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Description
After a murderous attack on a house in a suburb of a provincial English town, two people are dead and a teenage girl has her throat cut but is alive. Police are in search of their single witness and turn to Dr Samantha Laschen for some help.
User reviews
LibraryThing member ErasmusBee
The book is about a girl, Fiona, whose parents are killed and who has to stay in a safe house belonging to Dr Sam Lashcen and her daughter 'Elsie'. Considering that this book is described as a psychological thriller, there is no thrill, psychological or otherwise, until the end. The real tale is
Fiona's parents are murdered at the start of the book and I figured out 'whodunnit' with 2/3 of the book to go - making the plot frustratingly slow. The penultimate twist (there is more than one) makes the story more interesting. The characters were, perhaps unintentionally, portrayed as stupid; if you are fairly sure who the murderer is, why would you go off alone with them?
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the light-hearted story about the relationships between a mother and daughter and their relationship to the mother's boyfriend, 'Danny'. Fiona's parents are murdered at the start of the book and I figured out 'whodunnit' with 2/3 of the book to go - making the plot frustratingly slow. The penultimate twist (there is more than one) makes the story more interesting. The characters were, perhaps unintentionally, portrayed as stupid; if you are fairly sure who the murderer is, why would you go off alone with them?
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LibraryThing member krisiti
I had two guesses for who the killer would be. Both were correct. But then, it was more a thriller than a real mystery - the animal activists were too obvious a red herring, and the foxhunter really was bloodthirsty. Seemed to drag, after I'd figured it out. Wasn't enough to the relationships and
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the rest of the novel to keep me interested.Signed this out a few times without quite getting around to reading it. Was my brain trying to tell me something? Show Less
LibraryThing member jayne_charles
Things I liked about this book: the lively writing style, the way the author created a credible sense of nostalgia for London where the character previously lived, and Elsie's social life.
What I didn't like: The fact that I guessed most of the central mystery pretty early on. The narrator's early,
Also, nothing to do with the book really, but I found out afterwards this is written by two people, merged into a single name for the book cover. Don't know why, but it left me feeling a bit misled. Just a thought.
What I didn't like: The fact that I guessed most of the central mystery pretty early on. The narrator's early,
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slightly odd, interest in the perpetrator gave it away, though there were some creditable red herrings thrown in.Also, nothing to do with the book really, but I found out afterwards this is written by two people, merged into a single name for the book cover. Don't know why, but it left me feeling a bit misled. Just a thought.
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LibraryThing member Heptonj
Not a bad read, nice and quick with short chapters but I found it all a bit 'twee' with the mother instict a main part of what should have been an excellent murder mystery. The actual murder plot was intriguing with a few clever twists.
The murder of a wealthy couple and the attempted murder of
The murder of a wealthy couple and the attempted murder of
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their daughter is thought to be the actions of an animal rights group but all is not what it seems when a psychologist (Sam) reluctantly takes in the daughter to protect her from any further attacks and to help with her recovery. The whole situation changes Sam's life forever and doesn't come to the usual satisfying conclusion. Show Less
LibraryThing member dannalora
If this would have been my first Nicci French book, I most likely would never have picked up another. Good thing I've read others before. This book left a lot to be desired.
LibraryThing member jovilla
Samantha who is a single mother to a five year old daughter, is a doctor and has accepted a new job in a small town outside London. Her boyfriend Danny is very much in the picture. The book begins with violent murders in that town which dramatically impacts Samantha when she is persuaded to take
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into her home a young woman who suffered greatly from the murders. As a result her life is spun out of control in many ways. I really enjoyed this book (though I read it on vacation when my concentration is at its max) but there were a couple of troubling loose ends to the plot. When I finished it, just as my vacation ended, I felt adrift and disappointed. I think the later books by this offer are better because she is clearly a good writer. Show Less
LibraryThing member Andrew-theQM
I usually love Nicci French books and this one started off well. However about two-thirds in it descended into a a big of a quagmire for me and I didn't enjoy the ending. It almost became a non-ending. It also took a long while to get to the ending and this should have happened sooner in my opinion
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as it dragged on to no real purpose. Show Less
Subjects
Original publication date
1998
Other editions
Safe House by Nicci French (Paperback)