3.5 stars, really. Emily, naive and a bit of a mess, is offered an unusual job by her boss (a man we are introduced to as he slowly stabs himself in the hand with a pen under his desk, so things are not particularly hunky-dory there). His wife and daughter live on a remote estate in France, and he wants Emily to be their companion and helper. Despite the strangeness of the situation, Emily accepts and even enjoys herself at first - but small oddities and strangeness about her situation start to increase, and she becomes increasingly uncertain about what she's got herself into. This psychological thriller is Downes' debut novel, and it is well done - a nice creeping tension throughout that resolves into a rather over-the-top ending.

Emily has always felt a little out of place and never quite sure of herself. Her move to London to follow her dream of becoming an actress has been a disaster. She has been forced to resorted to temp work in order to make ends meet. After being fired from her current job as a receptionist, she is unexpectedly offered a job to work for a wealthy family on an isolated estate on the coast of France. Facing eviction from her apartment as well as a dwindling bank account, Emily takes the job with very few reservations. She is delighted to find that the estate is almost like a fairy tale, and the owners are charming and elegant. Finally, Emily’s worries seem to be behind her – until she begins to realize the estate is more like a prison, with secrets that Emily feels compelled to investigate.

The Safe Place is a solid thriller, that is well-told and slowly builds to the final chapter. Even though I didn’t overly-sympathize with the characters, the story was so well-written that I didn’t have to. As a result, I enjoyed the unique storyline, the descriptions the author provided, and the believability of the story. Very well-done for a debut novel.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book for review.

This book just wasn’t for me... I hoped to really enjoy it but I just wasn’t a fan of the plot and it couldn’t keep my attention...

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book. I was not engaged with the storyline and won't be writing a full review.

Many thanks to Minotaur for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

A psychological thriller that is perfect for a day at the beach

Emily is having a bad day. She lost her job, her agent, and her apartment all in one day. Scott is a successful businessman with a huge problem that he can't solve. And then he meets Emily.

Scott offers Emily a chance to work at his estate in France. The property is totally isolated but stunning. Emily hits it off well with Scott's wife, Nina, and daughter, Aurelia. But Emily soon realizes she must play along with whatever is happening at the estate or there could be deadly consequences.

Several reviews have said they found this predictable, but I did not find that to be the case! As a matter of fact, when I thought I had the twist figured out, I flipped to the next page and was immediately proved wrong.

The book is a bit slow at first and the atmosphere just wasn't quite there for me. I found the writing style to be easy to read, but I felt there was a bit too much detail in parts. I did skim read some parts in the middle because I was starting to get impatient and wanted something big to happen.

Once this book gets to the good stuff, you won't be able to put it down. I sat down one morning to read a couple of chapters and didn't stop reading until I finished it! It was not a perfect book, but I found it enjoyable and would read more books from this debut author.

I was looking forward to reading this book after watching a live Facebook event with Anna Downes. Things that I enjoyed: a) The setting... ohhh between covid, isolation and working from home, this dreamy place was the perfect escape for the imagination. b) Strong debut thriller! -It was a very interesting read and I will be reading her future books. However, it is a predictable plot and that made it lose a bit of intrigue.

I really enjoyed this fast paced thriller, it kept me up reading trying to guess the ending! A fast and enjoyable read

The concept was intriguing, but the plot was slow, By the time the Story picked up, it felt like there wasn’t enough explanation of the backstory for the one character.

This was a fascinating mystery, one that held my interest and kept me guessing. It's easy to read, two POV of Emily and Scott. Scott, a successful business man and boss, Emily the scattered young adult with a pile of bills and little prospects. Scott offers her the job of a lifetime - to live in France and help his wife take care of the house and animals leaving her time to tend to child and herself more.

I found Emily easy to like. Her struggles and past experiences as her life is slowly revealed was interesting and kept me wondering about her. Nina, the wife, and her daughter's life were equally fascinating - with all their money and ease and yet their medical struggles as well. The pacing worked well, I never found myself bored and instead wanted to keep reading. I'll definitely look for more form this author!

The Safe Place
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Thank you to @netgalley and @minotaur_books for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Alright, I hate giving negative reviews..because I like to read in my comfort and/or highly rated. ‘The Safe Place’ fell through the cracks and fooled me. I struggled with this book, and I mean struggled. I found myself reading this for over a week because I couldn’t focus on it long enough. The synopsis is super vague for one:

Emily is a mess. Emily Proudman just lost her acting agent, her job, and her apartment in one miserable day. Emily is desperate. Scott Denny, a successful and charismatic CEO, has a problem that neither his business acumen nor vast wealth can fix. Until he meets Emily. Emily is perfect. Scott offers Emily a summer job as a housekeeper on his remote, beautiful French estate. Enchanted by his lovely wife Nina, and his eccentric young daughter, Aurelia, Emily falls headlong into this oasis of wine-soaked days by the pool. But soon Emily realizes that Scott and Nina are hiding dangerous secrets, and if she doesn't play along, the consequences could be deadly.

Emily had every right to be wary and suspicious of the estate and the entire family. Emily had a super weird relationship with both Nina and Scott. I was confused on how Emily neglected and ignored the fact that Aurelia was troubled? I understand why the author chose this route but I have zero tolerance for child-abuse. I will admit though Downes did create a very atmospheric location. I created the visual design of the estate flawlessly in my head.

