Safehouse
Author: James Adley
Published by: Brown Dog Books
Pages: 333
Format: Paperback
My Rating: ★★★
Author: James Adley
Published by: Brown Dog Books
Pages: 333
Format: Paperback
My Rating: ★★★
Post-war England. Two women decide to put their country above their families.
Adrienne travels the world advising governments on behalf of her country. She doesn’t have time for her son Daniel. Boarding school offers an answer. But for Daniel, being Jewish in an English boarding school in the 1960s is a nightmare.
Eleanor has signed up as a sleeper with MI5. She and lyrical Irish builder Barrie, the love of her life, move to a perfect country cottage, and when a traumatised Daniel finds refuge there, he thinks he’s found his safehouse. But both Eleanor and Barrie hide deep secrets that fracture his fragile tranquillity with terrifying consequences.
In this explosive thriller, we see their lives intertwine and their decisions create a web of revenge, deception, and betrayal.
This is the first book in the ‘Belief and Betrayal’ series.
Adrienne travels the world advising governments on behalf of her country. She doesn’t have time for her son Daniel. Boarding school offers an answer. But for Daniel, being Jewish in an English boarding school in the 1960s is a nightmare.
Eleanor has signed up as a sleeper with MI5. She and lyrical Irish builder Barrie, the love of her life, move to a perfect country cottage, and when a traumatised Daniel finds refuge there, he thinks he’s found his safehouse. But both Eleanor and Barrie hide deep secrets that fracture his fragile tranquillity with terrifying consequences.
In this explosive thriller, we see their lives intertwine and their decisions create a web of revenge, deception, and betrayal.
This is the first book in the ‘Belief and Betrayal’ series.
My thoughts:
Safehouse is the debut novel from author James Adley.
With political intelligence, subtle characterisation, plenty of twists and turns, and a real sense of suspense, this book took me by surprise and kept me gripped from start to finish.
Character development is handled with great care in Safehouse. The opening chapters in the Sussex countryside introduce the reader to young Eleanor and depict her close friendship with Sally. When something terrible happens the friendship between the girls is forever altered. I felt the subject matter was approached with great sensitivity and realism. It is intriguing to observe how the two girls react; an interesting scene to include so early in the novel. The first chapter immediately drew me in, and I found myself very quickly invested in the characters and their lives.
Adrienne is also introduced early in the book, and I loved reading about her achievements, most notably being awarded with a scholarship to study at Harvard University. I immediately liked her and admired her ambition. Refreshingly, women in the book are presented as strong, intelligent, independent, and fierce individuals. As both women get caught up in a life focused on serving their country, they are forced to consider what this will mean for their families and personal lives.
The plot itself builds gradually and feels very plausible. As the story develops, we see the lives of these characters intertwine and their decisions create a web of revenge, deception, and betrayal.
Largely due to Adrienne’s government work, her son Daniel becomes neglected and as a result suffers a great deal throughout his formative years. This includes some terrible experiences for Daniel as a Jewish boy in an English boarding school. The author drew inspiration for some of these moments from his own time in a boarding school in the late 1960s.
Daniel is a very intriguing character, and perhaps the one we get to know best in this book. I felt for him and his struggles, and it was interesting to see his growth. One criticism for me was that I felt he changed almost too much. Clearly his commitment to Judaism allowed him to cope with the treatment he faced every day at the boarding school, and his faith is an important part of his identity, but I wasn’t always totally convinced that a young man like Daniel would speak with such seriousness and deep reflection during conversations with his local Rabbi. I found myself wanting to know a bit more about Daniel’s faith and how his interactions with the Rabbi really affected him emotionally. Perhaps we may learn more about this aspect of his personality in the following books in the series.
The pacing of the novel works well, although I would have liked to see a few more scenes with the female characters and perhaps have more detail about their day-to-day roles at work. After all, Adrienne travels the world advising governments and Eleanor is a sleeper with MI5, so I’m sure there is plenty of content there that could be further explored. This may come later in the series.
