By Maria Antokas
No Safe Place was my first dance with Michael Ledwidge’s recurring hero, Michael Gannon, and I went in mostly blind. Who is Michael Gannon? At first glance, he’s the standard-issue tough guy starter pack: retired NYPD detective, former Navy SEAL, lover of fishing, silence, and pretending he’s done with violence forever. (Sure, Jan.) When his son gifts him a book about a pristine river running through an elite New England college town, Gannon heads off for two weeks of peaceful solitude. Naturally, this lasts about five minutes. Enter a murdered student, a corrupt college president, a bought-and-paid-for police force, a hedge-fund billionaire blackmailing rich parents with kompromat of their overindulged offspring, and—because why not—an ex-crush from NYC who just happens to show up investigating the case. This vacation goes south faster than a trust fund kid with a burner phone.
Once the mayhem kicks in, Ledwidge leans hard into action-movie logic. Michael Gannon turns out to be less “retired fisherman” and more “Chuck Norris with a pickup truck,” capable of taking on what feels like an entire private army using nothing but his wits, his SEAL training, and whatever happens to be rattling around his truck bed. Is it realistic? Not even a little. Does the book take a while to find its footing? Absolutely—it doesn’t really hit its stride until around page 93. But once it does, the pace explodes, the plot barrels forward, and subtlety is officially left behind at the bait shop.
Is the ending predictable? Yes. Does he get the girl, solve the murder, and walk away without consequences despite an impressive body count? Also yes. And yet…I stayed up late to finish it anyway. No Safe Place isn’t trying to reinvent the thriller wheel; it’s here to give you a fast, ridiculous, testosterone-fueled ride, and it delivers. If you’re in the mood for a fun, over-the-top thriller that knows its tropes and uses them shamelessly, this one’s worth the trip. Highly recommended for readers who like their suspense loud, implausible, and wildly entertaining.
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Grab No Safe Place here and enjoy the ride.
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