A psychological thriller so tense it will take your breath away

I absolutely loved this story, I did not get much done for a few days other than read of course.
Immediately upon finishing I looked for another story by the Author. Unfortunately I will have to
wait until 2017 for the next release . Tess

As the subtitle claims, this psychological thriller is so tense , it DID take my breath away. This is the second book I've read by Ms Slater. I hope she keeps cranking out these amazing stories and characters!

Overall....I would give this 3-3/4 stars. It kept my interest through about 2/3 of the story.... then started to get pretty repetitious ...same ol'...same ol'. .It was time to get on with what's going on and what's going to happen....but, it was still interesting. So I only knocked off 1/4 star for that.

I was impressed with the fact that even though there was so much going on throughout this story...it flowed well, was presented in an orderly manner and was easy to follow....until the end.

I took away a whole star for the ending. I was expecting something different.... a little more exciting. Unlike the rest of the story....the ending seemed disjointed to me....a "too quick" tie-up of everything. It seemed more like "explanations" ....rather than skillfully weaving the story into an ending..

All in all....I liked this book enough to read another by this author.

This may be the worst book I've ever read. First of all it was poorly written, and not scary at all. It for sure wasn't a thriller, it was boring and did not keep my interest at all. If you want a boring book, this is it.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book from beginning to end! Really makes you think about how we trust our neighbors and people around us without considering that they may have a dark side! Creepy, chilling, but yet also compelling in a humanistic sort of way, when you realize how damaged human beings can be. Loved it! Excellent read!

If you liked Gone Girl or Girl on the Train, you will love this. Grab a cuppa and your cat and snuggle up for an afternoon! And keep your curtains closed and doors locked!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book from beginning to end! Really makes you think about how we trust our neighbors and people around us without considering that they may have a dark side! Creepy, chilling, but yet also compelling in a humanistic sort of way, when you realize how damaged human beings can be. Loved it! Excellent read!

If you liked Gone Girl or Girl on the Train, you will love this. Grab a cuppa and your cat and snuggle up for an afternoon! And keep your curtains closed and doors locked!

Definitely a mystery story with lots of unexpected twists. Reading about severe mental problems is scary because it makes you aware of how we can be unaware that what's in someone's mind may differ wildly from what they say and how they present themselves. Reading this I began to doubt who was the most disturbed; one character, all characters, the author or myself. Too many improbable relationships between the characters.

It wasn't a bad read. It was just that I felt that she "Anna" should have been called out as a stalker or just a plain ol' lonely and pressed individual. The twist at the end was definitely satisfying, but without giving away some of the story, there was one thing that was left out. A query that was repetitively mentioned incrementally throughout the story was left unanswered. Other than that it was decent.

I raced through this book......to get to the end so I can start another one. The author tried too hard to make the main character sound insane. It was very uncomfortable to read. I only finished it because the book I started before this I couldn't finish. I didn't want to have two unfinished books back to back.

It began as a page turner and ended in such a way that I was completely let down. I felt as if the author could not come up with an ending and just threw everything but the kitchen sink at the reader. It was not believable. I found the lead character very hard to care about. She's the kind of character you do not route for and you find yourself hoping they will pay for their bad deeds in the end. The ending was a grave disappointment.

It began as a page turner and ended in such a way that I was completely let down. I felt as if the author could not come up with an ending and just threw everything but the kitchen sink at the reader. It was not believable. I found the lead character very hard to care about. She's the kind of character you do not route for and you find yourself hoping they will pay for their bad deeds in the end. The ending was a grave disappointment.

I read it to the end but I didn't want to. I started reading it because it was a thriller. This book made me uncomfortable. The characters were awful and the flow of the story was disturbing. I will never read a book by this author again.

I love a good psychological thriller, but I was greatly disappointed by this one. I kept waiting for something to happen, and then the book ended. It took me a while to get into the writer's style, and by the end I was left with a bunch of questions. Too many loose ends and fleeting ideas. I really wanted to like this story, but had to force myself to finish.

This book was extremely hard to get interested in. It seemed to drag until the last few chapters. I made myself read it since I had paid for it. Now I'm glad that I finished it because I never had it figured out as I had supposed. I gave it a three only because of the ending otherwise I would have given it a one.

I really enjoyed this book I read it over four days I enjoyed the characters..... I wouldn't call it a psychological thriller but I found the book to be very entertaining. I'm going to download a sample of the second book and I'll probably end up purchasing it. I would recommend this book it's an easy read and is extremely entertaining.

Very different story line, but well written. Anna was one weird character, and had me wondering what she was going to do next. Thoroughly enjoyed this book. I am unable to read as often as I would like, and couldn't wait to get back to it each time I had to put it down. Can't wait for another by K. l. Slater.

Having a real hard time reading past a certain point. I understand that there are some people in some remote areas of the world that are not alert to how dishonest others can be . Untruthful, dishonest and vicious discribes most of the characters. I really lined the next door neighbor who when she saw a grisly scene she just turned her back and walked away. Justic at last.

I did not like the ending. Rather lame. K.L. Slater's method of writing is a little difficult to follow until you "get" it. The plot jumps around a lot and sometimes difficult to follow. I have read better by this author.

I chose this book based on some of the reviews, what a waste of time. The best I can say is I am glad I only paid $0.99 for it, did not even worth that much. The book is dumb, seems to have 3 or 4 plots none of which makes any sense. One particular subplot remains a loose end, namely why did Danny fear the priest so much? There is not one redeeming quality about any of the characters. The book had the potential for a fairly good read but falls way short. It was really an effort to finish reading this book, just mind numbing.

Safe with me
An unusual Mystery thriller! Not really sure if I really like jumping back and forth in time like that. I read books in short periods of time and sometimes the story gets mixed up because of it. Still enjoyed the book tho !!

Although for much of the reading I was very uncomfortable, I couldn't put this book down. At times, it felt almost dangerous mentally to try to follow the confused, obsessive, twisted mind maze of the main character on her punishing quest.

I have never written a review before, but this was actually good. The ending could have cleared up just a couple of things that I was still confused about. This story managed to make forget the world around me and just keep reafing to know more.

For a debut novel it definitely didn't feel like one.

I originally picked up this book because of the good reviews it got.
Honestly, this book is dismal, and that's being generous. This book promises to be a "psychological thriller" and within the first few pages it has you questioning not the sanity of the character - but rather your own as to why you actually paid to read this poorly written story. The author makes a feeble attempt at making the main character, Anna, seem disturbed in any way, shape, or form. A string of incoherent sentences does not equate to a physiological broken individual, sorry.

Do yourself a favor and buy yourself a coffee with the money you would have spent on this.

I have never written a review before, but this was actually good. The ending could have cleared up just a couple of things that I was still confused about. This story managed to make forget the world around me and just keep reafing to know more.

For a debut novel it definitely didn't feel like one.

I originally picked up this book because of the good reviews it got.
Honestly, this book is dismal, and that's being generous. This book promises to be a "psychological thriller" and within the first few pages it has you questioning not the sanity of the character - but rather your own as to why you actually paid to read this poorly written story. The author makes a feeble attempt at making the main character, Anna, seem disturbed in any way, shape, or form. A string of incoherent sentences does not equate to a physiological broken individual, sorry.

Do yourself a favor and buy yourself a coffee with the money you would have spent on this.

Safe With Me is a very clever psychological thriller that plays with your mind and will make you feel like you have just stepped off those crazy rides which leave you disoriented. The whole story seems haunting yet frenzied so I didn’t know whether to actually believe anything. As soon as I thought I had figured something out something would happen and I would be left doubting myself.
The story begins with the hook of a prologue, an arson attack by an unknown person and then switches to the present day scene of a road traffic accident. A biker (Liam) is knocked from his motorcycle by a seemingly careless driver, and our main protagonist Anna is witness to the event. When the driver gets out of the car Anna recognises her straight away, it is the woman Anna holds personally responsible for ruining her life 13 years ago. Anna is a troubled young woman, an isolated loner who harbours fear and finally sees this as the perfect opportunity to exact revenge. Anna pushes herself into the midst of Liam’s life in order to stay closer to Carla, or “Amanda” as she is calling herself now.
The story continues to switch from present day and 13 years ago, and is told from other characters’ points of view as well as Anna’s. The further the story goes on the more Anna’s life spirals out of control, and the more irrational her behaviour becomes, as exposing Carla for who she really is becomes an obsession. As the reader learns more about Anna, the clearer it becomes that she has some serious mental health problems - including extreme anxiety which made me quite anxious reading it. Watching Anna’s decline is as sad as it is mesmerising - you know it’s coming and it’s going to be bad, but you just can’t take your eyes off it. I felt deeply sorry for Anna, and while I didn't understand many of her choices, I understood how she could rationalise them.
This author certainly knows how to play with the readers mind and with plenty of twists and turns this is a definite must read for fans of this genre.

This book is a lot like,"the girl on the train". Too much negativity and specifics on neurotic personalities. I would not have purchased it if I'd known how goofy it was. A waste of my time..... I didn't even want to finish it!

I'm not entirely sure if I liked this book or not. Once I started reading I didn't want to stop but the main character was completely unhinged and I found that rather uncomfortable. I could not relate to her at all. She creates so much chaos around herself that sometimes it's hard to try to keep up with her absurd ideas and thinking. At the end of the book you meet another mentally challenged character which you don't expect whilst reading through the book. Kind of a surprise. The two main characters suit each other perfectly being crazy people. I don't think I will read anything else by this author unless the story line is completely different. The writing in this book was quite clever but it's not at any time light hearted.

