I love a good thriller and this one was fantastic! I love the French estate setting and summer atmosphere. I also like the creepy house aspect, with no phone or internet and where Emily isn't allowed to visit certain parts of it - suspicious, much!??! The story is told my multiple narrators and keeps you engrossed in the mystery surrounding Emily, Scott, and Nina. The ending was a bit predictable but overall I enjoyed it and was a fan of the author's writing style.

This was the who dunnit mystery that I needed in my life. I couldn't put this book down and was intrigued from start to finish. I was able to connect with the characters and the story continued to had.me guessing.

Full disclosure- it took me awhile to get into this book, despite the author's obvious writing skills. I found the plot slightly unbelievable at times, and at some points I felt nothing for the characters..... however, it is one of those books that I am glad that I stuck with; the twist is shocking and the book ends way better than it started.

This book was a bit strange, but that is ok ,because I was expecting it to be strange. Even though it was a bit predictable, it was still pretty good. It kept me on my toes and turning the page. The writing was great and I was invested in what the characters were going through.

The Safe Place has so much potential in both the story and the writing, and even though it was a bit predictable and left too much unclear at the end, I enjoyed the journey. The overall atmosphere of this book is unsettling, and you get the sense that Emily is in danger, you're just not sure exactly why. Discovering things along with Emily really puts you in the story and adds to that sense of unease, which is a testament to the writing talent of Downes. I can definitely see myself reading more by her in the future.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of The Safe Place by Anna Downes.

Emily has lost so much, her job, her acting agent, her apartment. The relationship she has with her parents is strained and she has nowhere to turn. But fortune smiles when running into her old boss. On the spot he offers her a position being a caretaker and nanny for his wife and daughter, who live away.

Elated Emily packs her bags and travels in the lap of luxury to start her new job. But it doesn't take long to see that her boss's wife Nina, nor their daughter, are completely right. The longer Emily stays, the more she can see that she has made a grave mistake.

This book was like sitting in the back seat of a car that accelerates and decelerates way too abruptly and often. I had whiplash and slight motion sickness. But that's also what made it interesting, because right when I thought I had things figured out, the driver either slammed on the breaks, or sped around a corner. It wasn't quite as intense or compelling as I was hoping for, but still a readable summer book.

I really enjoyed the story, although it was not exactly an edge of the seat thriller, it was not predictable by any means. I loved the depth of the characters, the building of suspense, and the writing overall was superb.

I will definitely keep an eye out for the author’s next work.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books/St. Martin’s Press for sharing this intriguing ARC with me in exchange my honest review

Fast paced book and I really enjoyed it. Good story line and I think people are gonna love it. I would definitely read again and recommend

Emily needs a change from her lackluster life so she quickly agrees to a job offer to be a housekeeper at the remote estate of her former boss. No phone signal and having to sign a non-disclosure agreement don’t scare her off from the task but she slowly begins to realize that things aren’t quite right with the lady of the house and her young daughter. While not action packed, this novel was mysterious as you quickly pick up that there are some oddities to this family with secrets just under the surface but they take a little while to unravel. While I found the tale to be well told, I would have loved a little bit more information at the end about how the story unfolded. There was enough closure that it was satisfying but I would have loved an epilogue with some added information.

Emily Proudman's life is a mess. She just got fired from her job. Her acting agent dumps her on the same day and her rent check just bounced. She is at the end of her rope when her former boss, Scott Denny offers her a job. His wife and daughter have been staying at their secluded French estate and they could use some help around the estate. She would need to be part housekeeper, part au pair, part companion. Emily is excited to be at the luxurious estate - it feels like an extended vacation. But then she starts to notice things seem "off." Like why is Aurelia's hair dyed? And why does only Emily's phone seem to not work? And why do they not like it when Emily leaves the estate? What are they hiding? And what will they do to Emily when she finds out the truth?

The Safe Place was one of those thrillers that was predictable, unfortunately. I had figured out pretty early on the big secret that Nina and Scott were keeping. From the very beginning, both Scott and Nina felt like "predators." And Emily felt like the naive prey, which she was to them. Prey. What did surprise me about the whole thing was how all of the characters reacted when the secret was revealed. Emily showed far more character than what I gave her credit for, that is for sure. - CLICK HERE FOR SPOILERS.

Bottom Line - The Safe Place is the kind of book with characters that will surprise you. Just when you have them all figured out, the author will surprise you.

Details:
The Safe Place by Anna Downes
On Twitter
Pages: 368
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: 7/14/2020
Buy it Here!
Thank you to Netgalley for the book in exchange for a review.

This book has so many twists and turns and I absolutely enjoyed it! There was death, grief, kidnapping, Munchausen by proxy syndrome, and more. Scott and Nina hire Emily to help them with their daughter and they are staying in their beautiful estate in France. Emily soon begins to suspect that all is not right with the situation. I found myself turning the pages faster, racing towards the finish line. The ending was good and I appreciated the writer's style of sharing this story. I felt the story flowed well and made sense and overall I enjoyed it.

I had trouble getting into this book. All of the characters seemed rather flat and I couldn't care enough to root for the main character. I tried a couple of times to get into the storyline but it didn't really grab me.

First of all, I apologize for being off the grid for a while. Life has been a bit challenging lately, and I just didn’t have the time or energy. I have read a fair amount in the meantime, though, so I hope to get caught up quickly with posts. I had received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher and was really looking forward to reading it. At the time I picked it up, I was in the mood for a psychological thriller. Although I enjoyed reading this one, it didn’t have the typical punch and edge of your seat storyline that I was looking for. I knew there were secrets to be discovered, but there just wasn’t enough tension that I typically expect from a book in this genre. So if you are interested in reading this one, just know that it’s still a good story, just not as suspenseful as it could be.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy to review.

The was an easy read. I would compare it to a reality television show. It was well written with believable characters. I do have to say that the book kept me guessing almost until the very end. The book was thrilling and captivating

*** ARC provided by Netgalley for an honest review***
Emily is confused and lost. She lost her agent and her temp job. Her Ex boss comes in to save the day. Scott hires her to be his housekeeper personal assistant to his wife and young daughter in France. Without a cell phone and NDA that doesn’t let her tell anyone where she’s at...What could go wrong?

Emily is down on her luck. She's lost her job, her home, and her acting agency (the one thing she was passionate about). When he previous boss offers her what seems like a dream job, she accepts without another thought. This dream job ends up being a little more than Emily bargained for.

I found this book entertaining, but a bit weird at times. The plot twist was predictable and the ending felt rushed and incomplete.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc for my honest opinion. This book will draw you in until you are on the edge of your seat. You will be kept guessing until the end.

Thank you to the author Anna Downes, the publishier St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for giving me an ARC in exchange for my candid review of this book.

This was a compelling, suspenseful read. Because of the foreshadowing, you know that there is a story behind the story and that something is not quite right, but I felt compelled to keep reading this book in order to find out what was going to happen.

It is a story about a young, unmoored young woman who is drifting from job to job who gets offered a dream job by a too-good to be true boss. She is sent to an idyllic estate in France to live with his wife and daughter as a kind of companion, housekeeper, babysitter, gardener, personal assistant. But we know that something is not quite right......and eventually Emily gets to realize that too.

I was fascinated to find out the real story. The only disappointment is that we never found out the rest of the story of Emily.

A great, fascinating read.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to preview The Safe Place by Anna Downes.
Great debut and quick read.
4 stars.

A bit predictable, but a nice escape nonetheless. It took me a while to get into because I didn’t know who I could trust. Some of the characters are mind blowing 🤯 it was pretty predictable, however the ending surprised me quite a bit.