This was such a fun read. I was instantly hooked and didn’t want to put it down

When everything was falling apart Emily was given a dream opportunity by her ex boss Scott, go to this beautiful secluded home on an island and just hang out with my wife and kid. Everything was wonderful until Emily paid a little too much attention to her surroundings

Great mystery ❤️

I really enjoyed this book. Character development was good. The plot was very interesting. Not a lot of typos.

Emily is a struggling actress and can't even hold her temp job, when her old boss Scott offers a summer job as a housekeeper/personal assistant on his remote French estate. Emily quickly falls in love with the estate and Scott's wife Nina and daughter Aurelia feel like family. But some things aren't adding up and Emily begins to realize if she wants to survive, she needs to keep quiet.

I really enjoyed this book. It wasn't at all what I was expecting and I read it in less than two days. Emily's character was full of depth and layers. You weren't sure if you should trust her but she was also endearing. Scott, Nina and Aurelia's characters were multifaceted and every character builds on the other.

I felt the storyline was quick paced and flowed easily. It's a great summer read and one that I'd recommend to friends that are looking for suspense!

Thank you to Netgalley and Minotaur Books for this free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I will post this review to my social media review site closer to the release date.

From page one you are hooked into this story. It was one I could not stop reading. The desire to know what happens next is critical.

Emily is down on her luck, lost her job, days from being thrown out of her apartment. Her former boss Scott offers her a job to help take care of his house in France and be an assistant to his wife Nina and care for his daughter.

Emily excepts the job and finds herself in a place that is beautiful and the work on updating the house is fulfilling. But everything is not as it seems. Will Emily unravel what is really going on there? Is this really a happy place?

Recommended!
Thank you Netgalley for complimentary copy. The thoughts and opinions are my own!

There were a couple times in this book I wanted to put it down.. glad I didn’t! Once a little past half way it is unputdownable.. the ending is way better then the beginning and the story finishes off perfect.

Down on her luck, a bit lost, a bit clumsy; Emily wants to be an actress. Mean while, she temps in offices during her failed audition attempts. Then arrives Scott - CEO of a large company - Emily had temped at this company and had been fired. This to her rescue(?)

Scott offers Emily a move from London to France- in luxury. This, in return for housekeeping and work as an
au pair for his 6 year old daughter. Scott's wife, Nina, however, may have her own ideas...

Twisty and surprising - this story keeps the reader guessing...

Many Thanks to St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books and NetGalley for a great read!

The Safe Place by Anna Downes is a great debut domestic thriller! I was given an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this one. It’s was an easy yet enthralling read that went to a place I totally did NOT expect. A gripping tale of marriage and motherhood gone wrong with a young housekeeper caught in the middle. There were a few slow areas, but overall I highly recommend this book. It also pulled on my heartstrings and that I didn’t expect either. Let’s just say if it seems to good to be true, it probably is. I look forward to reading more by this author.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ From me! I’m so thankful to all involved for this early copy! Perfect quarantine reading!

This was my first time reading anything from this author. I really enjoyed this book. A fair amount of mystery, twists and turns. Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Emily works as a receptionist and balances this with auditions for her longed for non-existent acting career. Her boss decides to fire her and everything begins to fall apart. Until he reaches out to her and offers her a very different kind of job working with and for his family at a secluded French estate.

Emily is offered a chance to become part of Scott Denny's family and to live in their guest house. His wife Nina and Emily become fast friends as they share the burden of all the work the needs done on the estate. She learns how to deal with Nina and Scott's daughter, Aurelia and her many eccentricities. Life couldn't be better until Emily begins to realize that something is very wrong here. I will definitely be recommending this book to others and loved that it kept me guessing. Thanks for the ARC, Net Galley.

Anna Downes debut novel was really entertaining, kinda gripping and a little weird. I really enjoyed this novel even though I figured out what was going on about halfway through. It didnt have anything ridiculously crazy in it though. The story is pretty fast and a little predictable like I already said. The relationship dynamics are a little weird between the characters but the characters are pretty well developed. I feel like this is a good book to distract you when you really need it.

