I loved What’s Done in Darkness and was excited to request Laura McHugh’s latest Safe and Sound. I enjoyed the small town setting and the dark and haunting story of two sisters who dream of something bigger. I enjoyed the mystery of what happened to their cousin Grace.

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of Safe and Sound and thank you to Miss Laura for writing another amazing book, I’ve been dying for her to release something new!

Safe and Sound follows 3 cousins, one missing and presumed dead and 2 reeling in the aftermath of their cousin going missing and desperately trying to figure out what happened to her six years after the fact.

Laura McHugh really knows how to deliver a gut punch of a novel. This book was so emotional, hard to read, and triggering at times. We follow some very heavy topics such as child sexual abuse, so def know that going in. It was very heartbreaking to read about and had me cringing and wanting to cry at parts.

This was very fact paced, and I loved the alternating chapters between grace/kylee/amelia. I loved the setting of the small town were majority of the people in it are struggling with poverty and/or addiction. It just felt so realistic, maybe because it’s similar to how I grew up. We even get a mention of a frito chip pie and I thought my family was the only one who made that! Laura always just finds a way to make me feel so connected to her books/stories.

My only complaint and reason for not giving a 5stars is the ending. In a way it felt very underwhelming (but also made me happy in a way) and confusing. The last chapter just didn’t make any sense for what Kylee and Amelia had just been through and was just unrealistic. It felt like there should’ve been another chapter.

Still, worth a read!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review an advanced copy of this novel. I highly enjoyed it and will be recommending it to others.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book. Frankly, I wish I hadn't read this book because the ending was quite depressing. I guess the whole vibe of the book was. And the pace was a bit slow for the thriller genre.

I'm such a huge fan of Laura McHugh and this new book didn't disappoint! As always, she kept me guessing to the very end as these brave teen girls got to the bottom of the disappearance of their older cousin.

I truly loved this book up until the very end. I can’t stand not having complete ending/answers with the main characters of the story.

Thank you so much Random House, Laura McHugh, and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and honestly review this book.

Suspenseful and written with an edgy undertone, I blew through this book. At 283 pages, this was a fast-paced binge and kept me thrilled until the very end! I loved the close family relationship between Kylee and Amelia and seeing them work together made me think me of my own sibling dynamics.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publishing house and the author for the opportunity to read a complimentary copy of this book in return for a review based upon my honest opinion.

Amelia and Kylee are sisters, they live in poverty in a dead end town. Amelia has dreamed of leaving this town as long as she can remeneber, she works as a waitress, saving every dime she can, waiting for her little sister Kylee to graduate so they can noth leave. She promised her cousin Grace that she would get out of there and she has every intention of follwoing through. Grace was like an older sister to Amelia and Kylee, but one night after tucking them in, she goes missing, all the police find is blood at the scene and Grace has never been seen again.

Years later, a body is found and Amelia and Kylee aren't sure if they want it to be Grace or not, would it be better to have answers or still hold out hope that Grace is out there somewhere. Amelia and Kylee decide to try to investigate the matter themselves, can these smart girls solve the mystery and can they ever get out of this godforsaken small town.

I really enjoyed the pace of this book and there were a few twists that surprised me. I will definitely check out more books by this author.

I thought this was a really good book. I enjoyed reading it and would highly recommend it to my family and friends!

#SafeAndSound #NetGalley
Brilliant.
As kids, Amelia and Kylee were found unharmed in their upstairs bedroom the night their teenage cousin Grace, who was babysitting them, vanished from the farmhouse in Beaumont, Missouri, leaving blood all over the kitchen. Scrappy and driven, Grace, the first in their family to go to college instead of getting married and working at the meatpacking plant, had been on the verge of escaping their dead-end town. Her disappearance is a warning to any local girl who dared hope for better. Now, as their own high school graduation looms, Amelia and Kylee dream about fleeing Beaumont, but the likelihood of that happening seems as low as that of Grace being found. When human remains are discovered in town, the sisters think they finally know who took Grace—but as they dig deeper into her past, they unearth long-buried secrets and a growing list of suspects. Amelia and Kylee vow to find Grace, dead or alive. But as they draw closer to the truth and slip further into danger, they question how far someone would go to put a woman in her place, or to cover up a crime. The answer is worse than they could have imagined, and in the end, it won’t just be Grace they’re trying to save—they’ll have to fight for their lives.
Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for giving me an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Safe and Sound by Laura McHugh is set in small town, Beaumount, Missouri, where two sisters are trying to figure out what happened to their cousin years ago.

