No Safe Place by Hannah Brennan is the first book in the Detective Liz Fields series.

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Avon books, and the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.




Series Information:  (Note that this section may contain spoilers from this book)
DCI Elizabeth (Liz) Field is a middle-aged detective who is trying to get DS Riley and DS Wilson to work better together, but jealousy often gets in the way.  As well, her male boss seldom gives her the tough cases, so she often gets by-passed.  Her son Toby is becoming a paramedic, and she is always afraid for his mental well-being, as he had issues earlier.  Note that she hates her first name, and goes by "Field", and all characters seem to be identified by last names only.




My Synopsis:    (No major reveals, but if concerned, skip to My Opinions)
Liz Field is with DS Riley when they get the late night attack of a stabbing victim in a quiet neighborhood.  Dr. David Moore, a lecturer and therapist is found, with the first page of a paper he had written many years ago.

The next night, a woman is found stabbed at the house of a man with OCD.  Both the man (Callum), and the woman (Pam), had been patients of David's when they were teenagers.  Along with three other teenagers, they had been the subject of the paper that David had written.  All had suffered from a form of OCD.  Unfortunately, discovering the identity of the other three patients will be difficult, as it was a private issue for all concerned.

DS Riley is adamant that Callum is responsible for killing David, and the attack on Pam, who he says he was trying to save.  Callum's ex, Lily, is just as adamant that he is not to blame.  DCI Field tends to believe Lily.

All of this is getting to Field.  Between the pressure from her boss, and the actual case, she is also recalling all the problems she had with Toby when he was younger, and she is taking it out on both Toby, and on her best friend and colleague, Dr. Young, who is a forensic medical examiner.




 

My Opinions:
First, I really don't like the fact that everyone is only called by their last name.  It's very impersonal.  It's also hard when Riley is a man, and Wilson is a woman, and both of these prove to be important later on in the book when their strengths are brought into the story.  Maybe I'm nitpicking, but this bothered me.  As well, having the main character identified by her last name, also made the story very clinical, and it was hard to get behind a Field.  As well, none of these characters had much depth.  We really did not discover much background about Field, Riley, Wilson or Toby, so they felt rather one-dimensional.

I also felt that we were told about the urgency of finding the people who may be in danger, but I didn't quite "feel" that urgency.

However, all that being said, I still enjoyed the book.

The OCD theme was really good.  I loved how OCD was explained in detail, and you could tell that the author brought her own experiences into the storyline.  It was done really well.  I absolutely loved Callum and Lily (notice that they had first names!), and these characters also had depth.

So, for a debut novel, it was quite good, and I'm looking forward to the second in the series, where I hope the author gives her characters a little more depth, and maybe first names.

To say this is Hannah Brennans debut I am absolutely blown away. I had plans the afternoon and evening I sat down to read this, which soon went out the window because this is the kind of book that keeps you so pulled in you absolutely will not be able to put this down.

I really enjoyed the character building, it's not often that I read a book where it captures the trauma of really living with OCD, but Brennan draws out each characters challenges they face in life, and the crutches they either develop with each other or how to mask in life to the point of passing as a neurotypical person going about their daily lives. It goes without saying that the level of depth given to each of the characters gave them so much more life than being reduced purely to their OCD and whilst I may have been suspicious of them all at one time or another, I still found a deep level of empathy for them.

I found out upon finishing this that Detective Liz Fields is going to be the subject of Brennans series, and I'm already invested in the 2nd book given how much I loved her character. The suspense and tension that Fields character brings to the story carried me through and had me trying to put together the clues faster than she was picking them up. Needless to say, I won't be making Fields team any time soon, because I would never have seen the big twists coming that we were thrown, but it made the police procedural side of the book all the more interesting.

A big thank you to Avon Books and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

An absolutely cracking debut novel! I really hope this is the start of a series featuring DCI Field and her team. The writing in this story flowed seamlessly and all of the characters are developed and authentic. A very interesting subject matter and I certainly learned a little about OCD. An excellent read!

