Safe Harbour in Aussie Readers

Mar 06, 2014 Shelleyrae at Book'd Out rated it it was amazing

Shelves: aussie-author, netgalley-reviews, arc-are

From the first pages of her fifth novel, Safe Harbour, award-winning Australian author Helene Young draws the reader into an exciting tale of action, intrigue and romance.

When Darcy Fletcher and Noah Moreton are called upon to rescue a man from his stricken yacht in wild seas, they are not prepared for the tsunami of danger that swamps Banksia Cove in his wake. The stranger's presence exposes long held secrets and lies, sparking betrayal and violence that threatens to destroy them, and everyone
From the first pages of her fifth novel, Safe Harbour, award-winning Australian author Helene Young draws the reader into an exciting tale of action, intrigue and romance.

When Darcy Fletcher and Noah Moreton are called upon to rescue a man from his stricken yacht in wild seas, they are not prepared for the tsunami of danger that swamps Banksia Cove in his wake. The stranger's presence exposes long held secrets and lies, sparking betrayal and violence that threatens to destroy them, and everyone, they love.

Fast paced and gripping, the suspense plot of Safe Harbour delves into family secrets, financial conspiracy and organised crime. The stranger, eventually identified as accountant Conor Stein, proves to be an unexpected link between Darcy's estranged father, ex-football star turned club manager, Stirling, and the Russian mafia. With evidence of their joint criminal practices, Conor is a target and in helping him, Darcy too is hunted by the ruthless men sent to quiet him at any cost.

Having saved Conor's life, Darcy feels some responsibility towards him, especially as in the immediate aftermath of the accident he is suffering from amnesia. Darcy's motivation for helping Conor is altruistic, though tangled with residual guilt involving a tragic event in her past, but quickly becomes personal when her friends are targeted and her father's involvement in the situation is revealed. The author has created a capable and likeable protagonist in Darcy, whose vulnerabilities - Grant's death, her father's abandonment, her mother's illness and the loss of her restaurant - are also a source of strength.

Darcy also draws strength from Noah, Banksia Cove's community police officer and childhood friend. Young develops a romance between the two that has been simmering for a decade or more, but is complicated by both the secrets of the past and the present.

Safe Harbour is a first-rate, absorbing romantic suspense novel, balancing a dramatic story with strong characters and an engaging romance. I expect that Helene will adding another ARRA trophy to her case in 2015, I know I will be voting for Safe Harbour to win.

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Dec 20, 2013 Brenda rated it it was amazing

Shelves: net-galley, aussie-authors, 2014-release, romantic-suspense, mystery, own-read, arc

As Darcy Fletcher and her dear friend Rosie were cleaning up after closing at Fish’R’Biting, washing dishes, laughing together, Darcy realized how much happier she was since she’d returned to Banksia Cove. Her time in Sydney; from her teenage years, when she’d gone terribly off the rails after Grant’s death, then her rescue by Noah and her subsequent training to be a chef and running Duo, the upmarket restaurant where she had been very successful with now ex-boyfriend Dylan all culminated in the As Darcy Fletcher and her dear friend Rosie were cleaning up after closing at Fish’R’Biting, washing dishes, laughing together, Darcy realized how much happier she was since she’d returned to Banksia Cove. Her time in Sydney; from her teenage years, when she’d gone terribly off the rails after Grant’s death, then her rescue by Noah and her subsequent training to be a chef and running Duo, the upmarket restaurant where she had been very successful with now ex-boyfriend Dylan all culminated in the return to her home town, the town she loved with the people she loved alongside her once again. Rosie was an Aboriginal elder of the Goreng Goreng tribe, and had been more of a mother to her than her own mother, Beverley, had.

Suddenly the front door flew open – Noah stood there in his wet weather gear, streaming water – they had received a mayday call and Darcy was needed. Their rescue mission was fraught with danger, with the Phoenix being lost to the rocks, but Darcy managed, with the help of Noah and Roger, to rescue the stranger. The guilt and memories came crashing down on both Darcy and Noah – but this stranger, although dangerously ill, was still alive. But they had no idea the change that his appearance was to bring to their quiet and peaceful existence.

