An intriguing mystery for the modern gothic lover. If you’re a fan of books with endings that have a huge twist, then this one is for you.

Seeing things from multiple characters’ perspectives also makes this book extremely engaging.

The main character Emily is a genuinely likable character, one that you would sympathize with. She’s a friendly and kind girl but quite down on her luck. She gets manipulated into working for a high flying CEO named Scott, as a companion/ nanny for his wife and daughter, who live in a lovely accommodation in France.

Something just seems off right from the start, even though the house and surrounding areas are exquisite and the wife is an ethereal beauty who is nearly perfect in every way. The allegory is that “all that glitters is not gold.”

Thus begins the guessing game, where you can never quite put your finger on what exactly is happening, until the shocking climax. Plenty of red herrings along the way kept me guessing, but I couldn’t figure it out till the very end.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking to read a thrilling mystery or psychological horror.

Thank you to the author, the publisher and NetGalley, for sending me an advance copy of this book for an honest review.

Emily is at her wit's end, she's lost her job and her agent, and she's about to be evicted from her apartment. Without a clue what to do, she is approached by her ex-boss, Scott, who offers her a mysterious job as housekeeper and companion to his wife and daughter who live on a private estate on the coast of France. Signing a non-disclosure agreement to take a post as a housekeeper seems a bit bizarre, but in her desperation, Emily doesn't give it a whole lot of thought.

At first, Emily is overwhelmed with her luck and the idyllic beauty of both her boss's family and their estate. As time progresses, Emily begins to realize that all is not as it seems. She trusts the family, but do they trust her? Should she trust them? Can they trust her? Why all the seclusion and secrecy? While the isolation is at first jarring, it eventually becomes relaxing, and finally a bit stifling. What is really going on and what really motivated Scott to offer this job to Emily?

This book is fast-paced and compulsive! I finished it in one day because I just could not put it down. Lots of twists and turns keep the reader guessing and I missed a few clues at the beginning that were artfully placed. Atmospheric and haunting, this book will keep you reading and guessing and You'll very likely lose some sleep over it. Definitely recommended!

Disclaimer: I received a free electronic copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

3.5 stars! This cover is to die for! Beautiful! Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read The Safe Place. I enjoyed it, and it def had my attention right up until the end! Full review soon!

I tried very hard to become invested in this story but was unable. I found it choppy and the characters uninteresting. There were many unneeded sidebar situations/moments. I read the reviews on NetGally and there were many rave ones so I tried again. Just could not grasp any enthusiasm for the book. But remember, a review is just a personal opinion and since there are so many positive reviews, I will just gently leave my thoughts and retreat.

#netgalley #asafeplace

This book was absolutely a page turner for me. From the prologue I was hooked and had to know everything about the two protagonists. I loved the plot line and the character development that occurs throughout the book. You learn a lot about all of the characters and their back story. I could not put this book and found myself up late at night to finish this thriller/mystery. I absolutely loved this book and can not stop raving about it to my husband and friends. Thank you so much netgalley and publisher for this advanced copy. It’s definitely one I will be rereading again. I give this book five out of five amazing stars!

Wow!! I absolutely loved this book. Definitely an interesting and intruiging plot. Great descriptions of places and characters and the authors vivid description of food left my mouth watering, This was a page turner for me, and I finished the book in one sitting. Kept me hooked until the end and I absolutely loved the plot twist in the middle of the book. Helped to tie everything up at the end of the book. Is it bad to like and feel sorry for the bad guys?

First of all this book was awesome!! Each and every character in the book was well rounded and had a sense of mystery to them which I love. I could not put this book down reading late into the night knowing I had to wake up with a 4 year old and 1 year old at 7AM I just had to find out what happened. Totally worth it!!! 5 bright stars to a very talented author.

Thriller? Yeah, sure. Mystery? No. If this was the first thriller I’d read, or if I hadn’t read one in awhile, I’d say this was pretty good.

Atmosphere and setting aside, which were actually unique, there was absolutely nothing special about this book. I am starting to believe this market is truly oversaturated. It’s about your stereotypical privileged married couple, a problem child, and an outside influence mixed together to form trouble. It was fine - definitely a slow burn - but really predictable.