I thought I had it figured out, who was crazy, who wasn't...but boy oh boy. Not only a psychological thriller but almost a "who done it". Truly worth the read; especially if you think nothing gets past you.

This book will keep you guessing. I really had no idea what was going to happen next and enjoyed the ride. I actually felt the tension and confusion of the characters as I read.

Anna is a bit of a loner. She works, but declines invitations from colleagues to socialize. She spends most of her time off with her cat... only occasionally visiting her elderly neighbor. There are no men in her life and not much excitement. That's about to change.

Anna witnesses an accident. She watches a woman hit a man on a motorbike. She watches him fly through the air. She holds the strangers hand as she waits for help to arrive. But that's not the most exciting part... Anna knows the woman that hit him. She has been waiting years to see her. Anna recognizes her as Carla even though she's now going by Amanda: the woman that ruined Anna's life and took her family away from her thirteen years ago... and it's time for revenge. Anna begins to force her way deeper and deeper into Liam's life as he recovers, becoming obsessed with him and the woman from her past as her career and mind seem to start to unravel.

Many thanks to Net Galley and Bookouture for the ARC. My review is, as always, honest and unbiased.

Well that was one unusual read. A psychological thriller that seems to be set up as a simple revenge story but as it unravels, it becomes much much more, with some genuinely dark characters.

Anna, our central character witnesses a road accident as a young man is knocked off his motorbike by a car and seriously injured. Anna jumps out of her car to see if the young man is ok. He's seriously injured with a very bad head wound and she stays by his side as she waits for the emergency services to arrive, trying to comfort him. As she glances up she sees the woman who was driving the car that hit him and to her horror she recognises her as Carla, a woman who apparently ruined her life 13 years ago.
Anna keeps her head low in case Carla recognises her as panic and fear grips her on seeing Carla again after such a long time.

As the young man. - Liam is brought to hospital, Anna decides that she must visit him to see how he is, but more importantly to try and garner information about the woman who knocked him down. Surely the police will have her details and Liam will know about them. She needs to exact revenge on Carla, a woman she hasn't seen in years, could never find and has now stumbled upon again. Liam is her ticket to this.
As she visits Liam she discovers that he has amnesia from the accident and as yet has no details on Carla or the accident he was in. His over bearing grandmother Ivy who he lives with,is at his side and at first thankful of Anna's visit and help at the accident scene but as Anna decides to intrude on their lives more, offering lifts to Ivy to the hospital, wanting to visit Liam at home and bring him to follow up visits to hospital, Ivy becomes more and more protective of Liam, treating him like a child and not wanting any help from Anna.

The story is told both in the present and in the past and from multiple perspectives, from Anna's point of view, in the first person and when from other characters point of view, in the third person.

As it goes back and forward in time we get little hints and crumbs of information of what happened in the past and why Anna wants revenge. We also spend a lot of time in Anna's head as she slowly unravels and we realise all is not right with her.

For a debut novel this really is an excellent piece of work. The central character and the writing of her is what makes the book for me. We know that something traumatic has happened to her in her childhood but, as we spend more and more time in her head it becomes more and more uncomfortable as we realise that all is not well with Anna. She turns into a genuinely creepy and unsettling character that you still have empathy for.

The story itself is pretty clever, if a little contrived. There are plenty of red herrings and it keeps you guessing right until the end. It's all resolved fairly quickly at the end, a little too conveniently and as I say feels a little contrived and stretches the readers tolerance in the believability and credibility stakes,but putting that aside, it is a well constructed and told story with some genuinely creepy characters, some that are obvious from the off and some not so. The writing and storytelling is of a high standard, enough perhaps to forgive the slightly outlandish finale.

Anna is undoubtably the star of this novel for me. For all it's clever and complicated storyline and vivid descriptions of the past and the intrigue that goes with it, it's the time spent with Anna where the novel really shines. Such a well written character, genuinely creepy and unnerving, but despite this you want to spend more time with her to see what makes her tick and what she may do next. She's a character I will long remember.

K.L. Slater seems a very talented writer. Bookouture seem to have a knack of finding these fantastic thriller writers and if this is the opening gambit from Ms Slater then we have much to look forward to from her.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Bookouture and K.L. Slater for an Arc in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

This makes for a very disturbing read , with some very questionable characters.A good solid psychologicol thriller , the first page of the prologue gives an insight to what is in store. The story evolves around Anna and her family , the tragedy that happened 13 years ago , and the impact it has on the present day. A life of daily routine, secrets, and obsessive behaviour are well hidden by Anna until one day she is witness to an accident, involving a female driver and young man on a motorbike.Anna think's she recognises the woman, from her past, so when , with great difficulty Liam utters the words " help me" Anna makes it her mission to do just that, and in doing so, seek revenge on the woman Anna believes is to blame for so much heartache and pain in her life. we get a very realistic portrayal of someone not only living with OCD, and the effect it has on their life, but painfully watch as Anna slowly begins to unravel, then, literally going full throttle almost overnight as she becomes more unstable. The sad part is ,her character is not very likeable as we hear her thoughts and perception on events around her, bringing a real creepiness to her,making it so hard to sympathise with her, this is a very difficult subject to bring to life well, and only succeeds because of the good writing skill from the Author. 4* from me.

Fun fact: I started this book 11 months ago and just now managed to finish it! The only other book that has ever taken me that long to get back to was Dan Brown's Angels & Demons.
The big difference is: in the end, I hated the latter but, surprisingly, really, really enjoyed this one.

In my defense, it was hard to like any of the characters in the beginning, most of all Anna herself. She was such a weirdo with utterly incomprehensible thought processes that I just couldn't and didn't want to follow. But I pushed through her rambling inner monologues and now, I couldn't be more happy about that.
So while I was reading and trying my best not to be bored, the strangest thing happened: Anna started to get to me. Her reasoning and justification of her psycho stalker actions oddly made sense to me and I found myself feeling and rooting for her. I disliked whom she disliked, I wanted her to do what she was doing, and I was scared for her when it became obvious that someone wanted to cause her harm. And I didn't feel bad about it because I needed Anna to succeed and get back on track.

It was equally harsh and fascinating to witness her hatred for the women who she blames for her brother's death turn into an all-consuming obsession, and Anna gradually losing not only control over her life and the routines she's fought so hard to establish, but also her grasp on reality.

The story is told from various POVs, including flashbacks that, little by little, reveal Anna and Carla's traumatic pasts and how they're linked to each other.

Safe with me definitely deserves its label as a psychological thriller. It's a classic slow-burner, with only little action but all the more atmosphere, that had me guessing from start to finish. I had to restrain myself from jumping to the last chapter to find out what was going on, and that is always a good sign when it comes to me and thrillers.

Absolutely recommended.

This book was so good! The author really has a way of involving the reader to the point of making the reader feel the anxiety of the person and the tenseness of the situation. It had a lot of twists and turns in the story line, and an ending you won't see coming. Just when you think you have it figured out, it takes another turn. Very, very good read!

Anna happens to see an accident happen. A young man was knocked off his motorcycle by a car that was speeding. Anna does what she can while waiting on an ambulance. The young man (Liam) reminds her so much of her brother. And the woman that hit him ... Anna knows immediately who she is even though its been 13 years since she has seen her.

That seems to be the trigger for all kinds of things. Working as a letter carrier, she can't seem to get all her deliveries done every day, so she starts taking whatever she doesn't deliver home with her. She lives a very solitaire life, and only interacts with the old lady next door, who she has known for many years.

She sort of invites herself into Liam's life. He lives with his grandmother, so Anna volunteers to help her with housework.... wants to help take care of Liam .... she even suggests that she move in to help them.

Meanwhile, Carla, the lady who hit Liam, has been coming around ... and Anna absolutely will have none of that. This is "her" family .... and Anna wants Carla to pay for her sins and what she did to Anna's family.

But who is more dangerous? Anna ... Carla ....? And while Anna is sneaking into Liam's houe to spy .... who's the lady sneaking into Anna's house? All the principal players have secrets .... and everything out of their mouths are lies.

The book bounces back and forth from today to 13 years ago and back to the present. This is a roller coaster of a psychological thriller. It's enough to cause you to doubt your own sanity. The ending came out of nowhere .. and was quite a surprise.

I have read all this author's books and they have all been riveting and engaging, full of twists and turns. Highly recommend this one to anyone who likes psychological thrillers.

Many thanks to the author / Bookouture / Negalley for the digital copy of SAFE WITH ME. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

I liked the story and was frustrated with it at the same time. There were story build ups that seemed they would be promising, but then they just fell short. If the back stories were a little more in depth, maybe that would have helped and of course the ending should have been explosive, but again fell short of my expectations. All in all a fairly decent read, but there are parts (especially the ending) that didn't meet my needs as a reader. There was something the old woman wanted to tell Anna, but that was never revealed. It's almost like it was building up to this really great reveal and explosive ending, but then the author just decided to tone it down and change it to just end quickly and quietly. Re work the ending and redo some of the back story more and this could be a really good book.

This is a very disquieting story. It's written very well but gave me the heebie jeebies, making it an uncomfortable book to finish.

The protagonist of the story is Anna. Overweight, in her early thirties, with OCD and a terrible tendency towards obsessing, she is a mail carrier for Royal Mail and lives in the house left to her by her mother in Sneinton, a suburb of Nottingham, England.

One day she witnesses a car hitting a motor scooter and her world starts to implode.

