The Safe Place: A Novel

Written by Anna Downes

Narrated by Anna Downes

"A captivating narration by author Anna Downes adds that extra spark to her neo-gothic novel...Downes knows her characters and delivers them with professional expertise, original plotting, and a masterful performance." -- AudioFile Magazine

Superbly tense and oozing with atmosphere, Anna Downes's debut, The Safe Place, 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.

A Macmillan Audio from Minotaur Books

"Richly evocative with a dark, atmospheric heart, The Safe Place is seductive, irresistible and suspenseful. I was completely gripped from the first page to the pulse-pounding end...It's the perfect summer suspense." —Christina McDonald, USA Today bestselling author

“The Safe Place is a dark and wonderful debut that lulls you in with beautiful prose and complex, believable characters, then beats you over the head with a killer plot and a thrilling climax. It’s the kind of book you race through as quickly as you can so you can start it again."—Christian White, internationally bestselling author of The Nowhere Child and The Wife and the Widow

“The tension ratchets up and up in this beautifully paced thriller—an outstanding debut, populated by complex and sympathetic characters. You’ll be thinking about them long after you’ve finished reading. Destined to be a book club favorite.”—Chris Hammer, international bestselling author of Scrublands

• Language: English
• Publisher: Macmillan Audio
• Release date: Jul 14, 2020
• ISBN: 9781250751645

Anna Downes

ANNA DOWNES (she/her) was born and raised in Sheffield, United Kingdom, 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 has degrees from both Manchester University (drama) and RADA (acting). Her previous novels include The Safe Place and The Shadow House.

Reviews for The Safe Place

[Darcia Helle · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

The story has all the right parts, but the pieces didn’t come together for me, and I was so bored.

I didn’t like any of the characters.

Pacing is SLOW.

We have a faint sense of unease throughout, though nothing specific or intense. This line from the synopsis—”But soon Emily realizes that Scott and Nina are hiding dangerous secrets, and if she doesn't play along, the consequences could be deadly,” doesn’t come into play until nearly the end. Up until that point, Emily is oblivious and content.

The big twist is fairly obvious to anyone who reads thrillers, and the ending felt abrupt and unfinished.

That being said, the author does a fantastic job on the narration, and that kept me listening.