An evocative and fast-moving tale, set on Skye and the West Highlands before moving to Canada, No Safe Anchorage, like its title, swirls with risk and danger. It invokes the spirit of Robert Louis Stevenson whose childhood it portrays. With its sharp use of dialogue and tight, concise description, it also conjures up that writer in other ways, creating an adventure story that is as breathless and exciting as some of that nineteenth-century novelist’s work.
Donald S. Murray, author
No Safe Anchorage is a great second novel by Liz MacRae Shaw. We follow the life of nineteenth-century naval officer, Tom Masters, a square peg in a round hole. His childhood experiences, slowly revealed, loss of a close friend and awakening sexuality make for a very strong central character. Neatly woven in is part of the life of Robert Louis Stevenson who might be described as a similarly round peg within his lighthouse building family.
Linda Henderson, author and editor
Liz MacRae Shaw can spin a yarn like few others. The young Robert Louis Stevenson tucked up in bed recovering from a fall, Tom’s encounter with the fisher lassies, his fierce and admirable sister, Emma, and other vivid happenings set the scene for the sweeping adventure to follow. No Safe Anchorage takes Tom from the Hebrides to Canada and along the way he forms relationships, good and bad, with a wide span of characters.
Jenny Salaman Manson, writer and editor