This story probably has the most twists and turns in it of any suspense novel I've ever read (and that takes in a lot of books). Some I saw coming but some hit me broadside.

As I mentioned, the story is very well written and it's hard to believe this is a debut novel. Did I like it? Hmm...hard one to answer because it is disturbing. I guess I can write that I'm glad I read it but won't read it again in the future.

I received this book from Bookouture through Net Galley in exchange for my unbiased review.

This book was terrible. Having read most of the current popular mysteries/thrillers, I came across this on the store and had high hopes because of its rating and claim to be "so intense it will take your breath away". Skip this and read Two Girls Down instead. I found myself skimming through pages because there was so much unnecessary blather. The main character is annoying, the plot is predictable, and there aren't any twists; I knew what was going on the whole time. The book just ended abruptly and didn't resolve a lot of things. Spoiler alert: why keep mentioning the rancid smell when the reader never even finds out what it is? Waste of time and money, and not a page turner. I plowed through it just to get to the end hoping it would get better. It falls flat, and none of the characters are really interesting. This book could have been a lot better, instead it just felt like the author droned on about nonsense with a plot that didn't make much sense or connect together well.

It's rare that a book described as a "psychological thriller" really blows my mind - but this one screwed it up big-time. In fact, it's downright creepy, kooky, mysterious and spooky from start to finish. That's even more astonishing given that not a single character is truly likable.

Therein is the psychological appeal; every character is flawed - demented, even; to what extent is revealed only as layers of the good, the bad and the ugly are peeled away when chapters shift from present to past and from character to character. Admittedly, that can be a little hard to follow; in fact, when I first started, my reaction was, "Oh no - not another one where I not only have to keep a bundle of names and relationships straight in my head but also the time period." But in very short order, the author's expert crafting of the story made that much easier (and no doubt it helped that reading as fast as I could because I couldn't wait to see what happened next meant I had little time to forget).

Anna, a U.K. postal carrier, lives alone in her family home and is struggling to overcome something awful that happened in her life 13 years earlier. One day, she watches in horror as an oncoming car hits a motorcyclist, causing him to be seriously injured and lose memories of his past. Anna is shocked at the scene, but she's downright horrified when she recognizes the driver of the car - it's Carla, the woman behind her years-ago trauma. As Anna comforts the cyclist, Liam, she formulates a plan to ingratiate herself with him and thereby ensure that Carla gets what should have been coming to her back then.

But as one might expect, best-laid plans don't always work out smoothly. Anna must deal with Liam's elderly, very protective grandmother (with whom he lives), juggling her mail delivery duties to give her enough time to spend with Liam and staying out of the prying eyes of a next-door neighbor who befriended her as a child. Then, of course, there's Carla; now known as Amanda, she meets with Liam to apologize for causing his accident and strikes up a relationship that threatens to drive Anna over the deep end.

It's a heck of a race to see the story as it evolves through the minds of all the characters - but saying much more would mean giving too much away. If I have any disappointment, it came with the ending; perhaps I missed something, but it seemed a bit confusing even though I read it twice (hence my rating of 4 stars rather than 5). That said, I admit saying "Wow" out loud when I reached the last page. It's an awesome debut novel I'm glad I didn't miss - so many thanks to the publisher (via NetGalley) for allowing me to read it in exchange for an honest review.

And for those of you who weren't in the room with me when I finished it, I'll say it again: WOW!

For my full review, please visit paytonsbookthoughts.wordpress.com

A Very Special Thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review!

Safe With Me is K.L. Slater's debut novel and I was so excited when Bookouture graciously approved me on Netgalley to review a copy of this book, even though I didn't request it until the day before it was due to release.

I feel it is important to say this first thing. This book was SUPER WEIRD in the most interesting way possible. Throughout the whole book, I found myself either confused or weirded out. But it definitely worked, as you can see from my 3.5 <3 rating.

To be honest, it's really hard to put my thoughts together about this book because I was utterly confused by the whole story all the way up until 98% finished with the book. Even as the story started to wrap up and the loose ends started to get tied together, I was still confused. AND I still am confused by many details of this book.

With that being said, I didn't leave off with the feeling that I understood everything completely. It seemed like the story ended quite abruptly by jumping ahead a year and having flashbacks about the gaps. In my opinion, I felt that the loose ends could've been tied up a little bit more.

Now I will say that MOST of the details were explained. The one thing I was looking for to explain everything was if Anna was crazy or not. The ending made it seem like she was just as normal as could be and never really addressed the unusual things she did throughout the book. I feel like she had to have had a mental illness or something (not that I would blame her after everything she went through), but it would've been nice to have that stated as clear as day.

Reading over my notes that I took while reading this book, I can still see how utterly confused I was. It's quite funny actually, trying to reason through the things I was reading. At one point I literally typed "Anna is so weird. I don't understand". If that doesn't sum up my thoughts, I don't know what will.

There is A LOT of vagueness when it comes to everything that happened to Anna when she was younger (13 years ago to be exact, as it is separated in the book). This largely plays into the suspense and thrill of the novel. It's so easy to jump to conclusions most of the time, but in this one I was not able to do that. Which left me all the more shocked in the end!

I was extremely intrigued by Liam and, boy did he have me fooled! Liam and Anna actually had me on the verge of hating Ivy (Liam's Gran) for most of the story only to find out that she was actually one of the only stable characters!

I'm absolutely convinced that Anna had some serious issues (mental or otherwise) even though it was not addressed in the story. It's the only way I can find closure with this story. I'm almost 100% sure she was completely unstable throughout the whole story. My reasoning behind this was that she kept comparing Liam to her little brother Danny, but she loved Liam at the same time. Weird. She was completely obsessed with Amanda Danson. Weird. And Anna's obsession with Amanda trickled over to Liam. Weird. I never could understand why she was hiding undelivered mail from her route in her house. Weird. And she just kept letting it pile up. Weird.

I'm not sure my review does the novel justice. If you take nothing else way from this novel, please understand that it was the weirdest novel I have ever read in the most interesting way possible. It was good in a weird way and my ONLY qualm with it was that I was still left confused at the end of the book.

Why you won’t be safe with this book:

#1 The intense creepiness oozing off the pages will nag you for the entire book.

I have read my share of psychological thrillers so I’m familiar with the creepy side of it but the writing in Safe With Me throws you right into a frozen pool of creepiness. I can’t pinpoint where it comes from exactly, but be prepared for the cold feeling of uneasiness to stick with you all the way. There’s something in there that envelops the story and its characters with a thick layer of creepiness.

Yes, I used the word creepy a lot.

#2 The characters have multiple faces

The more I read, the pickier I become when it comes to characters. I expect them to be flawed, to be well-crafted and to make me feel things, a whole lot of things. Well, everyone in Safe with Me sparked something in me.

Anna is an unreliable character. It does not take long to notice things are a bit off with her. Every one of her reactions is extreme and she seems to be lacking the common knowledge about relationships we get as we grow up and learn about how to socialize. I loved discovering snippets of her past and explanations for her current situation throughout the story, as little drops are given you to try and make sense of everything that’s happening. Just don’t expect things to go smoothly and don’t assume you understand. It’ll be easier this way.

The same happens with the other characters. They won’t be named or discussed here because this psychological thriller is heavy on secrets and characters you can’t figure out. The book will introduce them better than I ever could. You meet them through Anna and then you get glimpses of their lives and thoughts and it is confusing, in the right way. Things don’t add up but you can’t put your fingers on exactly what is wrong. Remember our talk about creepiness? Well, those characters are complicated and their motives far from being clear. You’re walking a dangerous line with them! I never managed to figure out who to trust!

#3 Unconnected threads will make you question everything, even your own thoughts

This is what I like about a well-executed multiple POV chapters. You get a side of the story for a few pages, and then there’s a change of scenery and you discover another mind, another point of view, another take on something you were so sure to have interpreted correctly and you start wondering who is right. It’s often more complicated than just being right. There are several sides to every story. I felt from the start that Anna was far from reliable but the author takes it to the limits, pushing further on just how much can you trust your thoughts and believe your own words.

For a long part of the book, I was anxious to connect all those pieces of the puzzle to understand what had driven Anna on her quest for revenge and why she would act so strangely towards Liam and his grandmother.

#4 Every chapter ratchets up tension so well your brain will yell at you to turn the pages faster

Looking for a steady-paced story? Welcome! Page one will show you just how much things escalate quickly. You are thrown into a revenge quest with strangers that you need to grill to get answers from. Pages hold secrets and only reveal hints and bits destined to make you feel confused and worried. Nothing is what it seems and I held my breath more than once thinking everything was about to come crashing down.

Safe with Me won’t make you feel safe at all. It is your ticket to a wicked ride through what life makes of you when you’ve gone through the worst, what happens when you don’t have all the cards but you don’t know it, how appearances can manipulate you. Safe with me is a strong psychological thriller with fascinating characters and a strong plot served with many twists that will satisfy the die-hard lovers of the genre. Safe with Me wins the Creepy Story Award on Chocolate’n’waffles Blog!

I received an ARC of this book.

Anna's painful past comes crashing back following a traffic accident...

Thirteen years ago something terrible happened to Anna and her family, something that has left her all alone in the world. A woman has destroyed her life and Anna has been looking out for this person all this time. Until one day a traffic accident brings her face to face with this woman...

Anna becomes obsessed with this woman and is desperate to finally seek revenge. To obtain information on her she starts to get close to Liam, the motorist who was thrown off his bike by the woman's car, and his gran Ivy. Anna soon becomes so consumed with her revenge that the life she has so painstakingly built over time begins to unravel and crumble once more.

