Spending summer at home this year? If so, take a vacation or sabbatical with me to The Safe Place. I found myself completely lost in the story and the house nestled on the coast of France. Emily is a struggling actress in London, desperately in need of a job and a new start. Scott needs someone to help look after his wife and special needs daughter, who are locked away at their estate in France. Of course Nina, Scott’s wife has secrets of her own.

While some reviewers mentioned that they found this predictable, I didn’t find that to be the case whatsoever! I was able to shut off my urge to figure the plot out, and simply enjoyed the ride. Once the twists are discovered, the reader will feel the real life inspiration for the book, but even that feeds the pace and interest in finishing the story.

This was a very enjoyable summer read; so take it with you on your vacation, even if it’s only devoured in your own backyard!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for taking me on vacation in exchange for my review.

Life suddenly has no upside and few options. When you suddenly are thrown a lifeline, do you really need to think about it before you say YES! In THE SAFE PLACE, when her life seems to e imploding, a job offer from a rich man that take you to a French island with many, many perks, it really does sound like a safe place. Anna Downes builds this original thriller in layers. She takes a young, self obsessed, woman and places her within a family dynamic that will cause her to grow up as she observes too many unexplainable events. The suspense and tension comes to a head only after she is too far into the family's life to escape. Yes, the end left some questions, but as the last twist comes into sight, it's a.......oops, you'll have to read the book to find out.

This was definitely an interesting debut. The synopsis made it sound like it might be a great way to mentally escape from the current COVID 19 pandemic for a bit.

I have to say that I enjoyed the main character Emily. She just seems like the kind of person who would walk blindly into any situation that sounded good to her without thoroughly checking things out. So it’s not surprising that she packs up and moves to a secluded location without too much thought about making any plans for her future other than the here and now. The other main characters, Scott and his wife Nina, are a lot more complex and not exactly 100 percent forthcoming about their lives.

Overall, I thought the book was pretty good, but once again I don’t appreciate the curse words—especially ones that dishonor God. I don’t see a good reason to ever do that.

If a jobs sounds too good to be true then generally there is a ketch to it. Emily is down on her luck, does not relate to her adoptive parents and doesn't think too hard about taking the job offered to her. Everything seems to be going great but there is always the underlying suspicion that not everything is as it should be. This is an engaging read with a lot of twist. Sometimes you can guess the outcome but don’t feel bad if it wasn’t what you expected. The book starts a bit slow but picks up the pace fast which will have you keep promising yourself to read just one more chapter. The ending is both sad and good. I would like to have known a bit more about how Emily came to be adopted and why but her decision to finally leave it in the past was okay to. I feel I will keep thinking about this story for a long time.

I really liked this book I liked how the author told the back story I felt the book flowed well I'd to see a continuing story between Emily and Scott.

Emily wants to be an actress but she has yet to find her big break. She is currently working temp jobs to try and make ends meet, but she cares more about her auditions than the work she should be doing. After being fired from her temp job, getting an eviction notice, and begging for some money from her mother, Emily realizes she has never hit such a low. That is why she is surprised and more than willingly to accept an offer to become a caretaker on her former boss's estate. She would help his wife and daughter cook, clean, and repair the estate with a generous salary and a car. It sounds like a dream come true.

While I understand the reasoning for having a character like Emily, I despised her. It's like she didn't want to improve her life at all. Emily is ditsy, lazy, inattentive, and very willingly to do whatever she wants without regards to others. I know this is important for the plot line, but it makes other events feel a bit unrealistic. I was able to figure out what was happening pretty early on, but it was still an interesting read.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.

This novel had lots of twists and turns and the reader does not know what to expect.

Emily is an out-of-work actress and temporary receptionist. She receives a job offer to live with and care for a mother and child in France. On the surface this seems like a perfect opportunity, but is it too good to be true?

The estate in France is magnificent, but can money truly buy happiness? The situation and characters get stranger and stranger as time progresses.

The story will keep you turning pages to see what happens next!

Not my cup of tea. It appears to be quite popular with many people according to the other reviews but the use of mental health issues and the feelings that Emily develops for her married employee turned me off.

I wasn't very sure about this book much at the beginning, maybe because of Emily's character. To say she was a mess would be an understatement. As a girl who never really fit in anywhere, Emily was the perfect choice for Scott and Nina to live in the middle of nowhere. The story develops after Emily arrives at Querencia and then I was hooked. But the ending again left me wanting more. All in all, not a bad read for your long holiday. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc.

This started off slightly intriguing but it went out of its way to obscure things and make them really weird so much so that it became a bit unbelievable and boring. Emily is an . . . interesting... character but that doesn't really make up for the failure to really develop her in the book. There are alternating POV but they weren't done particularly well.... by the end, so much was still not explained and I was ready for this book to be over. Hope you have better luck!

