I have read all of this author's other books and this one did not disappoint. A tangled web of lies covering what happened to poor murdered Raymond and missing Cara. I got a little confused in the middle but it all became clearer towards the end. Recommended.

A first for me by this author and not my usual genre, but I wanted to give it a go as the blurb provoked interest.

The story is centred around two friends (Raymond and Cara) who were enjoying one of their sleepovers, in the young boy’s garden, when the unthinkable happens. One child is dead. One child is missing. 

DI Cannan is called back to where she grew up  to investigate the murder and the missing child. In a seaside town with so many secrets, it’s hard to know who is lying and who is telling the truth. DI Cannan must draw on her own experiences and not let her own past affect her, if she is to help discover a murderer and find a missing child. 

The narrative structure is a busy one - it is written from lots of different points of view and in two time frames - the present and five years later. I enjoy stories that are written in dual narratives and time periods, but I think it’s fair to say that at times I did have to stop, pause and check that I knew which character was being dealt with and their involvement in the unfolding story. Structurally, it could maybe benefit from a small tweak by having dates at the start of each chapter or a note to say present day and/or with the character’s name, just to prevent any confusion.

I feel that that the different points of view kept you engaged and invested to find out what was going on. It gave depth and credibility to the story because it just shows how deep-rooted the issues brought up can go and how complex cases of this nature are. It’s like a loose thread on clothing - you pull on it and everything begins to come apart.

The majority of characters in this story, as you expect, are pretty abhorrent and the entire time that you’re reading, you want them to get their comeuppance. To offset these characters, I would have liked to have had more development of DI Cannan and Kristen.

One thing that I feel it important to mention is that this book should come with a trigger warning; some readers might struggle with the sensitive topic of child trafficking.

Overall, a great read - lots of twists and turns and ‘could it be?’ and ‘oh, I didn’t see that coming!’ moments.

I was provided this book as an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher, in exchange for my own honest review.

I'm going to be really honest and admit that it took me longer than usual to get into this book. In my opinion, it was very difficult to read because the chapters were short and each one flitted to a different character with a completely different story line. I felt as if I was just getting into a specific characters story when I would be dragged away to find out about somebody else's. 
About half way through the book, when I'd eventually worked out who everybody was, I did actually really enjoy it. I began to devour the pages because I knew that things were coming together.
I'm not going to lie, some of it was really raw and hard to read due to the topics that were covered, but overall I did enjoy the book and it did leave me with some unanswered questions. The very last page was my favourite.

A truly convoluted story of revenge. A young girl goes missing, a trafficking ring exposed, and an officer is hung out to dry in the last line of 5he story. A village is trying to find the killer of a young boy,who is found bound on the Green after a bank holiday. As the story on winds several locals come under suspicion, and as their tales are told the intrigue includes mothers at their wits end and couples who aren’t as they seem. In the end it is revenge served very cold that stays the day.

Review for 'Safe No Longer ' by Gayle Curtis

Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Amazon Publishing UK. 

This is the first book that I have read by this author. I may pick up any more books by her if I was see them in the library. 

This novel consists of a prologue and 65 chapters. The chapters are all relatively short so ideal if you want to read' just one more chapter', which never happens personally!! 

I was originally drawn to this book by the colourful and intriguing cover and interesting blurb. The blurb related well to the plot but not so much the cover which shows a scooter and I can't actually remember one being used in the book. 

The story is presented through 5 points of views and 2 time lapses. I normally enjoy books where this happens but unfortunately in this case it caused quite a bit of confusion due to so much going on at once. 

I was sucked straight into the story line and was enjoying it but after a while I was getting mixed up with who was who and who had done what due to the amount of characters and different crimes going on. 

I thought the descriptions in the book were quite good but the characters didn't seem very well developed. Again, I believe this was because there was so much going back and forth in time and flitting from one character to another there wasn't enough time with any individual to develop a reader/character relationship. 

The plot is interesting and filled with lies, murder, mystery and crime, it just wasn't put together in the best way. 

The novel is is set in the UK 🇬🇧 which I always prefer being from the UK myself it sometimes means I have been to some of the places described in books. 

If I was to recommend this book it would be to fans of crime, murder and mystery. 

297 pages

Free on kindle unlimited or £1.99 to purchase. I think this is a good price for this book. 

Rated 3/5 (It was OK ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon.Com and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook. 

Feel free to add me on Goodreads for more reviews 

#SafeNoLonger #GayleCurtis #AmazonPublishingUK  #NetGalley #BookReview
@GayleCurtis @AmazonPublishingUK @Bookworm1986
 https://m.facebook.com/Bookworm1986/?ref=bookmarks

This was an easy to read thriller that kept my attention all the way through! Lots of twists and surprises I didn't see coming. Very good, would recommend :)

Raymond & Cara are best friends. One summer night they camp out in Raymond's garden. Come morning Raymond's body is found dead on the village green & Cara has disappeared. DI Rita Cannan  is appointed SIO. Her parents live in the village & the case is similar to another many years ago.

The narrative switches backwards & forwards from character & from time line. I spent a lot of the time totally confused & trying to keep hold of the story. The characters were all pretty unpleasant, some more so than others. Towards the last third I had managed to work out who was who & when things were happening I became engaged but by that time I didn't think I could give this more than three stars.

Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book.

This was a bit of a convulated read. There's lots if characters and multiple points if view which affected the flow of the book. I struggled to get into the story.

Wow wtf did I just read? I'm confused lol This book has multiple point of views.  Each characters make me question everything. I don't like and trust any of them.
There is too much happening and goshh it's hard to follow the story. Btw the ending was disappointing . 

Thank you Netgalley for Safe No Longer ARC!

Ever read one of those books that you find yourself hating everyone as the story goes along? That would be Safe No Longer by Gayle Curtis for me unfortunately. Safe No Longer is a thriller that has multiple points of view and alternating timelines and unlike a lot of those I found this one to be hard to follow.

This story starts off with a young mother planning her own daughter’s kidnapping with a man she thought she could trust to care for her daughter while she glowed in the media. This plan was supposed to be what was in the best interest of the child. *cough* Needless to say things go way out of control when a young boy is found murdered and the daughter no where to be found and the partner in crime claiming innocence.

So basically what we have here is questionable characters around every corner or turn of the page to the point of disgust really. There was so much going on and to follow along with that it all really becomes a distracting mess with no one really to root for or care about in my opinion. Also, the jumping ahead didn’t seem to flow very well to me leaving it feeling kind of off as you switch. Hoping something would stand out at the end I ended up feeling let down there too as it all seemed to be a stretch with some things unanswered.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

This book wasn't really for me. It was too far fetched in places and extremely hard for me to follow. I will not be continuing with the series.

Absorbing, Intense and Well Constructed

Safe No Longer is an extremely well constructed thriller that is evenly paced and ends with a shiver. This third novel by Gayle Curtis perfectly combines police procedure with suspenseful thrills in an entertaining story that showcases good character development, haunting pasts, dark secrets, and terrible lies.

The story starts with the murder of a young boy, Raymond, and the disappearance of his best friend, Cara. The children had been on a sleepover, camping out overnight in the garden one balmy summers night. The situation eerily echoes another girl’s death many years ago. DI Rita Cannan leads the investigation but will she be able to find the perpetrator in time?

This book rebounds around between timelines and the story is unusually told in a way that presents the case first and foremost, introducing the pertinent characters, and lining up the suspects and possible or likely motives. Chapters five years after the occurrences are also interspersed, told to a TV interviewer by DI Cannan. It was a technique that worked for me and zhooshed up the story as well as making it more credible.

Safe No Longer was a puzzle with so many pieces that I enjoyed trying to put together. By and large, a fantastic, intricately woven, worthwhile story.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Amazon Publishing UK via NetGalley and this review is my unbiased opinion.

Two kids- Raymond & Cara both are best friends & an amazing gymnasts who had been choosed to be trained at Adrian Player's private gym, which is a dream for many. One evening both were camping out overnight in the garden at Raymond's house while in the presence of his mother Kristen. As same day it was Kristen's birthday so she was a bit drunk so she somehow felt asleep & when she wakes up in the morning she finds out her son had been murdered & Cara is missing.
.

DI Rita Cannan is appointed to investigate Raymond's murder & find Cara alive. But the case carries echoes of another girl's death that rocked the close knit decades ago. There are so many connections & mysteries hidden for almost past 3 decades which includes serious crimes including sexual offences & pedophiles luring as young as 5yrs old kids in their trap.

The story & plot had been amazing but it fell badly downside. Ok, so the story has been presented through 5 POVs and 2 time lapses. You're figuring out 1 POV then you've to jump to 2nd, you are trying to make connection b/w the 2 of them you need to jump to 3 & so you've to maintain 5 of them and then when you're getting some idea about a time you're made to jump into 5 yrs later one. It's like you've an amazing story but probably in nervous state you're stretching the story through flip flops for 1st half & then you suddenly gets excited making a fast run in 2nd half again with quick flip-flops but there comes a time you feel exhausted so you just ends it. The ending really didn't made any sense to me. It wasn't like I was expecting happy ending but still it was like 'What did I just read? Can I get any help to understand it ?

One child dead. Another missing. The village has seen this before.
On a warm evening in late summer, best friends Raymond and Cara camp out overnight in the garden. By morning, Raymond is dead and Cara is missing.
DI Rita Cannan is called home to the sleepy seaside town of Green-on-the-Sea to investigate Raymond’s murder and try to find Cara—alive. But the case carries eerie echoes of another girl’s death that rocked the close-knit community, decades ago. If there’s a connection, if history is repeating itself, who knows more than they’re letting on? And how far will they go to cover their tracks?
There are only so many lies a small town can hold and when everyone is a suspect, Cannan has nowhere to turn. To discover the truth, she must confront her own past. But can she do so in time to uncover the identity of the murderer and find Cara—before more innocent lives are lost?

This is a brilliant read.
Wonderful well written plot and story line that had me engaged from the start.
Love the well fleshed out characters and found them believeable.
Great suspense and action with wonderful world building.
Can't wait to read what the author brings out next.
Recommend reading.

I was provided an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher.  This is my own honest voluntary review.

This book is poorly written. I could not even deign to finish it- I made it about 10% before becoming disgusted.

Found this book a very confusing read. I’m not sure if asked that I could actually tell the story. The blurb sounded so good and maybe with someone to organise the ideas it might work but just not as it is.  It for me at least.

A confusing read. There are too many characters and too much happening to get fully into this story. I could not get interested in the characters and that meant that I struggled to read to the end.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

It starts with the murder of a young boy, Raymond, and the disappearance of his best friend, Cara. This is so very reminiscent of another girl's death many years ago.

DI Rita Cannan is leading the investigation and finding that everyone has secrets ... including herself .. that may affect her ability to find the killer / kidnapper.

I found this to be well-written, in a way that presents the case up front, introducing relevant characters, and lining up the suspects and motives. Interspersed are chapters 5 years after the fact as told by Cannan to a TV reporter. It was a unique take on crime solving and made the story more credible. This kept me glued to the pages until the very last gripping ending.

Many thanks to the author / Amazon Publishing UK / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

I DNF this title. It didn't grab my attention right away. I might end up revisiting this title.... Thanks for the review copy.

I found this to be a very convoluted story that was very difficult to follow. Parts of the story were interesting and I felt that there was a lot of potential for it to be a great thriller but it just missed the mark. The ending was very unsatisfying and left a lot of loose ends.  As I was reading the story I was hoping for more than it had to offer unfortunately.