Book Review: THE AU PAIR by Emma Rous

Title: The Au Pair

Author: Emma Rous
Publisher: Berkley 
Read: January 2019

Expected publication: out now

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Book Description:

Seraphine Mayes and her twin brother Danny were born in the middle of summer at their family’s estate on the Norfolk coast. Within hours of their birth, their mother threw herself from the cliffs, the au pair fled, and the village thrilled with whispers of dark cloaks, changelings, and the aloof couple who drew a young nanny into their inner circle.

Now an adult, Seraphine mourns the recent death of her father. While going through his belongings, she uncovers a family photograph that raises dangerous questions. It was taken on the day the twins were born, and in the photo, their mother, surrounded by her husband and her young son, is beautifully dressed, smiling serenely, and holding just one baby.

Who is the child and what really happened that day?

One person knows the truth, if only Seraphine can find her.

My musings:

Firstly, let me say that this book was so much fun to read! When I came across the premise of dark family secrets and an atmospheric setting in an old English manor with Gothic vibes I knew I had to read this book!

The story starts with an old family photograph that sets into motion an avalanche of events that bring a dark family secret out into the open. Twenty-five year old Seraphine is still reeling from her father’s recent accidental death when she comes across an old picture of her mother, taken on the day of her and her twin brother’s birth. The day had ended in tragedy when the young mother plunged to her death off the cliffs behind the family home, which had already claimed the life of her other son. In the photo, the young mother is smiling, holding a sleeping infant. ONE sleeping infant. But Seraphine is a twin, so where is the other baby? Why would anyone take a family photograph with only one baby in it? And which of the twins is it? With both parents dead, there aren’t many people left to ask, and Seraphine’s grandmother Vera is not forthcoming, getting very tight-lipped and distressed whenever Seraphine has any questions about her childhood. However, her older brother remembers that the photo was taken by the family’s au-pair at the time, which gives Seraphine an idea. If she can somehow track down the mysterious Laura, she may finally get the answers that have plagued her for so long. But she may get more that she has bargained for....

If I had thought that my own past experience as an au-pair in England may give me an advantage to work this story out, I was woefully misguided! I am somehow relieved and perhaps a tiny bit disappointed that my host family were boringly normal in comparison, involving none of the drama that Laura experiences in the family’s old home perched atop some cliffs in the English countryside (what a delicious setting, by the way!). Also, I could really relate to Seraphine’s thirst for answers about her origins, since my mother also died when I was a child and some skeletons in the family closet remain firmly locked away, with no one left to explain the truth. Having gone through similar feelings of frustration, wanting answers to my many questions, I firmly rooted for Seraphine to squeeze the truth out of her reluctant grandmother.

Now to the fun bit of the story, which kept me firmly invested until the very end. There is so much going on here, and everybody seems to have their own reasons to hide the truth. I had a thousand theories as to what was really going on, which shifted like sand dunes in the wind as more secrets came to light. In the end, I was reading on in morbid fascination with a WTH expression firmly imprinted on my face, and even though one of my theories came close to the truth, nothing could have prepared me for how dysfunctional this family really turned out to be. I think that this book would make the perfect group read, with a shared goal around the 60% mark at which everyone discusses their theories. I must say that it messed with my mind in the best way! I also really enjoyed the setting, the old mansion Summerbourne set atop ragged cliffs and surrounded by superstitions and rumours.

Ok, so the last quarter of the story may have been slightly over the top, with too many plot twists that stretched credibility a bit far at times, but in the end the entertainment value won out for me. What the heck! This may not have been the most plausible explanation, but it was a great rollercoaster ride. It kept me glued to the pages, eager to find out the answers.

Summary:

All in all The Au Pair was a thoroughly entertaining rollercoaster ride of a thriller, full of dark family secrets, an atmospheric setting and characters who are all less than forthcoming with the truth. It kept me glued to the pages to the very end! Recommended to readers who like mysteries centred around dysfunctional family dynamics and can tolerate some suspension of disbelief for the sake of entertainment.

Thank you to Edelweiss and Berkley Publishing for the free electronic copy of this novel and for giving me the opportunity to provide an honest review.