From the first page I was hooked on the easy to follow writing style. It does have some heavy warming flags like abuse of children. I loved the characters and pace of the story. I read it in one day.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this read.

"Safe and Sound" by Laura McHugh is a gripping psychological thriller that will keep readers on the edge of their seats. The story follows a woman named Rylee who returns to her hometown after her father's death, only to uncover dark secrets from her past. With twists and turns at every corner, this novel is a must-read for fans of suspenseful thrillers. McHugh's writing is sharp and evocative, drawing readers into the eerie atmosphere of the small town. Overall, "Safe and Sound" is a haunting and chilling read that will leave readers guessing until the very end.

This was moving along at a really great pace through the majority of the book. Two sisters, Amelia and Kylee, are out to find their cousin, Grace. who disappeared when they were young, leaving behind a bloody scene but no body. No one in their tiny Ozarks town knows what happened to her, but everyone is a suspect. Amelia wants out of their dead end town more than anything, but finding out what happened to Grace keeps her stuck. Grace also wanted out, but as the star student and scholarships locked in, her near escape haunts Amelia.

So begins her attempt to find Grace. Interspersed are Grace's chapters, giving more depth to her relationship with the people who could have hurt her. This goes along nicely up until the end, which is so out of nowhere and fast that I was left confused and annoyed. The book ends like it's running up against a brick wall. The revelations are thrown at you like fast balls and there's no resolution, just ending. It wasn't a good reading experience by that point, so I'm forced to give Laura McHuge another middling rating. She has such potential! But so many of her books just end so strangely!

3.5 rounded up to 4 stars. This book was fast paced, and such a quick summer read! I was fully invested early on and the plot kept me engaged throughout. I loved that while this was a thriller, it also touched on the bond of sisters and family. It gave you all the small town feels and the mention of Kum & Go had me smiling throughout as this was a frequent stop for me in college.

I felt like the ending was a bit of a letdown and didn’t fully wrap things up. I am looking forward to reading more from this author as I think the writing was overall really great.

For Readers Who Like:
- Short chapters
- Whodunit books
- Small town crimes

Thank you @netgalley and @randomhouse for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Laura McHugh's 'Safe and Sound' delves into the haunting mystery of Grace's disappearance from Beaumont, Missouri, through the eyes of Amelia and Kylee. As children, they were left unscathed in their bedroom the night Grace vanished, leaving a bloodstained kitchen behind. Now, on the brink of their own high school graduation, the sisters grapple with the same oppressive small-town fate Grace sought to escape.

When human remains surface in town, Amelia and Kylee are compelled to investigate, believing they've identified Grace's abductor. Their quest uncovers a web of secrets and suspects, leading them to question the lengths to which someone might go to suppress a woman's ambition or conceal a crime. McHugh skillfully intertwines the present-day investigation with flashbacks, adding depth to Grace's character and her struggle to break free from the constraints of their small town.

As the sisters dig deeper into Grace's past, they find themselves uncovering long-buried secrets that shed light on the dark underbelly of Beaumont. The tension escalates as Amelia and Kylee's determination to uncover the truth places them in increasing danger. McHugh's portrayal of their relentless pursuit of justice is both gripping and poignant, highlighting the bond between the sisters and their courage in the face of adversity.

'Safe and Sound' is a chilling exploration of small-town secrets and the impact of systemic oppression on women's lives. McHugh crafts a suspenseful narrative filled with twists and turns, keeping readers on the edge of their seats. As Amelia and Kylee fight for their lives, the story ultimately becomes a powerful commentary on resilience and the unyielding quest for truth."

