The Safe Place by Anna Downes

Superbly tense and oozing with atmosphere, Anna Downs's debut is the perfect summer suspense, with the modern gothic feel of Ruth Ware and the morally complex family dynamics of Lisa Jewell.

Welcome to paradise... will you ever be able to leave?

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.

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Minotaur Books

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Ruthie – ☆☆☆
I have to admit that although I liked the writing style, I didn't enjoy it because I found it impossible to engage with any of the characters. I don't expect all protagonists to be appealing, but I do expect to empathise with at least one of them. Sadly, I disliked them all. At the beginning I assumed I was supposed to, so that there could be a point of redemption – but sadly, that never happened for me.

The pace is good, the plot is fine, I enjoyed how we get flashbacks to see Nina and Scott from when they met and how it all unfurled, I just never liked any of them! The renovations were fun, although I couldn't understand how the house was in such a bad state, yet Emily lived in that very house with no issues of damp, etc. But I suspended reality for that part, and loved the location where they were hidden away and living in suspense.

If you don't have an issue with unlikable characters, then this would be worth a read, as it is well written.

ANNA DOWNES was born and raised in Sheffield, UK, but now lives just north of Sydney, Australia with her husband and two children. She worked as an actress before turning her attention to writing. She was shortlisted for the Sydney Writers Room Short Story Prize (2017) and longlisted for the Margaret River Short Story Competition (2018). The Safe Place was inspired by Anna’s experiences working as a live-in housekeeper on a remote French estate in 2009-10.

Connect with Anna

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Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of The Safe Place by Anna Downes to read and review.