What if you left your child alone, and something terrible happened?
A thrilling suspense novel and the worst nightmare of a Mother.
Safe at Home by Lauren North is a suspense novel set in the small village of Barton St Martin.
Blurb:
Anna James is an anxious mother. So when she has to leave eleven-year-old Harrie home alone one evening, she can't stop worrying about her daughter. But nothing bad ever happens in the sleepy village of Barton St Martin.
Except something goes wrong that night, and Anna returns to find Harrie with bruises she won't explain. The next morning a local businessman is reported missing and the village is sparking with gossip.
Anna is convinced there's a connection and that Harrie is in trouble. But how can she protect her daughter if she doesn't know where the danger is coming from?
Review:
The book made me anxious and tensed. It was soo compelling that I couldn't put the book down. The constant mystery of what really happened to Harrie had me intrigued and kept me hooked.
The whole storyline is divided into 3 different timelines: The day of the accident, the Days leading up to Halloween, and the interviews after Halloween. The story is told from both Anna and Harrie's POV. The suspense was built up from the very start, which I absolutely loved. Lauren definitely knows how to engage her readers.
Anna's character was a spot-on portrayal. The way she handled Harrie, felt natural and closer to how a parent would react. Although she was suspicious from the night of the accident itself, she kept her calm (or pretended to), and her anxiety built up slowly with time as the events unfolded in front of her. The dilemma of being an over-protective mother and still giving her daughter the space she needs, couldn't have been more perfectly depicted.
I enjoyed the 'village girls secret' group chat between the women of St. Martin. It was such a cringy cliche mean girl thing, but funny.
Harrie, although 11, felt more mature than her age. The traumatic experience of 'The Night' changed the little girl, which was heart-wrenching to read. Molly was a cute addition to the story. Her innocence will bring a little smile to your face, even through the dreadful event.
I was skeptical of Rob's character from the very start, but I started doubting myself at the very end of the book (until........).
The ending just blew me away and I wanted to know what happened after that. I so badly wanted to read 'A few months later', but I guess this was the perfect suspenseful ending to the perfect suspenseful book.
Overall, this is a perfect suspenseful novel that keeps you hooked and tensed from the very start. I highly recommend you reading this.