Without confusing the reader, the story bounces back and forth between two related stories, thirteen years apart.​ One concentrates on Anna and her brother Danny as kids. The other, in the present.

Anna is damaged goods. She had a terrible childhood and survived some awful circumstances. She lives a solitary life with just her cat for company. Her 'friend', an elderly neighbour who has looked after her all these years. She suffers from OCD, going around her house checking everything is locked and closed and in order, but she also does strange, irrational things that are not done by the average sane person. At times I wasn't sure whether she's imagining things or actually doing them. Due to the way she behaves, I sincerely didn't know what to think of her. I'm not sure if I actually liked her or not. I found her to be rather irritating and awkward at times and since she's the central character in this book, well, this has left me a bit meh.

Don't get me wrong, the plot is original and well thought out and kept me interested throughout. The book is brilliantly written and doesn't feel like a debut novel. The author's writing is vivid and colourful drawing the reader in, for example: "His eyes were big pools of olive-coloured misery in a bleached, impoverished face."

I was really curious to find out to what lengths Anna was prepared to go in order to seek revenge and how everything will be wrapped up and exposed at the end. Overall I have to say that I enjoyed reading this book and was rather surprised by the way the story developed.

With thanks to Bookouture for approving my request to read this book through NetGalley.

SAFE WITH ME is a gripping psychological thriller by a debut author, KL Slater…and definitely an author with a promising career, and published by my favourite publisher, Bookouture. Your future is set!

“Thirteen years ago someone did something very bad to Anna. Now it’s her turn to get even … “

“Anna lives a solitary existence, taking solace in order and routine. Her only friend is the lonely old lady next door. She doesn’t like to let people to get too close – she knows how much damage they can do. “

Then one day Anna witnesses a disturbing road accident and recognizes the driver as Donna, the woman who ruined her life thirteen years ago. Now it’s Anna’s chance to get revenge!

But Anna realizes that she needs to have a sound plan, which first involves getting to know Liam, the man injured in the motorcycle/car accident. Anna offers Liam any help and support she can provide. But Liam lives with his nosy controlling grandmother,” Ivy”, who is unwilling to accept Anna's assistance, even though Ivy is feeble and unable to take care of her grandson. Therefore, Anna must take matters in her own hands and work out the path to make things happen her way, so she will get her revenge! It also means following the status of the police investigation, while watching and observing Donna from a distance. Anna must play her cards right…to win this time!

This novel is told from multiple perspectives, Anna's in the first-person, the others in the third. The story alternates between present day and 13 years ago as the story unfolds. I love how the author allows us to get to know Anna, slowly with all her delusions. There are lots of red herrings and this book will keep you guessing all the way through. I was totally glued to this book, as I wanted to see what was going to happen.

It is hard to believe this is a debut novel. The author did a super job of leading the reader down the wrong path, and at 88%, I loved Chapter 67. The characters in this book are creepy and disturbed, and it is difficult for the reader to guess the outcome of the book. I didn’t! I felt the author rushed the ending a little bit, and I was scrambling to keep up and put the pieces together. But everything came together in the end.

This author is very talented and has a bright future.

Many thanks to Net Galley and Bookouture for the ARC. It was my pleasure to provide an honest review.

What a thrill ride of a psychological thriller Safe With Me by K.L. Slater turned out to be. Bookouture weren't lying when they said that this was a 'psychological thriller so tense it will take your breath away'. Sublimely dark and all-consuming, Slater has written a novel so gripping, so captivatingly exciting that I found myself shushing everyone and ignoring everything simply so I could carry on reading.

In Safe With Me by K.L. Slater, we're introduced to Anna. Slater takes her readers straight to the action, as Anna is witness to a terrible accident in which a man, Liam, is flung from his motorcycle from the impact of the crash, and rushed to hospital. It is only when Anna sets eyes on the other woman at the scene of the accident that she realises she knows her. In fact, this woman played a devastating role in Anna's past, the impact of which has remained with Anna throughout her life ever since. Now, face to face with her again after so much time has passed, she refuses to let the woman out of her sight again. Revenge is sweet, especially when it creeps up on you seemingly out of nowhere. Fate has a dark and dangerous hand to play in the reunion of these two women and things are about to take a menacing and nasty turn.

K.L. Slater writes with such sharp precision and edginess, it's impossible not to feel the effects of the circumstances which unravel as if they're a physical thing. From beginning to end, I found it near impossible to put this book down and read it in record time, with my heart racing and adrenaline pumping. It was dark and twisted, with an incredibly oppressive atmosphere and tone that clung to me right the way through the novel, refusing to let go and allow me to breathe easily. Slater's continuous references to Anna's past hooked me completely and I became desperate to know exactly what had happened all those years before between these two women. It was clear from Anna's reaction that she hadn't expected to see this woman, who we know as Amanda, to appear again in her life and it's a serious shock to the system. Immediately, one million questions arose in my mind and I couldn't wait for the answers to be delivered. It was mysterious in every way possible, but with such a menacing undertone that got right beneath my skin and encouraged me to keep those pages turning until I reached the very end.

Slater's characters were fantastically constructed and each of them a puzzle to be solved. I found Anna to be a bit curious, although that's not to say that I didn't like her. In fact, I'd say I was rather fascinated by the woman. She was determined to wriggle her way into Liam's life and intent on growing closer to him in order to get closer to Amanda. I knew that whatever had happened between them must have been something terrible, as there was no chance Anna was letting it go. She was clever, yet had demons of her own to slay, and it seemed those demons came in the form of Amanda.

Between the chapters following Anna's chasing of Amanda, Slater took us back in time and began to deliciously pepper the novel with flashes of the past, creating the foundations of this story and slowly but surely delivering the full picture of what happened all those years before. I adored this aspect and thoroughly enjoyed being taken back in time, as it allowed me to understand why Anna was so angry and intent on getting revenge. It was incredibly intriguing and again, Slater's style was addictive, leading me further into this dark and twisted maze of a story that had goose-bumps prickling my skin.

All in all, this is an absolutely thrilling debut from K.L. Slater that has left me eager for more from this author. Dark and twisted, edgy and sharp, it truly got beneath my skin and had me excited for whatever the author would throw at her characters next. Becca's Books is awarding Safe With Me by K.L. Slater with five of my bookish cupcakes. This was darkly executed, and written by an author who clearly knows how to tease and taunt her readers in the best possible way. Roll on the next novel by K.L. Slater!

K. L. Slater a major new talent, delivers a dark, mind-boggling, and twisty psychological debut thriller: SAFE WITH ME. Set aside the time, “unputdownable.” Creepy, chilling tension builds with more twists, turns, and secrets than you can imagine combined with Anna’s escalating mental state, and dangerous obsession. No one is safe here.

As the thriller opens with stunning prose, there seems to be a fire. Sadness, fear, and someone walks away. There is a mysterious person speaking, here and again towards the end of the book. This person is dark, scary, and very troubled. The identity is not revealed until the explosive ending, adding to the intrigue.

Present Day Anna Age 33. An unreliable narrator. An accident. She sees a silver car coming the other way moving too fast. The driver loses control and veers over to the wrong side of the road. It happens quickly. The car hits the motorbike in front of her and the rider flies up into the air and lands face down on the road. Her foot slams down on the brake, she jumps out.

The car door opens, and a woman of about forty, dressed in jeans vomits on the side of the road. And in that split second, Anna recognizes “her.” She can barely breathe. Twelve years ago, when she got out of the hospital, even though she had met her only briefly on just a couple of occasions, she spent every spare moment trying to trace her again. Anna was young, naïve, and desperate back then, with no one to help. She had hit a brick wall. She prayed karma really did exist and was coming to her for what "she" did to them.

And now, "she" is here, right in front of her. Ruining yet another life. Ironic. She was good at playing the victim. She will never let go of her again. She is not that same terrified young girl now. She will try and help the guy from the moped. Looks to be about mid-thirties, her age. The woman has no clue who she is, or what she did to her all. Of course, Anna looks different now. It has been thirteen years. She has darker hair and much heavier. People like her never noticed the insignificant around them. Until it all comes back with a vengeance.

Anna is smarter now. Wiser. She will be able to keep tabs on her through the local newspaper and the accident reports and can identify herself later as a witness to the police. For now, she has learned to play it smart. From her therapist. Stand back from her thoughts and evaluate a situation calmly and logically to make the best decision. So there are NO mistakes.

Anna lives a solitary life and a preoccupation with order and routine and lives with her cat, Albert. She works for Royal Mail and has for five years. She organizes and bags it, and delivers it to the residents of the Clifton housing estate, on the outskirts of Nottingham. Her job keeps her on track. To escape the dark days. The places she does not want to return to.She decides looking back, that every single minute of the last thirteen years has been perfectly aligned to this moment. To bring "her" back to her. She keeps up with the accident in the Nottingham Post. She knows HER real name.

The woman’s name is Carla Bevin, but she is now going by Amanda. She decides the best thing to do is keep in touch with the motorbike victim, Liam Bradbury, currently in the hospital. The nurses tell her he lives with his gran Ivy which is old. She thinks he is a bit old to be residing with a relative.

Joan Peat (love her) is Anna neighbor, (seventies) with a care assistant, Linda. Her husband Arthur had died with cancer. She also has a useless daughter Janet Mae. Joan watches Anna. After all, Joan she had been their neighbor for thirty years. She knows what goes on in the house next door. Even long ago.

