Thank you NetGalley for this copy of Safehouse. This was a great, very interesting, suspenseful and fast paced story. I liked all the details of this book and how well it was written. It has to timelines, past and present. Loved all the mystery in it as well!

This was a quick, bingeable and overall enjoyable read! While the mystery itself was entertaining, I had trouble connecting with the main character, especially in her past Steffi iteration. She was just a little too gullible and naive, and I wish her past self seemed more connected to her present self and personality.

I liked the side characters and enjoyed how the story unfolded, but the pace of the ending was so full speed ahead. I was expecting more of a twist than there was but it was still a satisfactory conclusion. I just wish it had felt a bit more evenly paced and I wish the villain’s motive felt more realistic.

Definitely a solid story and will want to read more from her! 3.5 stars

I liked Safe House, but it wasn't the most shocking in terms of being a thriller. I felt that a lot of the twists were predictable.

Small English costal towns with fixer-up cottages are always a good setting for settling in on a rainy day with chocolate and tea. This book didn't disappoint. Its a good setting for a woman recently released from prison for aiding in a murder by providing a false alibi. What women won't do for love? The first person narration is an excellent way to go back and forth in time. The suspenseful fealing that someone is watching her makes it a book hard to put down.

3.5 stars

"Safe House" is not a nailbiter, but it is a pretty good read. It's about a woman who tries to reinvent herself under a new name after a prison stint for giving a false alibi to her boyfriend. I was surprised that Steffi was sent to prison at all since it was her information that lead to the boyfriend's arrest and conviction once she realized what was going on. But nonetheless, there she is in prison taking lots of courses in construction, house remodeling, plastering, buying a house in a remote area with the help of a friend. She changes her name--not enough, we know early on--and tries to create a new life for herself.

Of course she meets a number of local characters and starts to form bonds. We know this can't go on.

The resolution is satisfying enough, but the book lacks the emotional pull of a really top-flight thriller. It's good. It goes fast. Nice for when you're self-isolating in that it won't scare the pants off you, but will keep you involved.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review "Safe House."

~~Candace SIegle, Greedy Reader

3-4 stars. This is one of those books that I have a hard time rating, because while it was slower paced and didn’t grab me initially, I did enjoy it and think it was well written, intense in other spots. Overall, I think it’s a book that we’ll hold most people interest enough to finish and enjoy, but will not make most mind blown. It had a good plot, well fleshed characters, and did hold my attention enough to get through the entire thing, but I think THE EXES REVENGE was a better book. I do think that it was original and realistic, which is a big plus for me, as I don’t like those that are absolutely not possible when they absolutely could be written more realistically. Anyhow, if you enjoyed the first book by this author I think you’ll enjoy this one, maybe not as much, but maybe even more for some! Preorder, give it a try, as it can be chilling, thrilling, intense, and shocking in many parts!
Will make sure to buzz it up on the different platforms!

What a page turner from start to finish! It started a little slower in the beginning but the author is great at escalating the plot and characters to leave you racing to the end. Highly recommend

My Highly Caffeinated Thought: An addictive, taut, and suspenseful read that had me on the edge of my seat until the end.

What can I say about SAFE HOUSE? This book blew me away. What a dark and twisty tale of consequences, secrets, and a wee bit of revenge! The way the author wove together all the elements was compelling that I couldn’t put this one down.

From the beginning, I loved the way the author introduced us to Charlie and instantly invested in her. As the story progressed, there was a fabulous balance of the past, informing the present while still having momentum with what was going on currently in Charlie’s life. The paranoia and constant fear of being found out add a level of tension that makes this read so much better. Then, you have the delightful moments of personal connection and humor to round out a narrative. This makes the story more authentic to me. Having the gravity of her situation offset by the new people she meets in her small town was that extra something I crave in a psychological thriller.

All in all, this book checked off all the boxes for me. There was suspense, a looming threat, small-town antics, and one hell of an ending I did not see coming—definitely, a must-read.

Why is it when a man commits a crime, the women around him are often blamed? He had a bad mother. His ex-girlfriend is a jealous liar. His wife must have been in on it. There’s even a famous phrase in crime fiction, “Cherchez la femme.” Look for the woman.

