Monday 18 February 2019

Books Read: In Safe Hands by J. P. Carter

When nine children are snatched from a nursery school in South London, their distressed parents have no idea if they will ever see them again. The community in the surrounding area in shock. How could this happen right under their noses? No one in the quiet suburban street saw anything – or at least that's what they're saying.

But DCI Anna Tate knows that nothing is impossible, and she also knows that time is quickly running out. It’s unclear if the kidnappers are desperate for money or set on revenge, but the ransom is going up by £1million daily. And they know that one little boy in particular is fighting for his life.

It’s one of the most disturbing cases DCI Anna Tate has ever worked on – not only because nine children are being held hostage, but because she’s pretty sure that someone close to them is lying…

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I'd like to thank Sabah at Avon Books for inviting me to be a part of this blog tour and for my copy of In Safe Hands to review.

As a crime fiction fan I have always enjoyed reading police procedural novels, especially series from the beginning so that you can get to know characters and see their development as the series evolves, so when I first saw the synopsis for In Safe Hands I knew that this was one book I definitely wanted to read this year.  And having finished reading it this weekend I can definitely say I loved this book from start to finish, this is the debut by the author under the name J. P. Carter but he has written under other names which I've not read so he is a new author to me. 

When a call comes in saying that they've a live crime in progress, a hostage situation in a local nursery school, DCI Anna Tate and her team spring into action. But what awaits them is every parents nightmare, and one that Anna knows all too well herself, the staff have been locked up in a storeroom and the children are missing.  Even though this case brings back painful memories for Anna of her own case, one that is still ongoing so she'd be forgiven for not wanting to be involved in this case, she's the ultimate professional and if anything it's her own experience that makes her the best person to be involved as she knows exactly how the parents will be feeling.

You knew quite early on what Anna's own personal situation was so could only imagine that this case would not have been particularly easy for her but she's determined to do her utmost to find the children and fast so that they can be reunited with their parents. I think because of her own experience Anna was a character you instantly warmed to, she was someone who could empathise with the parents, and the staff of the nursery, but also by spending time with them she could use her experience to look out for anything that might not be quite right in their behaviours. After all usually in crimes such as abductions there has to be a personal motive so the nursery school staff and parents were all under suspicion under they had been totally cleared.

If I had had the time I'm sure I would have flown through this book from start to finish as I was so invested in the story as much as Anna and her team were in investigating the crime.  I wanted to know the reasons behind the abductions, who would want to take innocent young children away from what was supposed to be a place of safety and make their parents suffer in anguish waiting for news, but most importantly of all who was involved.  And even though I had a small inkling in the back of my head at who was involved, I was still surprised at how the events all played out.

In Safe Hands was a great introduction to what promises to be an exciting new police procedural series, and like Anna I too want to know the answer to that final question so hopefully all will be revealed later in the year when At Your Door is published.

All Amazon UK book titles in bold are Affiliate links which will earn me a few pence if anyone clicks through and makes a purchase - any money earned will go towards buying books or gifts for giveaways.  

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