This is another great read by Louise Mumford. Her writing style is unique, dark and intriguing.
I had to keep reading it once I started.
It’s one that I would definitely recommend for anyone who enjoys this author’s writing style or dark domestic thrillers.

From the age of 5, asthma sufferer Esther has been living an isolated life underground with her mother, who feels a need to protect her young daughter from the poisoned air, at all costs . She converts an underground bunker in the countryside into a safe environment, a place of protection, a home. 'The House' will protect them. 'The House' will keep them safe.
In the 16 years they have lived underground, Esther has never been allowed 'Out There', not even on her mother's annual trip out for supplies. It is when her mother has left for the day on one of these trips that Esther spies a young man outside. Apart from her mother, she hasn't set eyes on another living human in all that time, so is worried about this strange man who is looking at 'The House'. As the man approaches, he steps into a bear trap and injures his leg. He obviously needs help. Esther decides to be brave and ventures out in her protective suit and mask. After freeing the man, she is told that her entire life is a sham, and that her mother has been lying to her the entire time. Can she trust this man? What lies has her mother told? Does she need 'The House' to keep her safe?
This is my first time reading a book by Louise Mumford, but it won't be the last! This book is amazing. I loved it so much that I went and ordered another book as soon as I had read this one!

Thanks to Louise and NetGalley for allowing me to read The Safe House before the publication date.

Esther’s father, Ned, was promoted and the family moved to a new town. This was a steel town where the locals called the steel plant a dragon which emitted smoke over the town. Her mother Hannah was furious about the move.
When Esther was 5 years old, she suffered a severe asthma attack which would be the first of many.
Hannah became overwrought, watching over every move that Esther made in order to protect her.
An inheritance, which she kept a secret from Ned, enabled Hannah to purchase and renovate a property in the countryside.
When an explosion rocked the steel plant, Ned ran to help.
Hannah took the opportunity to take Esther and a few belongings and disappear with no explanation to her husband.
She told Esther that her father had died in the explosion and that living off the grid in the house would keep them safe.

16 years later, a man found his way to her door.
How far will Hannah go to protect the lifestyle which she has chosen for them?

Louise has used some interesting and very effective personification techniques throughout this book to create an atmosphere.

Great premise but poor execution. I had to DNF. I dont like doing that either.

Thanks Netgalley and publisher for allowing me to read this for an honest review

All thoughts and opinions are my own and arent influenced by anyone else.

Didn’t love this one, I didn’t particularly like the characters and I felt like it was slow paced. I read it all the way through and it was ok. I kept picking it up and putting it back down so it took awhile to finish and when it was over, I kind of felt relieved to be done.

Sadly I got to 30% on this book and gave up with it. Unfortunately I found it really difficult to read as it just didn’t capture me quick enough, it was also a little too slow for my liking and sadly I couldn’t warm to any of the characters.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for an advance copy of this book in exchange for this review. Sadly this book just wasn’t for me and this review will not be posted on any social media as I don’t like leaving negative feedback.

My first read by Louise Mumford. I will be reading more!

This novel is about a mothers obsessive love and safety concerns for her child.
How far will she go to protect her? Is she insane?
Please read to find out.

I liked the idea of this story and enjoyed the first part and the rather claustrophobic feeling that developed . Then I started to lose interest a bit as the story changed. I continued to read until the end and it was a fair read but the best part was at the beginning.

I was super excited to read this novel as the blurb sounded so interesting.

We meet mum and daughter, Esther and Hannah. They live in a secure bunker in the middle of the forest away from the world as Esther has asthma and Heather has a yearning to keep her safe and sound.

Heather has yearly trips to Out There to stock up on essentials and now Esther is 21 she wants to explore the world. Her Mother tells her of the dangers of the world and the pollution that is Out There. On one of Hannah's yearly trips, Esther spots a man in their garden and he knows her name. He is suddenly injured in their garden and Esther leaves the house, which is a very rare occasion and helps him. Mother returns and the situation is a bit dire as he has to stay over night. During this time, he tells her a few home truths about Mother and Esther is shocked.

I do not want to give too much away of this novel but it really makes a very interesting and intriguing read. I loved the first 50% of this novel but when Esther leaves her safe haven I did find some of the scenarios that she finds herself in quite shocking as she has literally been holed up safely for 16 years and then suddenly is at a festival and drinking wine.

A good read and a shocking ending which was very cleverly done by Louise Mumford. I thoroughly enjoyed the characters in this novel.

Thanks to NetGalley, Louise Mumford and the publishers for allowing me a copy of this novel in exchange for my honest opinion.

The detail in the first part of this book is perfect, I felt very much like I was part of the situation. Esther has only known inside. Her mother has explained the world outside is too dangerous for her asthma. The lengths she has gone to protect her daughter are extreme but you would wouldn't you?
Until a man turns up and tells Esther none of it was true.

Unfortunately in the second half of this book things get too silly and while I did finish it I was very disappointed.

