Safe Harbour

October 6, 2003
An 11-year-old girl strikes up a friendship with an artist and introduces him to her mother, a grieving widow, in Steel's 59th bestseller-to-be, a sweet but slow-moving romance. The girl, Phillippa (Pip) Mackenzie, is walking her dog along a deserted Northern California beach when she encounters a painter at his easel and stops to watch. She likes to draw; Matt Bowles, the artist, offers to help her; and a friendship is born. Pip's world was shattered nine months before when her father and her tormented, bipolar brother died in a plane crash. A distinctive magical quality in young Pip reminds Matt of his own daughter, whom he's not seen for six years. Pip's mother, Ophélie, initially uneasy about her daughter's friend, comes to see that the sad-eyed artist is the opposite of dangerous—a sensitive, kindly, decent man. The rather idealized Pip (her "haunting cognac-colored eyes" get frequent mention) is wise beyond her years; Ophélie, suffering a severe case of post-traumatic stress, is initially passive and limp but her devotion to a volunteer job helping the homeless elicits sympathy. Matt, a successful ad executive in his former life, is rescued from his own sorrows by fostering Pip's budding talent and by his growing romantic interest in her mother. Ophélie's discovery of a love letter her husband received a week before his death and Matt's confrontation with his treacherous ex-wife provide a modicum of suspense, but some readers may find themselves nodding off before they reach the novel's unexpectedly dramatic climax.

Eight-year-old Pip Mackenzie is not sure her life will ever be normal--or if her mother will ever recover from the devastating loss of her husband and son. The mother and daughter's search for comfort and recovery takes them to Safe Harbour, where Pip befriends an artist on the beach who's recovering from his own losses. The story twists and turns in Steel's typical style. However, Kyf Brewer fails to engage the listener. Although his voice is rich and warm, there is only one male main character in the book, and his voice makes it difficult to immerse oneself in the female characters. Danielle Steele fans will enjoy the story but may find the male delivery less enjoyable. S.K.P. (c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine