Ramsey Campbell is certainly one of my favorite authors, horror or otherwise. He has distinguished himself as one of the top award winners among all active horror writers and _One Safe Place_ only provides further evidence of his prodigious talent.
In moving from the unexplained horror of the supernatural to a more realistic milieu, Campbell sacrifices none of the unsettling quality of his previous work. The book revolves around an American family, newly arrived in Manchester to open up a used and antiquarian bookshop. When the father unwittingly runs afoul of a local thug and his family, the resulting violence has long-lasting effects on both families.
This is a haunting and sad novel with a very convincing look at what it must be like for expatriates attempting to start a new life in a foreign country. Anyone who has ever daydreamed of moving to England (a dream I must admit I've had) should read this cautionary tale.
Campbell, unlike some horror writers on the bestseller lists, continues to grow and challenge himself as a writer, tackling new subjects and themes with continually superlative results. He's not just writing the same story over and over. This is the sort of novel that could have quite easily slipped away from him, yet it is ultimately one of his best.