I enjoyed “The Safe Place” by Anna Downes so I was looking forward to “The Shadow House”. It was creepy in all the right ways. If you’re looking for a thriller, this is one I would definitely recommend.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Shadow House is a bit slow and outlandish at points but the mystery held my attention throughout the whole story. I never could’ve predicted the ending! Great spooky season read

Wow. This was a great book to read in the beginning of spooky season! We got quite the mystery. It was a really good read with high stakes, good characters, and a great eco-setting. My only complaint is that it did drag some in the middle, so it's 3 stars from me. I'm definitely keeping an eye on the author though!

Gave this book another shot and while it wasn't my favorite there were parts I did enjoy. There were a few moments where I felt a bit lost and wondered how a specific plot line would connect and while they all did seem to connect it was a bit far fetched at times. Alex felt like a relatable character which I did enjoy. After reading others reviews it turns out this is a sequel to an earlier book by Anne Downes that I have not read and I wonder if I read that book first if my opinion would change. Overall while this wasn't one of the best it wasn't the worst book I have ready - it was meh.

Awesome novel with creepy vibes and a cool twist!

I enjoyed this book and really felt the creepiness with things happening in this small town. The characters were will written and the story was enjoyable. I will definitely be reading more by this author!

This was a fast-paced book with a unique plot and a talented audiobook narrator. The story may not stick with me for the long term, but I definitely enjoyed my time with it.

I really loved this book. Another great mystery by this author! I really appreciate her storytelling and suspenseful plots. Thank you for my copy to the author, publisher, and net galley!

Renee has a farm that she maintains with her husband and teenage son who doesn’t seem at all interested in helping with the farm or anything that doesn’t involve being in his room on his
computer. Then her son starts acting weird and more withdrawn as weird things start happening and shortly after his birthday he goes missing.
Five years after Renee’s story at the same location, Alex is fleeing as she seems to do best and is hoping that this new adventure will create a forever home for her and her children, her teen Ollie and baby Kara. She is drawn to this new eco village that is on Renee’s farmland, hoping for a fresh start and also as it seems the last place someone may find her. She is excited of the prospect of her new exciting life and seems to be making some new friends that are more her style than the country club moms she left behind and Kit, the leader of this eco-village is quite the eye candy. But, when children start telling her tales and crazy things start happening much the same that they were happening to Renee, she wonders if she made the right choice.
Two women in the same place, only a few years apart dealing with strange occurrences. Their lives will soon converge as Alex fights for her place in the village and to not lose her son as Renee did!
Great book with likeabpe characters and an ending that ties everything together! Quite Enjoyable!
Thank you netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This spooky book from Anna Downes is a favorite for me in the genre! I loved how she told the tale & wove in all the surprises.

Very atmospheric I loved the creepy. This grabbed me right from the beginning and kept me flipping pages as fast as I could till the end. Pick this up you won’t be disappointed!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the digital advanced reader copy. This is my honest review.

Alex is running away from a troubled life that is not fit for her and her children. She ends up at Pine Ridge, a place where everyone seems to be friendly and trying to run away from their problems or just to live a more peaceful life by themselves. But she wonders if her children are really safe here? She starts to discover that they just may be in more danger there. A twisty suspenseful read. A little slow in spots. Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for the advance ecopy.

So riveting I couldn’t go to sleep until reaching the end! This is a highly atmospheric, very unsettling—domestic/gothic/psychological/mystery, it’s got it all! I really enjoyed Downes other novel as well. I will be reading what she puts out! Thank you for the advanced copy!

This one was a bit of a letdown for me. It was interesting and well put together, but I just felt like something was missing or maybe it was just too slow paced? I'm not sure, but it didn't quite hit the way I wanted it to.

The mystery was there. I did like how the mystery played out, there was quite a good/sad story there. I think I wanted a little more creep factor though. It had the base of a good creepy story, but I think that part could have been explored a little more.

All in all a decent story. Great for anyone just getting into this genre or not wanting anything too crazy.

