From the very start the beautiful cover of The Safe Place drew me in. It makes you think of warm summer afternoons sunning beside a beautiful pool perhaps with a fruity drink and no cares in the world. The story is much deeper than that and pulled me under from almost the start.
Emily is a failure. She has failed as an actress, lost her day job as a receptionist and even her agent dumps her. She has a non-existent relationship with her parents partially due to her own failings. Her ex-boss, Scott Denny, throws her a lifeline and offers her a job as a housekeeper/companion at his mansion in France. Besides being destitute she also feels an attraction to him so she accepts his offer. She is hired to help his wife Nina and their young daughter Aurelia.
Right from the start she senses that something is very wrong. The large mansion is creepy, Nina does not seem normal and the little girl has a mysterious ailment. Emily, however, becomes attached to the family and when Scott comes to visit for a weekend visit things take a strange turn. Emily begins to grow suspicious and from there the story picks up quickly. I must admit the last third of the book my heart was pounding a bit. Once Emily solves the mystery, which I did not see coming, things go to hell in a handbasket.
The story is told from several different views, Emily’s being the main one. Scott’s point of view is the second, and the third is left for the reader to question.
The book did lull in a couple of places, but I felt it kept my interest enough that I wanted to know what was going to happen. All in all, the author did an excellent job on her debut novel and I expect we will see great things from her in the future. I give it 3 ½ stars rounding up to 4.
Emily is a failure. She has failed as an actress, lost her day job as a receptionist and even her agent dumps her. She has a non-existent relationship with her parents partially due to her own failings. Her ex-boss, Scott Denny, throws her a lifeline and offers her a job as a housekeeper/companion at his mansion in France. Besides being destitute she also feels an attraction to him so she accepts his offer. She is hired to help his wife Nina and their young daughter Aurelia.
Right from the start she senses that something is very wrong. The large mansion is creepy, Nina does not seem normal and the little girl has a mysterious ailment. Emily, however, becomes attached to the family and when Scott comes to visit for a weekend visit things take a strange turn. Emily begins to grow suspicious and from there the story picks up quickly. I must admit the last third of the book my heart was pounding a bit. Once Emily solves the mystery, which I did not see coming, things go to hell in a handbasket.
The story is told from several different views, Emily’s being the main one. Scott’s point of view is the second, and the third is left for the reader to question.
The book did lull in a couple of places, but I felt it kept my interest enough that I wanted to know what was going to happen. All in all, the author did an excellent job on her debut novel and I expect we will see great things from her in the future. I give it 3 ½ stars rounding up to 4.