Safe House

Author/Guide: Chris Ewan

Why a Booktrail?

2000s: A plumber gets a call out to a remote house on the Isle of Man. Except this is no ordinary call out….

ISBN: 978-0571282210
Genre: Crime, Mystery, Thriller

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What you need to know before your trail

Rob, is a plumber who arrives at a job at a remote and isolated house on the Isle of Man. Arriving at the cottage, things seem a little too quiet for his likening and the occupants of the house seem a little strange too. But Lena who lives there seems nice so when she asks to have a ride on his motorcycle , he is quick to say yes. Rob’s father was somewhat of a racing fan and was well-known in the sport until an accident. Rob is also a fan and is keen to show Lena his skills. so the two set off, but then they crash.

When Rob comes round in hospital, he asks about Lena but the police know nothing and say there was no women when he was found and what’s more she doesn’t seem to exist

Locations

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Travel Guide

The Isle of Man, home to some very remote buildings, the festival of motorcycle races and of course the Manx cat. All themes in the novel which helps to cement the location in the reader’s mind. And it definitely makes an impression for the location is a character in its own right. –

Ahead was another gate, open this time A rectangle of glistening slate had been fixed to the past, two words etched into it in startling white. Yn Dorraghys. My grasp of Manz Gaelic is only basic, but this was one phrase I recognised. The Darkness. Fitting.

Motorcycle racing is popular on the isle of Man and the sport is given a new and interesting spot light as both Rob and his father were and still are aficionados of the sport – visitisleofman.com/festivalofmotorcycling The author mentions in a foreword that the race takes place every late May/early June and is one of the most dangerous sin the world. An interesting way to set the island in your mind’s eye.

On an island, a small and insular community where everyone knows everyone else, how can a woman stop existing and disappear? Lena is somewhere and Rob won’t stop until he finds out where. There are many paths to take on this rocky craggy island investigation but it’s another matter where they lead and just how involved this island community is mixed in with many other things. A tight-knit community with a small-town mentality – is it really the haven many think it to be?