I flew through The Shadow House. Anna Downes is an amazing story teller and I found myself drawn into this one from the very beginning. Highly recommend adding to your TBR and I can’t wait to read more from the author.

A mother wanting a fresh start for herself and her children moves to a new community where communal living is meant to provide safety and security. As she settles into her new home she starts receiving strange packages and safety for her and her children soon starts to ebb away. Can she figure out what’s going on before its too late? A good suspenseful mystery with some good twists. I would recommend this to anybody who just wants a darker mystery to snuggle up with on a cold, fall day. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.

What suspense this was and it was still about everyday life. I don’t know that I have ever wanted to live in an ecovillage. If it was the type where you had to be without the Internet the answer is NO. However, Alex moved her children to a place that wasn’t quite so “off the grid”. Remote to a point yes, but down home and backward, it wasn’t.
I enjoyed the whole book. Anna Downes is not someone I have read before but most certainly will now. I liked the characters, the little bit of underlying village gossip (rather like my hometown:) and even the scenery was described well enough to give you a picture of the village. But the suspense seemed to just build and build.

The romantic genre is not really a favorite of mine, but this seemed to be what I’ll call a suspense romance. The romance was a very small part of this story. It was the village, and its people as well as Alex and her children that made me read fast. I was upset when the book was done but only because I wanted more.

I liked this book for the most part. There were a couple things I didn't care for though. One was the cat getting killed, I can't stand reading about animals getting killed like that. The other was how Alex seemed to make more than one stupid decision. I did like that the book seemed like it was heading in a supernatural direction but in the end the mystery turned out to not be related to the supernatural.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced reader copy.

I usually love thrillers set in creepy, atmospheric settings such as haunted houses, but this one didn't give me enough of that eeriness to feel like it was a haunted thriller. I will say though that despite the lack of hauntedness, I was very pleased this did not have a paranormal explanation ending because I feel those are too easy and convenient. I was happy to see this had a logical conclusion. I felt like the characters weren't developed fully so I had a hard time connecting with all of them. Overall, I thought this was just an okay thriller but had a good ending. I did find myself losing attention and having to rewind the audiobook several times though. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

There were some good twists and turns in this book, especially the big one at the end that I admittedly didn't see coming. However, I felt like the novel wasn't quite sure what it wanted to be. Was it strictly a mystery? A semi-horror novel? If it was the latter, I didn't quite get full on horror vibes, more just things that were creepy. They were definitely compelling, but once things started to get explained, I didn't feel the need to read each and every word of the last several chapters. In fact, I skimmed most of them and got the idea of what was happening.

Also, I feel like some elements were either rushed or not fully explained. It's interesting that Anna Downes added Kara as a character to offer readers the juxtaposition between handling a baby and a teenager at the same time, but it was weird how the baby always seemed happier with everyone else except her mother. At one point, I wondered if there was something truly sinister going on with her -- that she was being harmed by someone in the village or possibly even Alex herself -- and was happy that wasn't the case. It still just felt odd.

Also, Alex makes several references to her own tough childhood, but we never really get to know enough about her to see how that would fully impact her life choices. The inciting incident with Stuart, too, seemed promising, but I felt like that whole part of the book was under developed. Honestly, I don't think Stuart was even necessary (except for one subplot point that I won't fully share here because it would be a spoiler, but for those of who you have read the book I'm referring to the Tupperware.) Most of the book has nothing to do with him; it has to do with Alex's insecurities and suspicions regarding the village. The whole revealing conversation with Kit, too, felt like it kind of barreled through the last few chapters.

Regardless, Anna Downes did an excellent job of setting the stage with the village, and it's always fun to read a book set in Australia. This would be a good one to pick up for the creepiness factor that's dialed up to just the right level.

This is a story about shadows.

This book was a solid, creepy mystery. I most definitely thought it was leading up to something supernaturally nefarious, but it was really an exploration of people. I also appreciated seeing a single mother in the MC role!


Thank you so much Netgalley & Minotaur Books!