Compulsively readable, Safehouse is more than just a thriller. His work also falls into the genre of historical fiction. Much of Adley’s historical research is important to his storytelling, and I felt help to enhance the emotional impact of the plot. Alongside the twists and turns, the book is clearly very well-researched with lots of detailed facts and information. Specific dates are used throughout to set a timeline and provide further insight into the ages and circumstances of the key characters. At the start of each chapter, readers are given details of the setting, and throughout the book the locations vary from Sussex to Washington, as well as different places in and across London.
Though this reads as a standalone, Adley has left the door wide open for books two and three, and I'm certainly interested in reading more. I will be looking forward to seeing where things go from here.
Thanks again to James Adley for providing me with an early review copy of his first book. Safehouse is now available for pre-order on Amazon and due for publication on 4th of July, 2023. The author will be taking part in The Big Indie Book Launch at Foyles Charring Cross road, a ticketed press event on July 5th, and Safehouse will then be stocked in Waterstones Hampstead and Daunt Books on Marylebone High street.
Overall reaction:
Safehouse is the debut novel from author James Adley.
With political intelligence, subtle characterisation, plenty of twists and turns, and a real sense of suspense, this book took me by surprise and kept me gripped from start to finish.
Character development is handled with great care in Safehouse. The opening chapters in the Sussex countryside introduce the reader to young Eleanor and depict her close friendship with Sally. When something terrible happens the friendship between the girls is forever altered. I felt the subject matter was approached with great sensitivity and realism. It is intriguing to observe how the two girls react; an interesting scene to include so early in the novel. The first chapter immediately drew me in, and I found myself very quickly invested in the characters and their lives.
Adrienne is also introduced early in the book, and I loved reading about her achievements, most notably being awarded with a scholarship to study at Harvard University. I immediately liked her and admired her ambition. Refreshingly, women in the book are presented as strong, intelligent, independent, and fierce individuals. As both women get caught up in a life focused on serving their country, they are forced to consider what this will mean for their families and personal lives.
The plot itself builds gradually and feels very plausible. As the story develops, we see the lives of these characters intertwine and their decisions create a web of revenge, deception, and betrayal.
Largely due to Adrienne’s government work, her son Daniel becomes neglected and as a result suffers a great deal throughout his formative years. This includes some terrible experiences for Daniel as a Jewish boy in an English boarding school. The author drew inspiration for some of these moments from his own time in a boarding school in the late 1960s.
Daniel is a very intriguing character, and perhaps the one we get to know best in this book. I felt for him and his struggles, and it was interesting to see his growth. One criticism for me was that I felt he changed almost too much. Clearly his commitment to Judaism allowed him to cope with the treatment he faced every day at the boarding school, and his faith is an important part of his identity, but I wasn’t always totally convinced that a young man like Daniel would speak with such seriousness and deep reflection during conversations with his local Rabbi. I found myself wanting to know a bit more about Daniel’s faith and how his interactions with the Rabbi really affected him emotionally. Perhaps we may learn more about this aspect of his personality in the following books in the series.
The pacing of the novel works well, although I would have liked to see a few more scenes with the female characters and perhaps have more detail about their day-to-day roles at work. After all, Adrienne travels the world advising governments and Eleanor is a sleeper with MI5, so I’m sure there is plenty of content there that could be further explored. This may come later in the series.
Compulsively readable, Safehouse is more than just a thriller. His work also falls into the genre of historical fiction. Much of Adley’s historical research is important to his storytelling, and I felt help to enhance the emotional impact of the plot. Alongside the twists and turns, the book is clearly very well-researched with lots of detailed facts and information. Specific dates are used throughout to set a timeline and provide further insight into the ages and circumstances of the key characters. At the start of each chapter, readers are given details of the setting, and throughout the book the locations vary from Sussex to Washington, as well as different places in and across London.
Though this reads as a standalone, Adley has left the door wide open for books two and three, and I'm certainly interested in reading more. I will be looking forward to seeing where things go from here.
Thanks again to James Adley for providing me with an early review copy of his first book. Safehouse is now available for pre-order on Amazon and due for publication on 4th of July, 2023. The author will be taking part in The Big Indie Book Launch at Foyles Charring Cross road, a ticketed press event on July 5th, and Safehouse will then be stocked in Waterstones Hampstead and Daunt Books on Marylebone High street.
Overall reaction:
