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3.5 AVERAGE
3.5 AVERAGE
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
extremely predictable but oddly entertaining
▷ Representation: Emily (mc) & Scott (mc) both have undiagnosed mental health issues.
Blog • Trigger Warning Database • StoryGraph
▷ Representation: Emily (mc) & Scott (mc) both have undiagnosed mental health issues.
Blog • Trigger Warning Database • StoryGraph
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Mental illness, Self harm
Moderate: Child death, Drug use, Gun violence, Suicide, Kidnapping, Stalking, Alcohol
Minor: Blood, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail
➸ Trigger warnings for foster care experiences mentioned, child abuse (one slap scene, faking a child's chronic illness, forcing them to live in isolation, etc.) discussions of childhood trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (c-PTSD), parent with dementia, panic attacks, self-harm (on-page), suicide by jumping (on-page), alcohol consumption and abuse, implied drug abuse, grief & loss, death of a daughter recounted, minor blood and injury depiction, emesis, attempted murder by gun violence, kidnapping and captivity of a child, stalking, and financial difficulties discussed.
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A beach read. Interesting mystery, but no characters that I really liked or were evil enough to hate-like.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A quick paced story that you can read in a day. Anna Downes writes a solid domestic thriller that is sure to grab your attention.
Emily is having a hard time succeeding at finding an acting job, so she also works as a receptionist at a corporate office. Unfortunately she is not very good at that either. So when she loses both her receptionist job and her acting agent on the same day, she finds herself without any money or a place to live.
Enter her handsome former boss, Scott who apologizes to her for firing her and offers her a different job being his wife's personal assistant. The catch is that the job is in a remote location in the south of France where their is no phones or internet. The perks are not only making a great wage but she gets free room and board and gets to lounge in pool with an ocean view.
Emily soon realizes that opportunities that seem to good to be true usually are. She notices that odd things are going on and that her employers are harboring secrets that could endanger her life. Does Emily choose to honor her NDA or does she expose the truth?
Anna Downes creates a beautiful setting with interesting characters living in it. She explores relationships and how characters react to be isolated from others. She brings this story to life.
I read this book in one sitting. It was a little predictable but overall the story was a good Saturday read.
Thanks to St Martin's Press and Minotaur books for the advanced copy. The opinions are my own.
Emily is having a hard time succeeding at finding an acting job, so she also works as a receptionist at a corporate office. Unfortunately she is not very good at that either. So when she loses both her receptionist job and her acting agent on the same day, she finds herself without any money or a place to live.
Enter her handsome former boss, Scott who apologizes to her for firing her and offers her a different job being his wife's personal assistant. The catch is that the job is in a remote location in the south of France where their is no phones or internet. The perks are not only making a great wage but she gets free room and board and gets to lounge in pool with an ocean view.
Emily soon realizes that opportunities that seem to good to be true usually are. She notices that odd things are going on and that her employers are harboring secrets that could endanger her life. Does Emily choose to honor her NDA or does she expose the truth?
Anna Downes creates a beautiful setting with interesting characters living in it. She explores relationships and how characters react to be isolated from others. She brings this story to life.
I read this book in one sitting. It was a little predictable but overall the story was a good Saturday read.
Thanks to St Martin's Press and Minotaur books for the advanced copy. The opinions are my own.
Another book from my current wave of catching up with NetGalley, it has the usual added charm of "I don't remember why I picked this up, but let's find out!"
And as I mentioned to the author on Twitter when I'd finished, I'm so upset with myself for not reading this sooner.
THE SAFE PLACE is a brilliant little book, with a charming everywoman heroine named Emily, whose life is a disaster. Loses her job, loses her agent, relationship with parents strained, the works. Until she is swept off her feet (almost literally) by Scott Denny, a stupidly wealthy businessman who just so happens to have an opening at his French estate to help watch the place, along with his wife and their daughter. Emily jumps at the chance...and well, not everything goes as planned.
It's easy to make everyman-style characters into absolute "Mary-Sue" nightmares, and Emily never really falls into that category. She's got more than her fair share of flaws and issues, but balances them nicely with her virtues and humor. The friendship between her and Nina - and later, Aurelia - grows organically, never really feeling forced as it could when in such close quarters with each other. (No matter how big the estate is, it's going to feel like close quarters after a while.) The tension with Scott played beautifully; it's almost a cliche, but these stereotypes come from somewhere, and it's hardly surprising in Emily's case. Handsome man comes along to play Prince Charming? Uh huh.
