Hey all! I know today is not the thriller day, but I have just finished reading the book, The Nanny by Gilly Macmillan and can’t wait to share my thoughts about the book!
When her beloved nanny, Hannah, left without a trace in the summer of 1988, seven-year-old Jocelyn Holt was devastated. Haunted by the loss, Jo grew up bitter and distant, and eventually left her parents and Lake Hall, their faded aristocratic home, behind.
Thirty years later, Jo returns to the house and is forced to confront her troubled relationship with her mother. But when human remains are accidentally uncovered in a lake on the estate, Jo begins to question everything she thought she knew.
Then an unexpected visitor knocks on the door and Jo’s world is destroyed again. Desperate to piece together the gaping holes in her memory, Jo must uncover who her nanny really was, why she left, and if she can trust her own mother…
In this compulsively readable tale of secrets, lies, and deception, Gilly Macmillan explores the darkest impulses and desires of the human heart. Diabolically clever, The Nanny reminds us that sometimes the truth hurts so much you’d rather hear the lie.
- Paperback: 400 pages
- Publisher: William Morrow (September 10, 2019)
- Language: English
- Genre – Psychological Thriller
Gilly Macmillan is the New York Times bestselling author of WHAT SHE KNEW (previously published as BURNT PAPER SKY in some territories), THE PERFECT GIRL, ODD CHILD OUT & I KNOW YOU KNOW. THE NANNY is out 10 September 2019.
Gilly is Edgar Award nominated and an ITW award finalist. Her books have been translated into over 20 languages.
She grew up in Swindon, Wiltshire and also lived in Northern California. She studied History of Art at Bristol University and the Courtauld Institute of Art in London.
Gilly lives in Bristol, UK with her family and writes full time. She’s currently working on her sixth novel.
The Nanny was one of my want to read book list last year and so when I got the hands on this book, I was ecstatic and couldn’t wait to read the book.
So in a nutshell, the story starts with Jocelyn “Jo” who returns back to the Holt house with her daughter, Ruby after her husband, Chris died in accident back in California. She is having a distant and estranged relationship with her mother Virginia and was supposedly very close to her nanny Hannah Burgess, who mysteriously disappeared back in 1987. Then things began to change when a human skull was found in a lake at the back of the Holt house and an unexpected visitor turns up at the manion.
So let’s start with the ones I like about the book (not there are some Spoiler reviews in this list)
- The story is told from the perspectives of Jo (the daughter) and Virginia (the mother) so the reader can have an insight of what both the mother and daughter think of each other, and their different opinions about the nanny, Hannah.
- Starting from the middle, the story starts getting interesting, particularly about the scenes (confrontation scene) between Hannah and Virginia and Jo.
- I also like the way author chronicles the events starting in 1973 when Linda Taylor gets a new identity.
- The chapters about the police was short which was OK.
- The writing was simple and understandable and not very complicated.
- The author did a good job keeping the reader hooked into the book.
Now the things I didn’t like in the book.
- Some parts of the book was confusing.
- Sometimes when Virginia was reminiscing memories of her late husband, Alexander and about what she and Alexander did that night, it was a little confusing to know which is the past event and which is a present event.
- The story was too direct so kind of gave in who the villain is and the ending was predictable.
Overall, I enjoyed reading this book–it was a good thriller. I give this book a four star rating!
Tropical Girl Reads 