Sean Doolittle

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“Safer is a high-octane, rip-roaring page-turner. I read it in one sitting–and loved every minute.”

–Harlan Coben, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Hold Tight

“I loved Safer. The best thing I’ve read in a long time. . . .”

—Lee Child, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Gone Tomorrow

“Safer made me look twice at my neighbors and check the locks on the doors, and that earns Doolittle an A+ in skin-crawling suspense.”

–Kay Hooper, New York Times bestselling author of Blood Sins

 

  

SYNOPSIS:

For Paul Callaway and his wife, Sara, moving from the East Coast to a quiet midwestern town was a major adjustment. But right from the start, Paul has tried to fit in. He’s played golf with the guys. He’s even joined the Neighborhood Patrol, grabbing a flashlight and a walkie-talkie to make these neatly tended streets even safer. Then Paul makes one mistake—and now they want him gone.

Nothing could have prepared Paul and Sara for the quarrel that has erupted between Paul and a neighbor—the self-appointed leader of the Neighborhood Patrol. Or for the next outrage, as police arrest Paul for a sordid crime he didn’t commit. Suddenly Paul’s life, university career, and marriage are at risk, as he finds himself locked in a desperate fight with an angry man, a dark conspiracy, and a secret that began with a child’s disappearance ten years before. . .

REVIEWS:

“Spinning the man wrongly accused premise into a meditation on what it means to be part of a community, Doolittle produces a smart, funny, and powerfully suspenseful thriller.”

                                                                   –Josh Emmons, People Magazine (3.5 stars)

 

“Doolittle cleverly articulates the vulnerabilities of a close-knit community where those friendly people who know your name also know your darkest secrets.”

                                                                        –Marylin Stasio, The New York Times  

 

“[An] enthralling and unsettling story. Doolittle has written four previous novels, and Safer is good enough to make me want to catch up with them all. “

                                                                          –Dennis Drabelle, The Washington Post

 

“[A] fast and thrilling story.”

                                                             –David J. Montgomery, Chicago Sun-Times

 

“Doolittle’s debut in hardcover delivers an invigorating look at obsession, manipulation,  and personal boundaries. . .[his] affinity for tightly coiled plots, affable characters and seething villains is showcased in Safer.”

                                                                  –Oline Cogdill, The South Florida Sun-Sentinel

 

“The gut-wrenching Safer presents a terrifying portrait of suburban paranoia and the dangerous downside of pursuing security at all costs. A stunner.”

                                                                              –Jon Land, The Providence Journal

 

“The novel is filled with twists, and each chapter seems to end with a cliffhanger. For this reader, it probably will supplant Doolittle’s third novel, “Rain Dogs,” as his best yet.”

                                                                                 –Jason Kuiper, Omaha World-Herald

 

“An action-packed, wild ride. . . .”

                                                                            –George S. Wright, Lincoln Journal-Star

 

“Suspense of a different sort, this is an intelligent, well-written, dark and twisty crime novel set in the American heartland. . .it’s full of carefully realized, completely believable people. . .The title is as sardonic as the hero.”

                                                                  –Claire Ernsberger, Sullivan County Democrat

 

“Doolittle is sneaky great, and you will not be able to put this down.”

                                                                                           –Rick Koster, New London Day

 

“This is suspense at its finest. . .Good luck putting this one down once you start it; my best advice is to save this one for a long weekend where you don’t have to.”

                                                 –Stephanie Padilla, New Mystery Reader

 

“Safer is more richly textured than the average mystery tale. Doolittle expertly draws the reader in to the hopelessness felt by an “everyman” when confronted by conspiracy and accusations.”

 

 

                                                                                         –Vicki Gilpin, FreshFiction.com

 

“Safer shows Doolittle’s growth as an artist and stylist and a willingness to push himself into new areas with extraordinary results.”

                                              –Brian Lindenmuth, Bookspotcentral.com

 

“Doolittle crafts a tale of Americana compelling, frightening and carefully manic.

–Ruth Jordan, Crimespree Magazine

 

“Safer has everything. . .The plot is slick and inventive. The author is skilled at ratcheting up readers’ foreboding, sympathy, and fear, creating the deep need to see how things turn out. The primary characters—Paul, Sara, Roger, Paul’s attorney, and an ambitious TV journalist—are vividly rendered, and lesser characters are well sketched with a sentence or two. And looming over everything is the specter of the Heartland’s darkside.”

                                                                                        –Thomas Gaughan, Booklist

 

“[An] unsettling thriller from Barry Award-winner Doolittle.“

                                                                                                 –Publishers Weekly