Stevie‘s review of Safe by S.K. Barnett
Domestic Thriller published by Dutton 09 Jun 20
In recent years, there have been some well-publicised cases of abducted young women escaping their captors and, ultimately, reuniting with their families. Obviously one reason for the media attention is the rarity of such long-lost missing persons being found alive or, indeed, at all. Once the initial excitement has died down, questions remain for onlookers: what has life been like for the missing and those they left behind, before and after their return? How well have they been able to return to any sort of family life? Are there any doubts amongst family or friends as to whether the returnee is who she claims to be? That last question is the main one posed by this story.
Having disappeared at the age of six while walking to a friend’s house close to her home, Jenny Kristal returns to her parents and older brother aged 18 and finds a family in turmoil. Although her parents welcome her unreservedly and put on a large-scale reunion for more distant relations straightaway, her brother is more wary, setting verbal traps aimed at catching her in a lie. He’s right to do so, since Jenny is not exactly who she claims to be. Settling into her new life, however, Jenny soon realises that neither is anyone else, and that the descriptions given of six-year-old Jenny immediately following her disappearance bear little relation to scraps of information dropped by those who knew her then, in the present day.
As Jenny’s deception begins to unravel, and people from her past – and that of missing-Jenny’s family – start to make contact with her, she start to realise that the family into which she has inserted herself is more dangerous than she could have ever predicted from the prior knowledge she brought with her. By that point, of course, it’s too late to back out, and Jenny finds herself racing to uncover what really happened twelve years earlier before the past catches up with her.
I really enjoyed this book. The abuse suffered by both versions of Jenny was horrific, although we aren’t subjected to the worst excesses in the narrative – just hints, and demonstrates that monstrous humans exist in all tiers of society. While near-adult Jenny is hardened by her experiences, she also has a compassionate side to her as well as a sound ability to think on her feet and pull information together for both personal gain and for more altruistic reasons.
I definitely want to read more from this author, either under this pen-name, or under their better known one.
Grade: A
Summary:
A kidnapped girl survived twelve nightmarish years.
Now she’s safely back home . . . or is she?Jenny Kristal was six years old when she was snatched off the sidewalk from her quiet suburban neighborhood. Twelve years later, she’s miraculously returned home after escaping her kidnappers—but as her parents and older brother welcome her back, the questions begin to mount. Where has she been all these years? Why is she back now? And is home really the safest place for her . . . or for any of them?
Read an excerpt.
