02/07/2022
Fleeing from yet another bad situation, single mother Alex, the protagonist of this gripping if flawed psychological thriller from Downes (The Safe Place), heads for Pine Ridge, a new development billed as an ecovillage, with her 14-year-old son, Ollie, and her eight-month-old daughter, Kara. Though Pine Ridge is a far cry from their city life, Alex feels instantly at home in the Australian countryside. Paying in cash, Alex rents a demo house model for three months, pleased to be warmly welcomed by Jenny, her helpful new neighbor, and other residents each seeking a better way of life. Almost immediately, odd things begin to happen: a dead bird is left in a box on the family’s steps; eerie carvings appear on trees. Is there any truth to the tale of the Pine Ridge witch, or is there something more human at play threatening Alex and her children? The distinctive setting and well-drawn characters, especially Ollie, compensate for a convoluted plot that offers no hints of the principal characters’ dramatic backstories until the big reveals at the end. Downes remains a writer to watch. 125,000-copy announced first printing. Agent: Hillary Jacobson, ICM Partners. (Apr.)
"Downes is . . . sowing the seeds of psychological terror, rooted in everyday traumas from sleeplessness to coping with teens, and branching out to create a nightmare world. A hair-raising mood piece you'll be glad to awaken from."—Kirkus Reviews
"[A] distinctive setting and well-drawn characters . . . Downes remains a writer to watch."—Publishers Weekly
"This gripped me from the first tense and beautifully written page and didn’t let go. The intriguing, eerie premise of The Shadow House delivered in every sense—I won’t be moving to an ecovillage anytime soon! Anna’s writing is visceral and compelling and the main characters are so well-drawn. I couldn’t trust anyone . . .The tension in this novel slowly ratchets as twist after twist are revealed, climaxing in an edge of the seat finale that had me furiously turning the pages. A must read!" —Sarah Pearse, New York Times bestselling author of The Sanatorium
“Anna Downes has done it again! Written from the heart, from the point of view of a mother who will do anything to keep her children safe, The Shadow House has you asking questions and trusting no-one. Taut with tension from the outset, I devoured every twist and turn, desperately racing to the final pages, yet not wanting it to end. The perfect follow up to The Safe Place—a triumphant second novel!” —Sandie Jones, New York Times bestselling author
"In her riveting and haunting novel, Anna Downes leads us deep into the dark tangled fear and self-doubt of a young mother struggling to distinguish between real and imaginary threats to her child. Downes captures the abject terror that can accompany motherhood. The Shadow House will keep you turning pages into the night." —Mary Dixie Carter, author of The Photographer
"Vivid, atmospheric, and unsettling, The Shadow House will keep you up past your bedtime as you rapidly turn pages. With razor-sharp attention to detail and a setting that will give you chills, author Anna Downes skillfully explores themes of motherhood, relationships, and female instincts, all while maintaining a simmering tension that inevitably boils into brilliant twists and turns. Nuanced, suspenseful, and beautifully written."—Laurie Elizabeth Flynn, author of The Girls Are All So Nice Here
“A brilliantly written, dark and twisty page-turner, chilling and wonderfully claustrophobic from the very first page.”—Karen Hamilton, international bestselling author of The Perfect Girlfriend
"Vivid, tense, and troubling."—Candice Fox, bestselling author of Crimson Lake
"I was gripped!"—Sara Foster, author of The Hush
"A thrilling novel with a fantastic setting and a plot that unfolds with a devastating resolution."—Kayte Nunn, author of The Botanist’s Daughter
"A smart and twisty thriller, with each beat of the plot timed to perfection."—Kate Mildenhall, author of The Mother Fault
Praise for The Safe Place:
“[Downes is] skilled at ratcheting up the tension and conveying Emily’s sense of thrumming unease . . . an unusual and thrilling narrative.”—The New York Times
“Downes keeps the sense of foreboding building . . . Emily is a compelling character who arrives in France scatterbrained and immature but find the inner strength to save herself.”—The Washington Post
“Downes imbues The Safe Place with a strong sense of the gothic, keeping the suspense high and the tension in the Querencia household palpable. Surrounded by decay, Emily proves her mettle as her maturation and emotional growth enhance the solid plot with its myriad surprises and twists. The Safe Place delivers a deliciously creepy debut.”—South Florida Sun-Sentinel