The Safe Place comes out soon on July 14, 2020 and you can purchase HERE.

Emily climbed the stairs into a glossy, leather-lined heaven. Suddenly regretting her choice of comfy flight wear (black leggings, a Ramones T-shirt, and a pair of old Converse sneakers), she stood gawping at the armchairs and full-length sofa, waiting for the crew to realize their mistake and escort her back to their terminal. We're so sorry, they would surely say. We thought you were someone else. Or she would wake up in her shabby little flat, her lungs full of mold spores, to find that it had all been a dream. Any minute now, she thought.

But she was not asked to leave, and the place did not shimmer and fade.

Oh, Emily. Her life was so tragic and then in a blink of an eye it seemed to get better. Or so she thought! As I read this book, I was able to predict some of the outcomes, but others (Nina the wife!) were a total surprise.
Loved the descriptions. They put me right into the storyline. The characters were very realistic and felt like people I know or have met at some point. And the plot held my attention until the very last page.
Thanks very uch to Anna Downes, Minotaur Books and NetGalley for a wonderful escape from the day-to-day weirdness that is 2020.

First I want to thank net galley and the publisher for this ARC I received for an honest review. This was a debut novel for this author and considering taking that in my review it was a quick easy read. It was definitely different and interesting. So as you know from the blurb, Scott has a problem, who is a very wealthy CEO. He hones in on Emily, thinking she will be the perfect solution to his problems. Through many machinations. he gets her in a spot where she is most vulnerable and thus offer her this fantastic position while she is in this desperate position. Thus, he offers her to go live in France with his wife and child who need a companion, helper and someone to keep her company. She accepts the position but she realizes quite quickly something is very strange and weird with his wife Nina and her child who has all sorts of ailments. It doesn't take her that long to figure out what is going on. I do not want to give away any spoilers but I enjoyed this book. It wa definitely a bit gothic but it was very entertaining even though I also started to figure out the big reveal. There was a little twist also at the end of the book. If you want a quick, easy read with some twists and turns, then this is a great beach read. Thank you again net galley for this ARC

You’re fired, have no money, are being evicted, and have no where to turn, but then you get offered the perfect job in France that seems to be the ideal safe place to go. “The Safe Place” was full of twists and turns and different points of view. I felt lost through the majority of the book, but couldn’t stop reading because I needed to understand the plot of the story. The ending left me wanting more.

𝐒𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬: Emily Proudman is struggling. With her failed her acting career, losing her temp job, and near eviction from her apartment, she needs a job fast. Her parents think all she ever wants them for is money. When her ex-boss and CEO of his company pulls her aside and offers her a job, she can’t turn it down. She moves to France to become his house caretaker, babysitter, and friend to his wife Nina. What she doesn’t expect is to uncover dangerous secrets that come with consequences. ⁣
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𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰: This book was excellent. It pulls you in and you know something isn’t right, but it takes a few slow turns, until you figure out what exactly is wrong, and then it’s a heart racing read until the end. Anna Downes is off to an excellent career as a writer if she keeps writing this way! ⁣
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Thank you Netgalley, Macmilian, and Anna Downes for this ARC for my honest review in return. ⁣
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Summary: Emily Proudman’s life is a mess. She wants to be an actress, but struggles to get jobs. She’s klutzy. Her roommate is a slob. She fights with her adoptive parents. She suddenly gets fired from her temp job as a receptionist and gets an eviction notice from her landlord. As if all that weren’t bad enough, her agent informs her that she’s moving and Emily will no longer have any contacts for acting jobs.

While wandering in a daze trying to figure out what she’s going to do with her horrible life, she doesn’t see the bus that almost hits her. In shock, she realizes that the man who pushed her out of danger is the CEO of her former place of employment, Scott Denny.

Scott Denny is handsome, rich and very successful. When he offers her an unusual lifeline, Emily jumps at the chance. The job details are rather vague, something about assisting Scott’s wife and small daughter, but the job includes a salary, car and relocation to a villa in France. It sounds ideal. Daydreaming about Scott is also a perk for Emily.

Little does Emily know that Scott is trying to find a solution to a huge problem of his own. As she spends time with Scott’s family and works doing odd jobs at the estate, she realizes that there is something very peculiar going on. When she figures out the mystery, she tries to run for her life.

Comments: I figured out the mystery long before clueless Emily did, but I found The Safe Place to be captivating anyway. There was just the right amount of weirdness without resorting to too many cheap plot twists. The characters were overdrawn and overly anguished, but had quirks that made them interesting. Overall, this was a fun read and I found I didn’t want to put the book down.

Recommended for readers of Psychological Suspense. This would also make a great beach or travel book!