The Clarkes. Monica and Jack with little girl Anna. Monica had a penchant for alcohol and men. She was pregnant a year later with Daniel. Jack thought the child was not his and left. Six months later he was dead. That was when Anna starting visiting Joan.

The author keeps you hooked with intriguing suspense with an impending darkness lurking. What really went down thirteen years ago? What did Carla/Amanda do and what happened to her brother Daniel and the mom? Why is Anna so obsessed with revenge? What is Liam's story?

We jump to Carla Bevin (HER) who had worked at the Cumber Meadows group of schools as a counselor and psychotherapy. She was fascinated with kids which seemed to be bullied and had a rough time. Daniel refused to say a work to give any visual clues. She was his counselor and therapist.

His sister Anna was fifteen. Daniel and Anna were both very bright academically and Anna was selected for the school’s prestigious gifted pupil program. The mother had refused due to her needing to be at home.Daniel only said, "He’s always watching me. He knows what I’m thinking. He knows about every single thing I do."

Anna worms her way into Liam’s life and Grans. However, she has no clue what this accident has done to Liam’s mind and his troubled past. From alternating POV from thirteen years ago to the present, we hear from Anna and Carla and Joan. A fearful Anna, which seems to be spiraling out of control with her obsession, and worried about the people getting their mail late and losing her job. (stolen mail). In between, she is putting herself in the middle of Ivy, Liam, and Amanda. She cares for Liam. She also discovers Carla/Amanda works at a nursery and loves kids. She devises a devious plan to get her bloody revenge.

Anna is coming unhinged, worrying about Amanda trying to steal her happiness with Liam and she has to protect him. She had turned a blind eye once before in her life with disastrous consequences. Not again.

However, who is really the most dangerous here? Anna, Liam, or Carla (Amanda), or is it someone else? Who is out to get whom? Liam and Anna may have more in common than they know. Nothing is as it appears. .Their stories converge in a shocking conclusion, that will leave readers eager to share and discuss SAFE WITH ME. (ideal for book clubs and discussions). Plus it will raise your blood pressure, and increase your heart rate.

Wow, the author covers highly charged topics from mental health, abuse, and others with sensitivity, vivid descriptions, and fully developed characters. Anna was one wild character like a time bomb not knowing when she would implode. She was disturbing, cold, chilling, paranoid, detached and delusional.

The perfect unreliable narrator. Unpredictable from beginning to end. I will have to say my favorite character was Joan. (Love the surprise little evil twist) I was applauding. Something about a great neighbor who does not "miss a thing". The twist with Liam and Gran was cleverly crafted. Each person experienced tragedy, with the opportunity to help someone crossing their path.

It is very hard to believe this is a debut! If this is a debut, can you even imagine what is to come?? For fans of Jennifer Hillier, Heather Gudenkauf, Chevy Stevens, Ruth Rendell, BA Paris, Fiona Barton, Kathryn Croft, Mary Kubica, and Clare Mackintosh (some of my favorites)! Yes, I totally agree with the author. An outstanding cover, Bookouture! These guys sure know how to crank out the talent!

“Your life takes a turn and, suddenly, everything changes and it just can’t be put back together again the same way as it was before.“

Dark, and compelling and devoured it in one sitting. Congrats on a heart-stopping, gripping, hit debut! (saving another star for the second book) Would encourage readers to view the author’s journey. An inspiring story, returning to university at age forty and the beginning of the story we have today. "You had me at Prologue." Cannot wait for book two. CLOSER TO YOU coming, April 2017! An author to follow.

A special thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

JDCMustReadBooks

Thirteen years ago, Anna's family met with tragedy. Anna knows exactly who is to blame: Carla, the school councilor who was supposed to save Anna's younger brother, Daniel, but who put him in more danger than she could have imagined. One fateful day, Anna is witness to a car accident involving a car and a motorcyclist. The driver of the car that ran the cyclist off the road is none other than Carla.

Anna is determined to expose Carla for what she is and get her arrested for her role in the accident. She cozies up to the victim and his grandmother, hoping to influence their interactions with the police. She just cannot understand why no one seems to be taking the situation as seriously as she is-- as seriously as they should be.

That's a problem Anna runs into a lot with other people. For instance at work, where everyone just seems to rush through their shift instead of taking the time to add that extra caring touch. And sure, it takes Anna a bit longer, but she's going to catch up with delivering it all one day soon.

Thank goodness for Liam, the motorcyclist that horrible woman Carla nearly killed. He needs Anna and she needs him. If only his grandmother Ivy would stop blocking her efforts to help. Seriously, what is it with people being so stubborn? And then Carla starts to try to infiltrate herself into Liam's life, no doubt trying to get him not to press charges. But Anna isn't about to let that happen.

Unreliable narrators are not my favorite, although this book pulls off the concept reasonably well. But Anna is really creepy, in way that lacks much subtlety, and that made reading this book tough to bare at times. As much as I appreciated the dark, awkward parts of her character, I wish it were toned down a bit. This book moved slowly for me. I am glad I stuck with it, even though the ending turned out to be a big ole' bowl of crazy. There was, in my opinion, reasonable pay off, although I'm still wondering how Anna's co-worker and her caretaker sister fit into the story, and wondering why her old lady neighbor was needed as a narrator at all. This book was solidly written, but not really my style. Those who enjoy thrillers with unreliable narrators might want to give this one a go.

I received a copy of this book courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley.

I have to start by saying that I’m completely blown away by the fact that this is Slater’s debut novel. This was polished, gripping and entirely riveting. If this is what she comes up with for a debut, I can’t wait to see what she does next! This is one of those books that will be a bit hard to review because I don’t want to give up anything unintentionally, but I’ll do my best to give you a feel for the book without revealing anything pertinent.

This is told from two timelines, present day and thirteen years ago. There was clearly a big tragedy in the past, but details are released slowly and methodically throughout the book until it all comes to a head with a shocking climax. When Anna witnesses a car accident and recognizes Carla, a woman who is related in some way to the tragedy, she feels like she finally has the chance to right the wrongs from the past. She swiftly and immediately inserts herself into the lives of Liam, the man injured in the accident and Ivy his grandmother.

Anna narrates and she is quite the character. I’ve never seen someone quite as detached and delusional as she is. What made her simultaneously fascinating and disturbing is the fact that she has no idea the way she behaves isn’t normal. She manages to convince herself that the insane decisions she makes are justified and that she knows what’s best for anyone and everyone. I felt like I was watching someone’s cheese slid right off of their cracker and I couldn’t look away.

This book had so many dark undercurrents running between the pages and I was unsettled and creeped out the entire time I was reading it. Anna’s cold indifference and stark paranoia really chilled me, in fact I found myself looking over my shoulder even though I read this book in the comfort of my own home. I was quite wrapped up in Anna’s sad and strange little world and was keen to find out what the tragedy was exactly so maybe I could discover why she turned out the way that she did.

The ending was the only thing that kept me from rating this higher, I just wanted a bit more and maybe some greater explanations about some of the events. I like things all neat and tidy at the end of a book, but that’s just a personal preference of mine. It was still a very good read, full of deadly obsessions, manipulations, and plenty of twists that kept me guessing.

I found Safe With Me by K.L Slater on NetGalley when I was looking for a new thriller after reading a couple of lighthearted holiday books. I felt like I needed something with a little more substance after being in happily- ever- after land for awhile. So I read the description and was definitely interested.

I always like to read a couple of summaries on a particular book that I am about to read to give me an idea of if I really want to read it or not. I also like to check a couple reviews from people that I am familiar with on Goodreads or LIbrarything just to see what their views are as well. The book got pretty good reviews from a lot of folks on Goodreads, so I submitted my request and was glad I got selected.

Safe With Me puts you inside the head of a woman who is slowly surrendering her grip on reality, and trust me, it's kind of a scary place to be. The story line is fast-paced for the most part and is certainly full of twists and turns. There are parts of the book that are pretty intense and the author definitely knows how to keep you guessing. I was surprised to find that the book is actually K.L. Slater's debut novel.The writing is spot-on, with interesting, well-developed characters that all seem to be harboring their own secrets. Although I can't say the majority of them were likable, I don't feel they were intended to be anyway. I felt that the book had a good flow and was a fairly quick read as well.

I finished the book knowing that I would definitely be watching for more from this new author. If this is her first offering to the literary world, I can only imagine what she will come up with next. K.L. Slater did a great job of keeping me guessing, and from what I saw from the several other reviews that I had read, I was not the only one! That is always a sign of a good thriller. A story loses a lot of it's power when the reader has it figured out by the middle of the book.

I would like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book to review. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who loves a good thriller.

Safe With Me is the debut novel from K.L. Slater, and is another really good psychological thriller brought to us by Bookouture, who are definitely carving a reputation for discovering new talent.

The novel focuses on Anna who, thirteen years ago, experienced an event which changed the course of her life, turning her into the person she is today. This event gradually unfolds as the story progresses. There's no big-bang; the author drops snippets of information as she oscillates between present day and thirteen years previously.

Anna definitely has psychological problems, and K.L. Slater does a sterling job of taking us inside a chaotic mind and how the simplest of things quickly become out of control when you have a mental illness.

Anna's POV is told in first person, but there are several other POV's told in third person. This is a fairly new technique in writing, and some die-hard traditionalists may struggle to deal with the combination. However, I really enjoy this modernised approach.

A couple of small critiques:
There was a single scene told from an individual's POV which I felt was unnecessary (no mentions due to potential spoilers) as it didn't move the plot forward at all. I understand why the author did it - she wanted to signpost something to the reader - but I felt this could have been achieved in a different way.

We also had insight into a particular part of Carla's personal life which again, I felt was unnecessary in terms of the story the author was telling. If you simply lifted that scene out, it would not change the course of the novel, nor the reader's understanding of character.

Overall, this is a great debut novel and I look forward to seeing what K.L. Slater brings out next

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher, Bookouture, for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC of "Safe with Me" by K. L. Slater in return for a fair and honest review.

An exceptionally well-written psychological thriller. This book will keep you reading well into the night!!

Flawlessly written with varying points of view. Alternating time frames of past and present only intensify the need to keep reading!

Most, if not all the characters have the same characteristics such as loneliness, deviousness, mysteriousness and secretiveness. All these character traits strengthen the twists and turns that keep this story moving swiftly and intensely. With that being said, the end of the book seemed to lack that "WOW" factor that would have made this a five-star rating.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys the psychological thriller genre. It is well written and flows seamlessly to the end.

Safe With Me is a brilliantly disturbing psychological thriller by a debut author.
Told from multiple perspectives, Anna's in the first-person, the others in the third, the story kept twisting and turning and was totally unpredictable.
Anna witnesses a road traffic accident and recognizes the woman responsible, Donna, as somebody from her past. Anna's past was traumatic, so it's totally understandable that she offers the unfortunate accident victim, Liam, any help and support she can provide. After all, now that Anna has found the woman responsible for her tragic past she can't let her get away with it again, can she? And if Liam's grandmother, Ivy, is somewhat reluctant to accept Anna's much-needed help, then Anna has no choice but to engineer her own creative ways to make things happen.
The plot switches between the present and thirteen years ago, which worked well. I absolutely adored the way K.L. Slater portrayed Anna and her delusions. She was a character who really unnerved me. I would have never thought this was a debut novel. The author did a fantastic job of misdirecting the reader and throwing curve after curve. The prologue sent me down a completely wrong path. I was totally surprised by where the story went. Up to about 85%, I thought this was going to be a 5-star read. But I felt the last bit wasn't quite up to that. The author suddenly rushed with the ending. However, for a debut novel, this was brilliantly done. Especially the characterization. If you like disturbed, creepy characters and a tale where nothing is quite as it seems look no further.
I chose to read this ARC and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased.

This is an extremely well written psychological thriller which will keep you guessing all the way to the end. The author has done an amazing job at having the reader form certain opinions about what is really going on before blowing that totally out of the water.

Anna, the main female character, comes across as a very complex character. Her story begins innocently enough, but as we learn more about her secrets begin to emerge which may well have the reader assuming certain things about her.

The characters are all very well written and the storyline held my attention all the way through. At more than a few points in the last 30% of the story I thought I had things worked out but was proven wrong on almost all of them.

A story I would highly recommend for fans of psychological thrillers. Many thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for providing a copy of this book.

An odd sort of psychological thriller. It's told from multiple points of view . Initially, there are three perspectives - Anna, an overweight mail carrier who had a tragedy in her life 13 years ago, her neighbor Mrs. Peat and an unknown individual. The first two suffer from loneliness. Anna also suffers from OCD and other issues stemming from the tragedy which we come to learn involved her brother. At the start of the book, she witnesses a car accident caused by the perceived perpetrator of her own tragedy and starts to plot revenge.

As the book goes on, we are given flashbacks to Carla, a school therapist, who Anna sees as her childhood villain. She is another lonely, damaged soul. Other character’s POV come into play throughout the book.

Anna is a disturbing character. The kind of character that gives me the creeps. It doesn't take long to realize how off she truly is. Ever read one of those books where the scenes are so disturbing that you keep putting the book down? This is one of those books. Not that the scenes are violent or sickening. Just creepy. Goosebumps creepy. Slater does a great job of portraying Anna. Her choice of words is spot on, like when Anna sneaks into a house and then thinks “my sacrifice has paid dividends”.

Then just when you think you have it figured out, Slater starts throwing curveballs at you. In fact, with every curve, you think, well now I know what's going to happen. And you will be wrong. Very well done plot.

My thanks to netgalley and Bookouture for an ARC of this book.

Safe with Me is the debut novel of K L Slater. The story follows Anna, a single girl with no real friends, she has suffered a lot of trauma in her life and when, one day, she witnesses a road accident she believes the woman who caused the accident is also responsible for what happened to her brother thirteen years ago and she is determined to reveal the truth. The book is written in two timelines, the present day and thirteen years earlier and is told mainly by Anna, with a few other characters giving their side of events occasionally.

It's a very well written, riveting read and is very hard to put down, just when you think you've worked out where it's going the plot spins on its head and veers off in completely the other direction.

I really enjoyed the story and look forward to reading more by this author.

I requested a free copy from NetGalley. The opinions below are my own. Thank you, Bookouture!
One of the best psychological thrillers that I've read all year. I kept thinking I knew where every storyline was going and I kept getting surprised every time. Anna is not the most reliable person, even if she thinks she is. It is some kind of Stockholm Syndrome, you know that she is deluded, but you keep siding with her, even when she's being unreasonable. Saying that she is damaged is an understatement. You know that she lost her brother when she was a child but you don't know what happened. Anna witnesses a car crash and recognizes the person who caused it as someone from her past. But who is she and what on earth did she do to tick Anna off so much? Then, there is Liam, the victim of the accident. He holds Anna's hand and asks her to help him. Since Anna is not the most stable character, she takes this as a life-changing event. Hats off to the author because in a lesser writer's hands Anna would have been unbearable. Instead, she is a sad, self-destructive character. At some point I wanted to slap her, but I still rooted for her and worried about her, like seeing a loved one make a huge mistake without being able to do anything about it. This is a great read.

Anna, an introverted Postal Carrier, is unraveling in both her personal and professional life due to the haunting memories of her childhood. When she witnesses a traffic accident, she believes that she sees the culprit to a crime that had a lasting effect on her life. She thrusts her companionship on the victim of the accident in order to get closer to Amanda, the driver of the car, to plot her revenge but things don't go as she planned.

This book is filled with twists and turns, some of which are a little bit predictable but most kept me interested and looking forward to the next. The book reads quickly and flows well. I enjoyed the complexity of the story and the characters. This book is one of the most original psychological thrillers that I have read in a long time. This was a very entertaining read and one in which I would recommend to other lovers of thrillers.

This one will keep you up at night, flipping the pages to try and figure out if the protagonist Anna Is crazy or a psychobitch.

No spoilers, but Anna sounds like a reliable narrator to me and all the characters were likable. So... why is Anna determined to get revenge on someone who did something horrible to her in the past? And why do weird things keep happening to Anna? I started to wonder is this all her imagination and maybe she not as crazy as I thought?

But I'll let you read this wonderful debut and find out for yourself. One word of caution, prepare to be surprised & shocked more than once.

I decided to post my thoughts and chose leave a review after reading the advance ecopy of this book I received via Net Galley courtesy of Bookoture, the Publisher on September 12, 2016.

Thank you for giving me an opportunity to read this book before the publication date of November 3, 2016!

Anna is a solitary person. She has had a hard life. She is damaged but has built a new life on her own terms, one she can cope with.

As long as nothing goes wrong.

But when she witnesses a traffic accident, all her hard work comes unravelled. She tells herself she is coping, but is she?

Because the woman who caused the accident is one who hurt Anna a long time ago. The woman may have a different name, but Anna can see through her and she is determined that this time she should not get away with her actions.

Safe With Me is a debut novel by KL Slater which has me completely blown away. This is a chilling psychological thriller that had me devouring every word.

I want more from this author. Soon.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for providing me with a digital ARC for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

Safe with me is a debut psychological thriller by K.L Slater.

Anna is a postal worker with slight OCD tendencies. She likes to stick to her routine and has anxiety disorders. Her neighbor Mrs. Peat looks out for her as something awful happened to Anna's family. One day Anna witnesses a car accident by someone who Anna believes is responsible for destroying her family. She decides to help Liam , who was hurt In the accident , and exact her revenge at the same time.

This is my second book by this author and I liked Blink much better. The characters on this book were not very likable and though there was some twists in the book the plot moved too slowly for me.

Many thanks to the publisher & NetGalley for this sample copy in exchange for my honest and fair review.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Bookouture for giving me the opportunity to read this book which I voluntarily reviewed.
"13 years ago someone did something very bad to Anna. Now it's her turn to get even."
Who can resist a psychological thriller with this as a description. I certainly couldn't and I'm so pleased I didn't!
This drew me in from the beginning and kept me intrigued until the end.
The story is told from 3 main viewpoints, with others being thrown in occasionally.
Anna is a character I couldn't make my mind up about. Was she a hero or was she a villain?
As the story unfold there are twists and turns galore and a few red herrings.
This is a remarkable debut and a true psychological thriller that will definitely give you goose bumps.
I look forward to reading more books by K.L.Slater.

Review: SAFE WITH ME

Detailed and implactable, SAFE WITH ME is a portrait of madness "from the inside." There's a trite cliche holding that those who worry they have mental illness don't; the corollary is that the truly ill just don't know and can't recognize. Such is the case with this novel, stuffed to the brim with off-the-track personalities, ranging from the selfish mildly neurotic, to the definitely dangerous to self and others. In between, perhaps, are the morally lethargic, who experience a niggling awareness of "something is wrong," but for reasons of greed or ambition or personal loss, fail to act. Just as in the brutal murder of Kitty Genovese in New York City several decades ago, those who know, even if only an inkling or an intuition, and don't act, are guilty by omission of the inevitable tragedies.

