A claustrophobic and gripping novel! My heart rate went up a couple of times reading this brilliant unassuming story. What begins as the discovery of a body soon becomes a delve into the human psyche and how the lines between truth, lies and fantasy can become blurred. A really interesting and different read which does not disappoint!

What an excellent story this was! The mystery of one woman’s death and the time it took her to be found is the crux of this novel.

My first book by this writer but not the last. A dark enthralling tale of a woman's obsessive interest in why one of the tenants, of a flat she manages, is found dead many months after her demise. I loved the premise of this story, something that happens all too often. The execution was sensitive and strong, the MC, Jenn, mirroring the instability and lonliness of the unfolding tragedy as her own life continues to implode. Excellent.

The story begins when Jenn, a housing association worker, has to deal with a tenant who is in arrears with their rent. Jenn goes to the tenant’s flat to meet the bailiffs but when they arrive, they find the body of the tenant - who has clearly been dead for some time - in a dusty flat with the table set for 3 guests. Who is she and why has no one found her before?
I read this book in a day over Christmas and got really engrossed in the story. A really intriguing and absorbing read. Thank you NetGalley for my copy.

Wow. This book really moved me, in ways I wasn’t expecting. The plot was so well woven, fast paced but not overly loaded with sub-plots and extraneous characters, and although I put things together quite early on it was still a tense and gripping read.

Housing officer Jenn, who has a history of mental health problems and lives an isolated life, discovers the long-dead body of Sarah Jones in her flat, triggering a descent into madness and mystery. Who is Sarah and why did she lie undiscovered for so long? Why is investigating the circumstances of Sarah’s death causing such a decline in Jenn’s own mental health?

I found both Jenn and Sarah’s back stories poignant, and the childhood descriptions were so evocative. The author doesn’t overdo the sentimentality and the descriptions never felt mawkish or over the top - but still managed to evoke a deep sense of sadness and empathy in the reader. In particular the scene on the roof - with Jane ‘seeing’ her parents in the sky- was very powerful.

I could identify with Jenn’s constant anxiety over her son and although some of her choices and decisions were questionable at best, I found her a likeable character who I wanted to understand. I think her character captures the constant struggle of many mothers to navigate the sometimes overwhelming emotions we have towards our children- the frustration and fear, the dizzying level of love which can feel at times terrifying and claustrophobic.

I felt Prin’s parents (and indeed Jenn’s) could have been explored a bit more - we had glimpses of an overbearing father who didn’t allow for any displays of emotion in Prin’s case and a mother with a strong need for control in Jenn’s case, but I wondered if this could have been developed further to better explain Prin and Jenn’s behaviour as adults.

My only other minor gripe would be the slightly inconceivable and convenient coincidence of Freya being in the role she was in, which allowed her access to Jenn’s medical history and an opportunity to try to hamper Jenn’s attempts to unravel the truth.

Overall though I loved this book and I think it will stay with me for a while. Look forward to reading more by the author! Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Loved this book. There was so many intriguing parts to the story that kept me hooked, I was imagining all sorts of endings all the way through ; it kept me guessing. Loved it.

In Philippa East’s second novel based in Brixton, Jennifer Arden is a housing manager who is due to evict a tenant for non payment of rent. Alarm bells start ringing when together with the bailiffs, Jenn is unable to gain entry into the property despite their belief the tenant is inside. With the help of the police a shocking discovery is made, the nature of which disturbs Jenn’s fragile equilibrium, setting her off on a path to determine how a young woman could end up so isolated and alone, apparently no one concerned for her whereabouts. In a bid to assuage her guilt over her own role in this discovery , Jenn’s rush to uncover the mystery surrounding the life of Sarah causes her to confront her own state of mind potentially triggering a decline in her own wellbeing.

I was immediately hooked by the opening pages, wondering what the possibly unreliable narrator, Jennifer Arden is hiding and what is causing her so much anxiety and tension. I didn’t trust her from the outset concerned by the allusions to trouble in her personal life that has interfered with her professional conduct. I questioned how the discovery of a dead tenant would impact on this seemingly fragile character and its relevance and potential connection to another storyline, belonging to the past, which unfolds alongside the current one. As for her son Charlie, I was constantly trying to understand why his mother is intent on wrapping him up in cotton wool to the extent I feared for his welfare. Is Jennifer a doting if anxious single mother with Charlie’s best interests at heart or does her overly cautious protection hide another side to her?

