Nikki Griffin, runs a used book store basking in the comfort they bring to herself and others. She is also a private investigator who tracks dangerous men who hurt the women they claim to love. When a simple job tailing a tech company's disgruntled employee turns ugly, Nikki must use all her skills to stay alive. This book was addictive, thrilling and action-packed, I loved it! To be surrounded by books, have spirited discussions about different characters and genres and to mete out some deserving justice on some bad people would be intriguing and satisfying. Excellent debut novel, I eagerly look forward to the next adventure Nikki has.

I finished this book, but it left a bad taste in my mouth. The narration didn't feel authentic, secondary characters felt very flat, and the plot was thin. I think there was a lot of explore especially with regards to the secondary characters, but they essentially just served as mirrors for Nikki, rather than people with their own voices.

Save Me From Dangerous Men is a thrilling action story. Nikki is a woman who can handle things herself. She owns a bookstore, but her other job is saving women from abusive relationships. So, she beats the abusers nearly to death to make her point. We learn she had an abusive childhood, and a brother addicted to drugs. Nikki becomes entangled in something and the story unfolds. She is tough as nails, but she's not heartless. She cares for her brother and the women she rescues. I liked the story mostly. I would have been fine with a little less violence. Overall it's a well written fast paced story with a strong intelligent female lead. Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

This book was not at all what I was expecting, but it was still an amazing, thrilling read. For being a debut the author did not lack in making sure the readers were definitely hooked and in for many, many thrills.
I will be using in a challenge and highly recommending in chapter chatter pub!

Save Me From Dangerous Men is a taut, tension-inducing start to a new series. In Nikki Griffin, you have a protagonist who is tough-as-nails, but not without a softer side. (Albeit one usually reserved for her friends and her brother.) When a regular case takes a wrong turn, Nikki is soon in deeper than she expected. A welcome addition to the thriller genre, I look forward to the next book in the series.

A great story with a no-nonsense lead character. Nikki's toughness is proven to the reader within the first few pages. Not being sure where the book is headed from here, I was almost hesitant to continue... DO NOT hesitate! This is an absolutely excellent read. And, yes, Nikki is tough - however she solidly believes in the old adage. "an eye for an eye". Strong characters (a few unlikeable. of course!) help to lead the way in this story Yes, we find that Nikki has a heart but is tough when need be. As the story moves on, we find out about Nikki and her brother's parents and the problems they faced when they were very young.

I hope that S. A. Lelchuk has a sequel, soon - I will be thrilled to read it!

Hats off to a brilliant writer and a superb read!!!

Many thanks to Flatiron Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this winner!

Thank you to Flatiron Books and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

This started as a 5 star that fell a bit into the 4 star category; I'll settle for a 4.5 star final rating.

There's so much I love about this book. The novel starts out with a woman who owns a bookshop and, on the side, is a private investigator--and on the side-side, helps abused women escape their partners. She does this in a very unique way. She beats the crap out of the bad guys first and talks to them second. She says this usually works. There's tons of literary banter; in addition to the bookstore setting, the guy she meets (maybe boyfriend by the end) is completing his PhD in English. There are great secondary characters who populate her bookstore (I love the debating detective club!). A great cast of characters. And Nikki even understands that a good martini is made with gin, not vodka. She's my kind of gal.

She's also an enigmatic character whose story is slowly fleshed out as the novel progresses. Her back story is as fascinating as the current one. There is violence--fair warning. A good bit of it. And another caveat I have to include: I figured out quickly that a man was writing this novel because Nikki is, perhaps unfortunately, written in the vein of a Fighting F*** Toy (if you've seen Miss Representation, you know what I mean). However, I've made my peace with this. A woman can kick-butt, no matter what she looks like or how she's built, so I'm just accepting that our protagonist happens to be young and attractive, and I'm going with it for the sheer enjoyment of the novel.

I took a star off my rating around the mid-point because while I was really excited with the start of this book--Nikki and her extracurricular adventures helping women in terrible situations--the topic changed to one that held a bit less interest for me. This became more of what I might compare to a Lee Childs novel or a political, espionage thriller. It was still good and still a page turner; however, I was loving the initial direction and was hoping this plot would continue in that direction. But it turns when a rich, Silicon Valley CEO requests Nikki's help with what he suggests is an employee stealing corporate secrets. Things spiral from there.

Regardless of the type of thriller this is, it's still an adrenaline-filled narrative that kept me turning the pages. And like I mentioned above, there is enough of Nikki's back story slowly doled out that I was intrigued throughout the whole novel. Granted, Nikki is larger than life and gets out of her scrapes in sometimes unlikely ways--but we accept this from male characters often enough that a woman in this role might almost be refreshing. I really enjoyed this; I'm looking forward to the next entry in the series already. Kudos to Lelchuk for creating such a fascinating character and world for her to inhabit!

In Save Me from Dangerous Men, tough and independent Nikki Griffin owns The Brimstone Magpie, a used bookstore in Berkeley, where she’s created a community around the books that give her comfort and reassurance. Nikki is also a private investigator. Determined to protect victims of domestic abuse, Nikki’s unpaid specialty is extracting women from these relationships and ensuring the abusers know the costs of contacting the women again.

Her paid jobs require her to follow cheating husbands or track down missing people--until Greggory Gunn enters her office. CEO of Care4, an up-and-coming tech firm producing cutting edge baby monitors, he suspects Karen Li, an employee, of corporate espionage and needs Nikki’s help learning who she is working for. Although some of Gunn’s story sounded slightly off, the $20,000 cash retainer he offered convinced her to accept the case.

Distracted by her heroin-addicted brother and wanting to help Zoe, an abused woman who entered her orbit, Nikki began surveillance of Karen Li. She saw Karen meet two giant, intimidating men, and was sure that Karen looked not just nervous but terrified. Next, Nikki followed Karen to Mendocino, and saw her meet with the same two men on the beach. When one of them pushed her to the edge of the nearby cliff, she broke cover to intervene. Later, she initiated contact with Karen who told Nikki she had no idea what she’d waded into, but if Karen wasn’t successful, people were going to die.

Now, Nikki counted Karen among the women she had to protect, but that put her and her loved ones in mortal danger. Nikki didn’t know who her enemies were or who would die if she couldn’t stop what seemed to be an irrevocable chain of events.

The plot was fast-paced as Nikki seemed to leap from one dangerous situation to another. Her wild sideline was grounded with trips to the bookstore where she bantered with the ZEBRAS (the Zealous East Bay Ratiocinating Amateur Sleuths) and always was able to recommend the perfect book to customers. Save Me from Dangerous Me included a bevy of literary references, but for the most part they were simple mentions instead of integrated into the plot or described, and that might have been overdone a bit.

Although I figured out some elements of the mystery early on, other parts were a surprise to me. Nikki’s backstory and motivation for her work unspooled throughout the book. Nikki herself had some stereotypical elements: she was beautiful, wounded, had difficulty connecting with men, was intelligent and determined. She had an almost preternatural way of anticipating the behavior of others. All this was a tad unrealistic, as was her ability to continue her vigilante work without any consequences. And the book contains several fighting scenes and descriptions of violence which may trouble some readers.

That said, Save Me from Dangerous Men is a high-octane ride, analogous to an action movie where certain rules of reality can be suspended. As much as I was troubled by Nikki’s methods, there was a part of me that was rooting for her and pleased when she achieved vengeance. This is expected to be the first book in a series with Nikki Griffin. I expect I’ll return to read more about her adventures.

If you're looking for a gritty mystery with a no-nonsense heroine, then look no further than this book. It took me a while to get into the story but after a bit I was reading far into the night. I received an Uncorrected Digital Galley from NetGalley in return for an unbiased review.

Nikki is the new Lisbeth. Smart, sexy, and dangerous. Trouble finds her and she takes care of business. I will be recommending this to fans of any kick-ass women.

Wildest ride ever! Female PI Nikki Griffen is a hardboiled, kick-ass, take-no-prisoners woman who has been compared to Jack Reacher and Lisbeth Sander. From the first page, we see her lure in an unsuspecting abuser whom she then teaches a valuable lesson after putting him in the emergency room. I knew I was going to love this novel when I realized she was a vengeance with which to be reckoned. Fortunately, she has a heart as well, and as the book progresses we see the trauma in her childhood that causes her to be incredibly protective of her drug-addled brother as well as bound on revenge for those women who have been wronged. But as she is drawn deep into a web of deceit that is bigger than anything she could imagine, we ride along on a roller-coaster of violence and "good-guy vs bad-guy" twists. Your head will spin but you will most likely long for the sequel to this novel and the heroine that you will root for (and it doesn't hurt that she owns a bookstore and there are lots of great literary references and allusions)!

This book was slow to start, but once I got into the character, I couldn’t put it down. I hope to see more for this character, because I enjoyed her and the story line and side players.

Thanks NetGalley!

This book was so good!! Nikki is no nonsense type of PI who knows how to get revenge. This book had me turning the pages so quick. So ready for the second one to this!! Please keep writing them! I would definitely recommend this one to anyone to loves a good thriller!

Nicki Griffith has a lot going for her in Lelchuk' s introduction to the character. She owns a bookstore. She enjoys literary banter. She helps women who need help. She is a bad ass. A strong, vigilante type female investigator when she's not managing her bookstore, you can't help but root for her. Many good action scenes although the plot has some holes.

