You Are Always Safe with Me is both a delightful and thrilling romance. Lilly is deftly portrayed as a woman I came to know intimately through her background, her inner-being, her dreams and longings. She captured my attention as I accompanied her through her unique adventure. A woman of a certain age, on a cruise, reluctantly accompanying her widowed mother.

In time, however, Lilly, to her astonishment, finds herself in deep complicity with a Turkish sea captain.
Could this attraction be meaningful between two people from different worlds? I rooted for Lilly throughout her journey.

The entire cast of characters on the cruise on a small Turkish ketch in the beautiful Mediterranean is powerfully drawn, each person given a strong, individual identity.

Greatly adding to the interest is the broad, yet detailed history of Turkey and Turkish culture. (Wouldn’t I like to book a trip there now!)

Merrill Joan Gerber paints a wonderful canvas ---we see the sights, the sea, the clothing, and the glistening, dark, musculature of the Turkish men (all quite arousing).

We smell the tantalizing aromas of the Mediterranean cooking, feel the fear of pirates and the threat of guns. We hear the sounds of music, the rhythms of the oud and drums, the power of the enticing belly dance. This is a book of splendid details.

A powerful, unexpected ending moves us almost to tears. Though all our dreams and wishes can’t come to pass exactly as we’d like, Lilly is ultimately given a beautiful cherished gift. Gerber deftly made that happen.

--Nancy Levinson

Merrill Joan Gerber is available for interviews.