The Safe Place was an interesting book that got better as the story progresses. It's a mystery and filled with twists. I recommend this book if you are looking for a good mystery!

THE SAFE PLACE is a mysterious, absorbing read. Emily thinks she has hit the jackpot when her boss, Scott, asks her to become a caregiver to his daughter and helpmate to his wife at a secluded, totally gorgeous estate along the coast of France. Emily, is happy, truly happy, for the first time in her life. she ignores the fact that she is not allowed into the main house, that Aurelia, the little girl for whom she is to give care, is obviously deeply troubled and that her mother, Nina, alternately acts as thought the child is very ill or completely normal. But as the weeks stretch into months and Nina and Scott both behave erratically, Emily begins to question what is really at play. And when she learns the truth, she realizes how dangerous it truly is. THE SAFE PLACE has great characterization and a plot so nuanced that although all the signs are there, it is difficult to figure out the truth until very close to the end. Delicious.

The Safe Place by Anna Downes Thanks to St Martin Press Minotaur Books and Netgalley for the e-Arc ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Emily is struggling. She is having a hard time with her acting career and just lost another temp job. Unexpectedly she’s offered a personal assistant job at a remote home on a French coast. When she gets there, it’s like paradise. It seems like a dream job... but is it?

Definitely an exciting read! This was a hard book to put down. I like to blind-read (without reading the synopsis first), so I wasn’t sure exactly where this book was going. I thought maybe it was a horror at one point. There’s just so many twists and turns that could be taken; it really keeps you on your feet. The characters were all well developed and you really got to like all of them. The ending was quite satisfying as well. Fans of Verity will really enjoy this book. I keep getting Verity vibes throughout the experience.

The Safe Place comes out 7/14

“She could feel it already. This was the kind of place where things could be different, where she could be different.”

Emily Proudman just lost her temp job. She bounced the rent check and her card was declined at the supermarket. After a chance meeting, her former employer Scott Denny offers her a job with his family on a beautiful beachfront estate in France. Emily accepts the offer. It is her dream job and home . After weeks of living and working in paradise, things are not what they seem.

Anna Downes paints a vivid picture of her characters and the setting in her debut novel. Her readers are invested in the storyline and hang on until the end.

I could not put down The Safe Place. I was drawn to Emily and the Denny family dynamic and I had to know what happened. I recommend this book and I will be anxiously awaiting future books from Anna Downes.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the electronic ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars!!! The Safe Place by Anna Downes makes for a suspenseful beach read (I only wish that’s where I could have read it!), and I’d like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced reader copy! I don’t want to give away any spoilers, but if you like your mysteries fast paced with lots of unexpected twists and turns, then you won’t want to miss this one.

When down-on-her-luck Emily accepts a summer job as a housekeeper at a too-good-to-be-true French estate, it makes for a perfect storm that will deceive its readers and leave them questioning everything they thought they knew!

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! No spoilers. Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to. Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Maybe even a book club pick.

I loved The Safe Place by Anna Downes!
This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2020 and it did not disappoint!

The story centers on Emily, a failed actress, who is struggling to meet ends meet, and has just been given the amazing opportunity of a housekeeper/nanny at a beautiful and remote French estate.

Anna Downes did an amazing job of grabbing my attention in the beginning and maintaining tension and unease through out. This was a book that while reading, I wasn’t always sure what was going on or what was going to happen next, but I was loving my time spent with this book. I received this on a Monday and every day I would just be counting down my work time until I could pick up the book again.

This was a fun thriller and will make a perfect summer read or a perfect read for someone looking for an escape.

Please do yourself a favor and pick up this awesome book! Available on July 14, 2020.

4.5-5 stars!!! I need to start by saying that I am absolutely stunned that this is a debut novel! The writing style, the characters, the suspense, the whole story,....I felt like I was reading a thriller that was written by a best selling author! I just recently bought a kindle paperwhite and I was worried I would have a hard time getting used to it but I definitely picked a wonderful book for my first kindle read!! I didn’t want to put it down! Highly recommend this one and can’t wait to see what else this author writes in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for my advanced readers copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

I found this book very predictable and it didn't have the major twist I expected. The characters were hard to relate to and I didn't find any of them that likeable.

This story is about a young girl named Emily. Down on her luck, she loses her temp job, is dropped from her acting agency and gets evicted all within a couple of days. Lucky for her, Emily's former boss, Scott, has noticed her. And he wants her, and needs her. Scott believes Emily is the perfect person to move to France and help his estranged wife and daughter. Emily eagerly accepts, having few other options and is on the first flight to France. Upon arrival, everything seems perfect. Nina is beautiful and inviting, Aurelia is interesting and Emily is curious and extremely grateful. However, as time goes on Emily begins to see the cracks in this picture perfect story that is being presented to her. She realizes there are secrets she isn't privy to, and as she begins to piece together the truth about her new employees, she realizes she could never trust them in the first place.