“Secrets are laid bare, and the novel moves toward a conclusion that melds sorrow with satisfaction, ruin with redemption. She does so with evocative and insightful prose, striking characters and a plot that’s astute, addictive and alarming. Downes, who draws on her past for elements of The Safe Place, shows great promise and creates equally great expectations.”—The Free Lance-Star
“The perfect summer mystery read.”—PopSugar
“I absolutely devoured The Safe Place, and lived and breathed every second. The images Anna Downes creates are so vivid and real that I was transported between Soho and France in the flick of an eye. I had no idea where it was going; I just knew I had to hold onto Emily’s coattails and go along for the ride. This one is going to fly! If you love a suspense thriller with a punch, I’d highly recommend The Safe Place.”—Sandie Jones, New York Times bestselling author of The Other Woman
“[A] mix of romantic escapism and gothic menace. Ruth Ware fans may want to check this one out.”—Publishers Weekly
“Downes' debut novel is a slow burn of a story with Emily picking up on snippets of conversations as a breadcrumb trail leads her to an astounding conclusion. A great read for those looking for a side of mystery with their women's fiction.”—Booklist
06/01/2022
Alex, a single mother on the run from an abusive ex, finds herself in a remote eco-village in a desperate attempt to protect her teenage son, Ollie, and infant daughter, Kara. As the stakes grow higher and she grows more desperate, Alex finds more than she bargains for in the seemingly idyllic community of Pine Ridge. Fact and fable mix together in this twisted tale of motherhood and suspense that shows the lengths to which Alex will go to protect those she loves. Downes's (The Safe Place) well-done sophomore novel will leave listeners as desperate for answers as Alex and the rest of Pine Ridge. Narrated by the author and Natasha Beaumont, the desperation and resolve of each of the main characters is presented in such a way that it successfully sets the atmosphere for listeners. Of particular note, the author reads her acknowledgments, which detail the novel's inspiration and her writing process early in the pandemic. VERDICT A great addition for any library looking to add to its thriller/suspense collection.—Elyssa Everling
11/01/2021
After debuting with The Safe Place, which received more than a half-dozen "best-of-summer" or "most-anticipated" recommendations, Australian author Downes returns with the story of single mom Alex, who flees an abusive relationship for what she assumes is the peace and old-fashioned quiet of a remote, pine-skirted village. Alas, eerie events start unfolding when she and her children arrive, even as the town's buried secrets will out. With a 125,000-copy first printing.
2021-12-24
An Australian mother’s retreat to a bucolic eco-village two hours from Sydney is shadowed by ever more menacing echoes of an earlier tragedy.
When her 14-year-old son, Oliver, was suspended from his high school for conduct unbecoming, Alex Ives retaliated against the school, the world, and her abusive mate by abruptly uprooting her children and moving them for a three-month trial rental to Pine Ridge, an alternative community Ollie scorns as a commune for aging hippies and baby Kara is mercifully too young to judge. Everything will be fine, her landlady and upstairs neighbor, Jenny, and Pine Ridge founder Kit Vestey assure her. But everything is far from fine. Maggie, a Pine Ridge veteran, mysteriously takes against her from the get-go, and it’s not long before the other neighbors begin to gossip. A series of increasingly nasty practical jokes awakens rumors of the Pine Ridge witch. Stuart, the abusive restaurateur Alex fled, disappears after threatening to find and punish her. More and more, Alex’s troubles seem an uncanny echo of those that beset Renee Kellerman, whose husband, Michael, once owned the farm that became the site of Pine Ridge: the vandalism, the dead animals, and ultimately the message Renee has apparently sent her: “My son was taken. Yours will be too.” Will Ollie follow the path of Gabriel Kellerman, the teenager who vanished 10 years ago? Downes is less interested in drawing the threads of her mystery together into a tightly logical web than in sowing the seeds of psychological terror, rooted in everyday traumas from sleeplessness to coping with teens, and branching out to create a nightmare world.
A hair-raising mood piece you’ll be glad to awaken from.
