In the quaint village of Barton St Martin, Halloween turns frantic as Anna James searches for her missing daughter, Harrie. The village’s ‘Village Girlies Chat Group’ seems to hold Anna responsible, but why? Could the link be an accident from a week prior or the disappearance of Dean, a local businessman and Anna’s friend? Beneath the village’s seemingly perfect facade lies a dark and tangled web.

The novel cleverly alternates between the night of the accident and the Halloween search, heightening the suspense and slowly revealing the truth. Local interviews add depth, exposing the real power dynamics within the community. Anna’s character is vividly portrayed, her anxiety and protectiveness over her daughter feeling authentic, though at times you wish she would be more assertive. Harrie’s interactions, particularly with her twin Elisa, are convincingly portrayed.

The ‘girlies’ chat group, a sort of school gate clique, adds a cringe-worthy but realistic touch. The book features several surprising twists, though some aspects, while intriguing, feel slightly predictable. Despite a somewhat tidy ending, the story is engaging and leaves you eager for more from the author.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK Transworld, Corgi for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. It was tense and atmospheric. The way the author used what's app conversations to fill in the gaps in the readers knowledge was really clever.

I loved the ending and how the reader realised what was happening and at the same time as the narrator. Would.love to read more from this author.

A gripping and realistic thriller with heart from a great author.

Anna is used to being called an anxious mother by the other mums in their quiet village, but when she finally relents and leaves one of her daughters at home the unthinkable happens. Her 20 minute journey turns into hours following a serious car accident which closes the dual carriageway. She can't reach her daughter or neighbour on the phone. Her friend calls round to check but there is no answer.

When she eventually returns she notices muddy footprints but her daughter seems to be asleep in bed after all. It isn't until the morning that she senses her daughter is jumpy and withdrawn.

It doesn't help that her husband works away for months at a time, so she is left trying to run her business and look after their 3 daughters by herself. Or that they are scarcely scraping by after they were forced to flee London.

The other muns have known each other longer and she can't help feeling she's on the outside, not that she minds as she's happy to keep to herself and can't afford to buy large rounds of drinks at the pub or the expensive products her friends sell. .

Realising she doesn't know who she can trust, Anna tries to unravel the mystery and save her daughter.

A compulsive and fast paced thriller. This is an absolute page turner.
I was invested in the characters from the beginning. The ending was a surprise.

I must firstly apologise for the amount of time it has taken me to provide a review of this book, my health was rather bad for quite some time, something that had me in hospital on numerous occasions and simply didnt leave me with the time I once had to do what I love most.

Unfortunately that does mean I have missed the archive date for many of these books, so It would feel unjust throwing any review together without being able to pay attention to each novel properly.

However, I am now back to reading as before and look forward to sharing my honest reviews as always going forward. I thank you f0r the patience and understanding throughout x

I read this one in a single wet afternoon. It's a gripping and supremely readable domestic suspense set in a small English village with some great twists and an ending that left me with goosebumps! The main character Anna, mother of three girls, was so relatable and likeable. Such a compelling story!

4 stars

I've read Lauren North before and I remember then that it felt great to discover another fresh thriller writer with a Christie-like gift for suspense and a twist. SAFE AT HOME doesn't disappoint either, with a very simple everyday premise (all the more terrifying when the inciting moment for a thriller plot is something you very well know could happen to you).

The plot unfolds at a beautifully steady pace after that, jumping back and forth in time to gradually tell the story of what happened one fateful night. This isn't always brilliantly done in thrillers - sometimes too jarring, unclear, or not jigsaw-pieced together quite right - but here it's done well, not leaving the reveals too late in the game while also laying out enough suspense about what will happen next, even after you've found out what Awful Thing has actually happened.

The characters are identifiable, everyday people you can either understand or feel like you know, and THAT - combined with a plot based on the type of thing you're aware could well be going on in your very neighbourhood - makes for a great book. Thanks to Transworld and NetGalley for the review copy.

