Anna Downes debut novel Safe Place is an intriguing, spellbinding tale that pulls you in to its web. Right from the get go, you know something isn’t right, but you can’t quite put your finger on it.

Emily is a struggling actress who works temp jobs to stay afloat. Her life is falling apart - she loses her temp job, she’s evicted from her apartment, she botches an audition, and nearly gets hit by a bus, and that’s just the surface layer of Emily’s problems. Scott comes along and offers Emily what seems to be a dream job - working and living on his beautiful, secluded estate and helping his wife care for their daughter as well as estate upkeep. Emily arrives, and everything is serenely beautiful. She fits right in to Scott’s family, and they get along perfectly. However, something doesn’t feel quite right, and there are niggling clues throughout that lead Emily to think that her seemingly perfect job is actually not so perfect. Will Emily figure out her employers’ secrets before it is too late?

Safe Place was a wonderful debut thriller! I loved how Anna Downes places little clues throughout, and how she used flashbacks intermittently to help the reader piece together the story. The characters are intriguing - Emily is a naive young lady that has been through hard times but looks for the good in others; Nina is seemingly a picture perfect wife and mother; Scott is a tortured, rich executive that is doing his best to provide for his family. The estate itself is also practically a, oozing charm and beauty. Together, they seem to bring out the best in each other, until they don’t.

Thank you to Anna Downes, Minotaur Books, and NetGalley for the early copy!! Safe Place comes out July 14, and you can and should preorder on Amazon using the link below.

This was a very well-done thriller/suspense novel by a debut author. It was compelling and hard to put down. At times the story even became scary. I had no idea what to expect. Towards the end I had my suspicions but things still did not end the way I thought they would. The final part brought up ethical questions which was interesting and thought-provoking. It is nice to be able to quickly read a thriller which actually has some meat on it. Highly recommended!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4.5/5 stars! I devoured this book!

Emily has lost everything. Her job, her non-existent acting career, her apartment and her dignity. Then Scott walks in and offers her a summer job as a housekeeper at his beautiful but isolated French estate. She begins to think it’s too good to be true until she starts to discover some dangerous secrets hiding amongst the gigantic property.

I’m going to be entirely honest, this was not the book I expected after reading the synopsis! It gripped me in and I couldn’t stop reading until I found out what the secrets the French mansion could be hiding! I loved every twist and turn and put main character, Emily. While the ending was predictable, I still enjoyed the bulk of the story. There were some questions left unanswered (what was the smell?!) but all in all- a solid summer thriller!

This was an excellent story and surprisingly compelling. Emily Proudman is a struggling actress in London, having to take on temp jobs to keep her head above water. One day she gets fired from the current temp job and comes home to learn that she is to be evicted for rental arrears. Her parents are sick of ‘lending’ her money. Oh well, she has one more audition... but when her agent drops her too Emily is distraught. But wait, things are not as they seem.

When her former boss ‘accidentally’ bumps into her on the street later that day he says she was fired in error, come to lunch I have a proposition for you. Suspicious? Well yes. But what else can Emily do? Scott Denny offers her a job as housekeeper/companion to his wife at their property in the South of France. OK, maybe not all bad. Out of options, Emily accepts and is soon on her way to a new life with stars in her eyes and a little crush on her married boss. After settling in with Nina Denny and their five year old daughter, Aurelia, Emily stars to relax and enjoy the superb estate. Nevertheless she notices an odd vibe around the place. She wonders why the family house is out of bounds to her, and wonders why Scott never comes to visit his wife.

Finally Scott arrives for a weekend visit and the dynamic within the family starts to look really strange. Their behaviour seems off. On a rare day away from the estate Emily stumbles on some information that raises a lot of red flags and suddenly, the estate seems to be a much darker place. Tension rises inexorably as Emily skirts around the volatile mother and the strange little girl. As the shocking truth emerges she realises that she is in grave danger. This turned into quite the page turner. With flashbacks to the past all the secrets surrounding the family are slowly revealed. Character development was great and it was good to see Emily grow from a scatterbrained girl into a mature and determined young woman. I enjoyed the book a lot.

Emily is a bit of a lost lamb - she’s a struggling actress, she has a strained relationship with her adoptive parents, she’s just lost her job and is about to evicted... and on top of all that her acting agent drops her with no warning. Just when everything feels hopeless, Scott, the CEO of the company she’s just been fired from, swoops in with a job offer she can’t refuse. It feels like fate. Emily jumps at the chance, and she is whisked away to the fancy mansion in a remote part of France she will now be calling home.