Copy provided by the Publisher and NetGalley

I liked the tough female heroine....who offers a little protection, & a little 'lesson in how to treat or not to treat' others.... & she additionally works in/runs a bookstore! So I liked all her book/author references. The story/dilemma that she got caught up in in this 1st installment of this series......I thought, got a little convoluted, seemed to need a lot of explaining at the end......& even with all that explanation, I'm not sure I knew who they'd saved?! But I did like her tough gal, 'git er done' attitude. It's a good action book & I'll definitely continue to read in this series.
I received this e-ARC from NetGalley, in return for reading it & offering my own honest review.

The concept of righteous revenge is so sweet- and its so great when it is a well read woman who is just sooo tough.
She goes after those who feel either entitled or seem to get off scot free, and they end up being neither. There are some real inconsistencies between the toughness of the PI and some of the dumb choices she makes.

She becomes the hunted rather than the hunted and that brings an urgency to her chase.

It is a good read, but very enjoyable.

Thank you NetGalley and Flatiron Books for this arc.

Please buckle your seat belts and make sure your tray tables are in their upright position... "Cause this is one wild ride! Other reviewers have compared Nikki Griffin to Jack Reacher and/or Lisbeth Salander. She is also described as kickass. My interest was piqued. Hyperbolic over-hype? I had to read it to find out. I was not disappointed.

Nikki is a great character, unreal sense of personal responsibility and incapable of quitting while she's a head. I liked her a lot in her role as bookstore owner, but the rest of her just made me dizzy. The action in this book was fast and furious and overrode (for me) the overdone plot line of David v. Goliath. Hard to believe this is the author's debut as the rest of the characters were so very well developed. I will definitely be looking for more from S A Lelchuk!

4.5 stars rounded up.

Save Me From Dangerous Men was an addicting read, most likely due to my intrigue about and similarities with the main character. An inwardly reflecting reader will face ethical dilemmas amidst this vigilante's journey. S.A. Lelchuk does not hold back from presenting the struggle between the darkness of vengeance and the sweetness of justice; how both define the protagonist and perhaps the reader, too.
I read a lot of mysteries and found most events in the book to be either predictable, or so purposefully unpredictable that they were silly. Albeit, I enjoy when a mystery author gives a reader a chance to also play investigator by giving away the same clues, and misleads, that the protagonist has to discover the truth; this is usually at the expense of total surprise 100% of the time. You have to suspend disbelief about the realism of this tough-girl enforcer, as her activities are so incredibly illegal and public that her freedom to uphold this side-profession is outrageous. I think the author knows this, as there are always narratives attempting to explain away unbelievable portions of the book like this which satisfied me enough to accept them and move on. I can't say that I was happy with the exposed antagonist plot at the end; I found it to be a weak result of trying to create plot twists.
Regardless, the details and main character building are exceptional. It is rare to come upon a book with a strong female lead that adequately represents physical and mental strengths and weaknesses. While some of the characters make unbelievably dumb mistakes to keep the story going, many interactions reflect raw, real, human responses and capabilities. The story does not dawdle, but is enriched with fun and educating details that allow the reader to fully visualize, understand, and feel it.
I clicked back and forth between 3 and 4 stars several times while writing this review. I dislike the final "plot twists" and the typical antagonist-fatal-flaw-of-keeping-the-protagonist-alive-to-boast type mystery mistakes (in fairness, these are necessary in books and TV to have an actual story to tell beyond "I called the police and now it's over"). However, I still thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the read and had a hard time putting the book down.

Nikki Griffin isn't your typical private investigator. In her office above her bookstore’s shelves and stacks, where she luxuriates in books and the comfort they provide, she also tracks certain men. Dangerous men. Men who have hurt the women they claim to love. And Nikki likes to teach those men a lesson, to teach them what it feels like to be hurt and helpless, so she can be sure that their victims are safe from them forever.

I feel like this is the female version of the Jack Reacher books, which I love, so this was a quick read for me! I loved the writing style of S. A. Lelchuk, it was such an intense read.

Thanks to #NetGalley for the ARC!
Pub Date: 19 Mar 2019

Thank you Netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I thought Nikki was super kick ass from the very beginning. It amazed me how cool and collected she remained when she lures one of her client's abusive husband and then proceeds to teach him a painful lesson. Loved how detailed and natural the scenes played out. Nikki also works at a book shop and does other surveillance jobs for other clients. She reminds me of the Jessica Jones comics. Strong, broken and unapologetic.
She takes the assignment to tail an employee of a tech who might be selling secrets but she finds more than she bargains for. The story remained thrilling and I ended up rooting for Nikki to kick ass and take no prisoners. Awesome.