Didn't have the twist I expected; predictable plot, & I wanted to like it but I couldn't relate to any of the characters. It just wasn't for me.

This is the first book I read from this author. Although I was engaged by the description, the book was no the page turner as I expected. The characters were well developed and I liked them, but what let me know was the fact that the ending was very predictable and missed the “wow” factor of a great psychological thriller. Overall it was an enjoyable reading .

FIRST IMPRESSION / page 32 - thanks to bookishfirst I was able to read an excerpt from upcoming thriller, The Safe Place.

I'm SO intrigued & even more excited about this debut suspense title by Anna Downes! I'd heard nothing but good things about this book, and was thrilled to be able to read an excerpt thanks to bookishfirst, it did not disappoint!

Emily, a struggling wannabee actress can never seem to find her place, and has just lost her job. With no money, nowhere to go and no friend to help her out, WHAT will she do?

Scott, owner of the company who just let Emily go is struggling in a different way. How will these two characters connect for the rest of this thrilling novel?

I can't wait to find out, the pages flew by for me with great detail and characters you instantly felt like you knew! The Safe Place is sure to keep any reader on their toes and ready for more!

—————
Got to finish this one thanks to an ARC from Netgalley & I would rate it a 4.5 - I really enjoyed the suspense and build up of this thriller, and the character relationships.

The things that held me back were a bit nit picky - feelings that not everything was answered, but left hanging - which could have been intentional for interpretation (?) Overall I was pleased with the details and how this novel was written.

My favorite part of the story? Emily, the incredible main character, was done SO well. Her arc as a character kept me wanting more through every page!

I absolutely loved this book. The characters easily grab you and don’t let you go. It kept me reaching for my phone (ereader ) so I could find out what happens next.

Holy moly! This was one of those thrillers I had to stay up late reading. It reminded me of a Hitchcock movie...that slow-growing feeling something isn't right, but you're uncertain what it is...that people are not who they seem...then the powerful reveal, with the danger level maxed out. And finally, the ending, which was exactly spot-on.

Definitely the kind of read I needed to take my mind completely off things during the coronavirus lockdown. I'll be sharing about this one with all my psychological thriller loving friends. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an early copy for me to read. All opinions are my own.

This mystery/thriller is well written but the plot is definitely odd. A great escapist read.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51171999

Emily’s life has hit rock bottom. No job, no money, and nowhere to live. Her old boss offers the opportunity to move to a secluded home in France to be an assistant for his wife and daughter. It seems like a dream come true. The homes and landscape are amazing at first then the cracks start to show-atmospheric to be sure. Solid read but there wasn’t the gasp out loud moment I love. Thanks to Netgalley and Minotaur Books for the ARC.

I didn’t love this book.. I felt like it had really great potential with the plot and the author just did not fulfill my needs in a mystery/thriller genre! I was expecting a bigger twist and I guess for me It was pretty predictable.
Thank you to NetGalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review

Paradise or Something Else Entirely?

Emily has lost all hope of being an actress, and now has also lost her job and her apartment. In the midst of her crisis she is approached by her ex-boss, Scott, who offers her a summer job helping his wife and daughter who are living in a French beachfront estate. It sounds way too good to be true, and she joyfully accepts, but paradise is not all she finds when she arrives. Scott’s wife, Nina, has an unnatural paranoia over her daughter Aurelia’s movements and contacts. Emily performs her duties, slowly gets to know Aurelia, and finds Nina to be a gracious host. At least most of the time. Unexplainable events are brushed aside at first, but Emily’s curiosity mounts as more things come to light.

A remarkable book by first-time author Anna Downes, The Safe Place is a well written thriller that draws you into the characters, piques your imagination, and leads you into the setting to the point you are almost there at the estate. I had no idea where the story was going, which kept me reading long into the night. There never seemed to be a lull to prompt closing the book and going to bed.

Thank you, St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books, and NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Safe Place was an interesting book that got better as the story progresses. It's a mystery and filled with twists. I recommend this book if you are looking for a good mystery!

THE SAFE PLACE is a mysterious, absorbing read. Emily thinks she has hit the jackpot when her boss, Scott, asks her to become a caregiver to his daughter and helpmate to his wife at a secluded, totally gorgeous estate along the coast of France. Emily, is happy, truly happy, for the first time in her life. she ignores the fact that she is not allowed into the main house, that Aurelia, the little girl for whom she is to give care, is obviously deeply troubled and that her mother, Nina, alternately acts as thought the child is very ill or completely normal. But as the weeks stretch into months and Nina and Scott both behave erratically, Emily begins to question what is really at play. And when she learns the truth, she realizes how dangerous it truly is. THE SAFE PLACE has great characterization and a plot so nuanced that although all the signs are there, it is difficult to figure out the truth until very close to the end. Delicious.