This story is told in three different POVs Emily, Scott and Nina. Emily is a ver poor mid twenties woman trying to make it though life. She lost her temp job and her acting career. Emily is just a big mess to be honest. Scott is a very wealthy CEO that watches everything Emily does and makes a big scheme to get her to work for him and it works obviously. Scott told her that he wanted her to be a house keeper of his house in France with his wife and kid. You get glimpses of Nina's and Scott's marriage and what their life is like and you find out that Nina suffers from mental illness. Nina is also a very overly protective mother. When Emily first arrives at the mansion she is absolutely in love with the place. She meets Nina who is basically perfect and they build a great friendship. Then she finally meets Aurelia who is shy, introverted and suffering from a skin condition. Emily tends to write off everything with some reasonable explanation because it's none of her business until she finally gets tired of the weirdness and starts to dig around.

This was a very different read for me. Alot of what , when , and how will it turn out. What is happening seem to be my question all though this book. Was a good read but didn't answer all the question I still have.

Didn't have the twist I expected; predictable plot, & I wanted to like it but I couldn't relate to any of the characters. It just wasn't for me.

This is the first book I read from this author. Although I was engaged by the description, the book was no the page turner as I expected. The characters were well developed and I liked them, but what let me know was the fact that the ending was very predictable and missed the “wow” factor of a great psychological thriller. Overall it was an enjoyable reading .

FIRST IMPRESSION / page 32 - thanks to bookishfirst I was able to read an excerpt from upcoming thriller, The Safe Place.

I'm SO intrigued & even more excited about this debut suspense title by Anna Downes! I'd heard nothing but good things about this book, and was thrilled to be able to read an excerpt thanks to bookishfirst, it did not disappoint!

Emily, a struggling wannabee actress can never seem to find her place, and has just lost her job. With no money, nowhere to go and no friend to help her out, WHAT will she do?

Scott, owner of the company who just let Emily go is struggling in a different way. How will these two characters connect for the rest of this thrilling novel?

I can't wait to find out, the pages flew by for me with great detail and characters you instantly felt like you knew! The Safe Place is sure to keep any reader on their toes and ready for more!

—————
Got to finish this one thanks to an ARC from Netgalley & I would rate it a 4.5 - I really enjoyed the suspense and build up of this thriller, and the character relationships.

The things that held me back were a bit nit picky - feelings that not everything was answered, but left hanging - which could have been intentional for interpretation (?) Overall I was pleased with the details and how this novel was written.

My favorite part of the story? Emily, the incredible main character, was done SO well. Her arc as a character kept me wanting more through every page!

I absolutely loved this book. The characters easily grab you and don’t let you go. It kept me reaching for my phone (ereader ) so I could find out what happens next.

Holy moly! This was one of those thrillers I had to stay up late reading. It reminded me of a Hitchcock movie...that slow-growing feeling something isn't right, but you're uncertain what it is...that people are not who they seem...then the powerful reveal, with the danger level maxed out. And finally, the ending, which was exactly spot-on.

Definitely the kind of read I needed to take my mind completely off things during the coronavirus lockdown. I'll be sharing about this one with all my psychological thriller loving friends. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an early copy for me to read. All opinions are my own.

This mystery/thriller is well written but the plot is definitely odd. A great escapist read.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51171999

Emily’s life has hit rock bottom. No job, no money, and nowhere to live. Her old boss offers the opportunity to move to a secluded home in France to be an assistant for his wife and daughter. It seems like a dream come true. The homes and landscape are amazing at first then the cracks start to show-atmospheric to be sure. Solid read but there wasn’t the gasp out loud moment I love. Thanks to Netgalley and Minotaur Books for the ARC.

I didn’t love this book.. I felt like it had really great potential with the plot and the author just did not fulfill my needs in a mystery/thriller genre! I was expecting a bigger twist and I guess for me It was pretty predictable.
Thank you to NetGalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review

Paradise or Something Else Entirely?

Emily has lost all hope of being an actress, and now has also lost her job and her apartment. In the midst of her crisis she is approached by her ex-boss, Scott, who offers her a summer job helping his wife and daughter who are living in a French beachfront estate. It sounds way too good to be true, and she joyfully accepts, but paradise is not all she finds when she arrives. Scott’s wife, Nina, has an unnatural paranoia over her daughter Aurelia’s movements and contacts. Emily performs her duties, slowly gets to know Aurelia, and finds Nina to be a gracious host. At least most of the time. Unexplainable events are brushed aside at first, but Emily’s curiosity mounts as more things come to light.

A remarkable book by first-time author Anna Downes, The Safe Place is a well written thriller that draws you into the characters, piques your imagination, and leads you into the setting to the point you are almost there at the estate. I had no idea where the story was going, which kept me reading long into the night. There never seemed to be a lull to prompt closing the book and going to bed.

Thank you, St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books, and NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.