A very slow burn set in a block of flats called Nelson Court.

Sandy has moved in next door to Kath, with her young daughter Mina. Sandy has to work a lot so Mina knocks on the wall when she gets home from school to let Kath know she is safe. One day that knock doesn’t come and the book follows the events that happen next.

This book is a little hard to read as the writing is very disorganised, I would recommend it to first time domestic thriller readers.

This book was brilliant
I read it it one day
It was about a girl called Mina and she was Eleven years old
Her mother called Sandy
One Wednesday night Mina was missing and the police was looking for her
And the police asked everyone about her
I had an ARC

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It was refreshing to read a thriller whose main character is an eighty-five-year-old woman dealing with real life struggles such as poverty, failing health, and loneliness. When Kath becomes a key witness in the disappearance of her next-door neighbor, she gains notoriety as a Miss Marple type while she aids the police and comforts the mother of the missing child.

Kath and the supporting characters in this novel alternate chapters in their points of view. The action and dialogue of each seems authentic and believable, which drew me deeper into the story and kept me turning the pages. A unique novel and a recommended read.

Many thanks to NetGalley and HQ Digital for providing an ARC to read and review. This review will appear at https://baysidebookreviews.com and its Instagram page on release day. *NetGalley Top Reviewer*

A good, well written read which held my interest throughout with well described characters. For me personally it wasn't an 'edge of seater' but I did enjoy this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and HQ Digital for this ARC.

Kath Cartwright, a lonely, elderly lady, lives on a rundown estate. Her flat in Nelson House is a typical sixties property. In its heyday the estate was a planners dream, and the flats much desired. Now it’s an unsafe, depressing place with little charm.

When a young girl goes missing, the community come together to try and find her, with Kath being dubbed “Miss Marple” due to her commitment to the cause.

I enjoyed this book. It was a good read, with characters and plot well developed. Although the outcome was fairly obvious, there were a few twists that kept me guessing. It also had a proper ending, which is always welcome!

An easy, one sitting read that keeps the attention.

Thank you NetGalley.

"Don’t go near the edge, though. Stay back here, darling. Safe with me."

Safe With You by R. M. Ward

📚REVIEW📚

Nelson Court used to be a lovely block of flats but as the years went by everything seemed to deteriorate. Mina and her mom Sandy recently moved in, with Sandy working round the clock Mina was always alone. Then one day the unthinkable happened, Mina never returned home from school. This had the community on high alert, with suspects nabbed left and right they were yet to find the culprit who kidnapped Mina.

This book dragged throughout up until the very last few chapters. The plot twist face planted me in the book. The last person you would have thought of in my opinion. A great read if you are in to a slow burning mystery.

3.5 ⭐

Trigger warning
Gang violence
Kidnapping
Child neglect
Mention of drug abuse

Thank you to HQ Stories, R. M. Ward and Netgalley for the e-arc

Twisty and very unpredictable, couldn’t call it until the end, throughly enjoyed this book to the end and couldn’t put it down

Oh my goodness!
I've read a few of Ward's books before but Safe With You is incredible and easily my favourite so far.
I am a Londoner born and raised so I am drawn to anything set in London but right from the first chapter I was instantly imagining the estate and the sorts of characters that live there.

Kath is such a realistic and honest character, everyone is actually, which is really impressive. At no point did anything feel unrealistic or farfetched. There's so many thrillers written about missing children, but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised that Safe With You breaks the mould.

I desperately want to avoid spoilers but I promise you that you will NEVER see this coming, and it'll hit you like a ton of bricks.

I think I felt near enough every emotion going whilst reading this book.

Rachel Ward’s writing is always rich with detail, the kind of detail that makes every scene believable, and as a result, so much more alarming. When Mina, the girl next door, disappears, it’s elderly Kath who seems to miss her first. The panic builds from that point. We follow the investigation through three people’s eyes. Kath, Sandy - Mina’s mother - and Den – the boy who works in the café. And we, the readers have to pick our way between them to work out the truth. Safe with You is close up. It takes place in a small estate made up of a park, a café, a corner shop and blocks of flats and we never leave that estate. Every aspect of the three characters’ lives within the boundary of the estate is carefully told until they become 3d people, living and breathing in the reader’s head. Claustrophobic in parts and absolutely gripping, I gobbled it up, trying to decode the nuances, trying to see the truth.Massively recommend for fans of psychological thrillers.

