Thank you Netgalley and Book Outure for this book in exchange for an honest review. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 for this one. Gripped me right away and the only disappointment I got from this book is that I'm finished reading it!

Unforgettable and gripping. The suspense starts at the very beginning and doesn't let go. There is a large cast of characters as well as a large plotline. With so many suspects and action, I was glued to the pages and didn't guess the answers until the reveal. This is the second book in the series and I am already anxious for Jessie's next one, especially after that ending.

I was so excited to dive into this book and it definitely did not disappoint. Had me on the edge of my seat from the very beginning and that excitement lasted throughout the entire novel. Would definitely recommend to a friend!

Detective Jessie Blake #2

Jessie and her team have been sent to investigate the disappearance of baby Findlay. He had been taken from his cot as his mother lay sleeping. Claire suffers from post natal depression and it puts a strain on her marriage to Darren. Has Claire actually hurt her baby boy or has someone else abducted him?

This story cover a horrible subject matter. As Jessie investigates, she discovers a web of secrets and lies. Theres a great mix of characters who are well rounded and believable. Theres plenty of drama and lies in this emotional roller coaster read. The more you read, the more the mystery deepens. You don't know what's going to happen next. I never saw the ending coming.

I would like to thank Netgalley, Bookouture and the author Kerry Watts for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow what a read I could not put this book down. Second in a series I will definitely be reading the first & any future books. I would recommend to anyone.

Safe Home by Kerry Watts
Series: Detective Jessie Blake #2
Publisher: Bookouture

Thanks to NetGalley and publisher Bookouture for the ebook ARC of Safe Home by Kerry Watts in exchange for an honest review.

Claire laid her baby boy in his cot and shortly fell asleep after. She doesn’t hear the door opening or the footsteps on the stairs.
Claire Lucas is woken when her husband, Darren asks where their baby boy is. She is dazed and confused. When she follows there and into Finley’s room, he is missing. The only thing left in his cot, is his teddy bear. Detective Jessie Blake rushes to the family’s modern home in the rugged Scottish highlands. She notices instantly that Darren avoids eye contact and Claire seems disconnected. Jessie knows their is no normal for losing a child, but something doesn’t feel right.
As a ghost of Jessie’s past comes back to haunt her, she must put aside her own personal tragedy to save baby Finley.

I give this book a rating of 4 stars. I recommend reading this book. I did not read the first book in the series. This was a very good book which was able to be read as a stand alone book. There was many twists and turns that I did not see coming.
#SafeHome #NetGalley

Even though a lot was happening in Safe Home by Kerry Watts, I didn’t feel like a lot of it had to do with the crime. A major character in this book was postpartum depression. It is a very serious condition, one that everyone needs to be aware of and what can be done to help, so I am glad Watts wrote about it. But, when I read a police procedural I want more scientific information, crime scene investigations, in depth interrogations, or courtroom drama.

And throughout the book I kept feeling like I was missing something between Jessie and her ex-husband. It wasn’t until I was looking up information for putting the review up on the website that I realized it’s book two in the Detective Jessie Blake series. Almost every book that I’ve read that’s not the first in the series, gives enough background information so you are caught up with the story and it can be read as a stand alone. Although Safe Home could still be read without reading Heartlands first, you may also get the feeling that you are missing an important piece of information. This could have been an easy enough fix and since I read an ARC maybe in the finished book this information will be included.

The twists and turns of the story were interesting. A few I didn’t see coming, which is always nice. I would suggest reading Heartlands first and go into this book knowing that it’s not as heavy of a police procedural book as others. If I had known this and decided to still read it, I probably would have given it a higher score.

This is the second in a series. If you intend to read the series, and hopefully there are some books after this one, do not read them close together. Why? Well because it seems like the same characters from the first book were in the second book, just with the names changed. Ms. Watts has a someone facing loss of a child, infidelity with a best friend, and a mentally ill person. The reader needs mor of a variety in characters! Reading this series makes me wonder if 20% of Scotland has a mental illness and why their SIDs rate is so high. Additionally, I felt this book dragged on a bit too much near the end. It felt like Ms. Watts was done telling the story but had pages to fill. All that being said, this was a good story and I liked the actual story better than the first book. I'll be interested to see if we can get some variety in the third book.

Safe Home is the second book in the DI Jessie Blake series by Kerry Watts and it is another very good read.

This isn't a police procedural in the normal sense as there is no senior officer interfering and the actual nitty gritty aspects of an investigation are not used but this doesn't detract from the enjoyment of reading the book as the storyline moves along at a pace and keeps you clicking the pages over.

The only slight negative I had was the secondary storyline and its ending but otherwise I thoroughly enjoyed Safe a Home and look forward to book three

Recommended

DI Jessie Blake has a lot on her plate. She is trying to find the baby that was kidnapped. She's avoiding her abusive ex-husband who continues to stalk her. She is definitely busy. With her team she will solve the convoluted cases that come her way. While doing that she will try and have a personal life and manage the trauma of losing her son.
When the kidnapping becomes a murder she will have to think outside the box. Did the child bi-popular auntie accidentally kill him? Maybe it was the post-partum mother.
Gathering the clues will be the only way to help solve these crimes.
Intriguing, lots of surprises. Excellent!

This is an outstanding police procedural with a wonderful Detective Jessie Blake to the rescue in the second book of an incredible series. A baby boy is missing, everyone is suspect in some way, the town is in the remote Scottish mountains and there enough going on for three books from a less talented author. We are learning the backstory of Jessie which only makes us respect her more.

This is the second book in the Detective JessieBlake books, the first one being heartlands. I hadn’t read the first but with this series it didn’t interfere with the pleasure of reading this book, as it can be easily read as a stand-alone novel. I will go back and read the first book as it will give more insight to the characters and I do like to see them grow.

Claire put her son Finlay down in his cot for a nap, she then went to have a break herself, she has been struggling with things and has post natal depression, when her husband Darren comes home he goes to check on the baby, but he has gone, he is not in his cot. How can a baby disappear from his cot? Could someone have taken him? Could Claire have hurt him? How could anyone know when the baby was in the cot? Could someone have hurt Finlay.

Detective Jessie Blake and constable Dylan Logan are working the case along with a team, search parties are out searching for the baby, but does someone know more than they are letting on? Is Claire hiding something? The family is looked at, as well as extended family, friends and neighbours. There are lots of suspects, with lots of secrets and lies, as quick as one person is ruled out another is ruled in.

Jessie is handling her own past, but is determined to find baby Finlay as a priority. The team work well together. There are a number of characters that you think why are they relevant but this is where clever writing comes in as all these links tie in nicely leaving no loose ends.

This a very cleverly crafted novel when you think you have guess who it is you have to think again. It is full of action, mystery and suspense.
I personally can’t wait to see more of Detective Jessie Blake and the team, and look forward to seeing the characters develop more. A great read.
Thank you to netgalley and bookouture for an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair, honest and unbiased review.

In this second case for DCI Jessie Blake she and Constable Dylan Logan are investigating the disappearance of Finlay, a six month old baby..
His mum Claire had put him in his cot upstairs so she could try and rest downstairs. She has been suffering with post natal depression and everything has got on top of her.
On returning from work her husband Darren discovers Finlay is not in his cot.
Where is he? Has someone taken him? Could Claire herself have hurt him?
Jessie digs deep into Claire`s situation, that of her neighbours and extended family, discovering a web of secrets and lies with as many suspects ruled in as ruled out.
Nothing and noone is as they seem.
When a local priest is murdered the list of suspects grows as a possible link between the investigations is pursued.
The storyline held my interest it was well written with believable characters and situations and as a bonus we learnt more of Jessies personal story.
I for one am looking forward to the third instalment in the series.
Many thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for the chance to read this as an ARC.

Delighted to learn that the Bridge of Earn - the village where this is set is real! Normally police procedurals about children are set in random and fictional places. Suffice to say, not all the streets etc are real and the story could take place in any village, anywhere. A remote Scottish one is particularly remote for some reason!

It's a good police procedural but I realised half way through that it's the second in a series and I felt I missed things as they must have been included in book one. Nevertheless it was a good story but I need to understand the policewoman more for the next one.

Issues about missing children are interesting but this book delves into post partum depression and it became more of a character study and look at how mothers (and fathers) cope with a new baby. Less gripping froma crime fan point of view but the story as a whole was interesting

This book was exactly what I needed. Gripping but easy to read and pick up at any time. Written very well and good sized chapters keeping you wanting more. Will definitely keep an eye out for more by this author

This was a great read.

Now having said that let me point out some pros and cons.

The characters were wonderfully written, very rich, 3 dimensional, and easy to connect to emotionally. It was impossible not to care for all of with the exception of one, who especially annoyed me.

