Safe in Heaven Dead

Robert Elgin has checked out of his life, rendered himself irrelevant, and become invisible. After stumbling upon a secret slush fund his political bosses have been skimming off the public, Elgin takes the money and runs ...

Runs from the corruption of machine politics.

Runs from the corrupting of his daughter, molested by a twelve-year-old neighbor.

Runs from his wife's obsession with grief counselors, rape specialists, being saved by Jesus, and putting the twelve-year-old behind bars.

Runs to New York, where he meets Carla, a doctoral student at Columbia, who, enmeshed in her own world of corruption, is also ready to become invisible, ready to run.

They hit the road, forgetting themselves, but back home in Michigan, where everything has fallen apart, Elgin's children must wonder what has become of their father. Of course he can't just leave them there. Of course he can't just run away. But he doesn't know how to go back either. And he has to.

A kinetic, spellbinding debut, Safe in Heaven Dead reveals a world of people struggling to do what's right when everything seems wrong, a world of people resisting surrender to the corruption that surrounds them, and a world, too, which, in the face of apparent hopelessness, somehow breeds hope.

"A superbly convincing first novel....[E]nergetically suspenseful....An expertly motivated debut that moves briskly and doesn't lose sight of its affecting purpose." Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)

"[T]his debut suspense novel instantly seizes and holds the imagination, even when one knows the final outcome....Few readers will remain unmoved by the agonizing questions that drive this story, and the tragedy with which the book begins and ends." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

"[I]maginatively constructed....In following his hero's desperate attempt to start over again, Ligon is firmly in control, skillfully laying out the elements of his story like the pieces of a giant jigsaw puzzle." Charles Salzberg, The New York Times Book Review

"Ligon's characters are strongly written, and Robert personifies the deep, dark secret most of us carry within: the longing to run away from life's problems. Unfortunately, the abrupt ending leaves the reader feeling somewhat cheated. Nevertheless, this first novel is recommended for large fiction collections." Library Journal

"[A] well-paced road trip tale that starts with a bang....Ligon's prose is realistic and tight. But best of all, he is a skillful storyteller....Safe in Heaven Dead is not flashy or anxious to be pleasant, Ligon stays true to the motivations of his characters and delivers an uncommon novel." Dawn Ballenger, ArtSavant

"Safe in Heaven Dead grabs us by the hair and doesn't let go until the final page, even though we know how everything will turn out. Ligon jumps out of the starting gate like a sweat-drenched thoroughbred with this, his first novel which drives forward with relentless energy....I can think of no higher praise than to say I loved every miserable minute of this book." David Abrams, January Magazine

Everything is rolling along smoothly for Robert Elgin. He and his wife, Laura, have a loving marriage, and two perfect kids. When Robert is recruited by the county executive's office to conspire in some dirty negotiations that would grease the executive's run for Governor, his perfect life begins to crumble. And to make matters worse, Robert learns that his five-year-old daughter has been molested by the twelve-year-old neighbor.

While his wife becomes obsessed with grief counselors, rape specialists, being saved by Jesus, and putting the twelve-year-old behind bars, Robert finds himself losing touch with his family and losing his grip on reality. When he learns of a secret fund the executive's office has been skimming off the public employees, he takes the money and runs. And so begins Robert's life as a dead man...

Sameul Ligon's stories have appeared in Quarterly, Story Quarterly, Manoa, Other Voices, and the Cimarron Review. He lives with his wife and two children in Madison, Wisconsin.