Wow! Loved this book.. great characters, great plot, great writing. Just when you think you know how it ends, there's another plot twist. Couldn't put it down!

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

From the cover to the ending, I loved this book. It is full of twists and turns kept me turning page after page. My first book by Anna Downes, but will definitely not be my last.

Thank you to netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was a quick and enjoyable read. The author has a very descriptive writing style without being too wordy. I could visualize both the property in France and the market where Emily went shopping clearly in my mind.

This is not a scary book but it is definitely a good psychological mystery. Nina's character was disturbing and written perfectly. I truly felt bad for their daughter. There were a couple of questions that were not answered for me and I would have liked a bit more character development for Scott and for Emily.

Thank you to the publisher, the author and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book

Please keep the dreamy cover. I was looking for a suspenseful story that would make me wonder "what the heck is going on?" Well I found it. Twists, turns, heart-pounding rush to the end. Boom. Surprise.

"The Safe Place" is a twisty thriller of a book! Follow along with Emily as she finds what she thinks is the perfect job. But everything is not as it seems. I definitely could not have predicted what happened! I do wish the ending had been more conclusive. I felt that there were several questions that were never answered.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

If you were offered the opportunity to move to France for a job, would you go? Or does it seem too good to be true? After all, most things are. . .

After Emily relocates to France, she begins to realize that things aren't quite as they appear. Working in residence as a caretaker, she begins to notice things seem off. Not quite right. What is going on? Why is this house that Emily is in so isolated from everything?

I really liked this book however it took a little while to get going. There wasn't much development in the way of characters, while it was more plot reliant. After about the 50% marker, things started to take off. It ended up being a solid novel. 3 stars.

The Safe Place is THE must-read psychological thriller this summer. Clean, crisp writing couples with sinister family secrets and the beautiful French countryside to create the most juicy and devourable story. I can't recommend this enough.

A good story which helps you to escape from whatever you need to escape from! Takes you by surprise and keeps you guessing. An easy read likely to keep you reading long past your bedtime.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A good suspense book with an unusual and interesting plot. Many satisfying twists and turns that surprised me in the end. 3.5 stars out of 5/

Not really my favorite, but good. The writing style I’ve seen before (think Mary Kubica or a much watered down Elizabeth Haynes) and the plot was enough to want to see how it will all come crushing down. Emily (the MC) has a habit of doing one stupid thing after another, like not “listening to her gut,” that little voice that says, ‘run away’, which is a bit frustrating... but I get it. Anything to keep the story going.

Originally it was the cover than drew me in (the clear blue sky, sparkling pool and ocean background) but this book has so much more than a beautiful lush setting. A story of forbidden desire, of distance between spouses, and a girl down on her luck and just looking to survive on her own. When Emily is given the opportunity of a lifetime to become a live in caregiver/housekeeper/helper for a woman and her sick child in a beautiful, isolated French estate she jumps. She has everything she could dream of there, including a car for her use, but she soon discovers it is very cut off from the world, as it has no cell reception, wifi or outside callers for that matter. Emily soon discovers all is not as it seems, and there is a reason certain amenities are missing, why she is forbidden from entering the main quarters, and why Nina and Aurelia never seem to leave the estate.

I really liked this book. I did not know where the author was going with it for while. I enjoyed the characters and I liked the back and forth of the writing style. I would recommend this book by Anna Downes!

Emily can't seem to get anything right. Her biggest problem is herself. She's just meandering through life expecting something amazing to fall into her lap, and, suddenly, it does. She doesn't stop the wonder why.

Here's the thing: There is zero tangible action in this book before 75% of the way through. I mean, stuff kind of happens, but it's all setup stuff and not real stuff. So, when the time comes that something goes down and you have to make a choice about who you want to succeed? You want no one to succeed. Eh.

This book is not your normal mystery. The subject matter, the location (author does a great job of making the location show in your mind - like a movie set!) And the ending was totally not what I expected - even a few pages from the end!
Easy read, interesting enough to keep you up reading all night.

I am stuck in between a 3 or 4 stars so I will give this review 3.5 stars.

I am a sucker for thriller books/films especially ones where a caretaker goes to stay at someones house and creepy stuff starts happening. Like the Skeleton Key, The Boy and so on.

This storys main character is Emily who is given a chance to leave her life in London to move to france and live on a estate to care for her boss Wife and daughter. in the beginning everything sounds glam but things start happening to give her suspicions and wanting to learn more of the truth of who this family is and why the daughter doesnt speak or want to be touched.

most thrillers for me can get pretty predictable which i dont mind at all, and i figured this one out but was still unsure until everything all came out and i still very much enjoyed this read.

thank you again to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me this e-arc. I very much enjoyed it and or anyone looking for a good summer thriller - this is it

This book was suck a great read! Emily is having a rough time in her life when she is offered what seems to be a dream job. As the story progresses you see that it is not and there are dark secrets everywhere. The story is written well and moves at a great pace. It's like peeling an onion the more you peel away the more you find. I would highly recommend it to anyone who loves a great thriller!

I received this ARC from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

I waffled between giving this 3 or 4 stars, but I'm going to cheat and go with 3.5. The plot definitely surprised me in the end, so 4 stars for that, but I felt a bit icky being inside the heads of the characters.

*Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an e-galley in exchange for an honest review.

Emily is down on her luck. Her acting career is going nowhere and she was just fired from her temp job. She calls her parents to ask for money, completely forgetting it's her mother's birthday. Her parents are fed up, not willing to help anymore, and she's not sure how she's going to pay her rent. Then she is offered a chance of a lifetime. Her uber-rich former boss asks her to move to France to help his wife with their large estate, and their sickly 6 year old daughter. Emily jumps at the chance. Not only is the pay great, she will be given an SUV, and room and board is included.
As soon as she arrives, she realizes something is...off. While she loves the wife, Nina. the daughter Aurelia never speaks, doesn't like to be touched, and has an extreme reaction to thunderstorms. There is no cell service, and the estate is extremely isolated. Can Emily figure out the mystery, and save herself, before it's too late?
I did enjoy this book, but it wasn't my favorite. I think it was too predictable. I really, really didn't like the character of Emily. She treats her family so terribly! It's hard to support her, or even root for her.
The writing is well done, and the descriptions of the estate are amazing. I look forward to reading more from this author.

4.5 stars

Fantastic debut book from Anna Downes. The Safe Place was a fast paced gem of a book that kept me reading ‘just one more’ chapter before I could take a break. Multiple plot twists kept me guessing. I look forward to reading more from the author in the future.