Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book.

Such a sad story and not what I expected!

Really good.
A slow start which made me wonder if it was worth carrying on. I’m so glad I did. I got a little frustrated now and again with our protagonist Jennifer but as everything came together I found myself becoming more empathic towards her. 
While not your usual ‘thriller’ it nevertheless keeps you guessing and the overall story was refreshingly different. Some of the chapters had those endings that make you feel you HAVE to read the next one and the one after that, even when it’s way past sleep time lol. 
All in all a very good read and I recommend. 
My thanks to NetGalley and HQ for the ARC in return for an honest review.

Jennifer Arden works for the housing association and has to go to evict a tenant, Sarah, for non payment of rent and ignoring their final warnings. As she’s there with two bailiffs, they make a frightening discovery and Jennifer’s world is turned upside down. 

This story focuses intensely on mental health and the character of Jennifer is written with such great detail. You can feel Jennifer’s anxiety, confusion and need to find out what happened to Sarah the entire way through this book. You honestly feel like you are in Jennifer’s head but for me this did leave me confused for a lot of it. It is very clear the author wants to create mystery in several story lines but I found this left me needing clarification until it all came together at the end. 

The story runs two parallel plots, one set in the present and one in the past whereby the link between the two won’t become clear until the end! Thank you to NetGalley for this copy - Safe and Sound is out on February 18th.

The is a superbly written book, has a good story and characters BUT for me....
I seem to have read so many books where the main character is a woman in her 30s (or later 20s) who is totally stressed out and panics at anything and everything so in the book she struggles from crisis to crisis.  Given that Jennifer's mental health is critical to how the story develops I can only describe my feelings for the book as good and bad.  I've tried to find the right words - hot and cold, happy and sad, content and aggravated, sublime and ridiculous - but none of these describe how I felt when reading the book.  Some parts are absolutely brilliant yet others I just had to speed read.
So if you are reading this review and you don't have my 'hang-ups' about female lead characters constantly panicking then go for this book and you will not be disappointed.
As usual I failed to work out who was who and why.  The unravelling is really good and may well surprise many other readers.

Well this book started out a bit slow and confusing but opened out into how trauma and mental illness affects people in so many different ways. Overall an interesting read.  #SafeandSound #NetGalley

This is the story of Jennifer, a single mum struggling to keep afloat above the strong pull of mental health issues. Jennifer lives with her much-loved little boy Charlie. The story hints at issues between Jennifer, her parents and her son, but keeps you engrossed by not revealing too much too soon.
Jennifer becomes involved in the unexplained death of one of her tenants. The parallel stories are intriguing, keeping you guessing for much of the book.
The exploration of mental health, loneliness and make-believe is vivid and strong, and this book is not for the faint-hearted.

wow what a book that kept me reading from cover to cover. I loved the twists and turns, the characters....It really showed how we think things in our minds which are out of proprtion, how we see ourselves and how they should be in the real world. Loved it.

This was a brilliant, dark and very, very twisty read and I loved it! At times I literally gasped at what I was reading and couldn’t stop rushing through this book until I sadly finished it. I couldn’t decide how this brilliantly written book was going to end, my kind of book. Wonderful. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

Jennifer Arden, a housing officer,  discovers the body of a woman in a flat she manages and sets out to solve the mystery of what happened to her. I wasn’t quite sure why she did this because she already had plenty of problems in her own life to contend with – a single mother with mental health issues, panic attacks and worries about her seemingly autistic son. 
Her decision to involve herself in this mystery puts her in danger and exacerbates her already existing problems. My initial question was why she would do this and this niggle did affect my acceptance of the plot.
Philippa East writes beautifully, which I did appreciate but the main character is not very likeable and the story was agonising slow in places, verging on the preachy.
Sadly, I didn’t finish the story, becoming more dispirited and frustrated with Jennifer as the story went on.
Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for providing me with a free ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

I never repeat the blurb. Didn't really enjoy this...a bit too disjointed with random interruptions to another story...annoying and unnecessary.

Remember Joyce Vincent? 
How in a population of 9.5million can someone   pass away alone, and no one notice their absence from the world?
This is the tale of a Jennifer Arden, , a housing officer,  who discovers the body of one of her tenants in a flat that she manages. This has a profound effect on Jennifer who makes it her mission to discover more about the dead Woman's life, and in turn has to face her own demons..
A captivating tale of hidden traumas and modern life and loneliness and love....Read it, and remember Joyce Vincent

I love a dark book with interesting characters and unusual circumstances and Safe and Sound really ticks those boxes for me.

Set in Brixton, single mother Jenn is trying to juggle her work life and her family life caring for her young son Charlie as well as dealing with crippling anxiety.

