Book Review: Keep You Safe by Rona Halsall

About the Book

 What if trying to protect your child only put them in danger?

Natalie is desperate to find her little boy. It has been more than three years since she saw Harry. Three long years in prison for a crime she knows she didn’t commit.

But her husband believed the police, and took their son.

Who has gone to such great lengths to destroy Natalie’s life? Everyone she once trusted – friends, family, everyone close to her – what secrets do they hide?

If Natalie finds the truth, will she get Harry back, or lose him forever?

My Thoughts

I found KEEP YOU SAFE by Rona Halsall to be an engaging and well-paced book. Told primarily from character Natalie’s point of view, I enjoyed the switch between the present, where she is not only searching for her son, but running from people who have threatened her and her family’s lives, and the past, where we learn about how she ended up in prison serving time for a crime she claims she did not commit.

The author does a fine job of keeping up the tension throughout the book. Both in prison and outside, Natalie struggles in knowing who to trust. She can only rely on her wits; wits that her prison stint has helped her hone typically via unpleasant experiences. In fact, I quite enjoyed reading about time Natalie spent in prison. Her experiences inside shaped her and she certainly was not able to leave behind that life once outside.

One of my ‘buts’ with this story is that I guessed who the unknown narrator was much earlier than I would have preferred and this diluted part of the mystery for me. Also at times, I did feel the need to suspend belief with respect to some storylines. Having said all this, the book more than held my interest and I was happily turning the pages to find out what was going to happen next.

I learned after reading this book that it is the author’s debut novel. Well done! I hope she continues writing because I am keen to read what she comes up with next.

About the Author

Rona's debut psychological thriller, Keep You Safe is out on 17th August 2018 and her second will be out in November. She has been a bookworm since she was a child and now she's actually creating stories of her own, which feels like a dream come true.

Rona lives on the Isle of Man with her husband, two dogs and three guinea pigs. She is an outdoorsy person and loves stomping up a mountain, walking the coastal paths and exploring the wonderful glens and beaches on the Island while she's plotting how to kill off her next victim. She has three children and two step-children who are now grown up and leading varied and interesting lives, which provides plenty of ideas for new stories!

https://www.facebook.com/RonaHalsallAuthor/