Title: THE SAFE PLACE
Author: Anna Downes
Publisher: Affirm Press
Read: June 2020
Publisher: Affirm Press
Read: June 2020
Expected publication: 30 June 2020
My Rating: 🌟🌟1/2
Book Description:
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.
The blurb had me at “remote, beautiful French estate”. Not
to speak of the enticing cover! Who doesn’t jump at the opportunity to do some
armchair travel, especially in times of lockdown?
If you are looking for an easy, quick and entertaining
escapist read, then THE SAFE PLACE may be the right book for you. I think I
must be reading too many mysteries, because unfortunately this one was all a
bit too predictable for me to stand out. That said, there were aspects of it
that kept me turning the pages, especially the claustrophobic setting when
Emily realises that there is something sinister afoot in the idyllic remote
French mansion. I felt though that the author had all the makings of a real
terrifying read – some scenes and the underlying sense of menace and danger came
close to giving me goosebumps – but in the end always she seemed to hold back from
letting them unleash their true force and they only created small waves, like a
storm in a teacup. I also found some of the character’s motives and actions
questionable, and everyone knows how terrible I am at suspending disbelief!
I think that THE SAFE PLACE will be a better fit for
readers who enjoy slow burning mysteries that aren’t too confronting or
terrifying but offer a nice escapist setting and enough open questions to keep
you turning the pages. Lovers of tense, suspenseful and goosebump-raising
reads, or those looking for more in-depth character development may not find it
as satisfying.
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.
If you are looking for an easy, quick and entertaining escapist read, then THE SAFE PLACE may be the right book for you. I think I must be reading too many mysteries, because unfortunately this one was all a bit too predictable for me to stand out. That said, there were aspects of it that kept me turning the pages, especially the claustrophobic setting when Emily realises that there is something sinister afoot in the idyllic remote French mansion. I felt though that the author had all the makings of a real terrifying read – some scenes and the underlying sense of menace and danger came close to giving me goosebumps – but in the end always she seemed to hold back from letting them unleash their true force and they only created small waves, like a storm in a teacup. I also found some of the character’s motives and actions questionable, and everyone knows how terrible I am at suspending disbelief!
Thank
you to Netgalley and Affirm Press for the free electronic copy of this novel and
for giving me the opportunity to provide an honest review.
No comments:
Post a Comment