“I never saw this coming”

This line was included partway through the story, and I agree; I didn’t see the line that would lead to the killer. A great concept and superbly executed. The book provides a deeper understanding of the various types of OCD and gives the reader a better insight, which can often elude a lay person who has little or no exposure to the issues brought on by OCD.

Pacing and plot were ‘spot on’ and included realistic scenarios which fitted with the storyline.

An author I will look out for and read again. 5 Star!

This one surprised me. Yes, it’s a gritty police procedural with a twisty murder case, but what really got me was the emotional depth. DCI Liz Field isn’t your typical detective, she’s older, flawed, and carrying her own trauma, including OCD. And the way OCD is portrayed here? Honest and raw, not just a plot device.

The story keeps you guessing with clever narrative threads and anonymous dialogue that adds a haunting, psychological edge. It’s not without a few slower moments, but the characters felt real, and the tension never fully lets go.

Just finished No Safe Place by Hannah Brennan, and wow—what a ride! This book hooked me from the very beginning. The suspense was real, and every time I thought I had things figured out, another twist hit me out of nowhere.

The characters felt so raw and real, especially the main one—you really get pulled into her world and feel the fear and tension right along with her. I loved how Brennan balanced fast-paced action with emotional depth. It’s one of those thrillers that keeps you flipping pages late into the night (and maybe double-checking that your doors are locked).

If you’re into thrillers with strong female leads, high-stakes danger, and just the right amount of psychological tension, this one's for you.

No Safe Place by Hannah Brennan is a compelling debut novel that combines a gripping police procedural with an insight into the impact on living with OCD.

With a cast of believable, flawed characters. It kept me guessing with twists and turns.

I really enjoyed this, and I am looking forward to seeing what the author brings out next.

This was an impressive debut novel with many twists and turns.

Plot summary: DCI Field is investigating two murders that seem related. A well-known psychologist and one of the students who was in his groundbreaking study many years ago. Lily and Callum live nearby and may be next. Will Field find the murderer in time?

What I liked: This was fast-paced and full of energy. It had an urgent feel, which kept me turning the pages. Lily and Callum have OCD, and Callum's struggles are well-detailed. I really didn't know what was going on. The story is interspersed with an ongoing dialogue, and it's unclear who is talking and what is happening and how it fits into the mystery, The characters are well-developed and real.

Read the afterward. I made me tear up, because the author has struggled with OCD, which is why it comes across as so authentic in the story.

What could have been better: The ending, while satisfying in many ways, was also a little lame, in terms of motive and the reveal of what the dialogue is. There are also a few unanswered questions about how the murder took place.

In sum, this was a gripping read with excellent characterization and a great mix of murder mystery and exploring relationships.

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon, and Hannah Brennan for the opportunity to review an advanced copy.

This was a DNF for me and that sucks. It felt like nothing was happening and then there’s strange conversations stuck in the story that they never say. I wanted to like it but it just wasn’t for me.

This book was really captivating. It had me hooked from the moment I started it and really kept me on my toes throughout the entire book. I highly recommend it!

No Safe Place is an outstanding debut from Hannah Brennan. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
D.C.I. Fields and D.S. Riley are completely convincing characters. I really hope this is the start of a series. This is police procedural at its best.
I would definitely recommend this book.
Thank you to Netgalley and the author for the opportunity to read and review this book.

A strong debut with a topic that I understand all too well. It was handled with care and was well informed. The plot itself was solid, and it was gripping enough to make me want to know what had happened. I enjoyed the added snippets of the doctor/patient conversation throughout, which the ending shed light on and revealed the meaning.

Hannah did a great job in the character's personalities and adding red herrings in to put you on completely the wrong track.

I didn't even cross my mind as to who the killer was, I'll be honest! 😅

This book was beautifully written! It opens the reader up to OCD and the complexities that people don’t truly understand. OCD is sometimes the butt of jokes or people use it as a saying but it’s so much more complex! Callum and Lily’s story was eye opening and also the twists and turns through the book has me reading and not wanting to put the book down.

