Customer Reviews

No Place Safe: A Family Memoir

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Kim Reid's No Place Safe is an up-close-and-personal account of the Atlanta Child Murders. Kim Reid was thirteen years-old when the Atlanta Child Murders began in 1979. Her world was turned upside-down as she and her younger sister adjusted to new safety measures that stifled the carefree life most children experienced when not under the constant threat of a serial killer. Her mother's role, as a Task Force investigator on the case, increased Reid's awareness beyond that of any child and most adults. Despite the dangers that lurked around her, Reid was able to enjoy, and in some cases, endure basic rites of passage common to all children: babysitting a younger sibling, puberty, making out at house parties, trying to fit in at a new school and holding down a part-time job.

Kim Reid offers a unique perspective of this event as a young teenage daughter of an investigator in No Place Safe. She exposes the full range of fear, anger, uncertainty, frustration and small pockets of joy that she, her family and the community felt throughout this time period. Her depiction of the city and suburbs of Atlanta is as alive and vivid as any human character she portrays. Readers will appreciate and applaud Kim Reid's ability to enjoy the basic beauty of life only seen through the eyes of a young person under very frightening conditions. Book groups will enjoy the the discussion questions available at the end of the book which touch upon a number of thought-provoking themes presented in the story. This book is highly recommended for anyone curious about the impact and influence of the Atlanta Child Murders on children of that era.

Reviewed by M. P. McKinney
APOOO BookClub

Author Kim Reid beautifully captured the voice of an Atlanta 13-year-old who is mother to her younger sister while their single mom works as a police officer; is one of few black students who attend an all-white private school in a distant, affluent neighborhood; and who lives unnervingly close to where dozens of black boys and young men have been murdered (Atlanta Child Murders starting in 1979).

Reid includes information that isn't common knowledge--at least not to me: "Until the early sixties, black officers could arrest only black citizens. In 1979, white and black patrolmen had been allowed to partner in only the last ten years, and black cops were still in a minority, which meant they stuck together outside of work. The only tie that bound black and white cops then was the fact that on the job, they were cops regardless of what they looked like. Fortunately, that was usually enough."

In one instance she brilliantly summarizes her mother's character: A white police officer stopped by her house at 2:00 a.m., expecting to be accommodated. "At two in the morning?' Ma said. Cop or no cop, she sounded like she was ready to bless the man out. There weren't many things that pleased Ma as much as a good night's sleep, which I always believed was here escape from having to work extra jobs, being a cop, a single mother, and just being a black woman in general."

If this book had been written as a young adult novel set in 1979-1982, I would give it five stars. Why? Because it focuses on issues that are still important to teens today. Reid's title is also good for a novel, although I'd suggest she come up with one that hasn't been used before, so it'll be more recognizable. But as a memoir, the book is thin; it should have included more information about the murders, and an more in-depth analysis of what her mother and sister also went through.

Beautifully written and carefully researched, No Place Safe explores the Atlanta Child Murders from 2 compelling angles: a girl coming of age during that time (1979-1981) and her mother, a lead investigator on several of the cases. The author could have rested on the laurels of the intensity of the subject matter, but didn't. Instead, she digs deep for thoughtful insights on family, love, duty, gender, class and race. Highly recommended!

The way Reid interweaves the story of tragic lost lives of children with her own sort of "lost chldhood" is brilliant, esp. from the point of view of her cop mother being so deeply involved in the cases. It's just really a fantastic read. It has stayed with me for days, especially being a mom. Heartbreaking, of course. And they never found the killer, which just tears me up. But there's much more to the book than that. She weaves that story beautifully with her own.

I could not put this book down. I ended up reading all of it in two settings. It is an endearing story of a girl growing up in the most challenging of situations during her tender and impressionable teen years. The "coming of age" story allows the reader to feel like they are there, reflecting back to their own childhoods, and see a very complex world with unfathomable situations through the eyes of a street smart and feisty 13 year old. There were several parts that I laughed out loud and others I was aghast at the very pointed racism that this young teen had to experience. Great book Kim, you are to be well commended for such a great first book.

NO PLACE SAFE details the consuming, high-pressure investigations of the 1979-1981 disappearances and murders of black boys and young men in Atlanta--investigations in which author Kim Reid's mother worked as a lead investigator. While this story alone propels this book to read like a compelling novel, Kim's powerful revelations about her schools, her community, her family, and herself make this a powerful document of life in a major Southern city during an especially tumultuous time.

This book was an interesting read. I'd always wanted to hear from someone living in Atlanta at the time of the murders, and Reid's book provided those personal insights.

I have read several book about the Atlanta Child Murders and I find this book to be one of the better ones. Good reading for teens and adults alike. It's like the author pulls the reader right into her book.

This beautifully written book by Kim Reid is both sensitive and timeless. It is about so much more than it appears: A daughter's conflictual and complicated relationship with the mother she loves and yearns for, a black child coming to terms with the white majority, a child faced with the unstoppable murders of children just like her, and a child becoming a woman, to name just a few. Ms. Reid's writing is sensitive and emotional yet not cloying or annoying. She takes us into her experiences with a subtle and skilled hand that allows us to go there right along with her. I came out of reading this book with a profound respect for the writer, as well as a new appreciation of growing up black in the days of the Atlanta child murders. I highly recommend this book and look forward to seeing what the author comes up with next.

This book is a real page turner.It is well written and reads more like an intriguing suspense novel. Quite a fate for a family memoir.