Interesting book, I really wasn't sure which direction it was going in. ,it did pique my interest, although as an impatient reader I found it a little on the slow side. I still think it is well worth a read though.

An insightful well thought out written story. (thought provoking) 

Jenn is a complex but likeable character whose struggles with mental health are brought to life in this intense emotional compelling story.

I enjoyed the start of this book, when  Jennifer,  who works for a housing association, finds one of the tenants dead in their flat, and the repercussions of this. It is obvious Jennifer has had some recent issues with her mental health and these are gradually revealed along with the unfolding story of Prin and Jane. 
It felt a very well researched book, and the story held my attention, but some of the things that happened seemed very contrived, and the middle felt quite tedious. I also wasn't sure quite what point the author was making about makebelieve and whether discussions around mental health were a good fit with the rest of the book
Thank you to netgalley and HQ for an advance copy of this book

Safe and Sound is an engrossing, powerful novel about Jennifer, a Housing Association manager, who finds a woman dead in one of the flats she manages – and the body has been there a while, by the looks of it. But why was this woman, who was known to have a lot of friends and a loving family, not found for months on end? Jennifer becomes obsessed with finding out the truth…

We are given snippets of Jennifer’s own past peppered amongst the other clues and information in this story. We know that something awful happened a while ago that has made her paranoid about her young son’s development, and led to a tricky period where her life started to fall apart. As the book continues, we find out more about her background, and through this we can start to piece together why Jennifer behaves the way she does at times. We get an insight into her whirling, paranoid and seemingly unstable mind, and this leads the reader to wonder if we can trust her. Is she a reliable narrator?

I often really enjoy books where this question becomes more and more pertinent.

The novel is fairly slow in parts, especially at the start where the scene is set and we start to see Jennifer unravel. But it’s all there for a good reason – the intensity builds and we start to question Jennifer’s choices and judgements. As the present day narrative continues, we also get an insight into a mysterious past storyline with characters who are only children. In these scenes we can feel that something bad is coming, but are unsure what – who are these people in the past storylines? How do they relate to the present-day storyline… if at all? I really enjoyed the build up and the tension that eminates from these pages.

Safe and Sound is an intriguing, well-written read. I didn’t feel like it had unnecessary drama where it wasn’t needed; instead it’s a very well crafted, intense study of a woman teetering closer to the edge as she tries to uncover the truth. I really felt for Jennifer at times and it portrays the way mental health can suddenly deteriorate in a raw and, I felt, honest way. Definitely recommended.

Jennifer is a housing association manager and single mother to her son Charlie. When she discovers one of her tenants has died alone in her flat, undiscovered for months, she quickly becomes obsessed with finding out more about the woman, but as she does so her mental health takes a turn for the worst. 

This was a good and enjoyable read that kept me steadily hooked.
The story kept me wondering what direction the plot would take, and whenever I thought I got it, it turned out that I was wrong. I enjoyed trying to guess which of the characters Prim would turn out to be.
The twist was definitely surprising.
However, I found the ending a bit confusing, and the story, on the whole despite being gripping, lacked the wow factor.
Still, it was an enjoyable book, and I'm looking forward to reading the author's previous book, which I have on my tbr shelf.

I was so pleased to receive a digital copy of this new title, having read Philippa East's debut novel, Little White Lies and loved it.
Yet again this is a well written, insightful novel - this time dealing with the problems of mental health. Jenn is obviously a very good mother who will do anything to protect her son, Charlie. She is quite a fragile character, an outsider, and when, in the execution of her duties she finds the body of a young woman who has been dead for some time she begins to lose control.
This is very cleverly put together and keeps the reader guessing as to what is happening.
Another compelling, successful tale.
Many thanks to Netgalley/Philippa East/HQ for a digital copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

I really enjoyed the way the story was written and felt like I really couldn't put this book down. Absolutely brilliant and I would definitely read more from this author.

