Author: Nicholas Sparks

Title: Safe Haven

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing

Before we begin, I have a confession to make: this is the first Nicholas Sparks novel I've read. Some years ago I saw the movie version of "Message in a Bottle" and decided then and there Sparks' work was just too sad for me. Previews of subsequent films based on his books did nothing to change that perception. So when this book came along I sighed and said, "Well, I suppose I could give it a shot."

I'm glad I did. It's a familiar enough tale (anyone remember the Julia Roberts film "Sleeping with the Enemy"?) but told in an engaging fashion. I took Safe Haven along on a cross-country flight and was completely absorbed all the way from Dallas to Denver. And somewhere over eastern Colorado there was even a twist I didn't see coming.

It's the story of Katie, a quiet, hardworking young woman who has recently moved to a small southern town. She does her best to stay invisible, but if you've ever lived in a small town you know how impossible that is. Still, she tries. Dirt poor, Katie lives in a tiny shack on the outskirts of town, walking back and forth to her waitress job at the local dockside diner because she can't afford a car. She's a nice girl—with a secret.

It's also the story of Alex, the local grocer, a widower with two young children. Alex is a retired MP (military police) detective, so he notices things—and people. (Especially when the "people" is as beautiful as Katie, no matter how hard she tries to hide it.) Alex is a good dad and his kids come first, so he's reluctant about beginning a relationship—especially since he's pretty sure he knows Katie's secret. But it might just be worth the effort . . . 

Then there's Jo, who moves in next door to Katie, in the only other house for miles around. (Though "house" might be too grand a word for the pair of ramshackle fishing cottages they inhabit.) Jo is bound and determined to be Katie's friend, inviting herself over for coffee and forging a relationship with her skittish neighbor. She's a good friend, the kind who listens well. She encourages Katie to step out of her shell and into Alex's life. Slowly, cautiously, Katie agrees.

Finally, it's the story of a abuser and his inevitable spiral downward into madness. Sparks captures this beautifully in long (a little too long for my taste), incoherent-but-strangely-logical journeys through his alcohol-fuddled mind.

But beyond all that, Safe Haven is a story of new beginnings . . . of letting go of the past and finding the courage to move forward . . . of learning to love again.