Boring for nearly the 1st 80% of the book. We are endkesdly stuck in Anna's warped psyche. Then the author rushes through the final pages, tying up all the loose ends in a simple bow!
Not a single character is likable or sympathetic; they are either mentally ill, self-serving or stupid. And WHAT was the big secret Mrs. Peat wanted to "finally" reveal to Anna?? That was never explained. Anna is supposed to be 15 years old when the early "events" happen.....yet she speaks and acts like a 6 year old! 13 years later, when she should be 28 years old, shes described as waking up on her "33rd birthday". Huh??
A waste of time, this book.

This is a modern thriller. The plot was easy enough to follow and there were a lot of interesting characters. The main character is Anna, a thirty something, single, loaner, who is a Postman. She witness's a car accident and becomes obsessed with Liam the motorbike victim, believing that they are in a relationship. Anna's world starts to crumble about her as she loses control of her perfectly routine life and past memories surface. Can she gain control?

It may be well written, but to give a quality review --> the book would need facts to validate the story. This book cannnot do that -- ITS COMPLETE FICTION. The author writes well, but his writings are from the Imagination.

I guess this is one of the books you either love or hate. I just don't love it.
I don't mind if the main characters are mentally insane, normally that makes a book interesting, but I want to be able to like at least someone or to feel feel for them. The dilusional Anna, the neighbor who knew about the abuse and out of selfishness didn't do anything to help, Liam and his grandmother, Amanda, they all are too weird to relate to, and the story is way too abstruse.
This so called psychological thriller didn#t thrill me for a moment.

I completely devoured this book from start to finish. I found it to be totally gripping and all consuming. It was a good job I had nothing major planned for that day as it would definitely have been bumped for me to keep on reading.
We start with a bang. Well, a fire actually comes first, then a rather nasty trafic accident between a car and a bike, witnessed by main character Anna. She rushes to Liam, the motorcyclist who has been hit off his bike, and holds his hand until the medics arrive. She also recognises Carla the driver of the car as being someone from her past. Someone who had hurt her, really hurt her. And so begins Anna's crusade to make the driver pay for the sins she believes has gone unpunished. She inveigles herself into Liam's life so that she can follow the investigation but as she becomes embroiled into this vendetta her own life slowly starts to unravel. Will Anna be able to exact her revenge or is there something else more sinister going on.
This book is told from multiple povs and also includes flash backs. Both these elements are very well handled and I was easily able to follow what was going on and when. The narrative was well crafted and everything eventually made sense, even if I did spend quite a few moments clueless about what or why or even how. I do love a book that keeps me on my toes!
Characterisation was, for me, very well done. I do love these kinds of characters, especially when they are written as well as this author has done. That said, I did find Anna a little hard to connect with initially, probably by design due to her storyline, but also cos there were so many times I just wanted to slap her silly and shouted at her a fair few times too. As the story unfolded and I learned more about her past, I did start to warm to her as I felt that I understood more about her as a person. Again, this flitting between liking and disliking characters is another thing I love in a book. The rest of the characters were also well crafted and, on the whole, again with the flitting thing, easy to emote with/relate to. I especially liked Anna's neighbour Mrs Peat, whose addition insights into Anna's past really made the book come to life for me.
Plot-wise, the book kept me guessing, second guessing and even third guessing. I was quite dizzy at the end with all the spinning around and about-facing I did. But when finally all was revealed, as I turned the last page, I was left with a satisfied grin on my face. Well, as satisfied as I could be given the "personality" of the narrator but that's just nature of the beast rather than a criticism to the author and wholly acceptable.
It's not exactly fast pace as with some thrillers. After the two big incidents at the start, the pace slows down but that's when the psychological elements come to the fore. Things start bubbling up under the surface, simmering until the time is right for them to start to boil. I found this to be very effectively handled and made the book all the more creepy for me. I am a sucker for a good creepy, messes with your head book and this one ticked that box for me.
All in all, a great psychological thriller that will mess with your head as it messes with the characters. Another book that it is hard to believe is a debut, it's so well presented, I'm definitely having this author on my watch list.

My thanks go to NetGalley and the Publisher for the chance to read an advance copy of this book.

3 1/2 Stars
This book might have been too clever for its own good. With a great premise, it started strong, but just got a little too crazy as it went along. There were too many subplots that took away from the main story and parts of the book were unbelievable. While it tied everything together for the most part, it could have been much better without so many different story lines.

Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I'm going right in the middle with 3 stars. It wasn't the worst book I ever read, but it certainly was not the best, either. Most of the book was ho-hum, and I didn't like that it kept going back and forth between the past and the present. I stayed with it, and finished it, but the ending was a huge disappointment, and very farfetched.

SPOILERS AHEAD!!! Hmmm. Pretty good for first 3/4, then the author resorted to the ol' twin sister twist to explain away a major plot point. Man, that bummed me out, for I was really into it. I finished it, as I rarely finish what I start, to my consternation. Three stars is what I gave, but 2.5 is what I wanted to give.

Extraordinarily intense, exceptionally sinister, and darkly entertaining!

This story reminds us just how much our familial relationships, environments and experiences can affect our physical and psychological health and emphasizes how fragile and complex our minds truly are.

It, ultimately, is a story about abuse, loss, death, grief, guilt, manipulation, and obsession.

The plot is told from different points of view and shifts between the past and present effortlessly creating an exciting thrill ride of twists, turns, suspense, and tension. The writing is smooth and clear. And the characters are lonely, damaged, desolate, and devious.

Overall, this is an incredibly clever, debut psychological thriller with just the right amount of mystery and eeriness to keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish.

Thank you to NetGalley, especially Bookouture, for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. I absolutely love finding new authors who write a wonderful debut book! With alot of psychological thrillers you can see the slow decline into madness, but with this book everyone is already dysfunctional and psychologically mad. I really enjoyed this story from beginning to end and I look forward to reading more books by this author.

Wow! What a rollercoaster of a book! Loved this amazing, thrilling, pacy tale with twists in nearly every page. My heart was beating frantically as I read - I didn't know who to trust, who was telling the truth. This story took me on an amazing, intense journey and I had goosebumps at the end. I really loved Joan Peat. I really loved this book. Highly recommended. I cannot wait for more from this author.

Thanks to netgalley for the opportunity to have read this great debut!! loved this debut novel by K.L Slater! The novel was well build from beginning to the end through the eyes of Anna whom I think had some psychological problems that hasn't been surfaced yet...... It was really a great read and worth your effort.

What a cracking book, I was surprised to learn that this was a debut novel, it doesn't read like one,it was very accomplished and full of twists,and I really enjoyed it.I can't wait for the next book from this exciting new author now,and recommend this one.
the store,thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Muddled tale with different narrators, dislikable characters, ludicrous plot and cringey denouement. I found myself skimming through it faster and faster just to see what happened. Then wished I'd not bothered. Not even worth 99p.

This book was interesting and held promise. In the end it didn’t deliver. I enjoyed the writing style and looked forward to the twist promised. The end was such a let down. Lots of good books out there so try another one

I loved this book, but let's get one thing out of the way. I don't really like the cover. It's really not your average female-victim thriller, and it's even a bit humorous at times (or maybe that's just me). But this cover doesn't make the book stand out in the way that it should.

The story is told mostly through Anna's voice, after she views a road accident caused by a woman she believes is also responsible for the death of her brother. But it quickly becomes apparent that Anna is a very unreliable narrator, much in the realm of You's Joe Goldberg, and possibly just as bonkers. And just like Joe, Anna is often charming in her delusions of love.

But further into the book you realize Anna isn't the only one with issues of psychology and/or outright deceit. Every single character in this book is hiding who they are in one way or another. And as all the layers are peeled away and we realize who is really who and what is exactly happening, the book becomes more and more difficult to put down.

The last ten percent however, falls a bit apart. It pains me to say that because I absolutely loved the other 90%, and it's possible that others don't have a problem with the ending. But for me the end was a little rushed, some logic was dropped, and some corners and character details were cut. It was not an unsatisfactory ending at all though, I just think the intense web of lies that the author created might have required a bit more time for her to arrange in a neater manner.

This is K.L. Slater's first book, and while I felt the end lacked just a bit of organization, I 100% LOVED the rest, and absolutely look forward to what she puts out in the future. I am definitely a new fan!

Thanks to NetGalley for providing an early copy in exchange for a fair review.

Very good book! Every time you think you have it figured out, there is another added twist. This is the first book that I have read from this author, but I will definitely be looking to read more in the future.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. I absolutely love finding new authors who write a wonderful debut book! With alot of psychological thrillers you can see the slow decline into madness, but with this book everyone is already dysfunctional and psychologically mad. I really enjoyed this story from beginning to end and I look forward to reading more books by this author.

I picked this book up as I like reading psychological thrillers but found it a little lacking.
The main character Anna's behavior was extremely erratic. Everything makes sense only in her own head and she stubbornly does what she wants. That she has issues is very clear throughout the book but she never gets any help for any of them and that was very surprising.
I was also surprised by Amanda's character. Why does she have to be beaten up before she tells the truth to Anna?!
There were some chapters in between without any character mentioned and after reading the climax I couldn't figure out who was talking in those.
I give 4 stars as I didn't feel like putting it down once I started reading it.

