From Publishers Weekly
An 11-year-old girl strikes up a friendship with an artist and introduces him to her mother, a grieving widow, in Steel's 59th bestseller-to-be, a sweet but slow-moving romance. The girl, Phillippa (Pip) Mackenzie, is walking her dog along a deserted Northern California beach when she encounters a painter at his easel and stops to watch. She likes to draw; Matt Bowles, the artist, offers to help her; and a friendship is born. Pip's world was shattered nine months before when her father and her tormented, bipolar brother died in a plane crash. A distinctive magical quality in young Pip reminds Matt of his own daughter, whom he's not seen for six years. Pip's mother, Ophelie, initially uneasy about her daughter's friend, comes to see that the sad-eyed artist is the opposite of dangerous-a sensitive, kindly, decent man. The rather idealized Pip (her "haunting cognac-colored eyes" get frequent mention) is wise beyond her years; Ophelie, suffering a severe case of post-traumatic stress, is initially passive and limp but her devotion to a volunteer job helping the homeless elicits sympathy. Matt, a successful ad executive in his former life, is rescued from his own sorrows by fostering Pip's budding talent and by his growing romantic interest in her mother. Ophelie's discovery of a love letter her husband received a week before his death and Matt's confrontation with his treacherous ex-wife provide a modicum of suspense, but some readers may find themselves nodding off before they reach the novel's unexpectedly dramatic climax. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From AudioFile
Eight-year-old Pip Mackenzie is not sure her life will ever be normal-or if her mother will ever recover from the devastating loss of her husband and son. The mother and daughter's search for comfort and recovery takes them to Safe Harbour, where Pip befriends an artist on the beach who's recovering from his own losses. The story twists and turns in Steel's typical style. However, Kyf Brewer fails to engage the listener. Although his voice is rich and warm, there is only one male main character in the book, and his voice makes it difficult to immerse oneself in the female characters. Danielle Steele fans will enjoy the story but may find the male delivery less enjoyable. S.K.P. © AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine


From Booklist
Steel, who lost her own son to suicide a few years ago, here tells the story of a lonely woman reeling from the untimely deaths of her son and husband who have both recently perished in a small-plane accident. The months pass, but Ophelie just can't get past the loss, and she spends most of her time sleeping, crying, or attending support-group meetings for the bereaved. In addition, she has ceased eating almost completely and barely takes notice of her 11-year-old daughter, Pip. The young girl is also reeling from her loss and finds herself alone much of the time and wandering on the beach near their home. It is during these unchaperoned jaunts that the child befriends a grown man who shows up every morning to paint seascapes. Mattie begins showing Pip how to draw, and by his companionship brings some light into her dark life. Pip keeps her friend secret from her mother for a while, but Ophelie soon finds out and, suspicious of the man's motives, forbids further contact. Ultimately though, Mattie is revealed to be a gentle and kindhearted man who also is mourning a personal loss and--more importantly--is single and eligible. Needless to say, things end happily. Kathleen Hughes
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Review
"[A] quiet, poignant romance...easy to like."
--Kirkus Reviews



From the Hardcover edition.


Review
"[A] quiet, poignant romance...easy to like."
--Kirkus Reviews



From the Hardcover edition.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Safe HarbourDanielle SteelIn her fifty-ninth bestselling novel, Danielle Steel tells an unforgettable story of survival...of how two people who lost everything find hope...and of the extraordinary acts of faith and courage that bring -- and keep -- families together...

Safe Harbour

On a windswept summer day, as the fog rolls across the San Francisco coastline, a solitary figure walks down the beach, a dog at her side. At eleven, Pip Mackenzie's young life has already been touched by tragedy; nine months before, a terrible accident plunged her mother into inconsolable grief. But on this chilly July afternoon, Pip meets someone who fills her sad gray world with color and light. And in her innocence and in his kindness, a spark will be kindled, lives will be changed, and a journey of hope will begin.