Without delving into spoiler territory, Scott's character is really handled nicely--particularly since we don't necessarily see too much of him. There is a lot on this man's shoulders, whether he put it there himself or not, and he's got to walk that line now and figure out what steps can come next. Really really nicely done, right up through the final pages.
And Emily gets a nice rounded story arc as well--again, not something we always see from this type of heroine. It would be simple to take the easy road, and Emily doesn't crumble.
And while there's part of me that says "well but what happened to..." and "what happens next?" I don't think there's really a cliffhanger at the end. A few unanswered questions, but some of my favorite thrillers are like that. There's no need to tie up every last loose end. The ones that needed tied, are tied, and everyone is off to where they ought to be. (We assume.)
Absolutely worth noting that this is apparently Downes' debut novel, which makes it all the more impressive in my mind. Nicely done, well-paced, well-written. A strong debut, and one with sure promise of that which is yet to come. I'll be interested to see what Downes comes out with next.
Rating: **** - Recommended
And as I mentioned to the author on Twitter when I'd finished, I'm so upset with myself for not reading this sooner.
THE SAFE PLACE is a brilliant little book, with a charming everywoman heroine named Emily, whose life is a disaster. Loses her job, loses her agent, relationship with parents strained, the works. Until she is swept off her feet (almost literally) by Scott Denny, a stupidly wealthy businessman who just so happens to have an opening at his French estate to help watch the place, along with his wife and their daughter. Emily jumps at the chance...and well, not everything goes as planned.
It's easy to make everyman-style characters into absolute "Mary-Sue" nightmares, and Emily never really falls into that category. She's got more than her fair share of flaws and issues, but balances them nicely with her virtues and humor. The friendship between her and Nina - and later, Aurelia - grows organically, never really feeling forced as it could when in such close quarters with each other. (No matter how big the estate is, it's going to feel like close quarters after a while.) The tension with Scott played beautifully; it's almost a cliche, but these stereotypes come from somewhere, and it's hardly surprising in Emily's case. Handsome man comes along to play Prince Charming? Uh huh.
Without delving into spoiler territory, Scott's character is really handled nicely--particularly since we don't necessarily see too much of him. There is a lot on this man's shoulders, whether he put it there himself or not, and he's got to walk that line now and figure out what steps can come next. Really really nicely done, right up through the final pages.
And Emily gets a nice rounded story arc as well--again, not something we always see from this type of heroine. It would be simple to take the easy road, and Emily doesn't crumble.
And while there's part of me that says "well but what happened to..." and "what happens next?" I don't think there's really a cliffhanger at the end. A few unanswered questions, but some of my favorite thrillers are like that. There's no need to tie up every last loose end. The ones that needed tied, are tied, and everyone is off to where they ought to be. (We assume.)
Absolutely worth noting that this is apparently Downes' debut novel, which makes it all the more impressive in my mind. Nicely done, well-paced, well-written. A strong debut, and one with sure promise of that which is yet to come. I'll be interested to see what Downes comes out with next.
Rating: **** - Recommended
At 186 pages, it's a DNF for me. Slow start and hasn't captured my interest. This is actually the farthest I have read before calling it. Now just frustrated I wasted 186 pages I could have been reading elsewhere. Onward!
What can I say that hasn’t already been said? This was such an interesting plot. The character development was spot on. I was hooked the minute I saw the cover. Beautiful design that invites the reader into thinking we’re on a glorious vacation of a lifetime! Reality was kind enough to punch you in the face, however. There’s a wolf somewhere ready to pounce...
The beginning of the story did well with digging it’s wonderful claws into me. It wouldn’t let me go until I finished.
Emily’s character, for me, was quite believable. I understood her and was able to relate to her in certain areas. More so than I had anticipated. Who isn’t blinded by wealth and the possibility of a fresh start when they’re at rock bottom? Scott definitely picked the best girl for keeping his secret (no worries folks; I’m not one to let loose secrets, either. No spoilers here!). She was gullible, easily manipulated into believing she was safe, loved, and offered the chance of a lifetime. I was curious about her past and was torn when I didn’t learn more about her trauma. I wanted to know more, but was afraid to ask for more. Was her past like Aurelia? Food for thought...
