Stephanie and Julie were both kidnapped by the same person, nine months apart, but only one made it out alive.
It was just a routine house viewing for estate agent Stephanie Slater when she was abducted at knifepoint. Held captive for eight days in horrifying conditions – blindfolded, bound and imprisoned in a makeshift coffin – Stephanie became the victim of a killer who had murdered once before. Nine months earlier, teenager Julie Dart had been kidnapped and held to ransom by the same man. Despite an extensive police operation, they failed to rescue Julie in time. In an extraordinary act of bravery, Stephanie decided her best chance of survival was to try and befriend her captor and convince him to let her go.
In this powerful and deeply researched book, bestselling true crime author Carol Ann Lee revisits one of Britain’s most shocking criminal cases that stunned the nation and triggered one of the biggest manhunts in British history. Drawing on exclusive interviews and previously unpublished material, she goes beyond the headlines to uncover the resilience behind the women at the heart of the story: the victims, the mothers, the detectives, and the woman who turned survival into strength.
Haunting, propulsive and deeply moving, Keep Her Safe follows Stephanie beyond her rescue, tracing the long aftermath of trauma and her incredible determination to help change the way police respond to victims of violent crime. Urgent and unforgettable, this is true crime at its most compelling: a devastating story of survival and courage, and a powerful reflection on violence against women that still resonates today.