Wow! What a rollercoaster of a book! Loved this amazing, thrilling, pacy tale with twists in nearly every page. My heart was beating frantically as I read - I didn't know who to trust, who was telling the truth. This story took me on an amazing, intense journey and I had goosebumps at the end. I really loved Joan Peat. I really loved this book. Highly recommended. I cannot wait for more from this author.

Thanks to netgalley for the opportunity to have read this great debut!! loved this debut novel by K.L Slater! The novel was well build from beginning to the end through the eyes of Anna whom I think had some psychological problems that hasn't been surfaced yet...... It was really a great read and worth your effort.

What a cracking book, I was surprised to learn that this was a debut novel, it doesn't read like one,it was very accomplished and full of twists,and I really enjoyed it.I can't wait for the next book from this exciting new author now,and recommend this one.
the store,thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Muddled tale with different narrators, dislikable characters, ludicrous plot and cringey denouement. I found myself skimming through it faster and faster just to see what happened. Then wished I'd not bothered. Not even worth 99p.

This book was interesting and held promise. In the end it didn’t deliver. I enjoyed the writing style and looked forward to the twist promised. The end was such a let down. Lots of good books out there so try another one

When I first started reading, it was a bit hard to follow because of the jumping around, but towards the middle and end it was very suspenseful and had some twists that I didn't see coming. I sort of wished that the ending was a bit longer or more detailed. Good book though!

I loved this book, but let's get one thing out of the way. I don't really like the cover. It's really not your average female-victim thriller, and it's even a bit humorous at times (or maybe that's just me). But this cover doesn't make the book stand out in the way that it should.

The story is told mostly through Anna's voice, after she views a road accident caused by a woman she believes is also responsible for the death of her brother. But it quickly becomes apparent that Anna is a very unreliable narrator, much in the realm of You's Joe Goldberg, and possibly just as bonkers. And just like Joe, Anna is often charming in her delusions of love.

But further into the book you realize Anna isn't the only one with issues of psychology and/or outright deceit. Every single character in this book is hiding who they are in one way or another. And as all the layers are peeled away and we realize who is really who and what is exactly happening, the book becomes more and more difficult to put down.

The last ten percent however, falls a bit apart. It pains me to say that because I absolutely loved the other 90%, and it's possible that others don't have a problem with the ending. But for me the end was a little rushed, some logic was dropped, and some corners and character details were cut. It was not an unsatisfactory ending at all though, I just think the intense web of lies that the author created might have required a bit more time for her to arrange in a neater manner.

This is K.L. Slater's first book, and while I felt the end lacked just a bit of organization, I 100% LOVED the rest, and absolutely look forward to what she puts out in the future. I am definitely a new fan!

Thanks to NetGalley for providing an early copy in exchange for a fair review.

Very good book! Every time you think you have it figured out, there is another added twist. This is the first book that I have read from this author, but I will definitely be looking to read more in the future.

Oh my goodness! It's been awhile since I've read a book that I couldn't put down, that is, until this book! Wonderfully written! Kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. Can't wait to read the next book.

After I finished this book I honestly don't know if I enjoyed it or not. It started off well but found it just plodded on then until the end. I kept waiting for something exciting to happen and was expecting a massive twist but sadly that never came. It bugged me the iPhone mentioned 13 years ago as there was no iPhones at that time . Just an ok read

I was lucky enough to receive an early copy of Safe With Me and absolutely loved it. It is a testament to the quality of this author's writing that her main character - Anna - still occupies space in my head months after I read the book. The tension was expertly built throughout the novel and from 70% my head was just spinning. There were various points at which I thought I had it all worked out but no, I was proven wrong each time and then brilliantly taken on another route. I particularly enjoyed the skill with which each of the characters was unpeeled and revealed over the course of the book. I loved Anna’s character even though I wanted to shake her sometimes I still cared about her very much. Brilliantly done and I can't wait to read the next book this author has to offer.

Anna Clarke is a troubled young woman. Living alone in her childhood home, her life was thrown into turmoil when she was a teenager when someone let her down in a way she had never fully recovered from. Now, her life is dominated by the need for order, for maintaining the routine around which she centres her days, and the feeling of pride she gets from knowing and helping all of the residents on her mail round. She has no real friends, preferring to avoid getting too close to people and her neighbour Mrs Peat is the closest thing Anna has to family.

When Anna witnesses a road collision in which a young man is knocked from his motorbike, she is shocked to recognise the other driver, a woman she thought she would never see again. A woman she blames for the devastating events which changed her life thirteen years earlier. Determined to see the woman pay for what she did to her as much as for the injury she caused to Liam, the biker, Anna resolves to stay close to the investigation. To stay close to Liam, the man who pleaded with her to help him as he lay bleeding in the road.

As Anna begins to obsess over the driver, Carla, she will stop at nothing to find her. But her obsession has unforeseen repercussions and Anna finds herself in trouble with no idea of who to turn to. But not everything is as it seems, and those who Anna thinks of as friends may be hiding secrets every bit as big as the one Anna herself hides in the small box room at the top of the stairs.

‘Safe With Me’ is a fast paced and riveting psychological thriller. Centred around an unreliable narrator who is slowly devolving mentally the more that the story progresses, the narrative style creates an unusual feeling throughout the book. Sometimes told from a first-person perspective with Anna, and again with a mysterious and creepy anonymous voice, some chapters are also in third person. This is an interesting choice, as viewing the world through Anna’s eyes magnifies the lack of a grip on reality and we can see just how blurred her vision of the world around her truly is. Anna has no idea how other people really see her, and because as a reader you are inside of her head, it forces you to consider how the other people may react in a way that Anna can’t, rather than using the standard third person narrative to describe it. Yet when we take a more holistic third person view, we begin to see things very differently.

This obliviousness of Anna as to what is happening around her also adds to the suspense in the novel, as with a few limited exceptions where Anna is not the focus of the narrative, if Anna doesn’t see it herself, neither do we as a reader. Yet we are privy to all of her thoughts, as disturbing as they may be at times, but when we are not in her head, we have no idea what she is up to and so we have no real idea of just who is launching the campaign of hate against ‘Carla’. Is it Anna or not?

The characters in the story are really well written. Liam is engaging and forgiving, eliciting a great deal of sympathy for his plight, his grandmother Ivy, naturally suspicious of Anna and protective of him. ‘Carla’ is written quite sympathetically and Mrs Peat as the interfering but well meaning neighbour. But it is in the portrayal of Anna that KL Slater has truly excelled. She has all the classic hallmarks of someone who has deep rooted psychological issues; OCD, a bit of a loner, tentative grip on reality. And she is creepy in a seriously obsessive way. She has absolutely no concept that what she is doing is wrong. It works brilliantly. Slater has not over written the character of Anna, creating a perfect balance between sanity and a full mental breakdown which leans ever closer to the latter as time goes on.

The events from thirteen years ago are told through a series of flashbacks in which we follow Carla in the weeks leading up to the event which changes both Carla’s and Anna’s life. These sections are developed slowly and carefully, the sense of impending tragedy building with each chapter. We know that something is very wrong in Anna’s home life, and yet the way Slater has written this means that for every suspicion you may have, you will be startlingly and tragically wrong. There are so many twists and turns, enough misdirection that you will be kept guessing right to the end. There are few people in this story who will not surprise you.

If I have one criticism that has probably had me shave off half a star, it is the ending. We fast forward half a year, the conclusion told through Anna summing everything up rather than seeing it first hand. It kind of felt as though we had run out of time to tell the story in full so we just got the highlights from Anna’s perspective. And because it was Anna’s perspective I’m not sure how much of it I believe. But she was still delightfully barmpot crazy, so it’s not all bad.

A great debut which will keep you gripped right to the last page, earning it a deeply disturbed and totally obsessive 4.5 stars.

I picked this book up as I like reading psychological thrillers but found it a little lacking.
The main character Anna's behavior was extremely erratic. Everything makes sense only in her own head and she stubbornly does what she wants. That she has issues is very clear throughout the book but she never gets any help for any of them and that was very surprising.
I was also surprised by Amanda's character. Why does she have to be beaten up before she tells the truth to Anna?!
There were some chapters in between without any character mentioned and after reading the climax I couldn't figure out who was talking in those.
I give 4 stars as I didn't feel like putting it down once I started reading it.

When I first started reading, it was a bit hard to follow because of the jumping around, but towards the middle and end it was very suspenseful and had some twists that I didn't see coming. I sort of wished that the ending was a bit longer or more detailed. Good book though!

Another great book by Slater. I enjoyed the second half of the book especially the surprises. The characters are more broken than you realize at first. The ending was satisfying. I will miss Anna, Liam, Amanda, Ivy and Mrs Pruet.

I’m a big fan of the mystery/thriller genre and this psychological thriller with a twist sounded too good to be true. And it might just be that I set my expectations too high, especially since I’ve only seen positive reviews so far, but I ended up having mixed thoughts about this thriller by K.L. Slater. When I first started reading it, I was sure I was going to give it the highest possible rating like most other reviewers that have finished it so far. But as the plot twists and unlikeable characters evolved, I started having second thoughts. Everything is almost too absurd (especially during the final part of the book) and the plot just didn’t seem to be believable at all in the end. It didn’t help that I couldn’t connect to the main character Anna either; in fact, I found her rather annoying. I liked the whole amnesia angle though, and I guess Anna does make for a perfect unreliable narrator. So if you enjoy reading the genre and don’t mind an unlikeable character or two, make sure to keep Safe With Me in mind.