No Safe Place (1998 original; edició 1999)

I'm on a roll of political thrillers and this is a pretty good one. Kerry Kilcannon is running for President. Today's real politics is so full of astounding plots that fiction along the same lines doesn't even feel like fiction most of the time. Such is the case with this. But, it is a good story. ( )

An average book that does not merit much. However it is well written and though interesting in parts, it is dry and demands a lot attention.

For a detailed review, click on the link.

http://onerightword.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/no-safe-place-richard-north-patterson...


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An excellent thriller with some thought-provoking themes. ( )

don’t usually enjoy political campaign stories but No Safe Place by Richard North Patterson was so enriched with back story that I loved it. Knowing that Kerry Kilcannon, Presidential candidate had an abusive father and a brother so handsome that he was jealous makes you understand his actions. Knowing about his loveless marriage and feeling of isolation helps you know why he started an affair with Lara Costello. Kerry Kilcannon despite his poor background reminded me of JFK with all his idealism. That is not a bad thing. I think I would have voted for him.

Important political issues are raised, the right to have guns versus gun control and abortion versus the right to life. The arguments for both sides were well handled. Also being in the public eye was subtly worked in.

The reader of the tape cassette, Patricia Kalember did an excellent job with the voices of men and women. Anytime that I forget the sex of the reader I count it as a winner. Since this book is so long, I think it is best to relax and listen to than read it this time. This was an abridgement which helps too. ( )

No Safe Place is a political thriller that has no interest in realism or believability. In this convoluted story line, Kerry Kilcannon is a senator whose brother is killed while running for the White House. He decides on his own run, even though he has an affair with a reporter that can bring him down. Also, in his past, he saved a boy from his father who wanted to kill him. Now the same boy wants to kill Kilcannon for his position on abortion. Yes, the plot is as ridiculous as that sounds.

This novel is weak and barely readable. Obviously Patterson doesn’t care about whether or not his readers will buy into his plot. There was very little about this novel that I liked. Kilcannon is a weak character and the plot went from bad to worse. This is a novel that you will want to skip.

Carl Alves – author of Blood Street ( )