This book was such a surprise to me. The cover makes me think it'll be a beach read, the opening made me think it would be chic lit/love story but it's actually a fantastic psychological thriller. Incredibly characters, the writing is fantastic and had me hooked from page 1. Highly recommend, don't trust your judgement of what this book will be!

I read this book in two days, a sure sign of a good book for me. I thought it was fantastic. It had the right level of realism to make me 'believe' in the characters and events but also kept me guessing until about 70% through as to what it was all about. I could really picture the french mansion and Emily's reaction to arriving there. For once in a novel I felt that the ending was not only suitable but delivered at the right moment and pace.
What a great debut by Anna Downes, thank you for letting me read it!

A really good debut novel set in a location that you will love. Anna Downes' writing is very good and not one of my theories proved right. I especially enjoyed the ending as I found it dramatic, fair and satisfying. The perfect psychological thriller to lose yourself in by the pool or on the beach...

This book had me gripped, I enjoyed seeing the story unravel and loved that it wasn't a 'typical' storyline. I would recommend this book and this author to others 100%.

Perfect summer read!
This is exactly the kind of book that you can pick up and lose yourself in! I literally couldn’t put it down and read it in a single afternoon.
It’s dark, twisty and chilling.

A great read with a fantastic ending. Really wasn’t sure where this book was going to go. Complex character, lovely locations and a chilling undertone. Brilliant. Thank you for letting me review this book. Definitely worth adding to the must read pile x

The Safe Place by Anna Downes
Thanks @netgalley @anna_downes_writer and @hodderbooks for my arc
Publication date 20th August 2020

#netgalley #thesafeplace

Brilliant debut, psychological chick lit, an easy but compelling read and beautifully written - setting the scenes and characters perfectly.

Just as I would get frustrated wondering where the story was headed, I would be drip-fed some further information to keep me engaged and intrigued.

A lovely underlying message of the inability to ever fully run away from your problems, and being true to who you really are.

I never usually read Author’s Note but honestly, this one completed the book just perfectly for me (and felt entirely relatable too).

Bravo!

Emily is a would be actress stuck in a round of temporary office jobs. When she is sacked from the latest one she finds herself at rock bottom. No job, no money and an eviction notice to boot. So, when her erstwhile boss contacts her to offer her a dream job in France, she hesitates only for a few minutes before accepting. In France she finds herself in an isolated but beautiful setting with her boss' wife Nina and their child Aurelia. Everything is fine at first but bit by bit it all unravels.

I was disappointed in this book. I'd seen a preview of it with the author being interviewed and it sounded great. It didn't live up to its hype. There are two main problems. The first is the characterisation. None of the characters are rounded. Emily at least goes through some sort of epiphany but the other characters are inconsistent. Scott in particular is not believable. His reaction to things his wife has done doesn't ring true for a successful business man. The other problem is pace. It is very slow. Now this can be a good thing. A slow pace can build up tension very effectively but this was missing here. The book was 69% in before the pace picked up. The last third of the book was better but not enough for me to recommend it. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Wow a terrific psychological thriller.A book that drew me in tense chilling great characters.Will be recommending to all my thriller love friends.#netgalley#hooderstouton

A great debut and a new author to look out for. I thought I had guessed the outcome but I was proved wrong. Highly recommended

The Safe Place by Anna Downes
Thanks @netgalley @anna_downes_writer and @hodderbooks for my arc
Publication date 20th August 2020
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An absolutely incredible book. I literally
Couldn’t put it down. The author has an incredible way of keeping you on your toes, only giving tiny bits away and making you wonder, on numerous occasions ‘what the cr*p is going on? But it works so well. Full of creepy twists and turns this story is absolutely amazing. A great read to take your mind off everything else. Highly recommended xxx

This book was really good and had me hooked from the first page. I had my suspicions about the back story but it turned out I was wrong. I found myself identifying with some aspects of the main character and the dilemma she faced. Will look forward to reading more books by Anna in the future.

