Language

Style of language 

In the short story “Safe Enough”, Lee Child combines narrative passages with short dialogue which keep readers interested and offer more information about the characters.

Most descriptive adjectives are related to the characters and express how the look, feel, or act: “untamed straw-blond hair” (p. 49, l. 16), “pale, delicate hands” (p. 49, ll. 17-18), “suburban avant-garde bohemian” (p. 54, l. 17), or “upscale women” (p. 54, l. 19). Many of the adjectives show how Wolfe initially idealizes Mary before he gets to know her.

Some of them are setting related: “wild frontier” (p. 47, l. 18), “indigenous supply” (p. 47, l. 33), “roar of traffic” (p. 47, l.7), “tranquil silence” (p. 47, l.8), or “winding road” (p. 47, l. 19). Their effect is to set the mood and atmosphere in the story. 

Additionally, there are various colloquial words used to convey Wolfe’s working-class background. For example, Mary’s husband...