The portrayal of postpartum depression was handled with beautiful delicacy. So many there for her, loving her, helping her instead of judging her. I wish it happened that way more often in the real world.

However, the book was a little too crowded with characters and a separate storyline for each of them all entertained. I found it difficult to keep them straight. Often in the first half I would read a name and have to pause to remember to which character it belonged.

Also some of the “twists” weren’t twists at all. Just an annoying back and forth that the author could leave and it wouldn’t really affect the story. It boiled down to a missed clue by a medical professional who had temporarily filling in for a more experienced professional.

This wasn’t a heart racing thriller from start to finish but it was suspenseful. I recommend it with 4 stars as 1 star was lost due to the bad “twist” and the crowding.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me early access.

*glad the description has been rewritten as the first one was far too revealing

This was a police procedural with a heart, pure and simple. That was the only thought that came to me after reading this book.

The premise was simple, a 6 month old child disappeared from his cot while mom was sleeping. Police were called in, investigation started, and numerous characters and their interlinks were exposed.

My first book by author Kerry Watts, though second in the series, Detective Jessie Blake was capable of standing on her own without knowing the details of book 1. The author's writing made it easy to understand the characters. Frankly speaking, I didn't even remember this was book 2. I didn't need to. The book was complete.

Where this book differed from other police procedurals was that this dealt more with the psyche of the characters and thorough investigation by the cops. Every single open subplot was tied up with a pretty bow. Every action taken by the cops was shown to me.

The story went through its own turmoils where highs and dips in the plot were written well with shocking gasps. Jessie's personal life too made its appearance with hints of loss of life and love. Camaderie and professionalism were well embedded in the team. But it was Jessie who stole the show, strong and vulnerable.

Then came my niggles, the book was interesting, no doubt, but slow. At least I felt so, as my real life kept intruding. Some characters were actually not needed, so I felt.

But those were minor points. It was Jessie who pulled me into the book as she did signify a safe home to rest my wandering mind. A fun read, overall.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with the ARC. I was thrilled to receive this as it looked like a fantastic read! I definitely wasn't wrong. On Thrillers I personally always go into them not knowing anything about it, and I think you should too! The writing, plot formation, characters, intensity, everything I loved! Will read more from this author in the future!

Safe Home is a a story about a missing baby.
When Darren gets home he finds his wife Claire, who is suffering from a post natal depression, asleep on the couch and his 6 month old son missing from his cot. At first he thinks that the child is probably staying with his neighbour Dianne who, having lost her own baby to cot death, is in a habit of looking after the baby when Claire is unable to do so.

This is the start of an exciting thriller in search for the baby in a village where nobody really is what they seem to be and everybody seems to have a secret.

I really liked the way the author puts you on the wrong footing time and again, although in the end the culprit turned turned out to be the person I suspected almost right from the beginning.
The book grabbed me right from the beginning and it was very hard to put away.

i would have given the book 5 stars if it hadn't been for the ending of the second plot-line which I found a bit weak and far-fetched. Another small thing, there are 3 woman in this book who have lost their child at a very young age. I found that a bit too much of a coincidence.

but definitely 4 stars.

I want to thank Netgalley and Bookouture for providing me with an Advanced Reader Copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I’d like to thank Bookouture and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘Safe Home’, the second in the Detective Jessie Blake series written by Kerry Watts, in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

When Darren returns home from work he finds his wife Claire who’s suffering from post-natal depression sitting silently on the settee in unwashed clothing amongst piles of dirty laundry. Darren goes to their six-month-old son Finlay’s room and is shocked to find the cot empty. Detective Inspector Jessie Blake and Constable Dylan Logan are called in to investigate and it isn’t long before the body of Finlay is found in a rucksack in Moncrieffe Woods. Jessie needs to discover how Finlay died and who’s responsible?

I was disappointed after reading Kerry Watts’ first Jessie Blake thriller and hoped her second would show an improvement. I’m delighted to say I haven’t been disappointed as ‘Safe Home’ has a stronger and exciting plot, interesting characters and twists and turns. We learn more about Jessie’s private life than before, her ex-husband Dan and her burgeoning friendship with Benito Capello. The only part of the story that to my way of thinking doesn’t ring true is, if Finlay has been abducted as Jessie believes, why doesn’t she instruct Forensics to go through his home to find evidence of fingerprints, etc? Apart from that, this is an enjoyable book which I’m happy to recommend.