Emily is an aspiring actress who temps just to pay what she needs (or at least to attempt to) with no luck.
However her knight in shining armer comes and peels her off of that concrete after being knocked down again and turns her whole life around by offering her the job of a lifetime. What could go wrong?!
This was SUCH a good book! It was one of those that I literally had no clue what was going to happen and what any characters motivation could of been. It kept me gripped and guessing and definitely did not disappoint! I wish the end had delved a bit more into Emily, and when you read it I think you'll understand what I mean but that it the only bit of which I could of done with more!

I think I wanted more from this book than I got. I can’t say I have enjoyed being inside the characters minds but I have really liked the ending. As a result, it’s been hard to rate this book. Definitely 3.5 from me.

I think I wanted more from this book than I got. I can’t say I have enjoyed being inside the characters minds but I have really liked the ending. As a result, it’s been hard to rate this book. Definitely 3.5 from me.

I loved this story. If something seems too good to be true then it probably is. I enjoyed the mystery and suspense part, and also the realisation by the main character that to some degree one had to be grateful for what one has.

Thanks to publisher, author and NetGalley for an advance digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

Np phones!? ha that first line on the cover will petrify many people. THAT IS NOTHING compared to what's inside haha

Emily gets a dream job in france looking after a couple's child who is ill. Parents weird, child stranger than strange and there are noises in the night....

Gripping thriller with a central character you may want to shout out for not getting out of that house and weird set up. It all unravels very satisfactorily and it's a great beach read. Maybe one in a remote house for maximum effect!

Go into this blind (like Emily) for the best reading experience. And remember kids - if something seems too good to be true, it probably is!

This was a great debut read. Thank you to NetGalley for the arc.

Emily is fired from her job and her future is looking bleak. Then she is offered a wonderful opportunity from her boss, Scott, who has just fired her. She is offered a housekeeping job at his house in France where she is also to help his wife look after their seven year old daughter, Aurelia.

This appears to be a dream job. Set in the very remote French countryside, Emily is to reside in their beautiful home, compete with infinity pool, and have use of one of their cars. What isn’t to love? She eventually gets on really well with Scott’s wife, Nina, and her days pass with some work, but more wine each day. Their daughter Aurelia, has many problems, the most concerning that she does not speak, and she is prone to many screaming temper tantrums. Emily soon becomes aware of many family secrets.

Emily starts to believe that Aurelia is not as sick as her parents make her out to be. As soon as she starts to have concerns about her surroundings and the family themselves, small things start to unravel. Anna Downes creates a lot of tension through her excellent writing. It becomes harder to put the book down as it goes on to what I thought was a great ending. I will definitely look out for Anna’s next book.

This book was a fairly quick read, it took me a little over a day to get through it and the story moves at a fairly good pace.
It's predominantly set in one location, which can be a hard task for an author to make interesting, but Downes moves the story along well and makes great use of her setting.

Often, thrillers can be very formulaic, and while this one wasn't particularly shocking, it was creative and a fun read.

My one criticism is around the character of Scott - at times, he seems like a cold, calculating psychopath type, and at others, a self flagellating, pathetic kind of character. It's unclear what exactly his motivations are or whether we're meant to like him or not. The character of Nina is a lot more clear cut, likewise with Emily - both have their positive points and their flaws but they feel more like real, well rounded characters.

I'd also add that the sexual tension scene in the pool was a bit odd and unnecessary. It seemed to be a prelude to both Nina and Scott seducing Emily, but fizzled out as jarringly as it started. I'm not sure what the purpose of this was, or indeed the subtext between Scott and Emily - it didn't really add to the story as it didn't really go anywhere.

Overall, this was a quick, enjoyable read but lacks the ingenuity, deviousness and element of surprise that I feel a really great thriller brings.

This was an incredible domestic thriller that drew me in and never let go. I felt emotionally invested in the characters’ lives and couldn’t stop reading.