Monday, January 24, 2022

Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: Save Me from Dangerous Men by Saul Lelchuk


Save Me from Dangerous Men by Saul Lelchuk (Flatiron Books, 2019) is the debut appearance of Nikki Griffin, a bookstore owner in Oakland, California, by day and a private investigator and vigilante by night. Griffin is forever scarred by a childhood tragedy. She finds purpose in helping women escape domestic violence. She has poor impulse control that finally landed her in some legal trouble; several of the chapters in the book document sessions of court-ordered anger management counseling.

Griffin’s routine of books and stakeouts is disrupted when the CEO of a local tech company hires her to follow an employee believed to be selling corporate secrets. A cash retainer of $20,000 makes the job hard to turn down. Griffin attaches a GPS tracker to the employee’s car and learns her routine. She decides what she sees and what she’s been told don’t add up and she initiates a conversation with the employee, during which she becomes convinced industrial espionage is not why she was hired. She turns her investigation back to the CEO and the company and their new monitoring software due to be released in a matter of weeks, and mayhem ensues. Oversized men with guns become extremely interested in what she knows and what evidence she may have to back it up.

Chapters on the investigation are interspersed with chapters about her bookstore, about her efforts to help women escape unhappy or abusive situations, and about a Berkeley graduate student who wants a relationship. Booklovers will adore her store, which has become a community center. And the scenic descriptions of Bay Area architecture and landmarks that unfold as Griffin goes about her days firmly set the context, along with some thoughtful commentary on the role of technology in 21st century life.

On the other hand, nearly half way through the book Lelchuk employs a plot device so old and so contrived that I cringed when I saw it. Anyone who can create a likable, over-the-top character like Nikki Griffin with a fine supporting cast should be able to make a story move better than that. Nonstop action and well-planned fight scenes round out an excellent thriller. Especially for fans of Jonathan Graves, Orphan X, Peter Ash, and Jack Reacher.

Starred reviews from Booklist, Kirkus, and Publishers Weekly.


 

·         Publisher:  Flatiron Books; Reprint edition (March 9, 2021)

·         Language:  English

·         Paperback:  352 pages

·         ISBN-10:  1250170265

·         ISBN-13:  978-1250170262


Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2022

Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.

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