No Safe Place

By: Richard North Patterson

Narrated by: Alexander Adams

Length: 17 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

In his first book since the national best-seller Silent Witness, Richard North Patterson uses his mastery of characterization and suspense to give us a story of startling realism and originality—an extraordinary novel of presidential politics.

In the year 2000, Senator Kerry Kilcannon's insurgent campaign against Vice President Dick Mason has come down to the last seven days—the time remaining until the California presidential primary. Whoever wins in California is likely to win the Democratic nomination, a prize that the Vice President is determined to deny Kerry at any cost. And for all the votes and enthusiasm his passion and personal magnetism have gained him, Kerry's problems are formidable.

He is haunted by the tragedy of his older brother, James, a presidential candidate who was assassinated in California twelve years earlier. Kerry has stumbled in his advocacy of abortion rights, and a right-to-life fanatic has pushed this explosive issue to the forefront by murdering three people at a women's clinic. In addition, a journalist for a national newsmagazine is striving to verify the lethal story that, two years ago, while still married, Kerry had a secret love affair with Lara Costello, a reporter assigned to him on Capitol Hill. And now, even more threatening, Kerry is being stalked by the abortion-clinic murderer himself.

This narrative is seamlessly interwoven with scenes from Kerry's past: his youth as the son of a drunken and abusive father; his self-image as the less-gifted younger brother of a brilliant yet distant senator; his reluctant ascension to his brother's place; his poignant romance with Lara Costello. And when Lara is ordered against her will to cover Kerry in California, he is forced once more to evaluate his life, and the terrible cost of his ambition to become President of the United States.

With rare authenticity, Richard North Patterson depicts the world of high-stakes presidential politics on the verge of an explosion that is as dramatic as it is thought-provoking. But No Safe Place is also a story of people at their best and at their worst: their passions, their ideals, their flaws. A novel that will hold the reader enthralled from the first to the last sentence.

©1998 by Richard North Patterson (P)1998 by Random House Audio Publishing, Inc., All Rights Reserved Under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions, Reproduced by Arrangement with Random House Audio Publishing, Inc.

Critic reviews

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

"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

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

Great author!

I have enjoyed this series tremendously! I read each one twice. The books are exciting but authentic.

Great bungle listening

I binge listened to the story over a two day period. I’ve never done this, not even for the story the Martian. Great story and performance.

Good Book

A bit of a slow start but if you hang with it the story and character development get much better. I was ready to give up on the book in the first 2 or 3 hours of audio but hung with it and was glad I did. I gave the book about a 3.5 but rounded up to 4 stars.

If Only It Had Happened That Way ...

"No Safe Place," written 'way back in 1998, is set in the then near future: the 2000 presidential primaries. Richard North Patterson here describes how we can fix American politics, by telling us the story of a truly ethical politician. Kerry Kilcannon is running for president in the Democratic primaries against the sitting Vice-President, Dick Mason. While Kilcannon has the courage of his convictions, Mason chooses his opinions by the polls. Prophetic, eh? Gun control, abortion rights, and "family values" feature prominently in the campaign. Only one teensy, little thing threatens to destroy Kilcannon's career: a true love affair lurking in his past. Of course, the opposition gets wind of this completely irrelevant non-issue; Kilcannon's side starts looking for counter-dirt against Mason; and the mud starts flying. To top it all off, a would-be assassin is lurking in the background, with his sights set on Kilcannon. Richard North Patterson, with his trademark authorial genius, keeps all these balls in the air, while intermittently juggling in illuminating flashbacks. Patterson offers us -- via Kilcannon's campaign speeches -- some pretty intelligent ideas about how we might fix politics and campaign financing. I find "No Safe Place" to be Patterson's best novel to date. He keeps the (publisher-mandated) obligatory sex scenes to a minimum here, while crafting an intelligent, intriguing, intricate plot. The narrator, Alexander Adams, still suffers from an unfortunate voice, and the inability to vocally distinguish his characters; but, at least, he has learned to slow down his delivery a bit. I would have preferred to hear a good actor like George Guidall, Oliver Wyman, or Ron McLarty read this book to me. Otherwise, I recommend this audiobook highly to anyone interested in behind-the-scenes politics.

Good mystery, even if you are not into politics

I'm not normally big on books which deal with a lot of politics. However I do like murder mysteries. The way this book jumps from the past into the present can be confusing if you are not paying attension, but it's not so difficult that it's not enjoyable. I must confess I didn't know how the book would end, but it was quite obvious when I got there. The characters are well developed and you, the reader can easily feel like you know them well, whether you agree with their motives in life or not.

political rhetoric

i've heard all these speeches already. perhaps the abridged is better.

bad bad bad

This by far was the worst book I ever had to listen to...I forced myself to finish it hoping it would get better. It never did.

ONE LONG YAWN

If you can, get the abridged version of this book. Better still, avoid this book altogether if you dislike predictable storylines, cardboard characters, over-the-top descriptions and verbage that fill the pages but achieve nothing else. This book MAY be of interest to readers who want to find out more about the American electorate system.