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for an advanced copy to review for my honest opinion.

Instead of a book where someone is forced to come home to their small town to solve a mystery/mourn/handle arrangements this book has the girl who is still stuck there as the protagonist. She has the typical job the side characters usually do.
I have always wanted to read a book from her perspective. Six years ago her favorite cousin went missing while babysitting her and her sister.
A body has been found but it isn't her cousin.
We then get Grace's perspective, she is the missing cousin, so we go back in time for this and I will be honest, it turned my stomach. If you have been victim of CSA might want to skip some portions but the story is worth reading 100%.
The parts with the teacher made me feel happy though. she is embodiment of love.
I was crying during the scenes with Grace caring for Amelia. Amelia saving her, as she cares for her.
I was not expecting that ending even though right at the beginning I was like "hmmmm". There are so many different sketchy things happening in the town.
I want a second story!
Love this so much!

This is such a perfect summer thriller! The vibes are spooky and suspenseful, incredibly well-executed!

This is another superbly written story from Laura McHugh, dropping you directly into a small Missouri town. The residents there know they are born in the local hospital and live and die in town, ending up buried in its cemetery. Grace dreamed of getting out--and she wanted that for her young nieces, Amelia and Kylee, too. But then Grace disappears, with just a trail of blood left behind, and the two girls are stuck.

As she ages, Amelia wonders what happened to Grace, poking around the corners of her secretive town. McHugh does an excellent job creating an atmosphere of claustrophobia, flashing back to Grace's story and her own feelings of being trapped, and then Amelia's deep desires to get out. The whole book feels stifling, overcome with the brittle feeling of no hope or prospects. McHugh's writing is crisp, starkly portraying her teenage characters with clarity and realism.

Sometimes things even feel too real--this book can feel awfully hopeless. The ending is a bummer, without a lot of closure. But the story is well-written, with nuanced characters, and it perfectly captures that oppressive small town feeling.

Disturbing, dark, and haunting mystery thriller.

For over six years since Grace Crow disappeared, her cousins Amelia and Kylee have wondered what happened to her. Living in a small, depressing go nowhere town, Beaumont, Missouri, hasn't made their loss less unbearable and their aunt, Grace's mother, still holds a vigil every year as they wait to find answers. Grace had been desperate to flee Beaumont by leaving home to go to college, but she never made it out of the place. Now Amelia and Kylee plan their escape, but there are still way too many questions. Then, human remains are discovered. Could they finally get some closure?

This was somewhat depressing as a bleak drama and the claustrophobia and desperation of life in Beaumont really created the perfect atmosphere for the plot to unfold. The characters were all quite interesting, some good and some horrid with others walking that fine line between. Some I liked and others I detested (especially Norman). The story is told in a then and now line with shifting points of view between Grace in the past and Amelia and Kylee in the present. I was lucky enough to be able to listen to the audiobook (narrated by the excellent Jorjeana Marie) while also following along in the e-book ARC provided by the publisher. She did an excellent job voicing the characters and that definitely enhanced my appreciation of the book.

I liked this novel but be prepared for triggers such as pedophilia. I enjoyed the writing quality and was really absorbed as the secrets and revelations came to light. The only part I did not care for, and what really affected my overall rating, was the conclusion. It was unexpected, yes, and I just did not like the way it ended. I would have rather seen many other resolutions and I especially do not like ambiguity in a mystery, but I'll leave it here.

Six years after their cousin, Grace, vanished from their home while they were sleeping, two sisters, Amelia and Kylee, set out to learn the truth behind what happened—even if it puts their own lives in danger. Everyone knows everyone else in a small town. But does that mean that you know everyone's secrets as well?

Laura McHugh is an auto-read for me these days. Her depictions of small town creepiness are amazing and keep me turning pages late into the night. Safe and Sound was no exception and I thought it was FANTASTIC. I finished it in one day because I could not put it down. 5 stars, all around!

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.