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The Safehouse

T. Thomas Ackerman
Outskirts Press (2011)
ISBN 9781432775247
Reviewed by Melissa Koltes for RebeccasReads (10/11)

Detective Jessica Warren, is a fervent defender of abused women and children.  She is often called to domestic disturbances and tries (often in vain) to help the women put their husbands in jail or at least get them to a shelter and out of danger.  She is a good cop but sometimes her idea of justice is more in lines with vigilantism than judicial. 

From time to time, Jessie must take the victims from the shelter to a secure safehouse that no one in the police force knows about.  This is a secret place where the women can feel safe from their abusers but they don’t know that the women that run the safehouse have a talent for helping the problem permanently disappear.

The story was interesting but the writing left much to be desired.  The dialogue felt forced and choppy.  Often the conversations were so unnatural that it became difficult to read.

The reader never discovers any real information about the women that run the safehouse; aside from Cassandra has traveled and was abused.  We never find out how she learned her “skills” or any background information to help with character development. The relationship between Jessica and Joe goes from an uncertainty about having lunch to being in love within two dates; based on the entire premise of the book this seems ridiculous. 

While I appreciate that most everyone in the book is trying to help the abused women and not victimize them, it appeared the majority of the characters believe they should decide right and wrong rather than allowing the system they represent run its course.  They destroy evidence, ignore glaring discrepancies, and manipulate crime scenes.  This made it a bit difficult to cheer for the good guys when everyone appears to be a criminal.

" The Safehouse" has the potential to be a truly good book but due to the issues with the writing and the storyline it was just okay.

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