Emily is an out-of-work actress when she gets fired from her temp office job. Her bank account is overdrawn. The rent is past due. Her family and friends are done with her constant begging for money and shelter. Where can she turn? How can she find The Safe Place, where life isn’t such a struggle?
Enter her former company’s owner, Scott. Scott has a proposition for Emily. Be an au pair for his six-year-old daughter, a personal assistant for his wife, and a housekeeper in his rural French chateau. She will be paid handsomely, given a car and earn free room and board—in France! She just has to sign a NDA and it’s off to her new life on Scott’s private jet.
In this modern take on Rebecca, I did find myself screaming (in my head, hopefully) “don’t be an idiot Emily” frequently. I didn’t have much sympathy for self-absorbed Emily’s many stupid and short-sighted decisions. Emily obviously lives in the moment while I am a planner making it hard to relate to her. Without a feeling of empathy for Emily, I didn’t like The Safe Place as much as I thought I would after reading the publisher’s blurb. However, if Emily’s free-spirit resonates with you, you may enjoy this book more. 3 stars.
Thanks to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.