The One Safe Place

A minor traffic violation leads to a deadly confrontation for Suzanne Travis with the violent Fancy family as her husband is beaten to death, her adolescent son is kidnapped, and Suzanne herself falls under suspicion.

An American family in Manchester meets up with serious misfortune at the hands of a British family they accidentally run afoul of. Campbell is a versatile master of psychological horror: He is best known for his evocations of vague dread in protagonists whom you're never sure are completely sane, but in this novel he goes instead for clearly delineated, likable characters and intense encounters packed with emotional anguish. Campbell hits hard, and keeps on hitting. He actually scared this seasoned reviewer.