Jenn works for the local council in the housing department and when she attempts to evict a tenant for non-payment of rent she discovers the body of a young women lying on the sofa, radio playing in the background and the table set for 3. Shaken by this discovery and then horrified when she learns the victim has been dead for 10 months, Jenn starts a personal investigation to try to discover how this situation could possibly happen.

Jenn has issues herself, anxiety, panic attacks, constant concerns about her son’s health, a dysfunctional family and this situation tips her over the edge. Following Jenn’s journey to find out more about the young woman, Jenn puts herself in potential danger and difficult situations when her obsession becomes out of control. This is a very claustrophobic tale, written beautifully about mental health issues, obsession and isolation.

Safe and Sound is, in my opinion, a stunning book and I highly recommend it. Out on 18th February 2021.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This author and this genre were both new to me and I really didn't know what to expect. "Safe and Sound" introduces us to housing official Jennifer Arden, a character with a troubled life and mental health issues. When she is sent to Brixton, to evict a tenant with rent arrears, she discovers the young female tenant dead having lain undiscovered for almost a year. What follows are a series of events, as Jennifer is drawn into her own investigation as to how the victim died. 

Jennifer turns out to be an unreliable narrator and as the plot unfolds several twists are revealed.  

Sadly, I don't know how it all turns out, as I was unable to get further than halfway through the book, an almost unheard of situation for me. 

Maybe it was the dual timeline that confused me. Maybe it was the slow introduction of new characters. Or maybe it's just not my kind of book. The writing was fine, albeit rather plodding, and I certainly found it hard to like Jennifer.  I'm sure fans on Girl on a Train will enjoy the book, and would certainly recommend giving it a go.

This is a new author for me but unfortunately I wasn't keen on this book,  I couldn't get into the story line and I found the characters to be a bit boring and I am sorry to say I did give up on it just over halfway through.

Thank you to Netgalley and HQ Publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

Domestic thrillers set in compelling London destinations are very ‘here and now’ and this is a novel that will no doubt appeal to readers of Louise Candlish, Louise Doughty, and other highly accomplished and versatile authors that feed this genre. Safe and Sound transports us not to the wealthy enclaves of North or West London, however, but to a house in Brixton where housing official Jennifer Arden turns up to evict a tenant with rent arrears. When Jennifer discovers the young female tenant is in fact dead and has lain undiscovered for a while, an unstoppable chain of events is set in motion as Jennifer struggles to get to the bottom of this shocking discovery. Like The Girl on the Train’s Rachel Watson or The Woman in the Window’s Anna Fox, Safe and Sound’s Jennifer Arden is also a highly unreliable narrator struggling with mental health issues and issues that are gradually unpacked as the plot unfolds. 
I initially found the dual timeline that switches between twenty-first century Jennifer and an earlier time featuring a girl called Prin rather confusing. Coping with these shifts in perspective became more satisfying, however, as it became clearer how Jennifer’s and Prin’s narratives were connected, and as it became easier to evaluate the additional characters that surface throughout the novel. Overall, this was an interesting, engaging read and I thoroughly recommend it. Thank you to the publishers and to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in return for me writing this honest, unbiased review.

This is not an author I am familiar with but decided to read this novel.  Unfortunately, the characters and storyline did not hold my attention and I could not complete the book.  I know fans of Philippa East will enjoy this novel, but sadly, this was not for me. 

I give a 2 star rating 

I WANT TO THANK NETGALLEY FOR THE OPPORTUNITY OF READING AN ADVANCED COPY OF THIS BOOK IN RETURN FOR AN HONEST REVIEW.

Thanks to netgalley and the publishers for allowing me to review this book.
I have mixed feelings about this book. I felt like I was taught about mental health issues. Then a weird story to illustrate these issues. Would have been a better story without the teaching.

I have to admit for me this book didn't really get going. Jenn is mentally ill and lives with her son Charlie. Her paranoia is triggered by the unexpected death of an old work colleague, who lays dead for months before being discovered, due to Jess' negligence. She becomes intrigued and tries to find out more about her mysterious past. All comes good in the end which is good as I feared for Charlie's health!!! Kept waiting for it to be exciting but for me it lacked something...

The story was well planned and executed. I was gripped very early on and was absorbed into the story to want to find out the endings. The story tells of Jen who has suffered from her own mental issues and discovers the body of one of her clients. She then sets out to find out the reasons why. There are two other characters who seem superfluous but this becomes clear by moving between different time frames. Thanks to Netgalley for an advanced copy.

I really enjoyed this. It was a well thought out and executed thriller. The characters were likeable, and I was rooting for them throughout.
It took a while for me to understand the importance of the Prin and her cousin subplot, but I definitely didn't predict the twist and I loved it!
I personally would have liked more twists but I think I am a very demanding reader!

With thanks to HQ and NetGalley for an early reader's copy in exchange for an honest review.