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.

A Novel

The Safe Place

Extraordinarily tense and deliciously mysterious, Anna Downes's The Shadow House follows one woman's desperate journey to protect her children at any cost, in a remote place where not everything is as it seems. Single mother-of-two Alex is determined to make a fresh start for her and her children. In an effort to escape her troubled past and the scourges of modern life that threaten to ensnare her teenage son, she seeks refuge in a rural community. Pine Ridge is idyllic; the surrounding forests are beautiful and the locals welcoming. Mostly. But Alex finds that she may have disturbed barely hidden secrets in her new home. As a chain of bizarre events—eerily familiar to those who have lived there for years—is set off and history begins to repeat itself, Alex realizes that she and her family might be in greater danger than ever before. And that the only way to protect them all is to confront the shadows lurking in Pine Ridge.

The Shadow House

Shadow House

Red River Road

Extraordinarily tense and deliciously mysterious, Anna Downes's The Shadow House follows one woman's desperate journey to protect her children at any cost, in a remote place where not everything is as it seems. A HOUSE WITH DEADLY SECRETS. A MOTHER WHO'LL RISK EVERYTHING TO BRING THEM TO LIGHT. Alex, a single mother-of-two, is determined to make a fresh start for her and her children. In an effort to escape her troubled past, she seeks refuge in a rural community. Pine Ridge is idyllic; the surrounding forests are beautiful and the locals welcoming. Mostly. But Alex finds that she may have disturbed barely hidden secrets in her new home. As a chain of bizarre events is set off, events eerily familiar to those who have lived there for years, Alex realizes that she and her family might be in greater danger than ever before. And that the only way to protect them all is to confront the shadows lurking in Pine Ridge.

When single mother Alex flees her abusive relationship and moves with her teenage son and baby girl to a rural ecovillage, she thinks she's made the best decision of her life. Pine Ridge is idyllic: the off-grid lifestyle and remote location are perfect, and the community is welcoming - mostly. Charmed by its magnetic founder, Kit, and the natural beauty of the former farmland, Alex settles easily into her new home. But her arrival at Pine Ridge disturbs barely submerged secrets, and she's shaken by a series of eerily familiar events that seem to be connected to the abandoned farmhouse on the hill. Alex realises that, in escaping her own shadowy past, she may have stumbled into someone else's. And this time, there may be nowhere to run. From international bestselling thriller writer Anna Downes, The Shadow House lures you in and keeps you on edge at every turn.

For struggling actress Emily Proudman, life in London is not working out as planned - in fact, it's falling apart. So when she is offered a job living and working for a wealthy family on their luxurious property in coastal France, she jumps at the opportunity to start over. The estate is picture-perfect, and its owners exude charisma and sophistication. But as Emily gets to know the family, their masks begin to slip, and what at first appears to be a dream come true turns out to be a prison from which none of them will ever escape - unless Emily can find a way to set them all free. Superbly tense and oozing with atmosphere, The Safe Place combines the modern suspense of The Girl on the Train with the gothic mind-games of Hitchcock's Rebecca.

Safe Place

Extraordinarily tense and deliciously mysterious, Anna Downes's The Shadow House follows one woman's desperate journey to protect her children at any cost, in a remote place where not everything is as it seems.A HOUSE WITH DEADLY SECRETS.A MOTHER WHO'LL RISK EVERYTHING TO BRING THEM TO LIGHT.Single mother-of-two Alex is determined to make a fresh start for her and her children. In an effort to escape her troubled past and the scourges of modern life that threaten to ensnare her teenage son, she seeks refuge in a rural community. Pine Ridge is idyllic; the surrounding forests are beautiful and the locals welcoming. Mostly.But Alex finds that she may have disturbed barely hidden secrets in her new home. As a chain of bizarre events - eerily familiar to those who have lived there for years - is set off and history begins to repeat itself, Alex realizes that she and her family might be in greater danger than ever before. And that the only way to protect them all is to confront the shadows lurking in Pine Ridge.

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.

The Safe Place B-Format

Emily gaat als nanny aan de slag op een Frans landgoed. Ze leidt er een luxeleven maar onder de idylle gaan gevaarlijke geheimen schuil en als zij daar niet in meegaat, dreigt er groot gevaar... Het veilige huis van Anna Downes is een psychologische thriller voor de fans van Nicci French. Het leven van Emily is op een dieptepunt beland, maar dan krijgt zij de kans van haar leven. Haar baas Scott vraagt haar als nanny aan de slag te gaan op het Franse landgoed waar zijn vrouw en dochtertje wonen. Emily wordt erheen gevlogen in een privéjet en is gecharmeerd van Scotts vrouw Nina en hun dochtertje. Ze leiden een luxeleven, maar al snel krijgt Emily twijfels. Waarom wonen ze zo geïsoleerd? Waarom spreekt het dochtertje geen woord tegen haar? Emily beseft dat onder de idylle gevaarlijke geheimen schuilgaan, en dat als zij niet meegaat in Scott en Nina’s verhaal, het paradijselijke leventje wel eens een gevangenis zou kunnen worden waaruit ontsnappen onmogelijk is... Een thriller die pijnlijk blootlegt hoe de grenzen opschuiven als het gaat om het beschermen van de façade van een perfect leven.

Het veilige huis

Alex Finlay

Camilla Sten

Stacy Willingham

Gigi Pandian

Samantha Jayne Allen

Looking for a new book that will make your heart race? The fourth edition of The Minotaur Sampler compiles the beginnings of six can't-miss novels--either standalone or first in series--publishing Winter 2022 for free for easy sampling. Standalone: From debut author Stacy Willingham comes a masterfully done, lyrical thriller that is certain to be the launch of an amazing career. A Flicker in the Dark is eerily compelling to the very last page. Standalone: From the author of Every Last Fear comes a breakneck new thriller about a pair of small-town murders fifteen years apart, and the one man whose life is inexplicably linked to both. Alex Finlay returns with The Night Shift. First in Series: Multiple award-winning author Gigi Pandian introduces her newest heroine in Under Lock & Skeleton Key, where Tempest Raj returns home to work at her father’s Secret Staircase Construction Company. Standalone: A heart-thumping novel that will shake you to your core, The Resting Place is a masterful novel of suspense and horror from international star Camilla Sten. Standalone: Extraordinarily tense and deliciously mysterious, Anna Downes’s The Shadow House follows one woman desperate to protect her children at any cost in a remote village retreat where not everything is as it seems. . . Standalone: Friday Night Lights meets Sue Grafton in this small-town mystery about an unlikely private investigator searching for a missing waitress. Pay Dirt Road is the mesmerizing debut from the 2019 Tony Hillerman Prize recipient Samantha Jayne Allen.

New Books to Make Your Heart Race

The Minotaur Sampler, Volume 4

When single mother of two, Alex, begins to see her son develop an unhealthy obsession with social media, vlogging and sinister 'mystery boxes' ordered from the dark web, she decides to take things into her own hands. But it seems moving to a lakeside community isn't enough to shrug off her son's fixations. Even with no internet access, the boxes keep arriving at Alex's door. Only now they contain familiar items. Items from Alex's life, her past and even from inside her house. Her son promises he is not responsible. So where are the boxes coming from? Who is sending them and what do they mean? And can the new community around her really help Alex before she loses her son forever?

Anna Downes

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