There were so many suspects in this book that my head was in a whirl! It’s one of those novels that you can’t possibly put down until you know what happens in the end. I really enjoyed it and had so much empathy with Kath. The author described her perfectly and I couldn’t help but feel so sorry for her. The suspense was magnified by the multiple points of view and I found myself holding my breath and racing from one chapter to the next. I was hoping I was wrong, but I half-guessed the culprit about half way through. That did not spoil the enjoyment at all, and I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a gripping read. Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the advanced copy.

Twisty and unpredictable this book was gripping and let me on the edge of my seat. I coudn't put it down.

It used to be more of a community round here. I was going to say something like this wouldn’t have happened then, but it would, wouldn’t it? Maybe a lot of it was kept quiet. But was it really any safer? Is anywhere safe?
Kath has lived on the same London estate for decades. Lately she’s become friendly with the little girl next door, who is often left alone for hours at a time while her mum is at work.
They have a system. When Mina gets home from school to the empty flat, she knocks on the wall three times. Knock, knock, knock. I’m home safe and sound.
But one day Mina’s knock doesn’t come. Kath raises the alarm and the police begin the search. Kath was the only person looking out for Mina now she might be the only one who can bring her home.
Totally gripping suspense with lots of twists and turns truly enjoyed totally recommend
Thank You NetGalley and HQ
I just reviewed Safe With You by R.M. Ward. #SafeWithYou #NetGalley

Thank you NetGalley for this advanced copy. I was not overly impressed with this book. It seemed kind of disorganized in parts. I feel like it jumped into the child being missing and then just drug on. I skimmed a lot of it and jumped ahead quite a bit. The ending was a surprise but nothing that blew me away or anything.

Another great book. The storyline was gripping. It kept me interested. Can't wait for another of the authors books to come out

Kath lives alone in an apt. Recently her neighbor Mina knocks three times after school to let her know she’s home. Until one day, there ‘s no knock. Kath knows she must find her

First things first, huge thank you to @netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
• This book unfortunately for me was only 1 star. It 100% read as a debut novel, that didn't live up to the hype. There were many issues with this novel, one of them being the fact that the plot was sort of all over the place. The premise for the book seemed very interesting, but about 90% of the book was just a whole lot of unnecessary dialogue. This plot could have been executed better, Im going to be honest here. At about 55% in, I lost all interest in the book. There was just a bunch of WHODUNNIT, but no back stories, no reasons why really. Also, I do have to admit I figured out the "big twist" VERY early on. The author did a good job of basically making every single character seem guilty, which was great, but it was sort of overkill. The side plots didn't make sense and nothing really wrapped up in my opinion. **Once again, a huge thank you to Net Galley for the ARC***

I quite enjoyed reading Safe With You by RM Ward. It was a gripping story that had me hooked from the beginning. I highly recommend this book

The description of this book was intriguing; a little girl who knocks three times on her neighbors wall each day to let her know she has arrived home safely. Then, she disappears. I started this book when I was already reading several others just to skim, but tossed everything to the side as I could not put it down until I finished the last page!!! Original storyline, lots of intrigue, twists, and turns (I could not guess the ending). I devoured this. Highly recommended for mystery/suspense lovers.Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

"Safe With You" is a very suspenseful page turning book. Who did it? What happened to little Mina? Reading this book my mind was pinging thinking I had it worked out, then another clue would pop up and my mind would go into overdrive. This book really made me use my head and had me gripped from the beginning. In the end I really didn't know what was going to happen but I was blown away by the ending! If you like a gripping suspense and trying to figure out what happens before it does then this book is for you, I'm pretty sure you won't figure it out though!!

I must admit I wasn't quite sure what to expect from this book when I started it, but I loved it so much! Although I guessed who the culprit was, it had me totally gripped!