The Safe House

By: Louise Mumford

I am thankful for the opportunity to have received a free advanced copy of this eBook through Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

To keep Esther safe from the demon inside her chest, her mother Hannah whisks her away and raises her in a place she deeems a safe house. One that Esther has not left in 16 years. A place where Esther has not talked to anyone else besides her mother in 16 years. That is, until a man shows up. A man that knows Esther’s name. A man who claims that the outside world is not as bad as her mother made it seem. A man who told Esther she’s been living a life of lies. To determine the truth, Esther ventures Out There and what she finds out is very disturbing.

There are things about this book that I both love and don’t like. The last 15% of this book was absolutely amazing. It was riveting, it made me want to read faster so that I could just soak it all in. On the other hand, I don’t particularly love books that are told in the third person point of view. First, there is less dialogue and more telling rather than experiencing as a reader. Second, I feel like I never get a chance to fully connect with a character because I’m not “in their head” so to speak.

The pacing of the book at the beginning was slow, but once it got good, the pacing quickly sped up. I enjoyed the character development of both Esther and Hannah, to see them change through the book was definitely a plus. A lot of times character development is lacking.

Overall, it is a very decent read. I would suggest reading it. You can pre-order the book here; the book will be released on May 12, 2022.