Author: Anna Downes
Publication Date: 5 Apr 2022
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Page Count: 320
Dates Read: Apr 14 – 15
Reading Method: Physcial ARC // Thank you to the publisher!
Review
A few years ago, I read The Safe Place by Anna Downes and remember really liking it, so when I saw she had another book coming out, it went to the top of my tbr list.
Alex moves to Pine Ridge, an idyllic, isolated ecovillage, in the hopes of escaping her past and creating a new future for herself and her two children, Ollie and Kara. Though everything seems perfect on the surface, strange things start to occur, whisperings of a witch in the woods, and an old, possibly haunted farmhouse sitting on the edge of the settlement set Alex on edge, and desperate to protect her children.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book! Downes expertly delivers an ending with multiple twists I didn’t see coming, while managing to stay away from worn out, overused tropes. The story is told there alternating perspectives: Alex and Renee. Renee is a mother who mysteriously lost her son several years ago, and now Alex is experiencing the same mysterious events. Their two characters and stories are very different, but the love they have for their sons is a common theme between the two.
There is a relatively large cast of character to keep up with, but each one adds a touch of suspicion and I found myself constantly questioning everyone and their motives, especially Kit – the leader of the ecovillage. The story was paced well, there was never a dull moment. I was surprised and incredibly satisfied with the ending, and Downes left no loose ends untied. I think The Shadow House cements Downes as an auto-buy author for me.
About the Book
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.
About the Author
Anna Downes grew up in Sheffield, UK. She studied drama
at Manchester University before winning a place at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and moving to London to pursue an acting career. Her acting credits include EastEnders, Casualty, Holby City, and Dalziel and Pascoe, as well as a long-running stage production of The Dresser in London’s West End.
In 2009 she left to go travelling with her Australian partner, a trip that included a stint working as a live-in housekeeper on a remote French estate, where the seeds for The SafePlace were sown.
Anna now lives on the Central Coast of New South Wales with
her husband and two children.
