Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy for an honest review. This is going to be 2020 psychological thrillers summer hit! Anna just can't get a break, she is a struggling actress who just lost her basically everything her job and her home. She is offered an amazing job to be a housekeeper at this amazing estate in France. So what is she has to sign a confidentiality agreement, and that she can't go into the main house and that there is lots of security and soon she realizes that if she leaves, she might not live.....what!!! Excellent, can't put down thriller. Totally recommend.

Emily reminds me of myself when I was younger - a big ol mess. She has trouble keeping jobs, wants to be an actress but hasn't been all that successful and is drowning in debt. When she loses her temp job and receives an eviction notice for her flat, she turns to her adopted parents and they finally draw the line. Emily is on her own.

Enter Scott- successful, handsome CEO of the hottest business in town- he fires Emily from her temp job as front desk only to hire her to care for his mysterious wife and young child in France. Of course the job comes with unlimited income, a Range rover, and a very isolated grand estate- everything I dream of when I fall asleep.

Scott's wife is charming and beautiful, refuses her access to her home, and is very protective of her daughter who suffers from some serious illnesses. And behavior issues...

We all know this scenario can't last long, but I was able to suspend belief and read it as it is- just a fun novel that helped me escape the scary pandemic crisis we face. Overall, I really liked this book and will definitely read her next! 4 stars.

Thank you #netgalley and #stmartins and #minotaurbooks for a complimentary book for an honest review.

It was weird, very weird but it sucked you in! I wanted to know what crazy dynamics these characters had were going to develop into.

Thank you NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Emily, Scott, and Nina. Woah are these some crazy characters.

Emily was just laid off at her temp job, about to lose her apartment in London, and an aspiring actress who was just dropped as a client. Let's face it, life sucked for her at the time. Everything changes when Scott, her boss at her temp job came to her rescue. Weird right?

Scott is a very successful business man at an ever growing company. He has multiple homes, a beautiful wife, and a young daughter. He knew Emily was a receptionist at his company, but she was always late and agreed with her direct supervisor to let her go. He wanted her to be let go so that he could "save" her for another job that he had in mind. A housekeeper, if you will, at his beautiful estate in France where is wife and child lives.

Things are looking up for Emily, a brand new job with amazing pay with perks. When she arrives in France, she warms up to Nina and Aurelia, the daughter, and blossoms a great friendship with them. Aurelia is a mute child with a lot of medical issues, so it is important that she is overly protected by everyone. She is also a mute with mental outbreaks and go into physical episodes. It is a lot to take on. Nina homeschools her and takes care of her tremendously. She is super over protective, along with dealing with some slight mental issues herself.

Scott comes to visit the family and Emily finally after not being able to visit for weeks due to being so busy at work. That is when things get a little strange. There are a lot of mental outbursts from almost everyone, a lot of protectiveness, and some romancing.

I'll give this a 3.5 stars/5 due to it being predictable. I'll round up to 4 for the character dynamics and how two of them come together in the end being in two different areas.

Not what I was expecting!

I was expecting a darker story but I’m not disappointed with the story I got.

If given the chance to live in a secluded “bubble” on the coast of France, I’d jump at the chance.

Querencia sounds like a beautiful place to be secluded. Despite the weirdness and secrecy, the family seems to be well adjusted.

Definitely a good read!

I found this book to be an okay read. At times it was a rather slow read. The plot was pretty predictable with not much suspense. A good book if you are looking for a fast read.

Received this in exchange for an honest review. Thank you.
This was a great suspense novel. I liked how it evolved as in the first part of the book I had no idea what was in store for Emily. Of course when she starts off having a crush on her former boss, I thought this would descend in to just another love (hard to get) story. I was very wrong.
When Scott offers a job that sounds to good to be true, trusting Emily jumps at the chance. She thinks this will bring her closer to Scott, but Emily is hired to help out Scott's wife and daughter.
Once Emily is in France with the daughter and wife, things go south. Then the real problems start and the fun begins.
I thought this was well written, and while it is an Uncorrected galley, I found no problems with style or grammar. Maybe I was just to engrossed to notice. Yes, I did stay up late to finish because I could not sleep till I knew the outcome.
I can see this becoming a real hit for all and a sequel for the future