This is a great psychological thriller.
Esther can only remember being inside.
Her mother has told her that the air outside is too dangerous for her breathe, so she must stay inside.
Esther knows she has asthma and trusts everything her mother has told her, until a stranger turns up.
He talks to Esther and when she goes outside, she realises it’s not dangerous.
She also finds out that her father has been looking for her since her mother took her away many years ago.
Esther makes some unsettling discoveries and wants to speak to her mother but she has other ideas.
This is a real page turner with a few surprises in store.
Thanks to HQ and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

This is the story of Esther and her mother, who moved Esther into a specially built house to protect her from the environment, and other people. Eventually Tom, a visitor, arrives with messages from the outside world, and events change Esther's understanding of the world, and her place in it. I found the beginning very slow, and then, Esther adapts to the outside world surprisingly easily. Her mother's mental health is used to explain why she moved, but there isn't much background to support this.

This story at times reads like a dystopian novel as Hannah has taken her daughter Esther, away to a safe house due to her having bad asthma attacks and the growing air pollution around where they live emitting from the local steel plant. I could certainly empathise with the latter having been brought up close to a huge steel works too. Then we are given a reality check and the second half of the book takes off with a few twists and turns that were not foreseen. Great page turner and also a thought provoking story too.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC to review.

A fascinating concept for a book, stemming from the human concerns about pollution and damage being done to our children. One way of facing the problem and the paranoid possibilities would be to escape, withdraw from the world and live a life in purified air free from humans and all their mess. But just how could that be done? Perhaps by creating some kind of fortress, a really, really Safe House.

The Safe House is a book that keeps you on edge throughout and reading well into the night. Imagine you're a mother to a young girl who collapses in front of you while at the park and is gasping for breath. As the ambulance arrives you ride with her and see her breathing stop altogether. The doctors at the hospital tell you that your daughter has asthma and should always carry an inhaler with her. An experience like that would scare you beyond belief and make you very protective of your daughter and the air she breathes. That is the premise of The Safe House.

Hannah, the mother, has the idea to purchase land away from the city to keep her daughter safe. She decides on a piece of land that has a Cold War bunker built into the hillside. It is very protected and almost impossible to see as it's not near any roads. Secretly Hannah takes months to fix it up so that it is ready to live in for many years to come. She never lets her husband know she's purchased it as she doesn't think he takes Esther's asthma seriously enough.

Once the bunker is fixed up and stocked full of food and supplies, she takes Esther, and moves into the bunker. Hannah never lets her husband or Esther know of her plans. Esther is only 5 years old when they move in. Esther doesn't step outside the bunker for 16 years as her mother has told her the air outside is dangerous to breathe. When she does go outside her mother has gone on a yearly supply and food run. When Esther opens the huge door, wearing a suit and protective mask, she is trying to help a bird and then she sees a man!!

This book will keep you on the edge of your seat. It's a gripping book and I enjoyed reading it very much. Louise Mumford does a wonderful job of adding layers of suspense throughout. Id like to thank NetGalley and HQ for allowing me to read an early copy of The Safe House.

This is a really sad and dark story about a mother who is so scared of her daughters asthma causing her harm that she locks her in a safe house and away from pollution in the world. The only problem is as her obsession to keep her daughter safe starts to harm the one person she loves the most and after 16 years hidden away how far is she willing to go to let her daughter escape into the world again.

This a fascinating psychological novel.The premise is that a mother keeps her daughter away from the outside world because she fears that her asthma will kill her if she is subject to the perils of modern society. The novel begins somewhat slowly and it is only when someone turns up and explains things to the young woman, Pips, that the story really catches fire. Thereafter the revelations come thick and fast and the tension is really cranked up.

What would you do as a mother to protect your child? Esther has lived for sixteen years in an air sanitised ‘bunker’ as her mother attempts to protect from the pollutants that she believes will kill her. All this changes when Esther turns twenty one and a man appears who tells her she is living a lie. This book was a slow grower for me. Initially I felt that I had read several similar stories before but the story did gradually drag you in to the claustrophobic nature of their lives with a few unexpected twists.The ending was a little ‘James Bond’ for me but tied up the loose ends well. Overall I enjoyed it and would recommend. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was completely different from the psychological thrillers I normally read, and I appreciated the originality of the story line. A 21 year old woman has lived in a bunker since she was five with just her mother for company. Her mother feels she is protecting her asthmatic daughter from the dangers of the outside world and its pollutants. One day when the mother is gone for her annual pilgrimage to get supplies, the daughter goes outside and encounters a man who knows her and tells her her mother is lying to her. I was more interested in the mother's viewpoint, and what led her from being protective to becoming completely paranoid and unhinged. I found the daughter's ease into fitting into the outside world after being hidden away since she was a preschooler to be completely unrealistic and therefore I wasn't in love with the ending.

The Safe House is a very different book, for 16 years Esther has been living in an underground bunker with her Mother who insists she is not safe in the outside world as she has Asthma. When Esther is 21 a stranger turns up and Esther's whole world as she knew it ,is turned upside down .I enjoyed this book ,it is fun ,a little bonkers, good characters and a good mystery story with a difference .Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC.