Thank you to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

The story centres around Jenn, who discovers the body of Sarah, deceased, in her flat. When she has lain deceased alone for ten months. Naturally, this hits Jenn hard, she can’t understand how Sarah’s life ended like this with no one missing her or notice her absence for so long. Jenn sets out to find exactly what happened, and how she lain this long without anyone realising. The story also has another story weaving into it in the shape of Prin and Jane. So many questions and so many mysteries.

This is the second novel I’ve read by this author, and they seem to get better every time. The storyline was great and strong, with a mix of suspense and emotions. I enjoyed the authors exploration of mental health and loneliness. All this led to an incredible book with an ending I wasn’t expecting.

Philippa East’s “Safe and Sound” is a remarkable novel. It is tense, layered with lashings of intrigue, but also tender, emotive and memorable. This is a deep and engrossing thriller that should be on everyone’s 2021 reading list.

Jennifer Arden works for a local housing trust in London. Part of her job involves chasing up late rent payments. When she knocks on the door of Sarah Jones - who’s three months late with the rent - Jenn and her bailiff accomplices get a lot more than they bargained for. Sarah is dead. In fact, she’s been dead for quite sometime... But the table is laid for dinner for three and the front door was locked from the inside? Jenn is desperate to find out the truth, but in doing so, she will have to face up to her own past and her already fragile sanity may just unravel completely...

“Safe and Sound” is an exceptional, jigsaw of a mystery novel that is layered in so many ways it will keep you guessing until the final page. I wasn’t able to guess a single aspect of this plot and I thoroughly enjoyed the many, many twists and shocking revelations. East is an author that perfectly leads you down one path, only to jolt you into an entirely different direction with effortless ease. I meandered through the complexities of the narrative absolutely desperate to work out exactly what was going on. For me, this is a perfect example of a beautifully constructed, meticulously plotted thriller that delivers exactly what it should - genuine thrills.

I thought that this would be a traditional locked-room mystery, with Jenn simply going on to discover the truth about Sarah’s death, but in reality, there is so much more to this narrative. Jenn is an equally mysterious character and a protagonist who it is not always clear whether we should trust. East vividly characterises Jenn’s descent into near madness and the confusion, paranoia and anxiety that builds in her is perfectly reflected in the events of the novel, leaving the reader equally perplexed and desperate for the truth. Despite the emotional turmoil Jenn is often guilty of heightening herself, plus the the air of mistrust that East shrouds her in, I was instantly drawn to Jenn as a character and I found her empathy for Sarah and her desire to discover the truth about her death to be both admirable and intriguing. As events unfolded, I found myself backing Jenn more and more, as she faced increasingly insurmountable odds. As things drew to a taut conclusion I was hoping against hope that Jenn would retain enough of her sanity to piece together the truth and save herself from a complete breakdown. East is a very talented author, drawing me completely into the lives of her characters. She is also excellent at weaving the multiple aspects of the plot back together into a neat, satisfying basket of revelation. I was most impressed by how very small details became key components in the truth of the tale, where other seemingly important details were mere red-herrings that had thrown me completely off the scent of reality.

I found the structure of the narrative very engaging too. I enjoyed the chapters relaying Jenn’s first person account of present day events, but I found myself pondering heavily over the chapters flashback sequences of two little girls, Prin and Jane. It is clear that the events of the past will eventually collide with the truth of the present day situation, but I was completely unable to fully work out how this would be. The flashback sequences themselves are fraught with tension and there are some genuinely breathtaking moments where it seems that something devastating is about to happen. Not knowing whether these chapters relate to Jenn’s or Sarah’s past makes them even more tense. As clarity is brought to these events and their relation to the truth of the present day is revealed, the devastating reality of what has happened comes to light. “Safe and Sound” builds to an utterly affecting and unexpected ending. It is a satisfying conclusion to a peculiar mystery, but also the closure of a remarkable, affecting journey for Jenn. Through her investigation into the mystery surrounding Sarah’s death, although Jenn slips further from reality and is dangerously close to the brink of losing her mind completely, ultimately, Sarah’s death leads Jenn back to life and the anguish, pain and misery that had permeated throughout both women’s lives is finally laid to rest. Both women’s stories end in a way that will make this novel stay with me for a long time to come.

I highly recommend this tense, powerful and affecting novel.

#SafeandSound #NetGalley
Addictive and Enticing. A good read.
Jenn lives with her son Charlie in a London house and works for The Housing Association. She has a colleague by the name of Emma and the relationship between the two is not so sweet but ok ok.
Flat sixteen, Munroe House's rent is not paid for three months and therefore Jenn is going to meet the bailiffs. When they reached and the door was unanswered, they saw through the mail and found something terrible. In there a skeleton is lying peacefully on a couch. The tenant name was ‘Ms Sarah Jones.’ and somehow it felt weird that she was dead there ten months ago. How? Who killed her?
Why was Jenn not well a year before?
A second POV of Prin is shown in the story. She has a cousin Jane.
At first it felt unrelated to the story but the pieces fitted together when the story came towards its ending.
I loved the characters of Jenn, Prin,Jane and Emma.
Narration of the story was good but after 80% it felt like the ending was dragging.
Thanks to NetGalley and HQ for giving me an advanced copy of this psychological thriller.

I love it when a plot is totally unexpected and written so well it’s nothing short of brilliant.

It’s tricky to review this story without giving anything away. What I thought I was going to read was a gritty, crime fiction, Miss Marple esq story of a woman hell bent on discovering the truth. What I got was a heart wrenching, tear jerking, mystery that explores mental health, grief, depression, loss and ultimately the lies we share and tell others as well as ourselves.

Throughout the book you read two stories, one called ‘back then’ with characters and situations you’re not entirely privy to, but you know is going to result badly. The other follows Jen, single mother, working for the housing association and who is facing her own demons whilst chasing the story of her dead tenant.

Beautifully written and highly recommended this book will no doubt pull a tear from even the stoniest of hearts.

Thanks to NetGalley for my advance copy in exchange for my honest review. Looking forward to seeing more from this author.

Wow this book left me utterly breathless, the speed in which I read it shocked me, I just wanted to find out what had happened. This is a very engaging story that left me shocked by the ending. It was an absolutely brilliant story line and the characters were all brilliant, it kept me guessing till the end and the ending made me say oh my god. I liked how it felt as though two stories were running alongside each other, Jenn's story but also Sarah's story. It was an intriguing tale that I just didn't want to put down. I feel as though this book is going to be a major hit next year. It would make a good film.

Absolutely loved this book. Would really reccomend this story. I thought the plot was very god and the story had a few twists and turns along the way.

Philippa East’s second novel was a hugely enjoyable read, right up my street.

Single mother Jenn is clearly suffering from anxiety issues in regard to her son Charlie, and struggling with life in general. When, in her job as a housing manager, she finds the body of a young woman who has lain undiscovered for months, it hits her understandably hard. Jenn just can’t understand how Sarah’s life can have ended in this way, with apparently no-one to miss her or even notice her absence, and sets out to learn more.

Meanwhile we also hear about two young girls, Prin and Jane, whose real identities are opaque for most of the story.

There’s a lot of themes in this book - mental health, grief, loneliness, toxic family relationships. In addition, I always enjoy stories where someone (whether it’s the police, a PI or, as in this case, an ordinary person) is investigating and digging into something, maybe because it’s a bit like my day job! All in all a thoroughly enjoyable read, and I look forward to Philippa’s next book.

Thank you NetGalley for this advanced copy. What a downward spiral of this lady's mental health! Lots of twists and second guessing with this book! Maybe not quite the plot line I saw coming. Writing was good, but overall it wasn't that interesting to me. Her first book was really good, so maybe I'm comparing the two too much. It did have a lot good aspects but it didn't wow me.

Not an easy book to review...
A clever, complex and twisted story of loneliness, mental health problems and the potentially dangerous way people filter reality to suit themselves.
An engaging read that makes you pause for thought.

Addictive and Tense - One of the very best books I've read this year.

What happened to Sarah and how did noone know for so long? Who is Prin? Who is Jane? And did something bad happen to them? What is Alistair hiding? What on earth did Jenn do and can Freya please help her? So many questions and I couldn't stop reading until I found out every answer.

From the very first line this book had me hooked. Why can't she stop worrying about Charlie? Whats wrong with Charlie? More questions! And just like Alice in Wonderland I had not a moment to think about stopping myself before I found myself falling deep into Jenn's world.

So many thoughts and ideas rushed through my mind just to be squashed with the next turn of the page. This was an exhilarating suspenseful ride and I felt a rollercoaster of emotions rush through me, as there is tenderness, love and an overwhelming sadness too in the tale. I wish I could say more but you need to discover these yourself.

Then the shock of finding out that what Jenn did, I once did too, floored me. I wonder how many others might relate.

Highly Recommended.