impression is that it’s well executed and I was equally invested in how the events in this dual timeline are connected. This is a clever storyline in which the lines between fantasy and reality are well and truly blurred. I simply did not know who or what to believe, convinced there are numerous characters suffering from the same problem. Who is the fantasist here? Or is there more than one individual who prefers to live in the land of make believe? This novel is definitely one to give your brain cells a rigorous workout! I felt I was on a merry go round spinning faster and faster, the author’s attempts to disorientate me entirely successful. Just like the zoetrope in which images blur into an alternative reality, details of Jennifer Arden’s life in the present and those of Prin and Jane in the past become so entwined as to become indistinguishable. The relevance of this toy to both the past and the present is quite intriguing and an ingenious way to explore the complexities of minds that can be both powerful and fragile at the same time. With the introduction of every new character, I questioned their motives towards helping Jenn and their relationship to the deceased,unable to distinguish between who is friend and who is foe. I certainly never anticipated the twist towards the end!

Having read this author’s debut novel Little White Lies I was expecting great things from this author and I wasn’t disappointed. Safe and Sound is suspenseful and I sped through it desperate to make sense of the two presumably related storylines, patiently awaiting the reveals that would explain the connection and satisfy my curiosity. I thoroughly enjoyed revelling in the complexities of this storyline where madness and paranoia are waiting to ambush those unable to distinguish between fantasy and reality. Highly recommend. My thanks as always to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read.