Safe Haven is a romantic fantasy novel written by American author Nicholas Sparks. It was released in 2010. According to WorldCat, the book is available in 2,242 libraries.
Plot
Erin runs away from her husband, Kevin, who is an alcoholic and abuses her. She creates a new identity and changes her name to Katie. She moves to Southport, North Carolina. She finds a job at a seafood restaurant and becomes friends with her neighbor, Jo. She also gets to know the owner of the town's general store, Alex.
Katie is interested in Alex, who is a widower with two children. Their relationship becomes romantic, with Jo's encouragement. Alex had a previous job that taught him to notice signs of someone being hurt. Katie tells Alex about her past. She explains that Kevin is a police detective and that she left because she feared Kevin would kill her if he found her. She created her new identity using the name of a neighbor's dead daughter, who looked like her.
Kevin is angry about Erin leaving and drinks more to cope. He learns about Erin's new identity and searches for her. Kevin arrives in Southport while Katie is caring for Alex's children. He sets their house on fire, hoping to kill Katie and Alex. Katie fights Kevin, and the children escape. Alex returns home, finds his children, and takes them to Katie's house, believing it is safe. He goes back to the fire and finds Kevin trying to harm Katie. Alex drives toward Kevin, who is shooting at him. The car hits Kevin, breaking his hand and taking the gun from him. Katie takes the gun, and she and Alex are reunited. Kevin escapes but later returns to Katie's house. When Katie learns that Alex left the children with her, she becomes very frightened, knowing Kevin will try to find her, risking the children's safety. As they reach Katie's house, Kevin attacks Alex with a crowbar. Kevin tries to shoot Katie, but the bullet hits him in the stomach, and he dies in front of her.
Alex had received an unopened letter from his late wife, Carly. After Katie and Alex recover from their injuries, they find a safe in the ashes of the burnt house. Alex gives Katie the letter to read. She reads it at home and is shocked to see Jo's house looking empty, as if no one had ever lived there. She begins to think Jo might have been imaginary. After reading the letter, Katie realizes it was written by Alex's late wife, Carly Jo, whom friends called "Jo." The letter asked Katie to care for Alex and his children. When Katie reads the letter, she sees lights in Jo's house and Jo standing in the window, waving goodbye. The next time she looks, Jo's house is dark and appears abandoned again.
Adaptation
The book Safe Haven was made into a movie in 2013. The movie was directed by Lasse Hallström. Julianne Hough played the role of Katie, Josh Duhamel played the role of Alex, David Lyons played the role of Kevin, and Cobie Smulders played the role of Jo.