The Last Safe Place Paperback – March 1, 2013

From the first page to the last, The Last Safe Place grabs you by the throat and doesn't let go. There's no beating around the bush with Ms. Hammon's books, her style is fast-paced and cut to bare bones.My goal isn't to fill in all the details of the novel, but to let other readers know this is a well-written book and if you enjoy suspenseful reads, this title won't disappoint. Ms. Hammon's strength is characterization and each of her characters is uniquely flawed with a heavy dose of intrigue. However, in each of her books she flops a plot twist in the middle of your lap that you never see coming. I enjoy a jaw-dropping twist and The Last Safe Place delivers.Yesheb, the villain in this book believes he is the demon in fantasy writer Gabriella's novel, and is destined to take her as his bride, fulfill an unholy union with her, sacrifice her son and rule the world. He is as deranged a stalker as they come. And creepy. Mighty creepy. Aren't most psychopaths? It's cool how she's woven a very real fear most of us harbor--that of something fictional becoming a reality.Got chills yet? Have no fear. You will. Starts in the first paragraph. I lied. The first sentence. Ms Hammon is one of my favorite authors and The Last Safe Place is my second favorite so far of hers. I don't think any of her books will usurp Five Days in May. That novel ROCKS!

The Last Safe Place is intense and filled with action and drama. I love the protagonist and hate the antagonist, just the way it’s supposed to be in a great psychological thriller. There are many surprises and even a touch of romance included. This is the first book I’ve read by the very talented Nintendo Hammon but, it won’t be the last. I highly recommend it.

When I first started reading this story I thought that this was going to be a paranormal story--but the longer I read it, I realized that the bad guy was schizophrenic with delusions of grandeur. And as with a lot of schizophrenias, he heard voices. Being a billionaire helped him to keep these delusions alive. You are not limited to what you want to do when you have that much money--the sky is practically the only limit.Even though this story was graphic at times, the most I was bothered was by a part of the story that involved Yesheb and animals when he was young--that part made me sick.That being said, I loved all the main characters in the story. Especially Theo, the grandfather. Theo was very loyal and stuck with his family, no matter how scared he might have been. Several times he could have gone off by himself but he would not agree to anything but going wherever his family went. Theo had a secret that he did not tell his family until the end. He loved his grandson and wanted to spend as much time with him as he could because of the secrete that he kept. He also wanted to make sure his grandson was protected from harm because if it had been left up to Yesheb the villain, his grandson would not have lived to manhood. Speaking of secretes, it seemed everyone in the story had a secrete, including Ty, the grandson and Gabrielle the main character. Most of the secretes comes out toward the end of the story.The suspense kept me turning page after page--I sat up until 3 in the morning trying to devour the whole book, fell asleep with my Kindle in my lap as I sat up in bed. I did not want to stop reading until I finished the book. I loved the ending, Yesheb got it exactly as I thought he was going to get it--a fitting end. I have no idea why some people thought this had a cliffhanging ending because I thought it had a satisfying conclusion myself. This was the second book I read by Ninie Hammon and I plan on reading more of her books. I just recently bought her non-fiction book, "God Said Yes", and I can't wait to read it.

Yes, my feelings about this book are mixed. I hate to be negative, so I will point out what I liked and what I didn't.I really liked the beginning. Ms. Hammon does a great job of "setting the hook" in the first chapter. She also does a great job of describing the scenes and helping the reader to visualize the settings she puts the characters in. The characters are, for the most part, interesting and the story had some real potential to be a powerful, psychological thriller.Here's what I didn't like - the story dragged for hundreds of pages in the middle while the author spent way too much time building the backstory for each character in painful detail. It was too wordy, too much information. Sometimes we, the readers, do better using our own imaginations to fill in some gaps and create some intrigue. The storyline really wallows through each character's backstory while she paints it out through internal monologue. In other words, we spend way too much time inside the heads of the characters instead of watching the action unfold. And, because she changes points of view often, there is quite a bit of overlap and redundancy. I got frustrated with the slow pacing and the constant pauses while we trudged through each character's past. The storyline and plot got lost to some extent in all of the rehashing of memories. I also felt like there were some elements that could have been better developed had it not been for the volume of words and pages used to give so many life stories.All in all, it was an OK read and certainly worth the price I paid (free).

So delighted to have found a great new author on KU for free. That will save me a shedload of money and keep me happy for a week or so! This novel starts out right in the thick of the action - a woman wakes up terrified suddenly aware that the maniac who has been stalking her has broken into her home - and from then on the tension really doesn't let up. What I love about Hammond's books is that you really relate to her characters and at the same time fear the worst - there is no feeling that everything will work out in the end in fact at times it seems impossible that it will. A writer who knows how to tell a gripping yarn and keep her readers engrossed the whole way through.

The story is well thought-out and even better executed with sophisticated narration. The ending was a bit hush hush though, but loved the book. Immensely gripping and paints a picture. Would love to see a sequel to this one, if the author ever decides to write one.

Kept me turning pages in suspense. Well written inspires me yo read more of this authors books. Could not put it down

Great writing and plot. The character Grandpa Slappy was so witty that I was laughing out loud. In each situation, I had a vivid picture in my mind of the time and place of events. What can I say? Ninie Hammon is a really gifted writer.

Ninie Hammon has a unique ability to bring a scene to life. She is a wizard with words. The Last Safe Place takes you deep into the life and thoughts of the characters. This is a hard to put down thriller with a touch of romance. It is a book where the characters not only deal with actions of a demonic stalker, but they deal with their own inner demons. Each of the main characters has some need of redemption: some need for freedom from the past and new life for the future.