This was a brilliant debut novel and a very sensitive topic.
The characters were great, the police procedural was well done, and this was very well written and I really enjoyed this book.
I hope there will be further novels with the same police characters as I can really see this as a series doing well.
For me this was a 4.5 stars, so I have given it 4.
I hope to read more by Hannah.

A debut novel, this is a fast paced police procedural that kept me hooked to the end. The authors experience with OCD lends an authenticity to the characters Lily and Callum and DCI Field an interesting and empathetic police officer. I look forward to the next novel in the series.

Took me a while to get into it as it was fairly slow at the start but am glad I persevered.
Well-written and carefully plotted

Great debut novel! This was a good murder mystery and kept me guessing throughout, surprise twist thrown in for good measure. Didn’t feel too drawn out or rushed at the end. The topic of OCD and its different manifestations were covered well and was eye opening. Overall I really enjoyed this book and can’t wait to read more from this author!

Thanks to NetGalley and Avon books for this ARC.

I really enjoyed this book. I liked the main character and the supporting team of dectectives she worked with. I learned so much more about OCD than I ever knew before. It was really great to get a different and accurate description of the disorder from someone with real knowledge. The mystery was compelling and I didn't guess who the murderer was until just before the reveal. I look forward to the main character, Det. Liz Field, in upcoming stories!

When an OCD expert is found brutally stabbed in the street, Detective Liz Field and her team begin the investigation. But it quickly becomes apparent that it might be linked to a study the victim did 15 years ago involving teenagers with OCD. Before long a woman is found stabbed nearby with similar wounds and a link to the first victim. Can Field and her team find the killer before they strike again? Or will Field's own experiences with mental illness prevent her from seeing the bigger picture?

I really enjoyed this story, and with the author note at the end stating that she has OCD too, it is obviously talked about in a way to dispel myths and inform alongside the murder mystery. It's not done in a way that makes you feel lectured to, but each OCD patient in the study has different symptoms and it's fascinating to see all the ways in which it presents. Field and her team have their issues as any real team would, and it's great to see a middle aged woman in charge in this one. The characters remind me of Jo Callaghan's team in Blink of an Eye, just minus the AI element! Callum and Lily are two of the POV's we get alongside Field's and seeing how they deal with the murders as well as Callum's OCD around numbers was an interesting perspective. The final twist where the killer is finally revealed wasn't completely guessable, but the breadcrumbs were there along with a lot of red herrings to keep me guessing. I really hope this is the start of a series as Field and co deserve a follow up! It's a fab debut novel.

This book was brilliant ! One of those books that will have you thinking about it long after you have finished. I liked how the author included OCD into the storyline, having known people with this , she did it such a honest and sensitive way.

You can’t run from the past…

⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3/5)

Detective Field is called in to investigate a brutal attack on a man who is stabbed multiple times and ends up with his life hanging in the balance. When a second attack happens with the same distinctive methods, Field has a murder investigation on her hands. Guided only by a page from an academic paper found with the victims, Field embarks on a race to understand the subjects of the paper a child psychologist’s study on his young patients with OCD. Field has to race against time to find the group of ex-patients, while also considering that one of them could be a killer…

This was a very interesting debut book, one that was very easy to read. I liked the multiple POVs and a POV that was unknown. I had assumed I knew what was going on with the unknown POV, but I was wrong so that was a nice twist.

Once the killer is revealed, I was underwhelmed, expecting something completely different. I finished the book, very quickly, so it’s still a good read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I found this book to be an enjoyable read. The story kept me engaged from start to finish and had some moments that really stood out. Overall, it offered an entertaining reading experience.

I do love a good detective story and this first book in the series, and a debut, was fantastic. I can’t wait for the next book already. DCI Liz Fields is such a great character to read about and I look forward to getting to know her more in the next books.

This book really did open my eyes to the different types of OCD and how it affects people in such different ways. Such incredible stories that these characters had, and how it can be so debilitating for people l it really made me think. The mental health implications of living with OCD must be highlighted and the author did a fantastic job with this, drawing on her own experiences.

