Safe House By Jo Jakeman

‘Safe House’ is the latest book by Jo Jakeman.

The morning after a terrible storm, a woman turns up in a remote Cornish village. She calls herself Charlie, but it’s a name she’s only had for a few days. She keeps herself to herself, reluctant to integrate with the locals. Because Charlie has a secret. Charlie was in prison for providing a false alibi for a murderer. But Lee Fisher wasn’t a murderer to her; he was the man she loved. Convinced of his innocence, Charlie said she was with him the night a young woman was killed. This sacrifice cost her everything. And now she has a chance to start again. But someone is watching her, waiting for her, wondering if she’s really paid the price for what she did.

This is the first book that I’ve read by Jake and i really found it to be an engaging and atmospheric story from the outset.

The story is written in the past and present and is seen from the perspective of two women who have a lot in common. Charlie Miller has arrived in a small village in Cornwall looking forward to starting a new life. She’s a quiet young woman, with not much money and has moved into a house that needs a lot of work but not much money, she finds herself doing odd jobs about the town. Whilst settling into her home, she becomes friends with her neighbours but can’t help but feel that she is being watched. The past tense is seen from the perspective of Steffi Finn, a young woman in prison after providing an alibi for her boyfriend. Even though she knew nothing of actions, she trusted him and couldn’t believe that he would do what he was being accused off and finds herself behind bars and reflecting on the life that she has led and where it all went wrong.

The story flows a fast paced and the different perspectives give an interesting slant to the story as the women are both at a fork in their lives. Whilst Charlie is settling into her new life and putting her past behind her, there’s someone close by who’s watching her and not willing to let her move on. The story includes a narrative of someone watching Charlie and I particularly liked this part as I found myself trying to piece together who they were from what they said and with every new character introduced, I was guessing if they were the suspect.

I liked both characters Charlie and Steffi, they’re interesting women who are hoping to put their lives right, they’re quiet but as the story progresses they become stronger and more self assured.

A cleverly written tale, riddled with drama, suspicious characters and twists throughout, ‘Safe House’ is a compelling story about new beginnings, starting over and will have the reader gripped throughout.

You can buy ‘Safe House’ from Amazon and is available to buy from good bookshops.