I had my own suspicions and knew early on the big twist. I honestly felt like I was watching a Lifetime movie…a bad one. This book was just meh for me, I totally got Verity/Family Upstairs vibes from it … but thats almost insulting to CoHo and Lisa Jewell. I am usually a huge fan of domestic thrillers, but this was just not for me. The slow-burn doesn’t bother me but the “thrill” was lacking here. I hated all the characters and found everything too unrealistic. Overall, this fell short for me - which is disappointing because it had all the potential to be great.

The Chance Of A Lifetime....?
The chance of a lifetime? When Emily Proudman - she of the messy, tumultuous, disorganised lifestyle - is made an offer she cannot refuse she begins a dark descent into something she could never have anticipated. Enjoyable suspense, a slow burn but with an ongoing and mounting sense of tension together with some nice final twists.

Failed actress Emily is at her wits' end trying to get her life in order. Dropped by her agent, fired from her job, evicted from her flat and rejected by her parents, she has no money and nowhere to go. When her wealthy boss Scott offers her a job as a housekeeper in his French estate, she accepts without a second thought.

Once she arrives in France, she finds herself in a paradise, but one with some odd restrictions. She is banned from the main house, and she can't use her phone or the internet. Scott's wife Nina explains that her daughter Aurelia suffers from a rare disease that means she has to avoid all sun exposure. Both Nina and Aurelia are prickly and moody, but Emily decides that she can tolerate this arrangement given the alternative. However the more Emily finds out about her new life the more questions she has, and a weekend visit from Scott only makes things more dubious.

Downes' first novel is a pacy and gripping read with a satisfying plot that takes some unexpected turns. The characters were perhaps a bit overblown and not quite true-to-life. I felt that some of their darker edges could have been made more of in the course of the story, and that a bit more could have been made of Yves, a character that sort of floats in the background. As an Australian, I'm afraid I cringe whenever a writer puts the word "sheila" into the mouth of an Australian character. Most of us do not speak like that; it's a trite cliche rather than the voice of a genuine, modern Australian such as the one Nina is supposed to be.

Wow what a great story of love betrayal and mental illness. I was trying to determine the crux of the story all along. I loved the isolation and secrets built into this story and as well the resolution.


If you’re looking for a quick read edge of your seat thriller. Read it! Highly recommend

Extremely predictable, a bit slow. Kind of boring actually and Emily was naive and kind of dumb. The writing was good but I expected a bit more from this. The "twist" I already saw coming and I was left with disappointment because....that was it?? I expected more from the title and the cool cover.. Overall, this is just another fairly forgettable thriller.

Thank you to the publisher and to netgalley for the copy!

I really enjoyed this one. It started out a bit slow for me, but once Emily started questioning things, the book flew by for me. I had an idea of what was going on, but I didn’t guess the ending fully, which I love! Definitely recommend.

This book is a solid mystery that features the slowest of burns. To be honest, it took me a really long time to get into it, especially considering the mystery part of things didn’t actually begin happening until the 30% mark (or so). Once the suspense began, my interest was held. Unfortunately I found myself enjoying the mystery without actually caring what happened for one simple reason: I couldn’t stand the main character. Emily is whiney, spoiled, and likes to play the “it’s everyone else’s fault” card, which doesn’t fly particularly well with me. Although she does seem to be different by the end, her personality and approach to matters was a big turn off. It’s really hard to fully enjoy a book when you dislike the main character. I liked the mystery for what it was, and appreciated the ending. With a more likeable main character, I’m sure I would’ve given a higher rating.

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...

What a great read! I could not put it down. It is full of twists and turns that keep you guessing until the end.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy for my honest review.

See my full review on Goodreads.

Emily is a young woman who is barely managing to keep it all together, until one day an amazing opportunity falls into her lap. She takes this new job and moves to a new place, where she begins working for a family that she blends seamlessly into. However, there is something not quite right....everything is almost too perfect, except for the illness of the family's little girl. As time passes, Emily begins to realize that something more sinister might be happening around her.

"A Safe Place" was a slow build. It moved quickly and held my interest, but once things started happening, they really started happening. It turns out that the 'safe place' Emily thought she was moving to was not so safe after all, and it made her start examining her own life. She had literally been living in a 'safe place.' afraid to confront her past so that she could move forward.

Thank you to #NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

The Safe Place is a perfect light thriller summer read. I'm surprised that it was a debut novel.This is more of a suspense novel than a thriller.It was a slow-burn but the characters and the pacing was good.I didn't have many twists and turns.The final 1/3 part of the book was unexpected.I started reading this book without any expectations,i think that's why i kept reading.After reading this book fully,i didn't regret it at all.Overall,i enjoyed reading this book.

When Emily thinks she's hit rock bottom, here comes her knight in shining armour, Scott. Or rather, the reason she's just been fired from both of her jobs. Scott offers Emily the job of a lifetime; a chance to live in France and help his wife Nina look after her beautiful home and their six year old daughter Aurelia, while he lives and works in London. But something is very wrong.
At first, Emily doesn't understand what it is about this home or the family, but pretty soon she starts to figure it out. Scott and Nina are harbouring a terrible secret that could just be the death of her.

I really liked this one. It was fast paced, it was gripping and I didn't want to put it down once I started. I found Emily difficult to like to start with but she redeemed herself by the end. The other characters all were equally unlikeable and stayed that way to the end.
I think this was an excellent debut and I look forward to reading more from this author.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to review this.