Superbly tense and oozing with atmosphere, Anna Downes' debut The Safe Place is perfect summer suspense, and a deft examination of the lengths we'll go to protect the facade of a perfect life.
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 his 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, Emliy 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.
A compelling collision of Lisa Jewell's morally complex family dynamics and Ruth Ware's modern gothic vibes, The Safe Place is a deliciously sinister suspense novel that will also have you longing for wine-soaked summer days in a French villa by the sea.
Publisher: Macmillan
Original Binding: Trade Paperback
Pages: 368 pages
ISBN-10: 1250264812
Item Weight: 0.7 lbs
Dimensions: 5.5 x 1.0 x 8.3 inches
Customer Reviews: 3 out of 5 stars 10,001 to 50,000 ratings
"[A] mix of romantic escapism and gothic menace. Ruth Ware fans may want to check this one out." --Publishers Weekly
"Downes' debut novel is a slow burn of a story with Emily picking up on snippets of conversations as a breadcrumb trail leads her to an astounding conclusion. A great read for those looking for a side of mystery with their women's fiction." --Booklist
"An exciting and compelling new voice, Anna Downes' The Safe Place is a very accomplished debut." --B.A. Paris, New York Times bestselling author of The Dilemma
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.
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