The Safe Man by Michael Connelly Review

A locksmith is called to the house of a famous author who’s just moved in. He wants an old safe in the floor removed - in case any locals hear about it and decide to re-enact In Cold Blood (he’s a wee bit paranoid)! But when the safe is opened, something strange will be released…

The Safe Man: A Ghost Story is really good! I’ve been reading Michael Connelly for years now and enjoyed plenty of his crime novels, so it’s surprising how effectively he can switch genres to horror.

The pacing is perfect so it’s never dull, the mystery develops nicely, there’s a couple of left turns to keep you guessing, and it ends on a fine note. Connelly’s writing is as fluid and masterful as always - it’s very accessible and easy to read with just the right amount of detail - and I enjoyed the characters of Brian the locksmith and Robinette the crabby author.

I won’t mention any of the later scenes, because the unexpectedness is half the fun, but they were my favourite with Connelly’s experience as a crime writer coming in to make them all the more convincing and powerful.

My only major issue with The Safe Man was how abruptly it ended. I get that it’s a short story and it’s all very well for publishers to include previews of the author’s forthcoming book but it beefs up the page count of the ebook and makes you think you’ve got 30-40 pages more to go - and then the story’s suddenly over. Like I said, it ends well, but initially the feeling is quite confounding to see you’ve finished so seemingly early.

That and the origins of the rare safe itself were underdeveloped. That’s why I thought there’d be more to the story as that aspect was almost totally ignored. Maybe Connelly could adapt this into a full length horror novel, exploring those origins? Probably not - the Harry Bosch books are too profitable I imagine - but he’s shown he’s at least capable of writing this kind of story well if he chose to.

The Safe Man may not be a scary ghost story but it is a compelling one that’s well worth a read for horror fans.