No Safe Place: 1 (Kerry Kilcannon) - Softcover

Patterson, Richard North

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0345404777 ISBN 13: 9780345404770

Publisher: Ballantine Books Inc., 1999

Synopsis

In the high-stakes, high-pressure world of presidential politics, where predators carry microphones and one misstep can savage a lifetime of achievement, Kerry Kilcannon is the rarest player of all. Kilcannon believes he can make the system work. And he just may die trying.

Driven by the violent nightmare of his childhood, fueled by forces that few could understand, and burdened by secrets no one must know, Kilcannon is running for President--and entering the crucial battleground of California with seven days to go. But for Kilcannon, there are hurdles that his courage, charisma, and compassion may not overcome: the network correspondent he still loves; the reporter bent on their exposure; the rival who'll do anything to win; and the fanatic who believes that he must murder Kilcannon to protect the right to life.

About this title

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.

Review:

"High drama . . . Emotion-rich characters . . . The pages turn quickly."
--The Washington Post Book World

"Engrossing . . . Ambitious and well-written, No Safe Place is a sort of ethical suspense novel."
--The Wall Street Journal

"What is striking is how exactly right Patterson gets the politics and the journalism while telling a gripping tale that intertwines abuse and betrayal, ethics and ambition, romance and dysfunction."
--The San Jose Mercury News

"Prescient . . . An important and impressive work of fiction . . . An exceptionally convincing, complex, and moving love story."
--The San Diego Union-Tribune

About this edition

• Publisher: Ballantine Books Inc.
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0345404777
• ISBN 13: 9780345404770
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• Number of pages: 544