In Safe Keeping by Victoria Sue

Narrated by John Solo

When I requested a review copy of In Safe Keeping, I didn’t realise it was book two in a series, but as it turned out, it’s only loosely connected to book one (In Safe Hands) by the overall theme of the series – tough guys, natural protectors, who fall in love and acquire a family along the way. In Safe Keeping falls somewhere between a contemporary romance and romantic suspense; it’s not a complex or intricate mystery, but there’s enough tension and overall sense of danger to keep things interesting. The trouble is that there’s just a bit too much going on; I liked the characters and the storylines but the author incorporates some themes and situations that needed more space to develop than they were allowed, and the romance is rushed.

Firefighter Lucas Attiker and his team are checking to make sure that a local campground is empty when they’re told to get out – the forest fire several miles away has shifted direction and is headed directly for them. As he and his team-mates race back to their vehicle, Lucas notices what he thinks is an abandoned car… until he sees a terrified young man in the driver’s seat, desperately trying to get the car to start, and hears the wail of a baby coming from the back seat. The extra minute or two it takes to get them both out mean that there’s no time for them to get back to their truck; they’ll have to use their fire shelters and wait out the burnover.

When it’s over, they’re all taken to the ER to be checked out, but the young man – who said his name was John – and his daughter have managed to leave the hospital undetected. Lucas had his suspicions about ‘John’, which are confirmed when a pair of Federal Marshals tell him that John and the baby are at risk. Lucas wishes there was something he could do, and doesn’t expect to see either of them again, but as he’s walking home through the nearby playground he hears a baby crying. A clearly exhausted and distraught John asks for help, and against his better judgement, Lucas offers him and baby Mia a bed for the night, promising not to turn them in and that they’ll work out what to do next after they’ve both had a good night’s sleep.

John – whose real name is Owen – explains that he was put into protective custody prior to giving evidence against a dangerous criminal, but that due to a leak in the Marshall’s office, those guarding him and Mia were killed. He’s been running ever since and doesn’t know who to trust. Lucas is drawn to him in a way he doesn’t quite understand, but is also determined to do whatever he can to keep Owen and Mia safe until the trial. But that’s easier said than done; somehow, Owen’s location is discovered and he and Lucas must run for their lives – but Lucas is injured in the attack, which forces him to turn for help to the last person in the world he wants to have to ask for it.

Lucas and Owen are genuinely decent people but are carrying a LOT of baggage – perhaps too much to be unpacked during the course of a book that, according to Amazon, is just over 200 pages in length. Owen had a privileged upbringing but his family kicked him out when he came out at sixteen, and he’s had to support himself ever since, making a living as a club dancer and then a model. Now twenty-three, he’s on the run from his former lover – a mob boss – who subjected him to some pretty nasty treatment, not least of which was forcing Owen to watch him murder Owen’s best friend (Mia’s mother). And Lucas is struggling with his own demons; he’s still mourning the deaths of his two-year-old son and his wife in a hotel fire – later proved to have been an arson attack – three years earlier, and is still haunted by his failure to save them. The romance between Lucas and Owen requires quite a large suspension of disbelief, not only because Lucas seems to be hung up on his late wife, but also because he’s always identified as straight and only realises that what he’s always thought of as a deep friendship with his best friend at school was probably more than that after he realises he’s attracted to Owen. I know people question and explore their sexuality in many different ways and at different times in their lives… I’m just saying that this was a bit of a stretch, especially as it happens over a period of two or three days.

While I’m talking about the things in the story that bugged me, I also have to single out seven-month-old Mia, who behaves more like a toddler than a baby. She’s calls Lucas’ dog by name (a babyish version of it), is given adult food and interacts with adults in a way that’s very advanced for her age, and I just didn’t buy it.

On the plus side, the author does a good job of keeping the story moving and creating a sense of genuine peril and uncertainty in the suspense plot, and the early scenes set during the fire are completely gripping. There’s familial drama, too, in the form of Lucas’ relationship with his estranged brother Mark; the reason for their estrangement is a bit flimsy (a sort of Big Mis), but I enjoyed their gradual reconciliation.

John Solo is a reliably good narrator, and he delivers an enjoyable, expressive performance. In other reviews I’ve written of audiobooks he’s narrated, I’ve mentioned a couple of vocal ticks I’ve found annoying, but I’m pleased to note that they seem to be happening less often – if at all – in his more recent recordings. His performance here is well-paced and acted, and I liked his portrayal of the two leads; Lucas sounds appropriately gruff and world-weary, and Owen sounds suitably youthful. The connection he establishes between them definitely helps to make their super-fast romance a little easier to buy into. Lucas and Mark are easy to tell apart in their scenes together, the secondary cast is well-characterised and effectively differentiated, and Mr. Solo handles the moments of heightened emotion in the story really well.

If you can suspend your disbelief over the speed of Lucas’ sudden bi-awakening and the amazing perspicacity of a seven-month-old baby, the suspense plot in In Safe Keeping has a lot going for it. That, together with John Solo’s engaging and insightful narration earns it an overall – if qualified –recommendation.

Caz