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3.5 AVERAGE
3.5 AVERAGE
Creepy house, creepy kid, a million miles away from anyone – The Safe Place has all the classic motifs of a gothic thriller. It was very reminiscent of Ruth Ware’s The Turn of The Key, which I quite enjoyed. Unfortunately, some of the psychological elements in this one just seemed a step beyond believable, and I stumbled into a couple of plot-holes (that I won’t reveal because spoilers, suffice to say they bugged me). The Safe Place is an easy read that will keep your interest, but it unfortunately falls short of the high bar for women-centered domestic thrillers set by writers like Liane Moriarty.
My extended review of The Safe Place can be found at Keeping Up With The Penguins.
My extended review of The Safe Place can be found at Keeping Up With The Penguins.
tense
medium-paced
This book was a quick and fairly enjoyable read for me. The majority of the book is set in a private French estate and it sounded beautiful.
The Safe Place featured dual narration between Scott, a wildly successful CEO and a struggling actress and temp Emily. Everything in Emily's world is falling apart, she even looses her temp job when the CEO Scott tells her he has the perfect job for her. It's helping to care for his french estate with this wife and daughter but things feel a bit too perfect.
Emily felt like a girl in a horror movie, the one who you find yourself yelling at to not go down the basement or ignore her gut.
For me the book was just a little too predictable. The pace was a little off as well. I enjoyed reading it but probably wouldn't ever pick it back up.
Thank you to Netgalley and Minotaur Books for a review copy of this beautiful book.
The Safe Place featured dual narration between Scott, a wildly successful CEO and a struggling actress and temp Emily. Everything in Emily's world is falling apart, she even looses her temp job when the CEO Scott tells her he has the perfect job for her. It's helping to care for his french estate with this wife and daughter but things feel a bit too perfect.
Emily felt like a girl in a horror movie, the one who you find yourself yelling at to not go down the basement or ignore her gut.
For me the book was just a little too predictable. The pace was a little off as well. I enjoyed reading it but probably wouldn't ever pick it back up.
Thank you to Netgalley and Minotaur Books for a review copy of this beautiful book.
Meh-decent Emily the main character is a mess, she is an aspiring actor working as a temp for a company. She suddenly gets fired and is hired by the company's boss to be a "Care-taker" for his wife, daughter and vacation home. This girl, is so not with it. I mean what rock did she live under, take a job in a remote place with no cell phone service, forbidden from the family quarters. The wife is beyond weird not to mention the daughter has a random weird genetic disorder (or so she is told). Oh and how could I forget, she has to sign a NDA to take the job...umm, hello?? To top it off, Emily is down right rude to her adoptive family which makes her a pretty unlikeable character.
When Scott shows up at the family estate, there is this weird night where Emily, Nina and him have this "little to close" for comfort party/swim scene...it just got weird, quick. The story starts to unravel, and I think Downes tries to get the reader to feel sympathetic towards Scott....but no tears from my eyes.
Mediocre at best.
When Scott shows up at the family estate, there is this weird night where Emily, Nina and him have this "little to close" for comfort party/swim scene...it just got weird, quick. The story starts to unravel, and I think Downes tries to get the reader to feel sympathetic towards Scott....but no tears from my eyes.
Mediocre at best.
I received this book as an ARC from the publisher and I thank them for letting me read and review this book.
I really enjoyed reading this book and how well it is written. It definitely kept me guessing as to what would happen next.
I also loved the detail that the author put into the story. I would highly recommend reading it.
I really enjoyed reading this book and how well it is written. It definitely kept me guessing as to what would happen next.
I also loved the detail that the author put into the story. I would highly recommend reading it.
Wow, this was intense. I couldn’t quite figure out the twists so I was kept on the edge of my seat the whole time. I thoroughly enjoyed this story and I’m happy it turned out to be a great pick for my first book of 2021.
I didn’t find the novel as “turn-the-page” as I had hoped. In fact, I struggled slightly to connect with the story and to really get into it. But despite that fact, overall, I did thoroughly end up enjoying the book!
I found the lonely, depressed, lost character of Emily very easy to like. Scott and Nina were harder for me to decide if I liked! This was probably due to the fact that I had no idea where the story was going - I found I kept asking myself throughout the book “okay, where is this leading??” Was the story going to leave me liking or hating them??
In the end, the story ended up being pretty darn predictable and I closed the book still having unanswered questions, but again, overall enjoyed the book.
I found the lonely, depressed, lost character of Emily very easy to like. Scott and Nina were harder for me to decide if I liked! This was probably due to the fact that I had no idea where the story was going - I found I kept asking myself throughout the book “okay, where is this leading??” Was the story going to leave me liking or hating them??
In the end, the story ended up being pretty darn predictable and I closed the book still having unanswered questions, but again, overall enjoyed the book.
I am rating this book a 3.5 star review.
Emily he loses her job and her boss offers her another job the next day! It is going to France to be a housekeeper for his wife and child. The child has some medical issues and the wife is a bit of a overprotective mom. So she goes to live in France, but things are not always what they seem.
I enjoyed the plot of this novel. The novel flowed and was paced well! The descriptions were vivid.
I thought that we could have gotten to know the characters a little more. Additionally, it was an ending that I predicted. I did not have that shocking moment in this thriller. The author did a great job at the tone of the novel making you feel just as uncomfortable there as the main character was at living there with them. But there were no huge plot twists or shocking moments. It was building up to something throughout the entire novel and just fell flat.
Needless to say, this is a good book to sit with you pool side! I would recommend this to someone wanting a nice easy read for summer!
Emily he loses her job and her boss offers her another job the next day! It is going to France to be a housekeeper for his wife and child. The child has some medical issues and the wife is a bit of a overprotective mom. So she goes to live in France, but things are not always what they seem.
I enjoyed the plot of this novel. The novel flowed and was paced well! The descriptions were vivid.
I thought that we could have gotten to know the characters a little more. Additionally, it was an ending that I predicted. I did not have that shocking moment in this thriller. The author did a great job at the tone of the novel making you feel just as uncomfortable there as the main character was at living there with them. But there were no huge plot twists or shocking moments. It was building up to something throughout the entire novel and just fell flat.
Needless to say, this is a good book to sit with you pool side! I would recommend this to someone wanting a nice easy read for summer!