There were a few mistakes of Sam being listed closer to the end of the book as Ruby’s sister when it was Paige. But nothing edits wouldn’t hurt.

I’m grateful to receive this ARC and I can’t wait for another book!

No Safe Place is a brilliant police procedural which also shines a light on misunderstood obsessive-compulsive disorders. Brennan has crafted a challenging case for DCI Liz Field. Why is someone killing the child psychologist and his patients from a study which took place fifteen years ago? Can Field and her talented team solve the crime before all the patients are dead or the case is reassigned? Can they decipher the clues the killer left at each scene? The clock is ticking but you'll be racing through the pages to get the answers to those questions. This is a wonderful debut with a satisfying conclusion. Thank you to Avon Books and NetGalley for the advance reading copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

I received an ARC of this novel thanks to NetGalley.
For a debut novel, this was fairly decent. It wasn't as thrilling or keeping me on the edge of my seat as usual thrillers are, but with time, I can see this author writing more amazing novels. It was an easy quick read. I really appreciated the depth Hannah went into about OCD, I love reading books that teach me new things.
3.5 stars for me

No Safe Place is a gripping mystery about a young woman who returns to her hometown after a long time away—and finds herself caught up in dark secrets and danger. As she tries to uncover the truth, the story slowly reveals twists, past trauma, and people who aren’t who they seem.

The writing is easy to follow, the tension builds well, and it keeps you guessing until the end. It’s emotional in parts, but full of suspense.

Good if you like: mysteries, small-town secrets, strong female leads.
Not so good if you don’t like: dark themes or emotional backstories.

You can't beat a decent fast paced crime - thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat. No Safe Place did it exactly that.

The main focus of this story is about uncovering the murderer of two dead bodies. However they're linked to a group of then teenagers who were inpatients in a psychiatric facility with OCD. Field who is the leading detective finds that this case hits a little close to home, so can she hold it together long enough to uncover the truth.

I had my mind made up who the killer was so the ending threw me completely, I definitely didn't pin that one down. I loved how twisty this book was always leading you down one route only to have you swerve off course.

A great story with really well developed characters, perfect for crime, mystery and thriller fans.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a digital ARC.

No Safe Place by Hannah Brennan has an interesting concept and a strong start. The story follows a woman who finds herself in danger and has to leave everything behind. I was curious to see where the plot would go, and the beginning pulled me in quickly.

The writing is clear and easy to read, and the author explores some emotional themes like trauma, fear, and survival. I appreciated the moments that touched on how difficult it can be to move forward after experiencing something life-changing.

However, I didn’t feel much tension or urgency as the story went on. The middle section dragged a bit for me. Some of the side characters felt flat. A few plot points were left unresolved, and I finished the book wishing for more clarity and depth.

This book might still be a good fit for readers who like emotional stories about starting over, but it didn’t fully work for me. I am still interested in seeing what the author writes next though!!!!!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

My Rating: 2.5 stars out of 5

Before I get into the details, I should note that I received an ARC of this book. While reading, I noticed a few inconsistencies in the story, though these may have been resolved between my reading and the novel's final release. That being said, I pride myself on honest reviews, so I felt it was important to mention them in case other readers come across them after publication. I will address these things first so that we can then move on to the rest of the novel. Thankfully, there aren't many examples, and all of them came later in the book.

The first one I noticed was when Detective Field goes to visit Callum, she shows him a copy of his book and even references it, but then later on he asks her if she has read his book. Obviously she has if she knew enough about to point out its correlation to the events that were happening.

The second instance that really stood out to me was later on when Callum was back home with Lily. It had been mentioned previously that the police had boarded up his back door because it "kept opening", and they didn't want to the place robbed. Then when Callum is home again, it's suddenly banging open? He goes to the kitchen, closes the door and locks it (which made me question why the police hadn't done this in the first place, never mind the question of what happened to the steps they had taken to board it up). A few moments later Callum is moving something on front of the "broken back door" to keep him from easily opening it. So was it broken or not?"