Is an offer for a new job too good to be true? Emily is about to find out her new job in and idyllic location may be more than she bargained for and can only hope to leave.The Safe Place had wonderfully developed characters and a writing style I really enjoyed. The plot twists just keep coming and just when the reader thinks they have figured it out, there is another twist. I highly recommend The Safe Place.

**Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book**

This book follows a struggling actress named Emily and big company CEO Scott Denny. Emily loses her job and Scott offers her a job caring for his estate in France, where his wife and child resides. This place is gorgeous and Emily thinks she has it made. That is, until Emily begins to notice some odd things about her new employers.

I really loved this book. It was well written and full of suspense. For me, what kept it from being a 5 star is at times, the characters spoke French without an English translation. I found that to be incredibly frustrating not knowing what they were saying, even if it wasn't important dialogue. Other than that, it was a great book.

Whew! - Anna Downes took me on a ride with this one. The Safe Place was not at all what I was expecting, and I thoroughly enjoyed this story and how much it kept me guessing.

Emily Proudman lost her temp job at Proem Partners, her apartment, and her acting agent all in one day. Distracted and sobbing after leaving the meeting with her agent, she almost gets hit by a bus and is rescued none other than Scott Denny, the CEO of Proem Partners. During this encounter, Scott learns of Emily being fired from Proem and offers her another employment opportunity to work as a personal assistant for him and his family at their estate in France. Despite feeling hesitant about this offer that feels way too good to be true, Emily is desperate for an opportunity to start fresh and agrees to Scott’s offer. Life at the estate feels like heaven, and Emily has never been happier- she’s getting along well with his beautiful wife Nina and eccentric daughter Aurelia, and is beginning to feel like a French local. However, some things really are too good to be true and Emily soon begins to realize that things aren’t as they seem and that the Denny family is hiding a huge secret- one that could get Emily killed if she doesn’t go along with it...

I enjoyed the slow, brilliant burn with this book. Until I was about 75% into the story, I truly had no idea where the story line was going and the mystery and character development throughout the book kept me on the edge of my seat.

The story was written primarily from the POV’s of Emily and Scott, but Nina’s POV made random appearances during Emily’s and Scott’s respective chapters. Anna Downes did a great job with the character development of Emily Proudman. I really enjoyed getting to know her character and see her grow and mature by the end of the book. Scott and Nina’s characters were very intriguing and mysterious, and while I enjoyed being able to get inside Scott’s head during his chapters, I feel that we could’ve gotten a little more out of their characters. Personally, I would’ve loved if the book included chapters that were primarily written in Nina’s POV, as I feel like there is so much history to uncover about who Nina is and what she has suffered from. Without giving anything away, both Nina’s and Scott’s characters left me with a lot of questions at the end of the story based on things that occurred throughout the book that I would’ve loved to get answers for. That being said, the ending of the story was still very satisfying and I was so proud of Emily and her strength.

If you’re looking for a good vacation thriller, I definitely recommend checking out The Safe Place, releasing on July 14th 💛

Down on her luck Emily is thrilled when she is offered a dream job at an isolated estate in France. A dream job that doesn't turn out to be a dream job. A thriller with twists and turns, kept me interested until the end. Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for the advance copy.

At some point I think we've all felt like Emily Proudman in at least one aspect of her near train wreck of a life. For me the connection was her feelings on everyone expecting you to have everything together and navigating the overwhelming and sometimes confusing topics of "adulting" - taxes, mortgages etc. Since I was also late to the party with marriage and kids I knew firsthand how awkward it can feel interacting with friends that "settled down" before you are and not knowing what to say to them while you're still single. Emily definitely grew and matured as a person because of her experiences throughout the story and she is unarguably better off now.

The Safe Place is a moderately fast-paced and intriguing book. I would absolutely love to see Querencia in person, a property like it or really just France in general. Anna Downes' descriptions of that little slice of heaven made it easy to picture the fantastic property in my mind. I even had an easy time picturing the nauseating state of Emily's flat in London shared with her roommate thanks to the descriptions haha.

Besides Emily I would say that Nina is the second most developed character. Scott just seemed unable to find a viable solution to getting off of the ride he's on - even with all of his wealth. I can honestly say I was not expecting that twist with Aurelia - not even remotely. After this point I feel like the book got a little bit predictable which was unfortunate. That isn't to say that the rest of the book isn't worth reading to see everything concluded with little surprises sprinkled here and there. Even at the end of the book I have a couple of questions that weren't fully explained within the story. I am still curious to know what the orange folder said and what actually happened to Emily.

I would recommend reading this book to readers who enjoy thrillers, suspense and family situations that live in the gray area. I initially got to read an excerpt of this book via BookishFirst and I was so happy to be approved for an ARC copy. Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the opportunity to read the rest of The Safe Place - all opinions are my own.