Nikki is a dangerous woman, sort of a Lisbeth Salander, but with a lot more heart ... Lelchuk takes readers on a rock-’em-sock-’em motorcycle ride to a surprising conclusion. Along with the action, this outstanding series debut boasts a well-developed supporting cast whose interactions with Nikki make her bookstore as inviting as Louise Penny’s Three Pines bistro.
If you are looking for a new literary heroine who does not fit any of the stereotypical P.I. molds, and breaks a couple of them while she's at it, S.A. Lelchuk’s Save Me From Dangerous Men should be at the top of your reading list ... a suspenseful page-turner. Perhaps with an eye on an eventual series, the author makes Nikki and her backstory the book's focus; the plot, at times, seems secondary. But that is not to say the plot is second rate. Rather, it is original and inspired. The who-done-it and why are meticulously built, with bread crumbs carefully laid out to give the reader an aha moment not a moment too soon ... Nikki Griffin is anything but boring but totally believable ... Lelchuk has set the stage for both a heroine and a world to which we will gladly return.
... a helluva ride: a fast-paced neo-noir with a stellar new heroine at its core. Comparing Nikki to Lisbeth Salander is inevitable—a supporting character even calls her Lisbeth—but she also owes half of her DNA to old-school, hardboiled private eyes like Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe ... Her California is more technologically advanced and affluent, a little brighter, more colorful, and cleaner, than Raymond Chandler’s was. But the same seedy underbelly of greed and brutal violence lurks beneath the surface ... Lelchuk does a fine job of making Nikki complex, real, and relatable. She’s not just an ass-kicker ... With its balance of terse dialogue, real stakes, literary love, and thrilling badassery, Save Me From Dangerous Men is a must-read for fans of neo-noir and powerful women. Nikki Griffin is far too compelling and exciting to be a one-off character, and we can never have enough vigilante ladies—with any luck, Lelchuk will oblige us with a full series.
[Lelchuk ] has effectively (if opportunistically) given voice to a certain kind of female — a tough girl along the lines of Stieg Larsson’s Lisbeth Salander, or Elizabeth Jennings in the TV series The Americans ... While his book lacks plausibility and narrative grab, Lelchuk writes in clean, punchy sentences. He also has a fine gift for description ... Lelchuk gives us memorable portraits of the various ecosystems in the Bay Area.
... terrific ... Lelchuk does a fine job weaving the intense foreground story with Nikki’s painful personal life ... This intelligent, action-packed thriller will resonate with readers as it touches on such themes as domestic violence, the widening gap between rich and poor, and the intrusive potential of advanced technologies like artificial intelligence. A credible plot and solid prose are pluses, but the book’s real appeal stems from its powerful, distinctive protagonist.
Nikki’s fight scenes are satisfying, clever, and exciting (because Nikki is clever and exciting), and though it’s a crackling thriller, the book also tackles the aftermath of grief, and the scenes between Nikki and the sweet-natured, utterly lost Brandon are heartbreaking. On a lighter note, bookworms will love the references to classic novels, and Lelchuk winks at Nikki’s similarities to a certain well-known literary vigilante; a bookshop regular even calls her Lisbeth ... A timely and totally badass debut.