In Safe House, Jo Jakeman’s fabulous sophomore novel, Steffi Finn has learned this lesson the hard way. She lied for her boyfriend Lee to the police, claiming he was home on the night a local woman was murdered. He swore he was in before nine pm, and she had been too drunk to remember that he came home. But when a second woman died, she couldn’t ignore the coincidences anymore. She went to the police, and Lee was tried and convinced for the murders. Even so, Steffi was sentenced to 10 months in prison for her initial lie. Because of it, it seems the entire world blames her for the death of Lee’s second victim. She’s sent so much hate mail in prison—while Lee gets love letters from besotted women who think he’s innocent and Steffi is the real killer—that when she’s finally released, she changes her name and moves to a small English seaside town to hide. Now Charlie Miller, she tries to avoid her neighbors, but there are no secrets in these villages. Especially since someone seems to know exactly who Charlie is… and wants to make her pay for what she’s done.

A classic thriller entwined with life lessons we can all learn from. The twist at the end was unexpected and I’m glad the author took that route in this book.

While this was a classic thriller, there was also plot lines about emotional abuse which really helped me relate to the main character. Overall, this book was written very well and I’d compare this book to a classic Ruth Ware novel.

Dnf. I wasn’t a fan of The Exes’ Revenge but I took a chance on this title. The description sounded very interesting but it wasn’t what I expected.

Y’all … I could NOT put this book down. I was intrigued from page one and felt so conflicted. I didn’t know who to trust. And let’s just say that I did NOT see that ending coming. It felt a bit rushed at the end and some parts did seem over the top, but all in the plot pushed me forward.

Safe House is a well-written, fast-paced thriller that keeps readers intrigued throughout.

Steffi Finn is new to a remote coastal town and tries keeping to herself for fear her neighbors find out who she is because she now goes by Charlie Miller. Steffi is trying to escape her past. Two years ago, she was sentenced to prison for providing a false alibi to police for her boyfriend who unbeknownst to Steffi was a murderer. Fresh out of prison, unable to go back to her old life because of the national phenomenon the case became. Steffi received a lot of the hate. Now, Charlie tries to find her place in the town when she gets the feeling she's being watched. Does someone know who she really is? And if someone found out, how did they find out who Charlie really is when she went to such great measures to prevent it?

This is one unpredictable novel that acts as a character study. Highly recommended to readers looking for a solid character study with strong thriller notes. Be sure to check out Safe House today!

Charlie Miller moves to a small beach front town to escape her past life, one she would rather forget about. The life where she was Steffi Finn- girlfriend of serial killer Lee Fisher, and had accidentally provided a false alibi for which sent her to prison for 10 months. As Charlie works to create her new identity- things keep happening to her that prevent her from fully relaxing in her small town... which leads her to wonder if someone may know her true identity. ⁣
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I’m just going to go there and say that this is so far my favorite thriller of 2020. There was a lot of information at the beginning and pieces of the puzzle given before you realize it’s significance. I genuinely had 0 clue about how this book was going to end and I was shocked at the ending of the story. Let me tell y’all again- I DIDNT GUESS THE ENDING OF THIS THRILLER. ⁣

Charlie (formerly Steffi) wanted to think the best of her perfect boyfriend but little by little their relationship had changed and she worried things wouldn’t work out. So, when detectives came to her workplace one day she provided a false alibi for him. After all, he couldn’t possibly be a murderer, could he? Charlie ended up serving a prison sentence for her part. When she was released she relocated to a little town on the Cornwall coast. She bought a fixer-upper and started to adjust to her new name and a fresh start. As she started to get her bearings she had a feeling that someone was watching her. Was it possible someone knew her true identity? And what did they want with her?

This book kept me on the edge of my seat and quickly turning the pages. I enjoyed the setting, the slow build in the drama, and the tense scenes near the end. It was a twisty, fast read that I enjoyed. I wonder what Jo Jakeman will dream up next.

Where would you go if you had just been released from prison and knew everyone hated you for what you had done?​

Steffi Finn, now known as Charlie Miller, went to a remote town....a town with gossipy women. Was this a good idea?

​​Small towns have small-town ways of protecting each other and are suspicious of outsiders.​​

The women welcomed Charlie and even invited her to their book club meetings, but they and an elderly neighbor didn’t understand why she would move so far from the city unless she had something to hide.​​

We follow Charlie as she tries to live this new, free life. We also go back to her life before prison and see what led up to her arrest. Her boyfriend basically tricked her and got her convicted.​​

Now that she was out, there was another person who didn’t want her free and vowed to have his day with her. He puts all of his time and effort into hunting Charlie down.

​​Jo Jakeman made SAFE HOUSE very appealing with a terrific story line and pull-you-in writing.​​

SAFE HOUSE is a suspenseful thriller that will keep you on edge along with Charlie.

The tension won’t let you put the book down and will have you gripping the pages.