Noah Moreton was the area policeman living in Banksia Cove, where he knew everyone and held the respect of most. He had also known Darcy since she was a little girl, and had loved her for that same amount of time. But Darcy was skittish and treated him as she would a brother. So he looked out for her – always. The intense investigation which began after the rescue of the man who couldn’t remember anything about his past suddenly began to unearth deep, dark secrets. Suddenly the danger was all around them – the secrets from many years ago looked like they would come to the surface, and there were people who would stop at nothing to avoid this happening….would the little town of Banksia Cove ever have safe harbour?

Helene Young has done it again! This amazing writer of romantic suspense never ceases to thrill with her stories which capture the imagination, and enthral her readers. The gripping nature of this novel had me unable to put it down, with the emotion running high enough to have me in tears toward the end. I particularly enjoyed the characters of Rosie and Noah – Rosie was like everyone’s beloved grandma, while Noah was strong, always there for everyone. But Darcy – she had a great strength of character; while the insecurities ran deep she was determined to be there for her friends.

Aussie author Helene Young is the queen of her genre, the epitome of success. I have no hesitation in highly recommending this novel to all lovers of suspense and mystery with a touch of romance on the side.

With thanks to NetGalley, The Reading Room and the publisher for my copy to read and review.
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Mar 23, 2014 Bree T rated it it was amazing

Shelves: arc, romance, crime, suspense, australian, aww2014

Darcy Fletcher is back in the town she grew up in after a stint in Sydney where she learned to be a chef and even had her own restaurant. However she’s returned to Banksia Cove, near Bundaberg, for family reasons and is currently working hard to fulfill her dream again of opening her own place. She has chosen the old whaling station as her location and everything is moving along nicely. Darcy also volunteers with the marine rescue team and is called out by the local police officer (and her child Darcy Fletcher is back in the town she grew up in after a stint in Sydney where she learned to be a chef and even had her own restaurant. However she’s returned to Banksia Cove, near Bundaberg, for family reasons and is currently working hard to fulfill her dream again of opening her own place. She has chosen the old whaling station as her location and everything is moving along nicely. Darcy also volunteers with the marine rescue team and is called out by the local police officer (and her childhood friend) Noah to help in a storm. A yacht has capsized and is perilously close to smashing itself to smithereens on the rocks. Noah, Darcy and the captain of the rescue boat are an undermanned team working to rescue the stricken yacht’s passenger before he too, ends up on the rocks.

Darcy manages to pull the injured man to safety but he brings only questions and no answers. He can’t remember his name, where he comes from or what he was doing out there. He doesn’t even know if the boat was his. Noah does some digging, his instincts telling him that something about this passenger is a little off. He’s definitely got some secrets and they could possibly be very dark ones. Noah doesn’t want Darcy in danger, especially as she’s just offered her spare room to the stranger while he recuperates from his injuries and tries to get his memory back.

It isn’t long before the stranger’s dark past comes looking for him in the small town. He and Darcy are forced to flee, holing up inside the old whaling station where the secrets start to spill out. Darcy is surprised to find that her stranger has a connection to her own family and that his secrets are set to bring down someone very close to her. He knows more than he’s letting on and he wants to protect her but Darcy doesn’t want protecting. She wants to know what he knows. She wants to know what everyone’s been keeping from her, including the man she has known and loved all these years.

I have been a huge fan of Australian romantic suspense author Helene Young since I read her first novel Wings Of Fear. I don’t think there’s a better romantic suspense writer out there at the moment. All of her stories are perfectly crafted, well written and her settings and characters suck me in. It would seem that many out there would agree with me, given the amount of awards Young is receiving including 2 at the Australian Romance Readers Association awards that took place just last weekend.