How do you define a safe place? Can a mother’s arms be considered as a safe place? Or probably, a lover’s embrace? Maybe a refuge far away from the prying eyes of people? These questions will invariably crowd your mind while reading Anna Downes’ The Safe Place.
The day after she lost her job, Emily finds her acting career is also on the verge of collapsing. With home rent due for months and an eviction notice to boot, she gladly accepts the housekeeping job offered by his former boss, Scott. As she joins Scott’s family in Querencia, a mansion situated in a secluded spot on a French beach, she feels sublime. That is until she realizes she has unwittingly stepped into an elaborate scheme. Everyone here is holding on to a dangerous secret. Estranged from the world, how will she escape the doomed fate awaiting her?
With colorful details and vivid imagery, the novel transports the reader to a paradise far away from the hustles of daily life. With no rush to complete your chores, days at Querencia have an altogether different rhythm. The distinct lull in the lifestyle will imbue the reader with a feeling of peace and serenity.
Despite being classified as a thriller, the thrill factor here is less obvious than other aspects. Instead, more attention is given to the characters. All the characters are flawed yet beautiful on their own accord. Even when we realize their decisions and actions were unquestionably wrong, we cannot bear to condemn them for their mistakes. The mistakes make them all too human.
From the very beginning, Downes leaves enough hints that suggest there is more to the job offer than meets the eye. The novel, however, initially focusses on the slightly awkward character of Emily, much in the same way a chick-lit will do. As the novel progresses, instead of beguiling the readers with horrific scenes, Downes concentrates on sketching the chemistry and the tension between the characters. A kernel of distinct unease forms that slowly expands throughout the book. It culminates in a shocking revelation, followed by a surreal yet fulfilling ending.
Unlike some other books of this genre, The Safe Place is not all about unearthing chilling truths and outsmarting villainous plots. It evokes a sense of self-awareness in the reader. Downes warns us that living in a warm cocoon of apparent comfort and security does not necessarily provide a refuge from the darkness our mind harbors. We cannot escape what is inside us; however, we can try to find a safe enough place to live with it. The trauma of our past does not have to control our present.
A refreshing addition to the genre of contemporary thrillers, The Safe Place will undoubtedly be a captivating read for thriller-lovers.

This one is another one that just didn't resonate with me. I kept pushing on, hoping it would get better, but it just wasn't a book for me. It moved extremely slow. I lost interest almost immediately. The suspense and engaging plot just wasn't there.

Absolutely loved this book! Fantastic character development and story building. Descriptive scene setting, made me feel like I was there. I would highly recommend this book!

So I’ve just finished The Safe Place and I’m trying to figure out exactly what I’m feeling, which is always a good sign that I’ve read a book that will have me thinking for awhile.
Scott, Emily, Nina, and Aurelia were written by Anna Downes with such depth that I could feel them in the room with me as I read.
There are a couple of questions I still have but I think there was definitely a solid resolution at the end. I’m just sitting here still thinking about so much that happened in the middle...
I definitely recommend The Safe Space to anyone wanting to read raw emotion that will keep you wanting to know more and more and more.
Thank you so much to Minotaur Books/St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read an ARC.

