diff --git a/mempalace/knowledge_graph.py b/mempalace/knowledge_graph.py
index 4a4399a..235dc4c 100644
--- a/mempalace/knowledge_graph.py
+++ b/mempalace/knowledge_graph.py
@@ -99,9 +99,10 @@ class KnowledgeGraph:
 
     def close(self):
         """Close the database connection."""
-        if self._connection is not None:
-            self._connection.close()
-            self._connection = None
+        with self._lock:
+            if self._connection is not None:
+                self._connection.close()
+                self._connection = None
 
     def _entity_id(self, name: str) -> str:
         return name.lower().replace(" ", "_").replace("'", "")
diff --git a/tests/test_kg_thread_safety.py b/tests/test_kg_thread_safety.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2ffb087
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_kg_thread_safety.py
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+"""TDD: KnowledgeGraph.close() must hold self._lock."""
+
+import inspect
+from mempalace.knowledge_graph import KnowledgeGraph
+
+
+class TestKGCloseLock:
+    def test_close_holds_lock(self):
+        src = inspect.getsource(KnowledgeGraph.close)
+        assert "self._lock" in src, (
+            "close() does not acquire self._lock. "
+            "Closing while a read/write is in progress can corrupt data."
+        )