This book is everything I’ve come to expect from Young as an author. There’s a lot going on but the plot never feels crowded or rushed. We get enough of Darcy’s backstory to get to know her without it all feeling like infodump. She had a difficult childhood and she still has issues, particularly with her father, a now famous rugby league coach who has always made her feel inferior for not being the son he wanted. He now has a new family and lives in Sydney, high on the fame of coaching a successful team. Darcy has always been ignorant about her father’s methods but his world is about to collide with that of the mysterious stranger that Darcy pulled out of the ocean and soon she will be missing none of the pieces.

The suspense is always the predominant plot in this novel but that doesn’t mean the romance gets neglected – it’s just more understated, more of a quiet hum in the background. Noah, the local police officer and Darcy have known each other since they were small children. They both have feelings for the other and have done, for years but there’s a lot of water flowing under their bridge and both of them are suffering from misconceptions about the other’s feelings, especially relating to certain issues in both of their pasts. Darcy also finds herself drawn to the man she rescues, who is handsome and mysterious and it’s quite clear that he also finds himself drawn to her as well. It’s a deftly done complication that doesn’t take up too much page space. Previously Helene Young has introduced characters that later get their own story and I do wonder if we’ll see our mysterious stranger again! I hope so. There’s no denying that I think Noah and Darcy belong together, and I loved the quiet steadiness of the feelings they had for each other that they kept secret, that they both struggled not to allow to affect their strong friendship. Noah in particular struggled with this, determined to remain Darcy’s friend even if she could never return the feelings he had for her. He was definitely more accepting of his feelings for her, Darcy it seemed put them right to the back of her mind until all the drama was stirred up and they were forced into some precarious situations that make them either unable or unwilling to continue to hide their feelings.

There are some beautiful relationships in this book, besides the one that Young constructs between Noah and Darcy. I think probably the most notable one is Darcy and Rosie, a local Aboriginal woman who took a lonely child Darcy under her wing and showed her true love and friendship. Rosie is also an important Elder in her tribe and she does her best to make sure the youngsters are kept in line, or punished when they stray from it. Rosie and Darcy have a truly lovely rapport and you can see just how important Darcy has found the love Rosie gave her unconditionally and how much she drew strength from it as a person. Rosie was always there for her, even when other people in her life were letting her down, even when Darcy was letting herself down. The more dysfunctional relationships, including that of Darcy and her father are also well portrayed, with every interaction underlining Darcy’s hurt and rejection from a man who seems incapable of truly feeling empathy.

Another truly stellar novel from the go-to author for Australian romantic suspense. ...more

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Mar 01, 2014 Joanne rated it it was amazing

Shelves: women-writers, australian-writers, fiction, e-books

Another great read by Helene Young. She writes pacey, believable stories with engaging characters, set in the Australia she knows and loves. Looking forward to her next book, Northern Heat!

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Feb 25, 2014 Helen rated it really liked it

I needed tissues with this one it is emotional suspenseful and very entertaining you learn so much about all the characters in this one at the start their thoughts and insight into them all and then everything is happening standover tactics blackmail and lots of secrets that have been kept for many years. Set in the small coastal town of Banksia Cove near Bunderberg in Queensland Noah is the local cop he has moved back to his home town after working in policing in Brisbane for years and Darcy ha ...more

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Jan 28, 2014 Sheree rated it really liked it

Shelves: reviews, own, suspense-thriller, romance, aussie-author, read-in-2014

4.5 stars

I fell in love with Helene Young's writing with Half Moon Bay so I was excited to get my hands on Safe Harbour ... yowsers, what an unputdownable stay-up-all-night-nail-biter.

Safe Harbour is set in Banksia Cove, a small town on the Queensland coast not far from Bundaberg. I've spent some time in the Bundaberg/Bargara area and Helene pens not only the setting, but the characters, convincingly.

It's a story of long-held secrets and dark pasts, drugs in sports, marine rescue, cover-ups a ...more

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