Jenny Spence

NO SAFE PLACE begins with middle-aged technical writer Elly Cartwright arriving at her Melbourne home one night to be greeted by an elderly neighbour with some message or other but before Mabel can get a full sentence out she collapses. Mabel, it seems has been shot and Elly is injured too. The next day she discovers that one of the software programmers she has worked closely with has also been killed and she starts to believe the deaths have something to do with her. With the help of her colleagues and some friends Elly quickly adapts to a life of ever-changing disguises while she tries to work out who’s got it in for her.

Thrillers in which an average Joe (or in this case Josephine) becomes embroiled in criminal intrigue are difficult to pull of with any sense of credibility (I’ve lost count of the number I’ve thrown at the wall) but in her début offering Jenny Spence does a decent job of it, mainly through using a nicely grounded character to propel the novel forward. While she does seem a remarkably quick thinker, in most respects Elly is perfectly normal. Being a mum she is worried that her troubles will impact on her adult daughter and she has the same gripes about work and daydreams of escape as most of us. The investigation she does, with the help of her technically minded colleagues, is within the bounds of possibility and the gang do at least involve police when they learn something serious which is a rare thing in these sorts of thrillers.

I rather liked the setting of this book too. There’s the geography: we spend time in both Sydney and Melbourne and both are recognisable, as is the friendly rivalry between the two places. But there is also the environment of Elly’s work, a small company doing one of those unseen jobs that most people don’t know exist but which many of us benefit from every day. People in fiction often seem to have much more windswept and interesting jobs than exist in real life and it’s nice to see some version of normality being displayed quite deftly.

NO SAFE PLACE is an easy but not simplistic read and is a really solid first outing from an author I’ll have on my radar from now on. The suspense was well maintained and the plot hangs together pretty well, with only a couple of minor points warranting a half-raised eyebrow. A thoroughly enjoyable read.… (mehr)

It is just possible that a book about a middle aged, female, technical writer working for a software company might, just, perhaps be set in a world that feels more than a little bit comfortable (sans daughter of course). I will admit that when NO SAFE PLACE arrived I was more than a little bit excited!

Despite her close working relationship with your classic sort of ubergeek, working for an average software company as a technical writer is not the sort of job that you think would put you in a gunman's sights. So when her elderly neighbour, Mabel, who has simply stepped out her own front door to speak to Elly, is shot dead, and her ubergeek workmate is another victim, Elly is definitely not in Kansas anymore.

Even fleeing Melbourne to Sydney doesn't end the attempts on Elly's life and it's only through the assistance of her colleagues that she's able to keep one step ahead of whoever it is that's so intent on killing her.

As is often the way with debut novels, not everything is plain sailing in NO SAFE PLACE, although I won't be at all surprised if readers have different viewpoints simply because of the world that the book is set in.

It's obvious that this author has worked as a technical writer herself. There is quite a bit of detail throughout the novel about what being a technical writer actually is - frequently a little too much information to be honest. I don't think that's just because it's a world I know as well, as it frequently slowed down the action at the absolute worst possible time. Some of the technical elements were reasonably well done although there is the occasional clanger... IPP addresses being the one that stopped me dead in my tracks, but really, most readers may not even notice the occasional bump in that area.

In terms of things that all readers might notice was a tendency for some gobsmacking feats of fem-jep that just didn't need to be there. Combine that with a bit of daring do's from an unlikely support cast of programmers turned would be real-life adventure gamers, and there were points where credibility took a bit of a battering.

Whether or not the plot is one that has a few hiccups along the way, the great part of NO SAFE PLACE is undoubtedly the central character Elly Cartwright. Middle-aged, white-collar worker, accidental detective and very realistic portrayal. She's could very well be a welcome series in the making.

http://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/no-safe-place-jenny-spence… (mehr)

Elly Cartwright, a technical writer for a software company, is looking forward to a relaxing evening at home after a long day at work but just a few steps from her front door, her neighbour, Mabel, tumbles into her arms and Elly is horrified to discover she has been shot. When the police question her, Elly remembers vaguely registering the sound of a car accelerating away after Mabel fell but not much more and despite idle speculation, Elly is certain the attack was random. So when she discovers a colleague murdered in his heavily fortified home and another attempt is made on her life, Elly is at a loss to explain why she is being targeted by a ruthless killer, but she had better figure it out, fast, before he finds her again.

No Safe Place is a fast paced, enjoyable suspense novel from debut author Jenny Spence. The story takes us from the cold and blustery streets of Melbourne to the sunny city of Sydney as the attempts on Elly's life plunge her into a deadly game of hide and seek. With the police proving to be largely unhelpful, Elly turns to her colleagues at Soft Serve Solutions for their assistance which eventually leads her to uncover a conspiracy of murder and fraud. Though there are no real surprises, No Safe Place is well plotted, building the tension as Elly gets closer to identifying her mystery assailant and those that hired him.

As a middle aged, single mother, Elly is an atypical heroine for a thriller, she is a rather ordinary woman caught up in something she doesn't really understand but nevertheless goes on the offensive in order to protect herself and those she loves. While it's a bit of a stretch to think anyone would be able to adapt to the cloak and dagger routine quite as quickly as Elly does (no matter how many crime shows they may watch), I did enjoy the fact that she made thoughtful decisions and didn't deliberately place herself at risk.

I love that Elly is ably assisted by the IT wizards she works with who take it upon themselves to dig for information which would explain why Elly is a target. Though the 'boys' tend to regard her situation as an extension of an online game, they are eager to help and even set up a protection detail for her.

No Safe Place is an entertaining low key thriller. Though this novel ties up all the loose ends, I think there is the possibility that we will we see more of Elly Cartwright in the future and I look forward to it.… (mehr)