Nina and Scott... *sigh*. They attacked my heart. I loved them as much as Emily did, Nina more than Scott. Scott from the beginning I thought was weird and I someone who couldn’t be trusted. I felt betrayal just as deep as the love, though. I want to say they will remain in my heart. But I can’t say I forgive them. When you can’t trust your help there’s a problem. Why hire someone you can’t extend an ounce of trust to? Their relationship between themselves was ominous and... just felt uncomfortable. I don’t understand how Scott kept his mouth shut. It’s sad that he thought money would pay for everyone’s silence. And it did for a long time. Until miss Emily brought her can opener to the party. You could sense from the beginning that this can of dark worms wouldn’t stay shut for long.
All in all, a wonderful read. It kept me enthralled. I wanted answers right away and was teased from the beginning. It does make me second guess a chance of a lifetime job. But then again, would I be as naive as Emily in a time of desperation?
My thanks to Minotaur Books for my advanced copy for an honest review. And for introducing me to a new author! You now have an obsessed reader.
The beginning of the story did well with digging it’s wonderful claws into me. It wouldn’t let me go until I finished.
Emily’s character, for me, was quite believable. I understood her and was able to relate to her in certain areas. More so than I had anticipated. Who isn’t blinded by wealth and the possibility of a fresh start when they’re at rock bottom? Scott definitely picked the best girl for keeping his secret (no worries folks; I’m not one to let loose secrets, either. No spoilers here!). She was gullible, easily manipulated into believing she was safe, loved, and offered the chance of a lifetime. I was curious about her past and was torn when I didn’t learn more about her trauma. I wanted to know more, but was afraid to ask for more. Was her past like Aurelia? Food for thought...
Nina and Scott... *sigh*. They attacked my heart. I loved them as much as Emily did, Nina more than Scott. Scott from the beginning I thought was weird and I someone who couldn’t be trusted. I felt betrayal just as deep as the love, though. I want to say they will remain in my heart. But I can’t say I forgive them. When you can’t trust your help there’s a problem. Why hire someone you can’t extend an ounce of trust to? Their relationship between themselves was ominous and... just felt uncomfortable. I don’t understand how Scott kept his mouth shut. It’s sad that he thought money would pay for everyone’s silence. And it did for a long time. Until miss Emily brought her can opener to the party. You could sense from the beginning that this can of dark worms wouldn’t stay shut for long.
All in all, a wonderful read. It kept me enthralled. I wanted answers right away and was teased from the beginning. It does make me second guess a chance of a lifetime job. But then again, would I be as naive as Emily in a time of desperation?
My thanks to Minotaur Books for my advanced copy for an honest review. And for introducing me to a new author! You now have an obsessed reader.
For a debut book I found on Libby, this was actually a really good book/story and definitely didn't see that twist coming which was super interesting and well paced as well. It wasn't as "early" as some major plot twists are in some thrillers, but this was revealed at the most perfect spot possible and I ended up enjoying it and couldn't stop listening to it after that. Also kudos for the author herself, Anna Downes, narrate/record this herself which I have to say she was really good. Overall, this was a pretty good twisty book but one thing I could say is even though I do like epilogue's, there's moments where some aren't necessary/worth it and this to me personally wasn't worth it though I still liked it. The final chapter before the epilogue actually would've made for a better ending to the book and to just call it good minus the epilogue, but that latter was still good, but at the same time it fell flat for me. Still highly recommend this one though and a good read. Now I'm wanting to try her next standalone and see what else Anna Downes brings in the next book and if it's anything or just as good as this one, I'll definitely be looking our for her books. But that all depends on the next one.
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books and NetGalley for providing this book in exchange for my honest review.
I was excited to get The Safe Place by Anna Downes because the premise seemed right up my alley. I was thinking of a spooky ghost story, haunted house, or something along those lines. I was wrong.
The Safe Place is written in alternating POV. We have Emily, the MC, whose life is a huge mess. She wants to be an actress but is not any good at it. She doesn’t have any friends or people close to her. She can’t stand her adoptive parents and sees them, and the small town where she was raised, as the enemy. Emily is naïve and gullible. She has no self-confidence and no plans for the future. She’s always running late, and she’s a terrible receptionist.
