Thanks to Random House UK, Cornerstone and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
#KEEPITSAFE #NetGalley

The intriguing blurb for 'Safe' drew me in from the very first page. I was not disappointed. This is an absolute corker of a thriller, with a number of unpredictable twists along they way to a stunning, heart-pounding denouement. This suspenseful tale focuses on the disappearance of six year old Jenny Krista. Despite all efforts to locate the missing girl, the fate of Jenny remains elusive... until 12 long years have passed.... and then, Jenny escapes from captivity and is found SAFE.. Jenny's reappearance poses a number of tantalising questions, however. First and foremost, can Jenny's story of capture and imprisonment be believed? Are 6 year old Jenny and 18 year old Jenny one and the same, or, is something more insidious going on? Certainly, there seems something 'off' about the new Jenny, but S.K. Barnett's talent for weaving a twisty tale offers only meagre, yet tantalising clues, as to the truth of past and present events that collide to devastating effect. Not all is what it seems in this book; I was blindsided more than once by this author's talent for misdirection. Yet, when you are led up the garden path by a tale as good as this, I was quite happy to be confounded in my expectations of what was really going on more than once. Dark, tense and utterly unpredictable, I devoured this superior thriller in one sitting. Absolutely addictive.

This was a bit of a slow burner but got to a really good point where it just kept giving! Really enjoyable and not a plot you see coming at all...

This book was slow in places but I am glad I stuck with it. Really good read and the ending did not disappoint, a brilliant story which was very well written

Thanks Netgalley for the loan of this book. Although I always appreciate a preview of certain books this one was very difficult to read due to the numbers all the way down every page. Also, at certain points in the book I was confused as to what was happening as it doesnt make it clear who was telling the story an whom they were talking to/about. That said, I will try and give a fair review of this book.
A 6 year old girl goes missing outside her home only to return 14 years later. Where has she been? What has she endured? How will she fit back in with the family? Her parents are happy to see her, but her brother doesnt believe she's who she says she is. Her story of her whereabouts is vague at best and the police question her regularly due to the inconsistencies in her story. Is she who she says she is? Are her family who they profess to be?
Thia was a good solid thriller, well worth a read. I would definitely read the authors next one as I enjoyed this. The twist at the end was quite shocking. Would recommend

I always love the sound of books like this, but I do find that they are rarely what you want them to be. Sadly, this is one of those cases. It had a lot of potential, but it was all quite unfulfilled, and ultimately it ended up being a fairly traditional and not that different take on the 'missing child comes home' storyline. There was a strong twist at the end, along with a few others along the way, which is why I ended up giving this 3 stars. But other than that I did struggle to engage with what was going on - I just didn't feel gripped to find out what happened, and the myriad questions being thrown towards the reader about what happened sadly weren't enough to keep my interest.

Now, as other reviewers have noted, the formatting of this book did make it incredibly difficult to read. While I tried to keep from letting this influence my opinion of the book (and it has not affected the above review in any way), I would be willing to read an updated ARC without the formatting error if requested, so as to offer a truly unbiased perspective.

Before my review, I need to say that the format of this ARC made the book nearly impossible to read. It seems that after a certain number of letters (approx. 30), there is a number and a new paragraph. Even if this falls in the middle of a word. While this most definitely impacted on my enjoyment of the book, I have tried to write my review below without this being an influence.

I really wanted to like this book but it wasn't easy. The first bit of the book was interesting and gripping enough to make me read on but this lessened before I'd even got near a quarter of the way through. It wasn't believable and didn't offer anything else that the "missing child returns" topic hadn't already covered. That said, the book did pick up towards the end and I did want to see how it ended, although I couldn't say I cared especially for the characters.

I've not read anything by this author before. It was a fabulous read, lots of twists upon twists. Very compelling could not put it down.

A dark and quite compelling thriller which has you hooked from the start.
Jenny Kristal was snatched from outside her house when she was six years old. Her family have never given up hope that she will return.
Twelve years later she reappears with only vague details about where she has been and a seeming reluctance to fully engage with the police.
Her parents can hardly believe she is back and welcome her with open arms. Her brother is not as convinced it is really her - who is telling the truth?

Very clever!
Jenny returns home having "escaped" captivity 12 years after being snatched off the street. She is unable to give a good description of the man who took her and her version of events seems a little off...her parents want to believe she is back but can they?
Every character in the story had a truth to reveal and pain they were suffering for many different reasons and these were tied in nicely along the way as Jenny and her family reacquaint themselves.
Plenty of suspicion and a great twist at the end make this a very different abducted child story.

I really enjoyed this novel. It is cleverly written and the reader’s sympathies change as the plot develops. . The description of a family dynamic and the various characters involved were very good. Overall I would recommend it.

I enjoyed this insightful and thrilling novel very much. The storyline flows at a great pace, and the characters are well fleshed out. Highly recommended!

I struggled to try and read this book and I appreciate that it is an ARC but although I found the story good following it was extremely difficult due to the amount of numbers across most of the lines and the randomness of the sentences I am sorry to say i had to give up. At some point I hope to purchase the book and finish reading it as it did seem like a good read so for this reason I can give it only 3 stars for now.
My thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone for giving me the chance to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I found this book rather boring; half way through I almost gave up. Wanted to kn ow how it ended and glad I did, It was good to have a nice ending after ploughing through the book.

Totally gripped by this story. Read it in one sitting. I never do that! Missing girl (Jenny) returns home after disappearing 12 years earlier. But is she really who she says she is? What happened to her? How has her family coped? This is a story within a story within a story. Peel off the layers and yet more plot twists emerge. Absolutely loved it.

I’m really sorry but I couldn’t concentrate on the book because of all the rows of numbers on every single line.

When a girl turns up 12 years after she went missing at just 6 years old, the big question is where has she been? What happened? Is she really who she says she is? A thrilling tale with twists and turns, a good plot and surprising ending.

Sorry- this book was completely unreadable- there were numbers all over the text and broken sentences. It was a complete mess.
I will happily reread and give another review with a different copy but this one was unintelligible

I found this book a little far fetched an unbelievable. A little repetitive at times. Sorry wouldn’t recommend

Jenny Kristal was six when she walked down the street to play at a friend's house and disappeared. Now she's back - eighteen years old, traumatised, and ready to be united with her loving family. 

Where has Jenny been all these years? How did she escape from her captors? The more answers Jenny gives, the more questions it seems there are to answer. Something isn't adding up. Is Jenny really who she says she is? And what other secrets are about to come to light?

I really enjoyed this book from the outset - the writing is terse, gripping, and careful, and I do have a soft spot for an unreliable narrator. From the start, the reader isn't sure if Jenny is who she says she is - and almost from the first chapters, there are twists and turns concerning her identity and what really happened to her, that only gather pace and tension  as the book goes on. 

I literally tore through the last few chapters wanting to get to the truth of the story (and let me tell you, I am pretty good at guessing a twist by now, but I did NOT see this one coming). 

An expertly told story that takes the reader on a real thrill ride - I will absolutely be recommending this one, and can't wait to read more from this author. 

NB: I was provided with a free ARC copy of this book by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Interesting concept but didn't feel it worked as well as it could have. It was very repetitive, far fetched and just didn't grab my attention. If I hadn't been reading as part of a review this probably would have been a 'did not finish'. But, I felt it only fair to finish reading to be able to give a valid review.

It could have been so much better