Emily abruptly finds herself in dire straits after suddenly losing her job. Running into former employer Scott at just the right time for both of them, he offers an opportunity that seems too good to be real. Grasping at whatever straws life is willing to hand her, Emily fudges about her nannying experience, not questioning until much later why he would hire someone he barely knows to live with his wife and child in remote France.
When Emily arrives at the picture-perfect setting, little things immediately alert her that all is not well. Aurelia, the daughter, has been diagnosed with a bevy of rare disorders and does not speak. Emily senses there is more going on than what she is being told and bonds to the little girl, who warms up in return. However, some of the plot twists surrounding Aurelia that are revealed near the end come off as incredibly unbelievable, to the point that it tosses the reader out of the story.
This is a good book that could have been excellent if it had been finer tuned or had some added depth. As other reviewers have pointed out, Emily is surrounded by red flags and yet none of them deter her from taking or staying at the job. She is essentially cut off from the world, yet she does not seem to be bothered by this. She often has to walk on eggshells around the mother and there are many instances where she seems to be carefully planning what to say/do in order to avoid an eruption of rage from her. Again, she focuses on the promised money and overlooks what should be a glaring notice it’s time to leave.
I did enjoy this story despite these flaws and could connect to Emily’s feelings of heightening desperation. For anyone who has ever been young and unemployed with no safety net or support network, this will resonate in a way that is almost visceral. Surely many of us placed in similar positions made decisions we later regretted or were shockingly unsafe, all in the same of survival.
As mentioned above, a few of the plot points were nearly ridiculous, which dampened any mounting tension as the story reached its end. If these had been reworked or toned down, it would have been a great improvement.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a complimentary advance copy. This did not impact my review.

To be completely honest, I’m not sure how to feel about The Safe Place. Initially, the story was a little slow for me, but it picked up quickly and probably from the 20% mark until about the 80% mark, I enjoyed it, and then I feel it kind of went off the rails at the end.

From the synopsis of the book and the clues planted along the way, I thought it was going to be a really creepy story, and as someone who hates anything scary, I guess I’m glad it really wasn’t, but I thought it was going to be a very different story than what I read. I think I was hoping I would really be shocked by the twists in the story, but I just found them to be strange and rushed when you got to them. I think the best word to summarize this book is strange, strange characters, strange house, and strange storyline!

Thank you to Netgalley and Minotaur Books for providing me with an advanced digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Safe Place by Anna Downes was a fun read. The book was a bit predictable but it kept my attention until the end. The book is about Emily, her boss Scott, his wife Nina, and their little girl. Emily is gullible, a bit naïve, and an out of work actress that takes on temp jobs to make ends meet. Scott thinks Emily would be a good companion for his wife Nina and their daughter. Scott offers her a job on a perfect farm in the country side of France and the story develops further from there. I do not want to say too much because I do not want to give anything away.

This was an enjoyable read. It will be a good book to read over the summer when you are looking for something with a bit of suspense but a pretty light reading. I was given an advanced readers copy of this book by #NetGalley for an honest review. #TheSafePlace #AnnaDownes

Emily has lost her job and is down and out. When Scott, a very successful businessman, offers her a job, her life seems to take a turn for the better. Living in France in the lap of luxury, being a au pair Scott's 6 year old daughter and an assistant to Nina, Scott's wife what could possibly go wrong?

This twisted suspense will keep you guessing.

Thank you, St. Martin's Press, NetGalley, and Anna Downes for the ARC.

I received an eARC of The Safe Place by Anna Downes from St, Martin's Press and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!
I give this book 5 stars. At first, I was going to give this book 4 stars but decided on 5. It has everything you'd want in this genre. It was the perfect psychological thriller! HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!

Emily's life is a mess. Her employer offers her an opportunity far too good to be true and things go the way you think they will...

This book was interesting and fun to read but unfortunately suffered from two shortcomings:

1. A mostly predictable plot.

2. An ending that offered resolution but ultimately felt unfinished and left me with more questions than answers.

Thank you to Anna Downes, Minotaur Books and NetGalley for providing me with the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of The Safe Place.

I was pleased when my request was approved because the premise sounded interesting.

Emily Proudman is in trouble. She's lost her job, her talent agent and she's about to get kicked out of her apartment.

Enter Scott Denny, the handsome (naturally) CEO of the company she was just fired from. He needs someone to watch his wife, Nina, and their daughter, Aurelia.

Emily's got no job, no friends, and no close family, so she agrees. How fortunate.

What happens involves your typical cliches and a twist I saw coming a mile away, only because I read so many books like these that I guessed correctly.

Emily is not a root-able character. She's not unlikable, just one dimensional. She was adopted and not close to her adopted parents. She has repressed memories from a bad childhood that are alluded to but never fully fleshed out and never resolved by the end of the book.