But not long into her time as a housekeeper and companion for Scott’s reclusive wife and unstable young daughter, Emily starts to wonder if perhaps everything isn’t quite as it seems...

What a debut!! Anna Downes painted such an eerie atmosphere, I could feel something building but had no idea what to think or which of my many theories would be right. There was so many clues and red herrings and moments dropped in through the book that made me think ‘hang on a minute....’

This is one of those ‘unputdownable’ books, to the point where one night while reading this I refused to go to bed so I could keep reading. I forgot that I am a 29 year old grandma, so I promptly fell asleep on the couch and woke up at 2am with the lights blazing, my kindle dangling from my hand and a stiff neck.... and then tried to read a few more pages before actually going to bed 😅

The Safe Place is coming out on 30th June, if you love a thriller you’ll want to read this one! Thanks to @netgalley @affirmpress and @anna_downes_writer for the ARC 😍

I enjoyed this title so much! I thought the plot was so intriguing, and the characterization very strong! The description used by the author was so evocative I felt transported, and I kept turning until the very last page. I think the cover is very cute - I'll be sure to purchase this for my store!

Many thanks to Netgalley, Hatchette Australia and especially Anna Downes for the eARC of this book.

This was a great story! I read it in a matter of hours, I just couldn't put it down. There was an addictive quality to it, like you just HAD to know what was going on. I found that the story had a very creepy vibe to it which I really enjoyed.

I loved that the story was told from two POVs, explaining how each character came to be where they are today. The front cover drew me in immediately as did the final line No Escape!

A very fine effort by this author and I look forward to many more books in the future. Well worth the high star score ☺

Where to even begin with this book? First of all, this is an excellent debut book by the author. This book starts off so mysterious and interesting - I was hooked from the beginning. It is a psychological thriller that I eventually figured out, but I didn't figure out all the details until closer to the end. It was an enjoyable read, but it left me feeling dark. Once you read it, you'll understand.

This book deals with mental illness, betrayal, insecurities, greed, illegal activities and the possibilities of "what if" this ever happened to my family? This book makes you realize just how evil and cruel some people can be in this world.

Emily is an aspiring actress and I use that phrase lightly. She has had many auditions, but none have panned out. Quite honestly, she can't act. So she works for a temp agency and she can't seem to do that well either. She is fired from her temp job after only 6 weeks of working as a receptionist. She was late to work often; she didn't do her job well; etc. The very next day, her acting agent informs her she is moving to the US and Emily will need to find a new agent - well, that won't happen because she's never successfully landed a job - what agent would want her?

Emily doesn't have the best relationship with her parents - who are wealthy. They are tired of helping her out financially without Emily ever showing any interest in their lives. She really needs to figure out how to manage her life on her own - but how?

On a chance encounter, she runs into the man that owns the business that employed her as the temp receptionist. When he discovers that she has been fired, he tells her he wants to make it right - and he has another job lined up for her. Only this job is in France. Working at his family estate. Emily decides to take the job and that's when her life begins to change. Living at the estate is wonderful - she never has to worry for anything. Or does she?

I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review. The opinions stated above are mine without biases.

Firstly, any book with praise from JP Pomare, Chris Hammer AND Christian White is a book I’m going to want to read!

The Safe Place has a brilliant “creepiness” to it because you’re not really sure what’s going on - plenty of red flags coming up as you read but nothing to make it obvious what’s going on which I love in a thriller. I also love a thriller when technology gets taken away - in this instance limited internet connection/phone signal - it adds wonderfully to the suspense. This kept me guessing right up until near the end - I had theories throughout but I was far off the mark. I really like the ending though I feel some will find they’ll be left wanting.

Thank you to Affirm press, Anna Downes and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

*Heads up for other Netgalley users - formatting was a bit of an issue on kindle, page numbers in random places/large spaces etc, not enough to bother me but might prove annoying to some.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I was instantly drawn in with a relatable character who was down on her luck. i wouldn't say this was quite a thriller, but there always seemed to be something that was "off" and kept me reading. I enjoyed how it was a book where I could sit down, read it, and be completely immersed in the story. The sensory details and descriptive language were spot on! This would be a perfect book for a vacation or to curl up with on a rainy day. I look forward to reading other books by this author.

