Product Description

No Safe Place centres on seven days in a closly contested Presidential primary, in which political violence, abortion politics and potential scandal all converge. Kerry Kilcannon is a young senator from New Jersey, the younger brother of a murdered presidential aspirant. Now Kerry, too, is seeking the presidency. But Kerry's past and present have begun to converge. Unknown to him, he is being stalked by Sean Burke, an anti-abortion fanatic intent on killing him before election day. And Nate Cutler, a political reporter for a national newsmagazine is trying to establish that two years before - while still married - Kilcannon had an affair with Lara Costello, another reporter covering Kilcannonm which resulted in an abortion. Through a narrative which weaves past and present, No Safe Place introduces the compelling character, Kerry Kilcannon, and raises questions about abortion politics, the gun culture in America, and the degree to which the press is - or should be - intent on exposing the private lives of political leaders. On the eve of the election, those forces converge in a sensational and shocking climax.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #45223 in Books
• Published on: 1999-06-03
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 585 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Richard North Patterson steals from the headlines to kick start No Safe Place, but then charts a course that is all his own. He starts with Senator Kerry Kilcannon, a candidate in the presidential primaries whose brother was assassinated right after winning the California primary 12 years before. Then he adds the fact that Kilcannon seems unable to run clear of a two-year-old affair. Sound familiar so far? Add to the mix the fact that Kilcannon is himself being hunted by a right-to-life activist who has already killed three people in a women's clinic, and you have a real thriller.

Patterson has the reputation for being a writer of courtroom dramas, but what he really writes are taut thrillers scripted like great movies--the books jump cut from the past to the present, in the process developing parallel plot lines that are masterfully and satisfyingly resolved. And he does this in the context of authentic situations, using characterization to make you care; he steers you through complex plots, though often away from the path the story will eventually take. Silent Witness and The Final Judgement, Patterson's two best novels until No Safe Place, are indeed courtroom dramas, but they involve people with serious aspirations. The jump to people with political aspirations is easily and deftly executed. It's a small pleasure, but still fun, to find a few of Patterson's recurring characters (Tony Lord and his wife) with walk-on parts.

At times this thriller is not a traditional page-turner. There are moments when the descriptions of domestic violence, for example, cause one to put the book down for a while they are delivered with such power. No Safe Place is just the right reach for Patterson, and the perfect place to spend some time.

About the Author
Richard North Patterson has written a number of novels including the international bestsellers, Degree of Guilt, Eyes of a Child, The Final Judgement, Silent Witness, No Safe Place, Dark Lady and Protect and Defend. His novels have won the Edgar Allan Poe Award and the Grand Prix de Littérature Policière. He and his wife, Laurie, live with their family in San Francisco and on Martha's Vineyard.

Customer Reviews

A pacy page-turner
If you enjoy "24" and "The West Wing" as much as I do, then you might like to try Patterson's political thriller.

Like "24", it details an assassination attempt in the run-up to the California primary ; like "The West Wing", the focus is on a charismatic Democrat leader and his hardworking campaign team.

Patterson has sublime control over his narrative pacing, and, although one element of the finale was telegraphed a bit, I'm more than happy to move on with Patterson's dramatis personae to "Protect and Defend".

A page-turner
This is only the second book I have read by RN Patterson, but I'll definately be reading more. Like my first encounter with Patterson in SILENT WITNESS, I found this book to be predictable in places. However this just added to my enjoyment. I wanted to read on to see if I was right. The supsense was almost too much at times. The way Patterson brings the pages to life and allows the reader to become part of the story is excellent. Again I found that I was rooting for the lead characters and wanted to get to know them better. Which I did, with each turn of the page. I'm very glad that I was introduced to this writter and can't wait to read another.

An interesting read
This novel covers just a few days in the campaign for the presidency of the United States in great detail. As well as describing the campaign management in depth, it ventures into some of the moral arguments of the time. Woven within this framework are two basic themes - the scandal of an inappropriate love affair and the plot to kill the presidential candidate. Patterson also provides a lot of background on the candidate himself. I found the campaign descriptions interesting and I liked the journalistic slant but I felt the novel as a whole in need of some judicious pruning!