Then we meet the other POV, her ex-boss, Scott. Scott has a dark past, an anger problem, a drinking problem, and a lot of money. His wife and child live in France, and he never sees them. Let me rephrase that he rarely sees them. It is clear from the start that something is off about Scott, he has a lot of secrets, but when he catches Emily entertaining a child in his reception area after she’s already been fired, Scott comes up with a plan.
Scott offers to change Emily’s life. There’s her first, of many, clues that something is wrong. Of course, Emily, who’s a bit smitten with her wealthy, successful, handsome boss, agrees to the chance at a new life even though it comes with a contract that she won’t tell anyone anything about where she is or what she’s doing.
Emily is flown to France and then driven, by a man named Yves, to a large estate in an incredibly secluded area along the ocean. Yves is a man who is mentioned throughout the story, but we never actually meet him or get to know him. There Emily meets Nina, Scott’s wife, and their daughter Aurelia. From the start, we learn that Aurelia is very ill, and Nina is incredibly protective.
Did you catch all those warnings?
Everything is just fine for a while. And then something happens, but Emily justifies it. Then something else happens, and she explains it again. And this continues until finally, Emily figures it all out.
In the end, I was disappointed in the story. I had a tough time with Emily as our MC. I never connected with her. BUT I was happy to see her grow some at the end. I do wish we had learned more about her past. I found some of Nina’s actions confusing, and I didn’t understand how Emily could justify them. I also don’t know how Scott allowed their situation to get so out of control and ridiculous. We never the answers we need. Sure, in the end, you know the “plot twist,” but there are much more interesting questions in this story, I wish those were pursued.
I believe there are plenty of readers who will enjoy this one. I will recommend it to anyone who is a fan of domestic thrillers, with the side note that it’s more suspenseful than thrilling.
I was excited to get The Safe Place by Anna Downes because the premise seemed right up my alley. I was thinking of a spooky ghost story, haunted house, or something along those lines. I was wrong.
The Safe Place is written in alternating POV. We have Emily, the MC, whose life is a huge mess. She wants to be an actress but is not any good at it. She doesn’t have any friends or people close to her. She can’t stand her adoptive parents and sees them, and the small town where she was raised, as the enemy. Emily is naïve and gullible. She has no self-confidence and no plans for the future. She’s always running late, and she’s a terrible receptionist.
Then we meet the other POV, her ex-boss, Scott. Scott has a dark past, an anger problem, a drinking problem, and a lot of money. His wife and child live in France, and he never sees them. Let me rephrase that he rarely sees them. It is clear from the start that something is off about Scott, he has a lot of secrets, but when he catches Emily entertaining a child in his reception area after she’s already been fired, Scott comes up with a plan.
Scott offers to change Emily’s life. There’s her first, of many, clues that something is wrong. Of course, Emily, who’s a bit smitten with her wealthy, successful, handsome boss, agrees to the chance at a new life even though it comes with a contract that she won’t tell anyone anything about where she is or what she’s doing.
Emily is flown to France and then driven, by a man named Yves, to a large estate in an incredibly secluded area along the ocean. Yves is a man who is mentioned throughout the story, but we never actually meet him or get to know him. There Emily meets Nina, Scott’s wife, and their daughter Aurelia. From the start, we learn that Aurelia is very ill, and Nina is incredibly protective.
Did you catch all those warnings?
Everything is just fine for a while. And then something happens, but Emily justifies it. Then something else happens, and she explains it again. And this continues until finally, Emily figures it all out.
In the end, I was disappointed in the story. I had a tough time with Emily as our MC. I never connected with her. BUT I was happy to see her grow some at the end. I do wish we had learned more about her past. I found some of Nina’s actions confusing, and I didn’t understand how Emily could justify them. I also don’t know how Scott allowed their situation to get so out of control and ridiculous. We never the answers we need. Sure, in the end, you know the “plot twist,” but there are much more interesting questions in this story, I wish those were pursued.
I believe there are plenty of readers who will enjoy this one. I will recommend it to anyone who is a fan of domestic thrillers, with the side note that it’s more suspenseful than thrilling.