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3.5 AVERAGE
3.5 AVERAGE
Thank you to the author, Minotaur and NetGalley for an e-arc of The Safe Place.
Emily has hit rock bottom. She has just lost her temp job, she gets rejected in all her acting gigs and she is late to pay her rent...again. She also doesn’t get along with her adopted parents.
Just when she feels life slipping away from her, her ex-boss, Scott, offers her a very lucrative job of being a housekeeper to his wife and sick child in a secluded French estate. She is offered perks no housekeeper would normally get.
Unbeknownst to Emily, Scott has a major problem at his estate and he has deliberately chosen the most gullible person, who seems a perfect match to the problem... and a perfect match for himself.
Emily is treated almost like family by Scott’s wife, Nina and their daughter. However, Emily slowly discovers things are terribly wrong with this place and its owners... starting with an awful permeating stench. Emily realizes she is trapped in this beautiful prison for a reason but can she get out?
Emily has hit rock bottom. She has just lost her temp job, she gets rejected in all her acting gigs and she is late to pay her rent...again. She also doesn’t get along with her adopted parents.
Just when she feels life slipping away from her, her ex-boss, Scott, offers her a very lucrative job of being a housekeeper to his wife and sick child in a secluded French estate. She is offered perks no housekeeper would normally get.
Unbeknownst to Emily, Scott has a major problem at his estate and he has deliberately chosen the most gullible person, who seems a perfect match to the problem... and a perfect match for himself.
Emily is treated almost like family by Scott’s wife, Nina and their daughter. However, Emily slowly discovers things are terribly wrong with this place and its owners... starting with an awful permeating stench. Emily realizes she is trapped in this beautiful prison for a reason but can she get out?
[b:The Safe Place|51171999|The Safe Place|Anna Downes|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1577254727l/51171999._SY75_.jpg|70935708] by [a:Anna Downes|19212025|Anna Downes|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1590059645p2/19212025.jpg] was a wild ride, and it would definitely make the perfect beach read thanks to how quick and addicting it was. Oh Emily, if something sounds too good to be true it probably is right? Unfortunately, our Emily is just not that smart and jumps at the chance to be a housekeeper for her ex-boss/CEO on a French estate. I mean that does sound amazing for the location alone, but of course, I had a bad feeling the entire time which eventually pays off in a crazy ending. I thought this was a really solid debut and I absolutely loved the fact that Downes was inspired to write it from her own time as a housekeeper in exactly the same setting. I really enjoyed the mix of viewpoints with both Emily and Scott, and even with Scott's POV, I had no idea where this one was going to end up. I saw some readers call it predictable, but I am one of those readers who never sees anything coming and I didn't with this one either.
Another thing I really liked was that Downes narrated her own audiobook! Obviously, an author knows exactly what tone she wants for her characters, and Downes did a really fantastic job here. She helped heighten the suspense for me during the times it was necessary, and I loved her tone for both Emily and Scott's viewpoints. There are definitely some slower parts, but I listened to The Safe Place in just 2 days and enjoyed every minute of it. The remote setting was perfectly creepy, and I loved being transported to France. Of course, the secrets were doozies as well, and bit by bit we find out exactly what it is that Scott and his wife are hiding. I don't know about everyone else, but my mind was completely blown at the end and it was definitely worth the read for me. Well done to Downes for this snappy debut, and I can't wait to see what that brain thinks up next!
Another thing I really liked was that Downes narrated her own audiobook! Obviously, an author knows exactly what tone she wants for her characters, and Downes did a really fantastic job here. She helped heighten the suspense for me during the times it was necessary, and I loved her tone for both Emily and Scott's viewpoints. There are definitely some slower parts, but I listened to The Safe Place in just 2 days and enjoyed every minute of it. The remote setting was perfectly creepy, and I loved being transported to France. Of course, the secrets were doozies as well, and bit by bit we find out exactly what it is that Scott and his wife are hiding. I don't know about everyone else, but my mind was completely blown at the end and it was definitely worth the read for me. Well done to Downes for this snappy debut, and I can't wait to see what that brain thinks up next!
Billed as a thriller I was drawn to the premise but found the story long, drawn out, somewhat predictable, and in need of a good edit. The stereotypical pretty/handsome rich couple did not appeal, while protagonist Emily was simply unbelievable in her seemingly ongoing transformations from "hopeless" to successful gardener/handyperson/nanny - all round good employee, to blind and hopeless again. I had to suspend belief one time too many and had to ask just how much blood can a small sickly six year old afford to loose - soaked the cushions, squelched between Emily's toes, left a clear trail to the house, through the house and into the cellar? My final criticism - although proud of myself for getting through this (I rarely have DNF books) I wonder how many endings a book can have and this one had quite a few with potentially the best one many pages from the actual final page. I am really glad people enjoyed this, there are a number of five star reviews, but this book was definitely not for me.
If you’re new to the genre, this is a good book. If you read a lot of mystery/thrillers, I don’t know that there’s a single plot point you won’t have read at least a couple times before
I would give this five stars if it wasn't for the fact that I still have SO many unanswered questions!!
3.5/5 stars. A slow build to a fizzle of a reveal. The storyline was interesting, but just lacked that “something.”
I received an Advance Reading Copy of THE SAFE PLACE by Anna Downes through Bookish First! Thank you to Minotaur Books for the chance to read and provide an honest review review!
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!
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!
After reading the intro, of no phones, no outsiders, no escape it reminded me of a previous book that I read. Everyone was cut off from the outside on their own choice sounds similar to what is in this story. Things may seem better but can you always judge a book by it's cover? Is the paradise really a paradise or just the facade of something more lingering underneath. Can this place by Emily's saving grace or will it only cause more problems that she already has now not having a job?
Do we take the lies in and acknowledge them or continue to ignore them and hope they go away?
After reading the first few chapters I was hooked and was asking myself all the questions listed above. Now I want to know more and how will the paradise effect Emily's life for better or worse?
Do we take the lies in and acknowledge them or continue to ignore them and hope they go away?
After reading the first few chapters I was hooked and was asking myself all the questions listed above. Now I want to know more and how will the paradise effect Emily's life for better or worse?