The format is unoriginal in the way it switches between the past and the present but my impression is that it’s well executed and I was equally invested in how the events in this dual timeline are connected. This is a clever storyline in which the lines between fantasy and reality are well and truly blurred. I simply did not know who or what to believe, convinced there are numerous characters suffering from the same problem. Who is the fantasist here? Or is there more than one individual who prefers to live in the land of make believe? This novel is definitely one to give your brain cells a rigorous workout! I felt I was on a merry go round spinning faster and faster, the author’s attempts to disorientate me entirely successful. Just like the zoetrope in which images blur into an alternative reality, details of Jennifer Arden’s life in the present and those of Prin and Jane in the past become so entwined as to become indistinguishable. The relevance of this toy to both the past and the present is quite intriguing and an ingenious way to explore the complexities of minds that can be both powerful and fragile at the same time. With the introduction of every new character, I questioned their motives towards helping Jenn and their relationship to the deceased,unable to distinguish between who is friend and who is foe. I certainly never anticipated the twist towards the end!

Having read this author’s debut novel Little White Lies I was expecting great things from this author and I wasn’t disappointed. Safe and Sound is suspenseful and I sped through it desperate to make sense of the two presumably related storylines, patiently awaiting the reveals that would explain the connection and satisfy my curiosity. I thoroughly enjoyed revelling in the complexities of this storyline where madness and paranoia are waiting to ambush those unable to distinguish between fantasy and reality. Highly recommend. My thanks as always to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read.

I really enjoyed this book. Jenn is a single parent working for a housing association in Brixton. It is clear from early on that she suffers from extreme anxiety. When she is called to a bedsit where the rent hasn't been paid for 3 months, a young woman's body is discovered, having been there for 10 months with nobody raising any alarms. Jenn is determined to find out more about the woman and what happened to her, but the deeper she goes, the more her own health deteriorates. This is a real page turner which I thoroughly recommend. Thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy.
Copied to Goodreads.

I was definitely expecting this to be more of a murder mystery than a psychological thriller but really enjoyed it. Jenn works for the housing association and when she turns up, with bailiffs at a property where the Tennant has fallen into arrears, she discovers the tenants body. I liked the way the story flitted back to the past and how the two stories connected although I didn't really understand why Jenn was so obsessed with learning more about tennant. All in all a good read that highlighted the effects of mental illness and paranoia.

Safe and Sound by Phillippa East

I was expecting a murder-mystery type of thriller but Safe and Sound is so much more than that. An exploration of childhood trauma, mental health, loneliness and struggle, I absolutely loved this book. It went above all my expectations.

Housing association worker Jenn accompanies the bailiffs to a flat where the tenant has not paid her rent. Looking through the letterbox, they discover a sad scene – the tenant is dead, and has been so for ten months. How could this have happened? Feeling personally responsible, Jenn is drawn into the life of Sarah, the tenant. She feels bound to discover what happened.

The story runs alongside flashbacks to ‘back then’ – following two young girls, Prin and her cousin Jane. As the story unfolds, we see how the events that happened to Prin and Jane weave into the current story. This was really well done – not jumping back and forth but just giving enough information in the background to create an undercurrent of unease.

What I loved about this book was the sensitive portrayal of mental illness in Jenn’s case. As her determination to uncover Sarah’s story becomes an obsession, we see the effect on her son, on her job, and on her family. It is not overdone or sensationalised, but gives an insight into how this is affecting Jenn’s life and her thought processes. I felt this book was way more than I initially expected. 5 stars -really worth reading.

Philippa East has once again delivered a gripping page-turner of a novel with ‘Safe and Sound’. Much like her debut novel, ‘Little White Lies’, this psychological thriller sweeps you along, almost making you breathless with its unrelenting pace, and encourages you to be suspicious of everyone you meet within its pages.

The three key plot lines are well balanced, each one raising an increasing number of questions in the mind of the reader as the novel progresses. Central to two of the plot lines is Housing Association manager and single mum Jenn, who sets out on a quest to find out more about the life of one of her tenants while also struggling with her own life full of anxiety. The third plot line follows two young girls, Prin and Jane; cousins thrown together for a reason no one will reveal. The drip feed of information is skilfully done, as are the introductions of new characters, so that the reader can’t quite piece the whole jigsaw together. I loved trying to work out who in Jenn’s life was trustworthy and who wasn’t, and East keeps you guessing on all fronts right to the end.

This is a novel that will have you telling yourself, ‘Just one more chapter’ again and again. I have given this book a rating of four out of five stars because, as I also found with her first novel, I was utterly captivated the whole way through and yet, for me, the reveal at the end didn’t quite have the wow factor to match. However, I still really enjoyed the book and would highly recommend it. Much of the plot felt plausible to me and the descriptions of different mental health issues, particularly anxiety and depression, are also very well done, no doubt due to the author’s background in clinical psychology.

