Today it's the start of the massive BlogTour for Safe House by Jo Jakeman.
About the Author
Jo Jakeman was the winner of the Friday Night Live 2016 competition at the York Festival of Writing. Born in Cyprus, she worked for many years in the City of London before moving to Derbyshire with her husband and twin boys. Safe House is her second novel and Sticks and Stones was her debut thriller.
Follow @JoJakemanwrites on Twitter, on Goodreads, on Amazon, Visit jojakeman.com, Buy Safe House
About the book
Charlie just wants to be forgotten but everyone else wants to know her story…
The morning after a terrible storm, a woman turns up in a remote Cornish village. She has bought the crumbling cottage that has lain empty for over a decade, and she’s going to make it her home. 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. That lie cost her everything.
And now she has the chance to start again. But someone is watching her, waiting for her, wondering if she’s really payed the price for what she did.
Charlie is a new person. Reinvented to keep herself safe and perhaps finally out from under the cloud of suspicion. New house, new friends and leaving the past behind is exactly what the doctor ordered, except someone with an agenda is hot on her trail.
I think the question of doubt hangs over Charlie throughout the entire book and with good reason I might add. Aside from the fact she actively helped him to hide his crimes, she is also the person who is the most intimate with him. How can she not have known what a monster he is? Or is she the monster?
I think this is the part of the story that drives the plot with such a force, the lingering doubt. There is also this atmosphere of blame regardless of whether she is actually guilty or not. It is hard to fathom how anyone can live with a killer or serial killer without being suspicious or noticing that something isn't quite right, but it does happen.
One can argue that without her lies Lee would have been stopped sooner, thereby saving a life. Charlie deserved to be in prison, but does she deserve to be punished for the rest of her life for his crimes?
It's a gripping psychological thriller that questions accountability in general and if justice is ever really served. Jakeman tells a good story, especially when it comes to casting a shadow of doubt over certain characters and the entire scenario.
A shout out to my favourite character, the cantankerous Aubrey. Perhaps he and Charlie should team up as a sleuthing duo?
Buy Safe House at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Buy at Amazon com.
The eBook will be £0.99 throughout the month of November.
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