If you enjoy guessing until the end, do not miss SAFE HOUSE. 5/5

This book was given to me by the publisher via NETGALLEY in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed reading Safe House by Jo Jakeman. I first heard of her when I read The Exes’ Revenge. Both are books I would recommend.
I connected with Charlie/Steffi fairly easily. I know how easy it is to want to believe in love, to want to believe things will get better. I also know what it is like when you are made to believe things you didn’t know happened, to be made to feel like your responsible for someone else’s actions. It was easy to put myself in her shoes. Through much of the book, I wondered to myself ‘what if’. I enjoyed Charlie’s new life. Her new friends, her community involvement. It was inspiring the way she built her life even though she was ambivalent about deserving it. You could feel her self doubt and guilt. I was kept guessing about people’s motives and about who was watching her. I didn’t see the reveal before hand.
If you’re looking for a new thriller to keep you turning pages, be sure to mark it, “want to read,” on your Goodreads or BookBub shelves. Look for its release in Kindle, Audible and paperback on March 10, 2020. Preorder is available now. Thank you to NetGalley for providing an arc for review consideration. My choice to review was voluntary.

This is riveting, interesting, fast pacing story. It is not mind blowing kind of terrifying, nail biter but mostly it is really well written and capturing your focus. It starts as five starred reading with intriguing plot, good characterization (you deeply feel for Steffi a.k.a Charlie) but in the middle you just lose your interest and it drops to 2 or 3 starred reading and thankfully ending was satisfying and it hooks you again and you tell yourself: “Okay, that is not one of the best thrillers that I’ve read but it’s still above the average.

Beginning: 5 Middle: 3 Ending: 3 Average: 11/3= 3.66 stars rounded up 4! (See, I’m always fair with my grading system.)

Well, this book captivates your attention from the first pages with its promising start: Steffi Finn provides false alibi to her boyfriend Lee Fisher but guess what? She got caught, serving prison time and throughout her locked up years, getting more death threats. So as a precaution, she changes her name as Charlie Miller, moving to a small village on Cornish coast named Sheffield. And she always checks her back, being more paranoid than before, scaring that someone at the town may find out who she is and she is right, somebody is watching her. She is not safe anymore. Maybe she should stay at the prison.
We’re moving back and forth between present time: Charlie’s new life: her interaction with town’s people, their prying, noisy, questioning attitudes, her fears not to be recognized and raising tension that somebody is adamant to avenge her. And the flashbacks help us know about her and Lee’s relationship dynamics, the reasoning behind her false alibi.

But as I said before, the author lost the essence of the story and she kept stalling as if she wanted to gain some time till something comes to her mind. But thankfully she finally takes the control of the story where she left of at last chapters and finished it with heart throbbing, exciting, action-packed ending. So I highly suggest you if you get bored in the middle of the book, please keep going, be patient because it’s worth it! It’s good written book with well-rounded, interesting supporting characters. And at the end, you feel relieved the story concludes at some reliable point.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for sharing this ARC COPY with me in exchange my honest review.

I really liked Jo Jakeman's previous book (under two titles at the time I read it--Exes' Revenge and Sticks and Stones), and I was excited about Jakeman's Safe House.

from description: The morning after a terrible storm, a woman turns up in a remote Cornish village. She calls herself Charlie, but it's a name she's only had for a few days. She keeps herself to herself, reluctant to integrate with the locals. Because Charlie has a secret.

Before her ten months in prison for supplying a false alibi for her boyfriend, Charlie was Steffie Finn. Now with a new name and hopefully a safe place to live without the burden of anyone knowing her past, Charlie is trying to come to terms with who she really is and fit into her new name and new life in a small village. While in prison, Steffi received twisted hate mail, blaming her for the deaths of the two women her boyfriend killed. It is difficult for her to feel safe physically and she fears exposure that would incite more threats.

Part of the suspense is not knowing who it is that has made such an effort to find her. Part of the suspense is waiting to see what the twist will be. Jakeman keeps the reader uneasy.

I liked speculating about this and that possibility. Until the author wants the reader to know, the guessing game is intact. Written in past and present and in various perspectives, Safe House was a satisfying psychological thriller, although the conclusion felt rushed.

NetGalley/Berkely Publ.
Psychological Suspense. March 10, 2020. Print length: 336 pages.

A perfectly acceptable suspense book to while away the afternoon. Charlie is the victim of the media, as often happens and once away from the cause of the scrutiny, tries to hide herself in a small seaside town. She has paranoid fears of people watching her that might just be turning into real threats. It's a quick read with the usual twisty ending and unexpected antagonist thrown in there. Entertaining.