My thanks to the publishers, HQ, and to NetGalley for the eARC on which this review is based.

This was an unexpectedly different read! Not at all what I was expecting and I really enjoyed it. Jenn was such a troubled soul and as the story unfolded I just wanted to hug her more and more. It was a novel that kept me guessing and twisted and turned it’s way into an ending that was thought provoking. An author I would read again.

I expected more of a thriller from the initial set-up here, but this is a beautifully-written, thoughtful and nuanced portrayal of a life without traces and what it takes to drop off the edge of society. There's a surprising tenderness to the way this looks at the paranoia, fear and mental health problems of the main character, as well as the most extreme behaviours of the people around her. Not at all what I expected, but very moving.

Jennifer is a solitary woman who works for a housing organisation. One day one of the residents is found dead and Jennifer tries to find out what happened.
I wasn't really bothered about any of the characters, and some elements of the storyline were unrealistic to me

Firstly a big thank you to Hq for my copy to review. I absolutely loved her debut so was eager to read this

This is a fantastic book which i raced through the first half.. it was only time constraints which slowed me getting round to the second half .

Incredibly thought provoking as it focuses on sensitive issues around a womans death. Its impact and repercussions on Jenn and her mental wellbeing.

As a single mum with her own struggles i resonated with Jenn a lot and Philippa has captured this sensitively.

All is not as it seems and as we uncover the truth its only more questions being raised.

A compelling,addictive and tense read.

Published 18th February

This is the first of Philippa East's novels I have read and I found it to be a gripping thriller and a moving exploration of mental health. Jenn, is a Brixton based Housing Officer who discovers the body of Sarah Jones - a tenant who has lain undiscovered in a flat for 10 months. No relatives come forward to identify the body and Jenn becomes involved in the search for Sarah's family and friends. This is a beautifully written, insightful and sympathetic portrayal of the impact of mental illness and loneliness. It is also a well paced thriller that I sped through in a day.
I would highly recommend this novel.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital ARC

This book was a little confusing- especially the ending. I struggled to relate to the main character and she left me quite frustrated. I also think the plot lacked focus throughout. It had looked quite promising though so I guess I had high expectations to start with.

Jennifer Arden is the manager of a Housing Association. Along with two bailiffs she goes to evict a tenant,Sarah Jones, for non- payment of rent. They make a horrifying discovery. The story is told partly by Jen as she investigates and partly from the past.

Although this is very well written with a really interesting plot the first part is a bit slow with Jen’s thoughts going round and round. However, after a while this all makes sense and the novel becomes intriguing and keeps the attention. The author drops tantalising little nuggets into the narrative and characters back stories emerge a piece at a time and makes you think. You feel Jen’s isolation, panic and social awkwardness although for a long time you don’t really understand it. The tension builds and there are some unexpected shocks along the way as lies built on fantasies emerge. The story is multilayered covering mental health issues as well as dysfunctional family relationships. Added into this mix is the burden of guilt as well as progress on Jen’s investigations into Sarah.

Overall, this is a thoughtful slow burner of a novel which I really enjoyed. Philippa East has a lot of talent and I look forward to reading her next book!

With thanks to NetGalley and HQ for the arc in return for an honest review.

A woman’s body is found in her London bedsit, alone, despite a dining table set for three. A housing officer, Jenn, discovers the tenant, a lady named Sarah Jones, along with the balliffs, ready to remove Sarah from the premises. What happened that meant she was found in such a state – and who is responsible? Sarah was believed to be a young, vibrant woman but how could her body have lain so undisturbed for ten months? Jenn wants to work out who Sarah was, and the reasons that led to her untimely death. Through the story we learn of a young family having to cope with the addition of a new relative and the consequences of this arrival. There are many moments when you feel utter sadness and loss for the characters; it’s clearly a multi-layered story and I found it moving. Jenn has her own issues to worry about and these intertwine with Sarah. A different sort of suspense novel but most intriguing.

Safe and Sound

I didn’t think the reasoning behind working out the story was good. Congratulations you’ve seen a dead body....why are you stalking this poor woman’s life?

I hated the main character, she works perfectly for the story but boy oh boy she’s neurotic as hell! She’s sending herself crazy. It’s not worth it? The more the book moved on the more I got irriatated with her. Get a boyfriend or a hobby! You’re literally sending yourself insane! I think she drove me insane as well.

I had no idea what was happening in the ending. Very confusing. I understand what the author was trying to achieve but at the end of this I felt like I’ve wasted my time? It’s not a bad book at all it’s just not...enough.