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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
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[A] distinctive setting and well-drawn characters . . . Downes remains a writer to watch.
— Publishers Weekly
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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
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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
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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
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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
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Vivid, tense, and troubling.
— Candice Fox, bestselling author of Crimson Lake
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I was gripped!
— Sara Foster, author of The Hush
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A thrilling novel with a fantastic setting and a plot that unfolds with a devastating resolution.
— Kayte Nunn, author of The Botanist’s Daughter
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A smart and twisty thriller, with each beat of the plot timed to perfection.
— Kate Mildenhall, author of The Mother Fault
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[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
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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
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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