An Essay By Ivy Ngeow About In Safe Hands By Ivy Ngeow
Ivy Ngeow author of The American Boyfriend (Penguin, 2023) winner of the Singapore Book Prize 2023 whose writing has been described as “raw and will make your heart skip a beat almost every now and then” was born and raised in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. She holds an MA in Writing from Middlesex University were she won the 2025 Middlesex University Literary Press Prize. Her debut, Cry of the Flying Rhino (2017), was awarded the International Proverse Prize in Hong Kong. Her previous book,The American Boyfriend was an instant bestseller in Southeast Asia in 2023. It made waves as a Straits Times bestseller and was long listed for the Avon x Mushens Entertainment Prize 2023.
Ngeow has quickly become a formidable voice in Asian psychological thrillers and her new books In Safe Hands is due to be published by Penguin on October 28, 2025. A psychological thriller rooted in contemporary issues explores the unsettling reality of elder care power struggles within families, and the devastating impact of being erased – both emotionally and physically.
The Synopsis:
Penniless and desperate to reconnect, Genevieve returns to London to care for her ailing father – only to find herself in a silent battle with his unsettlingly devoted caregiver. As his mind unravels and dark family secrets surface, she fights to reclaim her place before she loses him forever. Bu when a a brutal attack in East London links back to her past, she realizes someone is watching – and they know the truth. In Safe Hands is a gripping Asian psychological thriller.
About the book we were honoured to have Ngeow herself write an essay to give us more insight into In Safe Hands in the words of the writer herself.
Please read the essay below:
When the Stranger in the House Is You: Ivy Ngeow on the real-life questions behind her chilling new novel, In Safe Hands
The question that sparked the idea for my latest psychological thriller began with the seed of a single, chilling thought: what if your father forgot who you were and started calling his carer by your name instead? I couldn’t let it go. I had come off the back of a world tour, promoting my previous novel, The American Boyfriend, a slow-burn thriller set in Florida about an Asian single who is trying to meet up with her online paramour. This time, I was drawn to something quieter and closer to home yet just as dangerous. In Safe Hands grew out of that unease, that fear of emotional displacement. I wanted to explore what it means to come home only to find you’re no longer wanted or needed, especially as a daughter, as an immigrant, and as someone still trying to belong.
My objective was to write about old age, its marvels and its horror. I usually start a novel, much like how a movie begins, with a strong visual or emotional image. Sometimes it’s a character, sometimes it’s a scene that won’t leave me alone, and in this case, the scene was what I saw once in a hotel lobby bar which made me weep. An elderly man was phenomenal at playing the grand piano and when he stopped and got up, his daughter went to assist him. He was stunned and blinked at her. He could not speak, presumably due to dementia or Alzheimers;That was you, Daddy. You played the piano, Daddy, she said to him. You’re so amazing, Daddy. You know that was incredible? All these people came to watch you.” Her tears were flowing, and so were the audiences, and he had gathered quite an audience. She had repeated the word “Daddy” many times, almost like it was punctuation, an alarm clock, to reinstate his role and therefore hers. But he just stared into space. He was totally unaware of himself or anyone. He just knew what to do when he saw the 88 keys. He had no idea of anything or anyone else, apart from the fact that he did not want to be led away. He resisted his daughter and moved his arm away from her. He wanted to stay at the piano.
Set in Fulham, In Safe Hands follows Genevieve Ho, a failed entrepreneur who returns from Singapore to care for her father, only to find herself emotionally and physically shut out by the woman meant to be helping him. As tensions escalate in the house, and a racially charged attack in East London links back to the caregiver’s shadowy past, the question becomes not just one of family or memory—but survival. Who gets to decide who belongs in the family? And how far will you go to prove you’re still the daughter?
I was born and raised in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. I’d grown up with a love for books and writing. Johor Bahru (population 1.7M) is about 85% working class. I had never seen an art gallery until I was 18. I’d read Penguin Books in my school library and longed to be an author, but I thought that it was something that other people did. How could someone like me write a book with my name on it that was on a shelf in a library, read by thousands? I spent most of my adult life in London. I’m separated from my elderly parents and keep in touch via video calls and flying home at least once a year. The irony is not lost on me. Like my main character Genevieve Ho, I am frustrated by the struggle to belong.
In Safe Hands took me about 18 months to write, including revisions, and with six months of brutal self-editing, the total journey stretched to nearly two years pre-publication. I love the silence and purity of writing. It took me more than 30 years of writing to get a Penguin book deal. I am now 55. Those 2 or 30 years were not a burden or a chore. On the contrary, they were a gift. I was returned to that short time in my childhood and with my family.
Ivy Ngeow
In Safe Hands is out on Penguin Random House on Oct 21 st , 2025 and will be available worldwide in all good bookstores in digital and print. Add it to your Goodreads here.