From the moment the curly-haired girl walks up to his easel on the sand, Matt Bowles senses something magical about her. Pip reminds him of his own daughter at that age, before a bitter divorce tore his family apart and swept his children halfway across the world. With her own mother, Ophélie, retreating deeper into her grief, Pip spends her summer at the shore the way lonely children do: watching the glittering waters and rushing clouds, daydreaming and remembering how things used to be. That is, until she meets artist Matt Bowles, who offers to teach the girl to draw -- and can't help but notice her beautiful, lonely mother. At first, Ophélie is thrown off balance by her daughter's new companion -- until she realizes how much joy he is bringing into their lives, despite the sadness she sees in his eyes. As their newfound friend works hissubtle magic, mother and daughter slowly begin to heal, to laugh again, to rediscover what they have lost.

When summer ends, and Ophélie and Pip must leave the beach for the city, the season of healing continues. Gathering her newfound strength, Ophélie begins a volunteer job at a city outreach program, where she works with the homeless, and can no longer ignore the blessings in her own life. But as soul-sharing phone calls and autumn beach getaways deepen Ophélie and Matt's friendship, fate strikes another blow. Out of the blue, Matt must confront unfinished business from his past. Days later, Ophélie is struck by a stunning betrayal by someone she trusts. And as these events reverberate in two already wounded hearts, something extraordinary happens. Out of the darkness that has shadowed them both comes an unexpected gift of hope.

With grace and compassion, Danielle Steel explores the fragile bonds between mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, family members and lifelong friends. Her haunting, impassioned novel takes us across the complex landscape of loss -- to the blessings that arise from even the darkest tragedies. At once a story of triumph and a moving elegy to those who suffer and survive, Safe Harbour is perhaps her most powerful and life-affirming novel to date.


From the Hardcover edition.DANIELLE STEEL has been hailed as one of the world's most popular authors, with over 520 million copies of her novels sold. Her many international bestsellers include Johnny Angel, Dating Game, Answered Prayers, Sunset in St. Tropez, The Cottage, The Kiss, Leap of Faith, Lone Eagle, Journey, The House on Hope Street, and other highly acclaimed novels. She is also the author of His Bright Light, the story of her son Nick Traina's life and death.


From the Hardcover edition.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

An 11-year-old girl strikes up a friendship with an artist and introduces him to her mother, a grieving widow, in Steel's 59th bestseller-to-be, a sweet but slow-moving romance. The girl, Phillippa (Pip) Mackenzie, is walking her dog along a deserted Northern California beach when she encounters a painter at his easel and stops to watch. She likes to draw; Matt Bowles, the artist, offers to help her; and a friendship is born. Pip's world was shattered nine months before when her father and her tormented, bipolar brother died in a plane crash. A distinctive magical quality in young Pip reminds Matt of his own daughter, whom he's not seen for six years. Pip's mother, Ophelie, initially uneasy about her daughter's friend, comes to see that the sad-eyed artist is the opposite of dangerous-a sensitive, kindly, decent man. The rather idealized Pip (her "haunting cognac-colored eyes" get frequent mention) is wise beyond her years; Ophelie, suffering a severe case of post-traumatic stress, is initially passive and limp but her devotion to a volunteer job helping the homeless elicits sympathy. Matt, a successful ad executive in his former life, is rescued from his own sorrows by fostering Pip's budding talent and by his growing romantic interest in her mother. Ophelie's discovery of a love letter her husband received a week before his death and Matt's confrontation with his treacherous ex-wife provide a modicum of suspense, but some readers may find themselves nodding off before they reach the novel's unexpectedly dramatic climax. (Nov.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

A year has passed since Ophelie lost her husband and son in a plane crash. Still paralyzed by grief and depression, she and adolescent daughter Pip rent a beach house for the summer in Safe Harbour, near San Francisco. When Pip befriends painter Matthew Bowles one day, she learns that he also has suffered the loss of his family. Matt slowly becomes part of their lives, and Ophelie begins to enjoy life again. When she returns home at summer's end, she feels well enough to volunteer at a homeless shelter. Then she and Matthew make the unhappy discovery that their previous spouses had betrayed them, drawing them closer together until the climax, when an act of violence almost separates them forever. While serious fiction readers might be put off by Steel's writing style (bare-bones vocabulary, limited sense of place, plain prose), her page-turning plot and charming depiction of the loving relationship between Pip and Matthew will endear her to her fans, as always. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 7/03.]-Carol J. Bissett, New Braunfels P.L., TX Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews