No Place Safe: A Family Memoir

By Kim Reid

Book Overview

In this powerful and compelling memoir, Kim Reid shares the extraordinary story of growing up in the shadow of a serial killer who terrorised Atlanta, murdering 29 black children from 1979-81. Kim's mother was the first female African-American detective assigned to the investigation, and as she became more preoccupied with finding the killer, a 13-year-old Kim felt her life unravelling around her. An unforgettable story of innocence lost, and of a heartbreaking and controversial case that captivated the world.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0758220529
• ISBN13: 9780758220523
• Release Date: October 2007
• Publisher: Dafina
• Length: 310 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.3" x 0.8" x 5.8"

Customer Reviews

Impossible to put down

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.

Could Not Put it Down....

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.

A Unique Coming-of-Age Story

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.

Coming of Age in a Dangerous World

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

No place Safe

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.