I was hooked from the start, and it is not often that a police procedural will make me so emotional.

Thank you so much to Avon Books for my copy of this book to read. An author to watch.

Thank you to Netgalley and Avon Books UK for this ebook copy of this book.

For a debut novel this was decent and I had a good time with it. However, I didn’t really find this book thrilling and gripping. It was a quick and easy read but it was just missing the thrilling aspect. The beginning was really strong but overall, I found it a little boring in parts.

For a debut novel it is good but i struggled with the pace and flow of the story

however saying that i like field and the other characters in this and it was good but just wasbt for me..

What a great debut and with this being the first in a series, there is more to come.

A child psychologist is murdered and the first page from a study he did 15 years ago was found with his body. Why? When the body of one of his patients from that study is found with another page from the original study also being found at the scene, Detective Field has an intriguing case on her hands and one that she must solve before there's another victim but is the murderer one of the study subjects or is it someone unconnected but he is a respected psychologist so why?

Full of great characters, twists and turns and all written at a good pace, this is a really good thriller but what makes this stand out for me is the way the author incorporated the mental health condition of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). I have some knowledge of this condition from my work and I felt the author dealt with it with compassion and whilst she revealed her own diagnosis at the end, there has clearly been a lot of research undertaken. This added another layer to the story.

No Safe Place is a great start to a new series and I am very much looking forward to the next in the series and many thanks to the author, Avon Books UK and NetGalley for enabling me to read this excellent debut.

4.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Can't believe this was a debut! I found the writing flowed incredibly well and it certainly keeps the reader wanting to read the next chapter...and the next...and the next!

I do love a Woman Detective and DCI Liz Field and her team have their work cut out with the investigation of two stabbing attacks. They have to find out whether these attacks are linked. What follows is a real page turner of events. I found the pacing of the book worked really well, especially with the short chapters and different POVs.

I listened to the audio book and the narrator was exceptional, really bringing emotion to Cam and Lilly in particular.

This book really deals with how people live with OCD. It's an illness that shouldn't be taken lightly, as it can literally take over one's life and those that are around you. It's an illness, that without the proper diagnosis and help from professionals can spiral someone into despair. It really opened my eyes, so thank you Hannah for highlighting this.

Look forward to reading more from Hannah in the future!

Detective Liz Field is investigating the brutal murder of psychologist and less than 24 hours later, the second murder of his former patient.

Incredible debut novel by Hannah Brennan. This was a fast paced crime thriller I could not put down, perfect for fans of Karin Slaughter and Helen Fields.

I am so excited to read the next installment to this series

Congratulations to the author for this brilliant debut
I couldn't put it down and highly recommend it to you!
Obviously writing about something she knows well
Adding it in a crime thriller, her story to tell.

Detective Liz Field is the lead investigator
Seeking to discover who is the perpetrator.
A child psychologist is the victim at the start
With some of his patients also playing their part.

The characters are brought vividly to life
Sharing their anxieties, their troubles and their strife.
Helping readers become more aware
Of people with OCD and the importance of care.

The investigation is intriguing and also shows
How family experiences impact what officers know.
And how this can affect their attitudes, too,
Helping relate to what others go through.

I really hope this proves to be the start
Of a series in which Liz Field plays a key part.
For my copy of this book I say thank you
As I share with you this, my honest review.

I absolutely loved this debut police procedural from Hannah Brennan. The reader is introduced to DCI Field and her team who are investigating the murder of a child psychologist. When the police realise that his murder may be linked to another killing and a research paper he wrote on OCD 15 years ago they are concerned for the group of young people who participated in the study.
This is a well written, original and excellently paced thriller told from the points of view of DCI Field, Callum, a patient of the deceased psychologist and Callum’s ex girlfriend Lily. The subject of OCD is dealt with sensitively and informatively rather than just being a convenient plot device. I liked the character of Field and hope she returns in subsequent novels. A highly recommended read. 4.5 stars.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.