What a page turner, I literally couldn’t put this book down. It had such an exciting plot that played out well. It was very well written.

A gripping read that tells the story from both the viewpoints and timelines of the anxious mother Anna and her daughter Harrie. One evening Anna needs to leave Harrie home alone and upon returning she finds unexplained bruises on Harrie…

While I really enjoyed the premise of the book, and found the ending really unpredictable and a total twist I found it hard to fully engage with it. It was good but it was lacking something - perhaps just not a kind of writing style that I personally enjoy. The main thing that kept it going for me was wanted to know what happened and in the end that was worth it.

I think this book would trigger emotions for a lot of mothers. You don't want to leave your kids, but you have to, and then something happens to them. And they won't tell you what or why. This made for a very compelling book, heartbreaking even. Recommended.

I was gripped by Safe at Home straight away. I loved Anna and her daughters and was intrigued by the many mysteries we were presented with throughout the narrative.

I enjoyed the mixed media element too and was shocked by the final reveals. The pacing was perfect and the dual timeline and points of view were written well and easy to follow.

My first book by this author but definitely not my last. I can't wait to read more.

Yes. I got dragged right into this one!

OMG It WAS PERFECT and it wasn't subtle either. (which I love - that really works for me being tense and on edge while reading books like this. It feel immersive!)

If you are looking for a few books to stress yourself out over the Autumn months - this is it!

Really enjoyed this book.
Very well written and great storyline. The characters were very believable too.
I would recommend this book. Thank you to netgalley and the publishers and the author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest opinion

Definitely not what I expected, but this was so good! From the synopsis I expected a rather predictable domestic drama, but this was so much more, with plenty of twists and turns to keep you gripped. 100% one that I would recommend.

𝙎𝙖𝙛𝙚 𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙗𝙮 𝙇𝙖𝙪𝙧𝙚𝙣 𝙉𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙝

Would you leave your eleven year old daughter home alone while you pick up your other children?

I love a thought provoking book that forces you to put yourself in the characters shoes and really think about what you’d do in their situation, and this was an engrossing and captivating read, plotting a story of doubts whilst playing on every parent’s worst nightmare. A child in danger, an anxious mother, some very bitchy “friends” and a reporter seeking the truth. The POV flicks between mother Anna and daughter Harrie plus various interviews and group chats, which I think added some dimension.

This kept me guessing and entertained but I wasn’t mind blown by the twist and I found the plot slightly unrealistic due to Harrie’s age. Parts were slightly repetitive but having said this, I completely related to Anna’s anxiety and her long distance relationship (if my own heads not repetitive I don’t know what is🥲) and the repetition emphasised both these factors well. From being unable to make contact with loved ones, to debt and loneliness, the worries felt palpable and the relationship between Anna and the girls felt believable and real. Pick this up if you’re looking for an easy read with a mystery and likeable characters.

𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ (3/5)

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐫 + 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐞𝐀𝐑𝐂!

I was totally gripped by this excellent story. It was an exciting read with lots of twists and turns. Although it is a thriller it is still about live, family & betrayal. Read it!

Safe at home is such an interesting story. Told in three narratives , it was so intriguing to see how everyone perceived the events and told their own part of the story. I can’t say that I got warm up to any of the characters but they are all well depicted and fleshed out in my opinion. The story itself it’s gripping and addictive so much so that I’ve read it in one sitting. Perfect twists.

Very grateful to the publisher for my review copy

excellent read, this novel had me hooked from the beginning and made me want to pick it up to read more. Told across 3 times and with a mixture of narratives including a newspaper reporter, the story is gradually pieced together as Anna James finds out what really happened to her daughter Harrie on the night she left her at home for what should have been 20 minutes.
This story will really have you on the edge of your seat and I found I really warmed to the main characters.

A gripping book that pulled me into its pages with its three timelines. The writing was smooth and I loved that the author tied up all end, compelling me to keep reading from the beginning to end at one go.
The characters had their complexities with the anxious mom catching my eye and evoking the emotions in my heart.
enjoyed it.