This Is a Safe Place

by Sophie Shulman

The gate was built to keep danger out. But what if the danger was already in?

The suburban gated community of Eden Village is a safe place, they are told. Enclosed by a thick stone wall with only one way in and one way out, it promises refuge from the violence, crime, and uncertainty of city life. The application process is extensive and the rules are strict, but for fearful residents, it’s a small price to pay to live in a community that hasn’t seen one instance of crime in fifty-five years.

To celebrate its crimeless history, residents participate in The Breach, a one-day annual event in which one person is anonymously assigned to carry out a harmless crime. This year, someone has broken into Gus Mercer’s cottage. It’s a simple crime but for one unusual detail: a riddle left by The Crook that hints of a more sinister intent. As a security guard elected detective for the day, Tom begins to follow its clues, encountering more riddles that reveal residents’ darkest secrets—including his own. Later that evening, Tom realizes that the break-in was a diversion from a much more serious crime: kidnapping. Battling The Association’s reluctance to disrupt the sense of safety and the increasing evidence that Eden Village is not what it claims to be, Tom must uncover the truth and confront his own chilling past to find the missing child before it’s too late.

Genres: Fiction

303 pages, ebook

First published May 30, 2021

Reviews

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

[Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Captivating story that left me on the edge of my seat until the very last page. Fabulous writing! I love how she describes everything and everyone. Some authors over-describe everything, and I often find myself skipping over those parts. But not this author. She offers the perfect amount of detail in just the right way. A truly beautiful writer! Can’t wait for her next book. I read her other book found on Amazon, The Shadow Pact, and loved it as well. Her riveting storylines are so incredibly creative, and will leave you wanting more.

[Amanda · Rating 1 out of 5]

The inconsistencies in the timeline made it impossible to give this anything other than one star. Robert was a teenager when he helped cover up the murders 38 years ago, but he’s “nearly two decades older” than a 28-year-old Daisy, so not even 48. Alice gave birth to Ava, who is approximately 10, and then “died”, but when she’s back it’s been three decades? I had to reread the end like six times to figure out if I was reading it wrong or misunderstanding something. It appears that is not the case, and this is just a very sloppily written/edited book.

[Dana · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars
*ARC provided by the author/publisher via Goodreads in exchange for an honest review*

I really wasn't sure how I wanted to rate this book. I was stuck between 2.5 and 3 stars. I chose 3 because even though I felt like it was all over the place it still had an interesting storyline. I do love a book with multiple POVs but this one was so confusing. I kept forgetting whose POV it was I was reading.

[Aloysia Y Tadajewski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Is it a Safe Place?

Every time I thought about abandoning the book because it moved too slow to my liking, I would turn the page and get sucked right back in. The last few chapters made it difficult to put it down - the suspense and storyline just kept building. This was a definite great read!!

[Kimberley H · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story started a little slow for me but quickly I became hooked. Interesting characters & pauses between their stories keeps the pages turning as suspense builds, secrets emerge, and mystery comes to light.

[Mandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a disturbing, fun, complete page turner. It had all of the elements of a great mystery - interesting well-developed characters, twists and turns, and a satisfying ending.

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

The way the POVs were done was confusing but overall liked the story. 3.5