The Safe Place by Anna Downes Thanks to St Martin Press Minotaur Books and Netgalley for the e-Arc ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Emily is struggling. She is having a hard time with her acting career and just lost another temp job. Unexpectedly she’s offered a personal assistant job at a remote home on a French coast. When she gets there, it’s like paradise. It seems like a dream job... but is it?

Definitely an exciting read! This was a hard book to put down. I like to blind-read (without reading the synopsis first), so I wasn’t sure exactly where this book was going. I thought maybe it was a horror at one point. There’s just so many twists and turns that could be taken; it really keeps you on your feet. The characters were all well developed and you really got to like all of them. The ending was quite satisfying as well. Fans of Verity will really enjoy this book. I keep getting Verity vibes throughout the experience.

The Safe Place comes out 7/14

“She could feel it already. This was the kind of place where things could be different, where she could be different.”

Emily Proudman just lost her temp job. She bounced the rent check and her card was declined at the supermarket. After a chance meeting, her former employer Scott Denny offers her a job with his family on a beautiful beachfront estate in France. Emily accepts the offer. It is her dream job and home . After weeks of living and working in paradise, things are not what they seem.

Anna Downes paints a vivid picture of her characters and the setting in her debut novel. Her readers are invested in the storyline and hang on until the end.

I could not put down The Safe Place. I was drawn to Emily and the Denny family dynamic and I had to know what happened. I recommend this book and I will be anxiously awaiting future books from Anna Downes.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the electronic ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars!!! The Safe Place by Anna Downes makes for a suspenseful beach read (I only wish that’s where I could have read it!), and I’d like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced reader copy! I don’t want to give away any spoilers, but if you like your mysteries fast paced with lots of unexpected twists and turns, then you won’t want to miss this one.

When down-on-her-luck Emily accepts a summer job as a housekeeper at a too-good-to-be-true French estate, it makes for a perfect storm that will deceive its readers and leave them questioning everything they thought they knew!

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! No spoilers. Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to. Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Maybe even a book club pick.

I loved The Safe Place by Anna Downes!
This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2020 and it did not disappoint!

The story centers on Emily, a failed actress, who is struggling to meet ends meet, and has just been given the amazing opportunity of a housekeeper/nanny at a beautiful and remote French estate.

Anna Downes did an amazing job of grabbing my attention in the beginning and maintaining tension and unease through out. This was a book that while reading, I wasn’t always sure what was going on or what was going to happen next, but I was loving my time spent with this book. I received this on a Monday and every day I would just be counting down my work time until I could pick up the book again.

This was a fun thriller and will make a perfect summer read or a perfect read for someone looking for an escape.

Please do yourself a favor and pick up this awesome book! Available on July 14, 2020.

4.5-5 stars!!! I need to start by saying that I am absolutely stunned that this is a debut novel! The writing style, the characters, the suspense, the whole story,....I felt like I was reading a thriller that was written by a best selling author! I just recently bought a kindle paperwhite and I was worried I would have a hard time getting used to it but I definitely picked a wonderful book for my first kindle read!! I didn’t want to put it down! Highly recommend this one and can’t wait to see what else this author writes in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for my advanced readers copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

I found this book very predictable and it didn't have the major twist I expected. The characters were hard to relate to and I didn't find any of them that likeable.

This story is about a young girl named Emily. Down on her luck, she loses her temp job, is dropped from her acting agency and gets evicted all within a couple of days. Lucky for her, Emily's former boss, Scott, has noticed her. And he wants her, and needs her. Scott believes Emily is the perfect person to move to France and help his estranged wife and daughter. Emily eagerly accepts, having few other options and is on the first flight to France. Upon arrival, everything seems perfect. Nina is beautiful and inviting, Aurelia is interesting and Emily is curious and extremely grateful. However, as time goes on Emily begins to see the cracks in this picture perfect story that is being presented to her. She realizes there are secrets she isn't privy to, and as she begins to piece together the truth about her new employees, she realizes she could never trust them in the first place.

I really enjoyed this book! I would give it 4.5 stars. It started a bit slow, but I found after a little while that I couldn't put it down. Everything I guessed would happen went in a completely different direction and I was happily surprised at how the story came together. It just showed how great the writing was- having the reader led to believe one version of events, when in reality it was something completely different. The suspense was great, writing great and the story unfolded perfectly. I loved all the details, all of the secrets. I wished we found out more about Emily's past. At the beginning, I didn't love Emily, but she grew on me as the story went on, she really did become the heroine of her story. Interesting concept! Great read!

4,5 stars!
Beautifully written, the atmosphere is well-described.
I liked how the safe place seems idyllic at first and makes us travel to a recluse property, but with some sinister details that makes us anticipate what will come.
Thank you to St. Martin Publishing group and NetGalley for the ARC