When I initially started this book, I wasn't convinced I was going to enjoy it. However, I stuck with it and when I got to approximately 30% of the way through, I didn't want to put it down. It was gripping and interesting with plenty of intrigue and mystery. I kind of guessed the 'secret' 3/4 of the way through, but it was still a page turner.

The main character, Emily, is going through a difficult period in her life. Not feeling that she fits in anywhere, unable to get a break in the acting industry, losing her job she depends on to survive, when she is offered an opportunity that is too good to refuse!

This is a cautionary tale of 'be careful of what you wish for'! On the surface, Emily is transported to a paradise of luxury, only to continually feel niggles that something just isn't quite right. In the periphery of her thoughts, she is questioning things, but wants to believe that all is as it appears. This is a very interesting and gripping novel and well worth the read. Great for a holiday or winter's day read!

*Many thanks to NetGalley, Minotaur, and Anna Downes for an ARC of this book!*

The Safe Place is being released at the perfect time this year---when we all desperately need an escape! Aspiring actress Emily is given the chance of a lifetime when her boss at a prestigious company offers her a position as an 'au pair' of sorts at his idyllic estate hidden in France. Without the interruptions of technology and with a mysterious young girl Aurelia and Scott's lovely wife Nina to keep her company, Emily can finally relax and truly unwind at her new dream job...right?

The absolute best part of this novel for me was Anna Downes' attention to setting and enveloping the reader in the beautiful home and its surroundings. I could only dream about visiting such a gorgeous mansion with infinity pools and the requisite heavy wrought-iron gate, but Downes brought it to life. Her characters fit well in this world, but for me, I still feel like there's so much I don't know about them at the end of the novel. While this had all of the hallmarks of a classic mystery in most respects, my biggest frustration was the lack of full explicated backstories. The author did such a fantastic job setting them up and laying the framework, but most of them ended up only half explained by the conclusion of the book. I think due to the author's own background as an actress, she is probably used to creating backstory in her head rather than coming out with it outright, so perhaps that didn't translate fully in her writing. I also wasn't really a fan of the "love story' in the novel and didn't think it added much to the plot. So many interesting ideas were present in this novel, but I just wanted more!

Downes is definitely a writer with a great sense for creating atmosphere, and I think with some more fully realized backstory, this would have been a home run for me!. It is a good summer read and anyone else looking for a bit of escapism in their mysteries should pick it up!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Publishing for the ARC of The Safe Place. This book did not make the cut for me, and I give it a 3/5. It is an easy read with an excellent plot but there were too many loose ends at the end of the book for me to give it a higher rating. I was left wondering what happened to the characters as I became emotionally invested in them through Downes' writing.
In The Safe Place, we meet Emily who is down on her luck when she is offered a dream job in secluded France but the old adage "it is too good to be true" holds strong with this novel. Throughout the novel, Emily uncovers secrets lurking beneath the supposed truth. These screts are the catalyst for the novel. I would have given a strong 4/5 if it had not been for the ending. If you are looking for escapism, an easy read, and unrelenting suspense you will enjoy this novel.

Wow, I really enjoyed this novel. I read it in one sitting. While somewhat predictable, it was still an enjoyable read. Overall I would recommend this book!

2.5 stars, rounding up.

The Safe Place is an appropriate title as the author makes a lot of "safe" choices. The story unfolds through 3 alternating POVs: Emily and a married couple: Scott and Nina. Emily is a young, naïve intern who is about to hit rock bottom. Her acting career isn't taking off like she hoped, her bank account is in the negatives, rents due, she's cut off financially from her parents, she's about to be evicted, her agent dropped her, and she just got fired from her internship where Scott is the CEO. Emily is in the dumps. Like keep the whiskey flowing until I reach the bottom of the bottle kinda down in the dumps. But unbeknownst to Emily, most of her woes were orchestrated by Scott who became infatuated with a "plan." With all these events set in motion, Scott swoops in like a white knight and offers her a dream job that is too good to be true - travel to France and help his wife take care of their beautiful, secluded home that can only be compared to paradise. After a few weeks of living the dream, Emily starts to learn that this family has some deeply disturbing secrets.

The story centers around Emily and I found her to be endearing. She was naïve but in a good-hearted way. But I do wish we could've gotten more meat to her backstory.

