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How I discovered this book: It was a submission to Rosie Amber's Book Review Team, of which I am a member.
Safe With Me is a contemporary romantic drama involving themes of fostered children and domestic abuse. The story alternates between the points of view of Katerina (sometimes Kat, sometimes Rina), and Jamie.
The novel opens with Kat in a deeply depressing situation. After a terrible childhood in and out of foster homes, then life on the streets, she has been married for many years to Vic, a criminal who owns a greasy spoon café on a London market. Her life is one of imprisonment, abuse and drudgery, as she works in the café all day every day, and spends her evenings tiptoeing round Vic's temper. She hates him, but is completely worn down and unable to see a way out. The one light in her life is her memory of Jamie, the little boy with whom she was fostered as a child. I thought this part of the book was written very well indeed, I was most impressed. I felt every moment of Kat's fear and hopelessness.
Jamie, by contrast, has led a happy life, but always longed to see Kat again. When they meet up, completely by accident, neither of them have any idea who the other is. This novel turns on its head the current trend for unguessable plot twists, which I liked very much: in Safe With Me, the reader knows what's going on, but the characters don't. It really worked, because I found myself wondering how they were going to discover each other's identities; the 'reveal' is well done, and is unexpected; I liked it.
Ms Lowrie has a nice, easily accessible style of writing, very readable. I did prefer the first half of the book, which, for me, had more atmosphere and realism. The second half is centred round the relationship between Kat and Jamie, and Kat's road to recovery; it's done well but, for me, the climax of the book came too soon. This is just a personal preference, of course. Conflict/tension is provided by Jamie's ex-girlfriend, and the uncovering of some secrets of Jamie and Kat's past, but I thought the Vic situation was disposed of too easily, and sometimes descriptive passages slowed the momentum; I think it needed a better edit.
This novel has much to commend it; on the whole, I'd say it's a book for readers who like the gradual unfolding of emotions to ponder over, rather than page-turning drama.
Thanks Terry.
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