NOW THAT I HAVE GOTTEN ALL OF THAT OUT OF THE WAY. LET ME MOVE ON TO A MORE IN DEPTH REVIEW OF THIS STORY AND ITS CHARACTERS.

To begin with Detective Elizabeth Field (forevermore known throughout this novel as Field because she hates her first name), is a very hard character to like. She gets angry easily, and what's more is that she lets that anger take over. At one point she is yelling what seems to be one of her only friends because her son reached out to said friend out of worry. Then she is yelling at her son, and throwing his old illness in his face. She even contemplates smacking a "snug smile" off a co-workers face, and this is AFTER she also debates throwing crime scene photos of the desk of a psychiatrist just because he had the audacity to disagree with her. Now, I may have tried to be a bit more understanding, had this character not been a grown woman in HER FIFTIES.

The secondary characters on her team (mainly Riley and Wilson) really needed to be called by their first names so that it was easier to remember who was who (Riley was a man and Wilson was a girl) because sometimes the back and forth got really confusing in terms of who was who.

That aside, parts of this novel came across as very stilted. The actions and conversations at times seemed more robotic than anything else, and the entire section that was dedicated to the "paper" written by the original victim came across as though the author was throwing in a lot of words that normal readers won't understand in an attempt to make the victim sound as smart as he was purported to be.

Also, and this is in no way me bashing the author or the story, but to my American friends who have a background in the medical field (specifically paramedics), you may have the same questions I did. Mainly the fact that we jumped from a team of medics loading the first victim into an ambulance, and then pages later having a different one (or maybe it was the same one but either way why were they still at the scene of the crime) telling Field that the victim was out of surgery. There was also Field asking if the medic had been "debriefed" because huh? In all of my years providing emergency medical care in a pre-hospital setting, not once have I ever been "debriefed", much less had an update on the status of a patient who had been transported to the hospital. Also, why were the police officers doing a "by the way your husband was attacked" house call on the wife when the hospital should have already notified her as his next of kin? Not necessarily important, but it contributed to the overall weird vibe this book gave me.

In the end, while I don't think I will intentionally seek out book number two in this series, if it happens to come across my radar, and it sounds interesting, I will most likely give it a read as I see a lot of potential within this author to expand these characters.

DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel from the publisher. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.

I really enjoyed the ‘old fashion’ policing in this especially Fields age was a lovely breath of fresh air will be ordering the paper back for my auntie when it’s released as she will love it!!
This had a lovely pace the ending definitely had me sitting up on the edge of my bed.
I enjoyed the character but I really loved Lily and Callum’s relationship.
I loved getting to know DCI Field and her team and can’t wait for me

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.

DCI Field (or 'Field' as she is referred to throughout, since she hates her first name - which is Elizabeth) investigates the stabbing of David Moore, a well-respected psychologist. Then one of his former patients is also stabbed and is discovered by another second former patient.

I found the first chapters a little slow, but after that things picked up and I read the whole book in one sitting. David's speciality is the misdiagnosis of OCD in children and I thought this aspect was really interesting. I learnt a lot. The narrative moves at a good pace and the ending was excellent.

Recommended.

Chilling, twisty and original: I loved it! I can’t believe it’s a debut. The writing is so accomplished, the plot and characters are compelling, and it had a perfect ending: I didn’t see it coming but it felt exactly right. To be able to get into characters heads and make them so real and alive is a gift – to achieve that and tie it into a pacy, effective plot takes such skill. Write more of these, please! A definite 5⭐ from me.

No Safe Place is a mystery crime story about a group of kids that went to therapy in a study led by a psychologist to manage different types of their OCD. And a killer on the loose. It’s one of those books that keeps you on the edge of your seat, making you question who the murderer is. And the ending takes an unexpected turn that totally caught me off guard.