Book with a twist

This book had a nice twist in it. Unfortunately I found this book kind of confusing. I would recommend this book to people who like mysteries. I gave this book a rating of 3 stars because there were details in the book that confused me.

Now she's safely back home . . . or is she?

WOW! I loved this book. It was a great read but disturbing at the same time. There were some great twists! I don't have much to say about this one - but in a good way. This is not your typical kidnapping story.

Spoilers!

Spoiler

Jenny, not Jenny was (obviously) predictable but it made a good twist for a different kind of story. I ended up having sympathy for her (as I do with the main characters). Especially because of how she solved the case. The truth needed to be told. She ultimately saved the rest of the family from that monster.

When you find out what actually happened... just wait! The other twist was crazy! I did suspect something like that but it ended up more sinister.

I was a bit curious how the aftermath would have been for the family though. I did feel a need to see how Laurie felt. I hope Ben would have healed after this.

The ending where she visited her mother after all of those years was a bit disappointing.

I definitely recommend Safe to mystery and thriller fans!

Trigger warnings: child abuse (physical, mental, and sexual).

When I first started to read Safe by SK Barnett I thought I knew exactly where it was going. I was so pleased to discover that I was wrong in so many ways. This is a very clever and original storyline. I read this quickly and got very much caught up and needed to know how it was going to end.

12 years ago 6 year old Jenny went missing walking from her house to her friends down the street. She had. It been seen since, despite efforts to find her from the police and a private investigator. Now Jenny has walked back into their lives. Not everybody is pleased and Jenny soon starts to wonder if she is safe in this house. Her reappearance brings u so many questions of where she has been all this time and how did she get away. It quickly becomes evident that all the members of the family have secrets and will do anything to keep them.

A quick, twisty read with a shocking ending. Really enjoyed it. Thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone for my advanced copy of this book to read. All opinions are my own and are in no way biased

SO GOOD!!

I’m just coming off this thriller high and it was amazing! Dark and twisty and one of the most original storylines I’ve read in awhile. I can see this being a favorite this summer.

I started reading this one afternoon and as the synopsis on the back of the book suggested.. I just wanted to see what would happen at page 87, and at that point I HAD TO KNOW. It just gets darker and more twisted as the things you think you know will turn once again.

It’s so much more than just a book about a missing girl who comes back, and it was so compelling that I couldn’t put it down.

I will warn that there is heavy subject matter involved: child sexual abuse and abandonment

*Thank you to the publisher for this gifted copy. All opinions are my own

What the heck did I just read??? This book blew my mind! Six year old Jenny Kristal walked down the street to play at her friends house and she was never seen again. The police investigated but they couldn’t find any clues and soon her case goes cold. Fast forward twelve years later and suddenly she’s back and it appears to be a miracle! Its immediately clear she had to deal with trauma and abuse while she was gone , but her parents are glad to have the family back together except her brother Ben he makes its known he doesn’t believe this is really Jenny something seems off . Immediately Jenny begins to receive emails informing her she’s not safe in the home, the more time she spends in the home Jenny begins to wonder if maybe her new found family are hiding some dark secrets. As we peel back the layers of the disappearance and dive into the family dynamic we begin to see the cracks they start out small and soon the floor begins to crumble! I was absolutely drawn in, the book was a rollercoaster of emotions. I do want to warn readers there were triggers of child abuse. This was an amazing thriller and be prepared to not be able to put this book down! Five stars! Available June 9th 2020!!

Safe was quite the propulsive read, but the style did not resonate with me, and I found the content quite disturbing.

This is a mix of both [b:Only Daughter|29095402|Only Daughter|Anna Snoekstra|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1456412033l/29095402._SY75_.jpg|49331400] by Anna Snoekstra and the story of Frédéric Bourdin & Nicholas Barclay.

This book is fast paced and had me racing to reach the ending, I simply could not put it down. The weaving of past & present for Jenny was well done, and I loved the way we heard from other characters throughout the novel as well by providing their POV a chapter.

Minor spoilers:

Spoiler

-I did think the whole Catholic church school place Ben was forced to go to was weird as hell. It felt soooo out there and bizarre for the story.
-Tabs' "hacking" .... omg this was like a bad movie!! Where they punch a few keys and yell "I'M IN!!" It was just rough. There was NO frickin way it was just so simple
-The ending was really sweet, I really liked the redemption in that it just shows how shitty addicts can be, and it's not them it's the drug. I thought this was a really nice way to wrap it up.
-The child sexual abuse was pretty graphic... and honestly that is part of why I am not rating a 5 (+ the major spoiler below), I think that could have been written differently.

Major spoiler:

Spoiler

There were a couple times throughout the novel that it felt almost like it was plagiarism of the two stories. Jobeth was very much like Bourdin in that she impersonated multiple missing children and got kicks out of it. The story of Jobeth/Jenny was very similar to that of Barclay, where the parents went along with it because it was simply easier... there has been a lot speculation that Barclay was somehow killed by a family member and they covered it up, then with Bourdin arrived they were so relieved to have an out they just made it work. And this is pretty much exactly what happens in Safe.

TW: child sexual abuse, child abuse

Twists and turns abound in this suspenseful tale of a daughter returning home after her disappearance 12 years ago. I thought I knew where this was going, and I did, but then nope, I didn't and the ending was a total surprise.

Perfect for fans of any domestic thriller, especially those by Lisa Jewel, Shari Lapena, and Gilly Macmillan.

Thanks to the publisher for the advance reading copy.