This was an admirable debut from Anna Downes. The writing was sleek and had me engrossed in the story. The complex family element was well crafted and the overall idea is intriguing. But, for me, the execution was underwhelming. I finished the book quickly because I needed to know what happened, but the ending left me with more questions than answers. There were little seeds planted throughout the story that never grew to fruition, I won't go into detail to avoid spoilers. The flow of the story was "safe" which I feel is a missed opportunity. I would've loved to have seen another big twist or further elaboration on some of the seeds that were planted earlier or tying Emily's past as an adopted child more into the conclusion.

One of the highlights reading this book was the beautifully written acknowledgements section where Anna Downes illustrates what writing this story has meant to her. She details how the art of writing helped her overcome challenges in her life, including coping with anxiety. Although this story wasn't the best for me, I admire her courage to be vulnerable in sharing her experience. It is truly inspirational and I am confident this book will find success with the right audience. Cheers to achieving your dreams!

I rarely offer up 5-start reviews, but It's been a long time since I have enjoyed a book as much as I enjoyed The Safe Place by Anna Downes. I could not put it down! To sum it up in a few words, "If something looks too good to be true, it probably is." This is the story of Emily, an unemployed wannabe actress who was just fired from her temp. receptionist job and is being evicted from her apartment. She has an overdrawn bank account and no financial prospects on the horizon. Then, out of nowhere, her ex boss makes her an offer that (you guessed it)is too good to be true. Down on her luck, Emily accepts his offer to be a housekeeper/nanny/personal assistant to his wife and daughter, who live in France. The house in France is private, glamorous, and, of course, is full of secrets and lies. Every chapter reveals a little more of the mystery and I just HAD to find out what was really going on. Loved the story! Loved the ending! I will definitely bo looking for more from Anna Downes.
Thank you Affirm Press and Netgalley for providing me with an advance copy of #TheSafePlace

A very fun and creepy read. In this stylish thriller, Emily is offered the job of a lifetime after she is fired, broke, homeless, and down on her luck. She will be staying in a gorgeous mansion in France with her boss’ reclusive wife and child. What could go wrong? Well, as it turns out, quite a lot. This is a story you may have read before in some other variation, but it has unique details and twists and is fun to read through and through. The suspense and adrenaline never lets up and it has a great ending. Solid 4* read perfect for your pretend beach in your house during quarantine.

Thank you to NetGalley, Thomas and Mercer and Anna Downes for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. Fun read.

Meet Emily. Struggling actress, just got fired from her temp job, about to be homeless and parents who are sick of bailing her out of her messes.

Meet Scott. Handsome, rich beyond belief, owner of the company she was just fired from and offering Emily a job she can't pass up.

Struggling to survive Emily know this job offer is exactly what she needs. Who cares if it sounds too good to be true? Get paid to do housekeeping and help Scott's wife care for their young and ill child all while soaking up the beauty of France? Sign her up!

Emily will soon learn she maybe shouldn't have been so eager to accept this position. She should have asked more questions. Can a person really be too perfect? She arrives to the property and immediately is sucked into the beauty that surrounds her, accepted into the family she believes she's missing. But it's not too long before she realizes something isn't quite right.

Readers won't expect the twist that comes. The heart pounding anxiety inducing end will make it hard to stop reading until you make it to the very end.

When Emily has to face losing her job and being evicted from her flat in London, she then takes the only job offered by Scott, her ex-boss. She has to move to France though, being a live-in house assistant to help Scott's wife, Nina in Querencia, with a daughter who has a health problem. Although the estate where she works is something that anybody could dream on, the location makes her isolated from her previous and real life. Does she take the right decision about taking this job?
It's an enjoyable reading although I'm able t to predict where this is going. I'm pretty surprised with the ending, it's not a climax ending, but I can say it's a good one. What do you think?

I downloaded the kindle file and started reading last night (was really looking forward to it!) but the formatting is so bad that it is almost unreadable! I had to give up half way through chapter one, as there are line breaks everywhere, page numbers randomly appearing in paragraphs in the prologue, words beginning with 'f' having big gaps in them and no indentations (hence difficult to work out when a new paragraph is beginning). Right in chapter one, it was so hard to read the conversation between two people, as the poor formatting meant it was difficult to work out who was talking.

I'm naturally expecting typos and a few formatting problems since this is an uncorrected advance version, but this file is unreadable! Did nobody even glance at this on Kindle Previewer before authorising it for distribution??

I'd still love to read and review this, but Affirm Press really needs to do something about the file. This could just be a kindle/ mobi file problem, and hopefully they will fix this soon.