Another excellent read from this author, very well written with interesting characters, especially Violet and Ali.

For me personally it wasn't a page turner that kept me on the edge of my seat but overall I enjoyed the read.

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

This multiple character viewpoint novel wraps the reader up in the life experiences of Ali, her grandmother Violet and their next door neighbour Meg. They are perfectly ordinary people living extraordinary lives. There are several sensitive and important topics threaded through this novel which I cannot review without including needless plot spoilers. However, I can assure you that these delicate topics have been addressed with such care, gentleness and poignancy that my eyes were teary more than a few times. I would give this novel 10 stars out of 5 if this were possible.

After an argument Ali goes to the cottage by the sea that her grandmother has left her. There she meets the perfect family next door. When the husband leaves, on business, and the cottage is damaged in a storm. Ali moves in with her neighbour. But something isn't right, there's something sinister in the air.

Safe from harm by Leah Mercer is told from two points of view. First Ali herself. but also from the point of view of Violet, her grandmother, a year earlier.

I loved how easy it was to fully invest in both Violet and Ali. I could really feel their love and concern. Particularly towards Meg and little Jem who sounds adorable

I found the pace a little slow in places, but overall it was good. The different layers of the story peeled away at just the right time keeping you hooked. The outcome though, came as a surprise and a shock!

If you like a good thriller, then this book is for you. However, maybe not of you have recently lost a child.

Ali is pregnant and her and her husband are over the moon until he is not. Ali is lost, she trusted her husband and he has let her down so she goes to the place where she felt safe, her grandmother's cottage by the sea. He grandmother had died about a year ago and although Ali hadn't seen her for a while she left her cottage in her will.
Abi is stunned at the state of the cottage and despairs how she is ever going to fix it. She is also sure she can do this on her own without her husband, she alone will protect her baby.
When Ali meets her next door neighbour Megan, Michael and their baby Gem she is sure they are the perfect family, the family that she wanted her husband, her and her baby to be.

From the first few pages there is a hint of menace in the air. There is no clue to what the menace is not until further on in the story.
We go back a year just before Ali's grandma died and find out she is a quiet woman who likes to be alone and is startled when the house next door is occupied by a young couple and their young baby. Again for no particular reason their is something very tense in the air.

It proves how good the writer is that she can convey feelings of uneasiness without telling you that he's under the bed or in the wardrobe. You just know that the words are hinting at something sinister ahead.
I feel the book is saying that we all need to feel safe. In our relationships, in our home, our family and in our neighbourhood . We need to be safe before we need love because how can you love someone if they don't make you feel safe.
I liked the characters in this book . I would like to know what happens next and what about Ali's relationship with her dad? I feel there' could be more to tell.
I read this book in a day. It was so good I just had to know what was happening .
Another really good read from Leah Mercer.

Mercer tells the tale of Ali who has fled her broken marriage during pregnancy to find peace and hope in her seaside childhood home. When she meets the next-door neighbours, Michael and Meg, she’s drawn to their perfect family life. As she befriends Meg, she notices her increasingly erratic behaviour and questions why her husband hasn’t returned from his work trip. Ali tenses as she realizes that she returned to her childhood safe haven to start a hopeful future for herself and her baby – and it’s everything but safe.

This stunning and atmospheric cover is a prelude to the writing within. Mercer writes about a seaside cottage giving shelter to a grandmother and, then after her passing, giving shelter to her granddaughter. She shows that sometimes, being alone isn’t always a negative. Hiding from the outside world, these women allow themselves to fall into their grief believing that it’s the only compatible companion. The neighbour, too, is hiding. You’ll have to read to find out more. Just know that reaching out is what heals these women. Maybe there's a lesson in this for all of us. Although we may not be facing what these woman dealt with, we've insolated ourselves due to the pandemic. Maybe it's time for us to reach out. Maybe we could be that someone who helps another just by calling to check on them.

From the start, you’ll realize that something just isn’t right. You won’t be able to put your finger on it. The author cleverly dishes out facts on a need to know basis, contributing to the mystery and propelling the story. If you like women’s fiction and issues that strengthen women, this is a good read and it's well-written.

*trigger issues below*





Mercer sensitively writes about bipolar disorder, high-risk pregnancy and the loss of a child.

I was gifted this advance copy by Leah Mercer, Bookouture, and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

When Ali Lawton flees her broken marriage to spend the last months of her pregnancy in her late grandmother’s seaside cottage, all she wants is to be alone.
But she meets the neighbors next door!
Are they who they seem to be?
This was a great suspense read! With characters you'll love to hate!
The twist was amazing. Devoured this in one sitting.

This is a story that grabbed my heart!
Something is wrong!
Ali Lawton is pregnant and her husband has suddenly decided he cannot be involved with this pregnancy and delivery!
This is the guy who wanted children.
Why now does he not want this baby? Ali is confused, angry and hurt, but she will and can definitely do it without him!
She leaves her home and husband, and runs to her grandmother's old beach cottage where she meets a "new" friend.
Meg is someone that seems confident and is more than willing to teach Ali about childcare and pregnancy. She could be the perfect friend.
But... things are not always as they seem.
The slow, steady buildup begins and the suspense creates an intriguing, emotional novel with an ending you just will not even imagine!
I always enjoy Leah Mercer's stories, and this one has quickly became one of my favorites so far this year!
Excellent!

This is the first book written by this author under Leah Mercer's name I've read, and it certainly won't be the last.

I was glued to the virtual pages throughout as I rode the emotional rollercoaster. Happiness, devastating sadness, anger, fear, surprise. This book had it all. I loved it!