The Safekeep

An exhilarating tale of twisted desire, histories and homes, and the unexpected shape of revenge - for readers of Patricia Highsmith, Sarah Waters and Ian McEwan's Atonement.

It is fifteen years after the Second World War, and Isabel has built herself a solitary life of discipline and strict routine in her late mother's country home, with not a fork or a word out of place. But all is upended when her brother Louis delivers his graceless new girlfriend, Eva, at Isabel's doorstep - as a guest, there to stay for the season…

In the sweltering heat of summer, Isabel's desperate need for control reaches boiling point. What happens between the two women leads to a revelation which threatens to unravel all she has ever known.

Review

I realise I’m quite late to this party but, my god, what a book. It’s an incredible novel, delicate yet tough, and pitted with narrative landmines. It blew me away. I haven’t been as enthralled by a novel for a long time. I have immediately insisted that everyone I know reads it. -- Maggie O'Farrell

The Safekeep seeped into my subconscious, took hold and stayed inside me even after I’d finished reading it. Breathtaking prose, febrile suspense and exceptional plot twist towards the end. So many wonderful novels out there, but this one really does stand out -- Bernardine Evaristo

Surprising, chilling, and electric. The Safekeep is a simply fantastic work of literature. -- Alice Winn, bestselling author of IN MEMORIAM

Yael van der Wouden's compelling , clever novel features several irresistible literary devices. A grand old house. A festering family secret. The shadow of the second world war. And plenty of erotic tension , bringing heat to a story that interrogates dark themes of antisemitism, displacement and inherited trauma...The thrill of Van der Wouden's sly book is that it feels both juicy and deeply important ― Observer

The Safekeep is a dream of a novel ― mesmerizing and shockingly good ― it lulls you with the lyrical beauty of its words and then slams you awake with its raw passion and rage. Part silent scream, part breathless love story -- Miranda Cowley Heller, bestselling author of THE PAPER PALACE

About the Author

Yael van der Wouden was born in 1987 and lives and works in The Netherlands. The Safekeep, her debut novel, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize 2024. It was also longlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize, the Wingate Prize, and the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction. She lectures in creative writing and comparative literature.