I really enjoyed this book! I would give it 4.5 stars. It started a bit slow, but I found after a little while that I couldn't put it down. Everything I guessed would happen went in a completely different direction and I was happily surprised at how the story came together. It just showed how great the writing was- having the reader led to believe one version of events, when in reality it was something completely different. The suspense was great, writing great and the story unfolded perfectly. I loved all the details, all of the secrets. I wished we found out more about Emily's past. At the beginning, I didn't love Emily, but she grew on me as the story went on, she really did become the heroine of her story. Interesting concept! Great read!

4,5 stars!
Beautifully written, the atmosphere is well-described.
I liked how the safe place seems idyllic at first and makes us travel to a recluse property, but with some sinister details that makes us anticipate what will come.
Thank you to St. Martin Publishing group and NetGalley for the ARC

This is a book you'll NEED in your beach bag this summer! You'll be gripping the pages and lost in the story for hours and not even notice it! That's exactly what happened to me and I know many readers will agree! What an impressive and immersing debut!

Ooh, I liked this one! The storyline just pulled you in right from the start and held on. From the well-developed characters to the chilling and addictive plot, this author definitely engages her readers. Definitely a fun read.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book!

When Emily is offered a job working for her ex-boss's wife and daughter out in the middle of nowhere, Emily immediately agreed. Though confused and nervous, her life was beginning to fall apart, and she felt that this could be an escape for her. The French estate she moves to is absolutely stunning, and she immediately falls into routine there. However, there is something weird about the place, and as Emily gets closer to the family, she finds out a secret that they have been keeping. A secret that could cost Emily her life.

I was absolutely shocked and impressed by this book. It had so many twists and turns that once I got into it, I could barely put it down. A beautifully crafted thriller, Anna Downes' story was gripping and exciting. I am feeling ALL of the emotions right now. The cover of this book is absolutely beautiful, and it was what originally drew me in to reading it!

Emily was a great protagonist who knew to do the right thing, even when it was hard. Extremely hard. She wasn't perfect by any means, but she had a good head on her shoulders, and I appreciated her character.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking for an exciting thriller!

Thank you to NetGalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review. 

How do you write 50 amazing chapters of a pretty darn good book and then end with so many open questions?  The Ruth Ware / Lisa Jewell comparisons are apt, but I am not happy with the "ending". This could be such a good book, but the last chapters and epilogue just didn't fit.

I was so excited to receive an advanced reading copy of this book to review. This sounds exactly like the book type I love most and I wasn’t disappointed. I read it quickly in only a couple days and it kept me interested until the end. Was a little predictable, but I still enjoyed it very much. Can’t wait to see what this author comes out with next.

THE SAFE PLACE begins with Emily, a down on her luck struggling actress whose life is falling apart. After another failed audition, she is let go from her temp job. With her rent check bounced, she is facing likely eviction and she has no cash for food or other necessities. Her relationship with her parents is broken and she doesn’t have any friends in the city close enough to call on for help.

Seemingly out of nowhere, Emily gets the opportunity of a lifetime. Her former boss Scott wants to hire her for a different job, helping to take care of his wife and daughter at a gorgeous estate on the French coast. Emily has few options and can’t imagine a better offer, so she grabs her passport and heads out. The setting is idyllic just as described, but the little girl is unusual and there’s something off about the wife.

I was instantly hooked to this one and I wound up reading it in less than a day. We get different POVs, Emily and Scott in the present day and Nina’s flashbacks to her history with her husband and child. It was obvious early on that this setup was too good to be true with even Emily having early suspicions, but the reality of what was going on wasn’t clear.

I really enjoyed Emily as a character, though there were times when she made some frustrating decisions. She hasn’t had a perfect past and her struggle with her family leads her to be the perfect pick when Scott wants to send someone to this isolated estate. Scott’s motives aren’t initially clear, but as we see into his head, the worry for Emily is real.

This was a bit of a slow burn, but only in the best way as the mystery of what exactly was happening kept me hooked and turning pages.I wasn’t really surprised by the big twist, but I didn’t predict all of the nuances and I didn’t mind having my suspicions confirmed. I would recommend you keep your eyes out for this one when it’s released on July 14!

I am afraid that I broke my arm and shoulder, meaning I won’t be able to write a pop proper review. I did enjoy this book it kept me guessing I would recommend it. I won’t be able to list my sites due to my situation but I’m sure your computer has them all. Thank you net galley.

Thank you to net galley for sending me this book for review. I enjoyed the plot but unfortunately not the actual book. I likes the characters but the dialogue fell very flat for me. I would read more by this author.

Where do I begin? This is my idea of a perfect book! Leaving out the summary because I know others will do that. I couldn't guess where this was going - surprised me to the very last page! The characters were well-drawn, interesting and their motives, although sometimes mysterious, made sense -- at least, to them. . Emily is clumsy, funny, interested in her own self and spares no time to worry about others. She reminds me of myself at that age, so it was very easy to put myself into her story. I'm the mom of an adopted child who is still a little bit of a handful, so I could identify with this book on so many levels! (In fact, my daughter's middle name is Emily).
Can't leave out Querencia, which is actually the MC, if you think about it. Author describes this place so vividly that I could smell the flowers and feel the sand in my toes. Well-done!!!!


I received an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thanks Netgalley, #Minotaur Books and Goodreads