Title: THE NANNY
Expected publication: out now
My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟1/2
Book Description:
Seven-year-old Jocelyn loves her nanny more than her own
mother.
When her nanny disappears one night, Jo never gets over the loss.
How could she vanish without saying goodbye?
Thirty years on, Jo is forced to return to her family home and confront her troubled relationship with her mother. When human remains are discovered in the grounds of the house, Jo begins to question everything.
Then an unexpected visitor knocks at the door and Jo’s world is destroyed again as, one by one, she discovers her childhood memories aren’t what they seemed.
What secrets was her nanny hiding – and what was she running away from? And can Jo trust what her mother tells her?
Sometimes the truth hurts so much you’d rather hear the lie.
When her nanny disappears one night, Jo never gets over the loss.
How could she vanish without saying goodbye?
Thirty years on, Jo is forced to return to her family home and confront her troubled relationship with her mother. When human remains are discovered in the grounds of the house, Jo begins to question everything.
Then an unexpected visitor knocks at the door and Jo’s world is destroyed again as, one by one, she discovers her childhood memories aren’t what they seemed.
What secrets was her nanny hiding – and what was she running away from? And can Jo trust what her mother tells her?
Sometimes the truth hurts so much you’d rather hear the lie.
My musings:
What I love about Gilly Macmillan’s book is that they are so
different from each other – you never know what you will get! With THE NANNY, I
was half expecting a “hands that rock the cradle” type of story, and partly it
was that. On the other hand, it was a slow burning and very intriguing
character study of three different women tied together by an old mystery:
mother, daughter and the nanny.
Like most character driven stories that rely heavily on
family dynamics and the setting, this story started off slowly to set the
scene, only to build up tension as the book progressed. I admit I initially
struggled a bit with the characters, but as soon as the skeleton pops out of
the closet – or in this family’s case, the lake - it had well and truly gripped me.
Because like most mysteries, this book relies heavily on
surprise elements, I will only give the bare bones here. After the death of her
husband, Jocelyn Holt returns to her old family home with her young daughter in
tow. Having long lost contact with her mother Virginia, who she resents
bitterly, this is not a happy reunion but a move borne out of financial
hardship. Initially, the two women warily circle one another in the cold,
polite fashion of the English upper class, two polite to ever say how they
really feel but also not prepared to air out their grievances. Jocelyn is
convinced that her mother never loved her, and that she was responsible for the
sudden disappearance of her beloved nanny Hannah when Jo was just 7 years old.
Virginia Holt, in the meantime, remains tight lipped about the matter, refusing
to discuss Hannah. Until an old skeleton is washed up on the shores of the
estate’s lake, once again arousing Jo’s suspicions that her nanny has come to
harm.
Macmillan is very clever at spinning her web, so it is worth
persevering over the initial few chapters where not much happens but which are
vital in setting the scene. I loved the gothic vibes of the old family home and
the family’s crumbling estate, which is one of my favourite settings and which
added much to the intrigue. I also appreciated how the author had me change my
loyalties throughout the book – whereas I first found Lady Holt cold and
stand-offish, she ended up becoming the character closest to my heart. The
mystery relies heavily on family dynamics and old simmering suspicions and
emotions, which are explored here through the eyes of the three women. Ruby,
Jo’s ten year old daughter, was a refreshing impartial perspective that added
some hope and light to the book for me.
I admit that for the first two chapters I was not expecting
to like this book very much, and I even put it aside for a few days to try
again later. However, it soon became utterly addictive and I became so
embroiled in this family’s dynamics that I ended up reading late into the
night, muttering a few times as some characters made some very questionable
decisions. Such an emotional response is always a good sign that a book is
working for me!
Summary:
All in all, THE NANNY turned out to be an addictive,
character driven study of family dynamics and old secrets that have a way of
making their way to the surface when you least expect it. There is no
ridiculous twist or action packed finale, so if you are expecting either you
may be disappointed, but I loved the way this one played out. In short, it made
for an entertaining story I devoured in a couple of days and have no qualms
recommending to lovers of the genre.
Thank
you to Netgalley and Random House UK for the free electronic copy of this novel and
for giving me the opportunity to provide an honest review.
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