Emily is at the end of her rope - she’s out of money, her career is at a standstill, she’s run out of friends, and her parents are fed up with her. So when a job offer from Scott, her former boss, materializes, she leaps at the chance for a fresh start. With no questions asked, she leaves London for his remote vacation home in France to serve as ...what. A housekeeper? Cook? Babysitter? Emily doesn’t know and doesn’t care because the house is gorgeous, Nina, her boss’s beautiful wife, and their young daughter, Aurelia, make her feel loved and accepted, and she’s finally found some purpose in her life.
But with all things too good to be true, she realizes that it isn’t. Emily slowly starts picking up weird vibes - why isn’t she allowed in the main house? Why is Nina so protective of Aurelia? Why is Scott absent so much? And what is that awful smell? Emily needs to decide if she should turn a blind eye and continue on, or confront the hidden truths behind this supposedly perfect life. A decent read, I found the first half of the book a little slow and the second half a little too rushed. The “big secret” was blindingly obvious, and I found most of the characters’ motivations lacking. Their background stories were weak and did little to explain why they would behave in such drastic fashion. A good enough book if you are looking for psychological, twisty thrillers, but there are definitely better ones out there.
Thanks to #netgalley for this ARC of #thesafeplace.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a preview of this book. The storyline had plenty of potential & promise but for me it never really lived up to the expectations I had for it. This was mainly because of the style it was written in & the storyline ended.

Thanks to Minotaur/St Martins & Net Galley for the digital ARC of this fantastic read!

I’m a sucker for a book that makes me think. Each chapter of this book builds up to one giant finish fabulously. I pride myself in being able to figure most of the storylines out quickly, but this book takes you on such a winding path that it was tough for me to figure out.

The character development is intriguing, as you gradually get insight into each of the mains rather than a full on description right away. You know there isn’t something quite right, but you just can’t place it. Each character has good traits and flaws that make you like/dislike, almost equally. Even when I wasn’t a fan of someone, I still found myself pulling for that person in the long run.

I throughly enjoyed this storyline and will definitely be searching out more from this author! Interesting writing style for a solid read!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this book for me to read. It kept me so interested I read it in one sitting. I had no idea what was going to happen!

Thank you so much for this ARC!

First, beautiful cover! Without even reading the details of this book, I would have requested this title.

Obsessed with this story! I loved watching Emily (who was a bit lost in life), get granted such a unique experience. When you have nothing to lose, a dream house in Paris sounds ideal. Well, it was not. At first I was a little envious of Emily, but knew something weird was going to go down! I didn't expect this!

Great story, great character development and overall wonderful writing. Cannot wait to read more books by this Anna Downes!

Available: 7/14/20

This had the potential to be a lot better than it actually was. Who wouldn't want a job opportunity in paradise? Paradise isn't what it seems and soon becomes a nightmare. Sound familiar? That's because there are so many other books with this same idea!

Great premise but it was predictable AF.. I wasn't surprised with the ending either. Beautiful cover though. Almost a DNF.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author and publisher for ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is about a woman, Emily, who is hired by her former boss as a housekeeper/assistant for his wife and child. She is immediately drawn to the atmosphere of the estate, but then starts to find things are not as they seem.

What worked for this book was the author was creative in her word choices within the book, creating interesting imagery and through it flashbacks that provided insight into some of the characters.

Although the book did have an intriguing plot, I found that sometimes there were some disconnects between chapters, which made it a bit difficult to transition.

Overall, it was a good read, and I would say this book if for anyone that wants to read a suspense story in a unique location.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press Minotaur Books for the ARC.

#TheSafePlace #Netgalley

I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed this book a lot. It never tried to hide there was a mystery and honestly I figured out the big twist pretty early on. Regardless it was a fun mystery/thriller and I struggled with putting it down. The writing is well done and the characters are well developed. The book is told from Emily and Scott (her boss)’s perspectives and they’re both flawed but still relatable.

Emily is fired from her temp job but the boss has something else in mind for her - a house keeper/nanny/companion to his wife and child living in France. With no other prospects Emily accepts and finds herself in a perfect paradise isolated from everyone. No phone, no internet, no strangers.

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.