Scott's wife, Nina, is a nervous, beautiful (naturally) woman. Her eccentricities are odd and a bit alarming, yet never seem to spur Emily to inquire further as to why Nina is acting in this particular way.

Let's not even get started on Emily and Scott, a typical romance-y flirting going on here between ex-employee and hunky CEO, which is teased about, but dropped by the finale.

The suspense and drama is lacking; some people call it a slow burn. I call it a lack of urgency.

Emily seems not to mind that there is no WiFi, a lack of communicating with the outside world, that Nina's behavior is off (in more ways than one), and Aurelia does not appear to be as ill or differently-abled as Scott told her she was.

I also found it difficult to suspend disbelief that a husband would consent to his wife's felonious actions and go along with her.

Why would he do that? Because she's ill and fragile? Please.

The writing was okay, but like some readers noted, I found it difficult to believe that Emily changed and grew a backbone. Her past was never resolved, she's suddenly chummy with her parents again, and all is well. The ending was not realistic and the resolution felt abrupt.

The Safe Place wasn't for me, but some readers might enjoy it.

Emily is a woman who is somewhat estranged from her adoptive parents. She’s trying to become an actress but moves from temp job to temp job in order to make ends meet. One day she is fired from her job. She is also just about to lose her apartment from failing to pay rent. An opportunity arrises that seems too good to be true. Her former boss hires her as sort of an au-pair/housekeeper to stay with his wife an daughter at a secluded estate. This fixes her money and living arrangement issues all at the same time. Of course she jumps at the chance. At first everything seems perfectly fine. She is told ahead of time that their daughter has some health issues including the fact that she is a mute. Once Aurelia (the daughter) warms up to Emily everything is seemingly well, Emily discovers a bunch of small things that start adding up and she begins to suspect something isn’t right with Aurelia’s treatment by her Mother. Emily doesn’t think Aurelia is sick at all and she realizes that they are also altering the little girl’s appearance for some unknown reason. From there, things take a big turn. Who is Aurelia actually? What is wrong with Nina (the Mother) and her extreme overprotectiveness? Why does Emily have a strong need/want for Scott (her boss/Nina’s husband)? This was a great thrilling story. There were a bunch of turning points and once everything lines up you become fascinated with how everything turns out in the end. I would recommend to anyone looking for a mystery with an unusual twist.

Richly evocative with a dark, atmospheric heart, The Safe Place is seductive, irresistible and suspenseful. I was completely gripped from the first page to the pulse-pounding end!

When Emily finds herself fired from her job, she’s unexpectedly thrown a lifeline by her ex-boss. She agrees to be the housekeeper for Scott, his wife Nina, and their daughter Aurelia at their remote estate on the coast of France. But when the seemingly idyllic setting abruptly turns sinister, Emily realizes Scott and Nina will do anything to protect the façade of a perfect life. And Emily has to play along, or the consequences could be deadly.

After putting a call-out to my fellow bookworms for a recommendation, I was treated to a resounding chorus in favour of The Safe Place. I heeded their advice and grabbed an ARC, and boy am I glad I did! This book is yummy, with vivid descriptions just oozing with atmosphere. I was completely captivated, which, let me tell you, is rare these days. I loved the characters, how clearly they were painted, their character quirks, their flaws and strengths, and I blazed through the book, desperate to know what was going to happen.

I recommend reading The Safe Place poolside with a strawberry margarita in hand. It’s the perfect summer suspense!

Thanks again Net Galley for the chance to review but I can only give this three stars. I'll start with what I liked. Book was a very quick and easy read. Down on her luck Emily is offered the perfect job in the perfect place by her boss . An offer to good to be true, but all is not what it seems. I like the way the story shows how Emily matures and grows as as the book evolves from a lost adopted girl who refers to her parents by their first names to a nuturing care giver to her boss s wife and daughter. My problems are too much time establishing Emily s character and the sense of things being awry started to be established far into the book. Lots of breaks with italicized flash backs thru story.....but not too bad of a book.