I found this book very hard going and was very glad to get to the end. The issues raised regarding mental health and loneliness are serious ones but a thriller is not necessarily the place to raise them.

Well written story that is truly remarkable what I liked about the story was its characters and suspense that unfolds in a different way was fantastic.

This book will have your mind scrambled! The story follows Jen, a housing officer who is struggling with her mental health and is thrown into turmoil when she discovers a dead body in one of the flats she manages.

From here the book will have you both gripped and scrabbling around to make all the elements of the story match up. The writing is so clever as it draws each part of the story out and slowly, slowly shows you how they fit together.

A story of trauma, of the importance of processing trauma; of the difference between reality and make believe and why it is so important to look behind the front that people put up.

I am afraid that I found this story to be very unsettling.  The main character was such an anxious person that it made me anxious reading it.  Charlie seems a great little boy and some of the other characters seem very nice and agreeable, but other than that I struggled to finish it.
It is sad to say this when you can imagine how much effort has gone into writing it, but this one was not the best for me, especially during these anxious times.  Sorry

I’m afraid I struggled with this book.

There are 2 stories interwoven; the first is of a woman with a young son who, when visiting a flat she manages, finds the tenant dead. Also, her son appears to have issues, but, what they are isn’t made clear.
Then there’s a little girl, Prin, who lives with her parents and a cousin is introduced.
I was keen to find out how it all linked, but, getting there felt a real slog.
An ok read

At the beginning  of Safe and Sound, Jennifer discovers the body of a young woman in a flat she manages. The woman has laid there undiscovered  for almost a year and Jennifer soon discovers a lie she told last summer has caused Sarah, the deceased woman, to lay undiscovered for so long.  Fuelled by guilt, Jennifer is determined to find out what happened to Sarah.

Safe and sound is a book which draws the reader in immediately as you wonder how a woman so young and popular could go unmissed for almost a year. The story unfolds with two narratives - Jennifer who is trying to find out more about Sarah’s life and then chapters set in the past which feature Prin and Jane, two young girls on their school summer holidays.

In each narrative there is plenty on intrigue to begin with, with hints of secrets and past trauma. These hints are repeatedly given throughout the book but you actually learn very little until you are at the end of the book, which was really frustrating. 

Jennifer is not a likeable character. She becomes obsessed with finding all she can about Sarah’s life and the actions she takes are often uncomfortable and cringeworthy reading.  Her decline in mental health is written well and means that I suspected both her and every other character in the book in having a hand in Sarah’s death. 

Despite the slow pace in the middle and the unreliable, irritating main character, I really wanted to know what happened to Sarah and how the two narratives would  be linked, so I read into the early hours to finish the book. 

I am afraid to say the ending was not worth the wait. The answers to the mystery seemed  far fetched and flimsy and I feel there were unanswered questions about the plot too. 

This is less a murder mystery and more about women who are lonely and the impact it has on their health.  It’s a great concept for a story but it fell flat for me. 

Thank you to the author, Netgalley and HQ publishing for the opportunity to review and advanced copy in exchange for an honest opinion.

Safe and Sound by Phillipa East, Pub Date 18th Feb 2021
Single mother Jenn is suffering from tension concerning her son Charlie. She is juggling her job, her son and her well being. During her rounds as a housing manager, Jenn finds the body of a young woman who has died undiscovered for months. Jenn wants to learn how Sarah's life has gone unnoticed by anyone and decides she must find out more.
I enjoyed Phillipa's debut novel Little White Lies and was looking forward to reading and reviewing it. Sadly and slightly disappointed, I found this a slow-burning story and one I didn't particularly enjoy. This book has many themes - mental health, sadness, solitude, and unhealthy family relations. Although the subject matter was well presented through the characters, I'm sorry to say it is not one that I will remember as a satisfying read. 
I want to thank NetGalley, HQ and author Phillipa East for a pre-publication copy to review.

A clever slow burn.

The manager of a housing associating armed with bailiffs goes to evict Sarah Jones after a period of no payment of rent. Once there they find Sarah dead.

This book is narrated by the housing association manager Jen and the book seamlessly moves through the situations that could have led this to happen.

Mental health and dysfunctional and toxic relationships are dealt with sensitively and are a good reminder of those lost in society.

Very good.

In a small London bedsit, a radio is playing. A small dining table is set for three. Curled up on the sofa is a body. Jenn is the one who discovers the woman, along with the bailiffs. All indications show that the tenant, arah Jones, was pretty, charismatic and ful of life. 
so how is it possible that her body has lain undiscovered for ten months?

Jenn works for a housing association in South London. When she visits a tenant's bedsit, she finds the body of Sarah Jones curled up on the couch. The woman has lain there for ten months and Jen takes it on herself to find out how this could happen. But Jenn suffers with anxiety and the discovery of the body has only exacerbated it. Interwoven seamlessly into the story from the past of two young girls, Prin and Jane. We learn of their connection later on in the story. The book flips back and forth telling the two women's struggle with their mental health. At times it can be hard to read but it's also intriguing.

I would like to thank #NetGalley, #HQ and the author #PhilippaEast for my ARC #SafeAndSound in exchange for an honest review.

This is a book with two timelines both told from the point of view of a female character with no obvious link between the stories.
The bulk of the book is about Jennifer whose constant anxiety is so well described that I felt a general sense of unease throughout my reading. I was constantly waiting for something bad to happen which is pretty much how Jennifer felt.
This is a book that deals with loneliness and how powerful our minds can be. It shoes how even though you are struggling you can put on a facade that all is well and Jenn was a master at this, at the expense of her physical and mental health.
This book had many layers and, although a bit of a slow burner, the ending tied everything in a satisfactory manner.

A lot of delicate subjects wrote very sympathetically.
Jennifer works for a housing association and goes to evict a tenant after non payment of rent, only to find a badly decomposed corpse.
Jennifer goes on a search for relatives or people who knew who the victim was and why she wasn`t missed.
Covers mental health problems and loneliness.
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest   review.

Safe And Sound by Philippa East is an absolutely gripping contemporary psychological novel that had me captivated from the start.
The narrative is split into two different time periods – present day in the first person through the lead characters voice and ‘then’ in the third person narrative. The reader is guessing who is the voice in the past? I failed to guess correctly – again.
Within the tale there are truth and lies, reality and imagination, those who can be trusted and those who cannot. It is up to the reader to work out where the truth and reality lie.
How much do we really know people? We imagine that others have better lives than we do – but do they?
There are fractured or strained relationships within the novel. Sometimes these are through love – a love that wants to protect but smothers instead.
The reader witnesses the effect of stress and anxiety on the lives of the characters. Sometimes people hide the fact that they are struggling when they really could do with asking for help but that is too hard. Asking for help is the first step to healing.
I really enjoyed Safe And Sound. I was completely immersed in the novel which was cleverly and masterfully constructed by Philippa East.
I received this book for free. A favourable review was not required and all views expressed are my own.

What starts as a  mystery and a, possible police procedural, turns into an astute and compelling story that focusses on mental health and anxiety.

When Jenn, a housing association manager, discovers one of their tenants hasn't paid the rent for a few months she is ready with the bailiffs to go in, what she doesn't expect to find is the remains of a woman who looks like she has been in the flat for about 10 months.

Rather than just accepting the tragedy, Jenn needs to find out more about the woman, especially as no one knows much about her and nor does anyone turn out for the funeral.  After piecing together fragments from her life Jenn finds links to Sarah's (as we now know her) life and it is a very sad story.  Jenn, herself has had problems with her mental health too and Sarah's story in some ways mirrored her own, especially over her protection of her nine year old son, Charlie.

At first I thought Jenn a woman difficult to engage with but as the story progressed I found myself fighting her corner and I have to admit the ending left me with a tear in my eye.

I loved this book and felt Philippa East had a strong grasp of the various situations and all very believable.  Highly recommended.