The Nanny

3/5 stars

Jocelyn, the daughter of Lord and Lady Holt, loved her nanny more than anyone. One day, her nanny left without a goodbye and Jocelyn has yearned for her ever since. Thirty years later, Jocelyn must move back to her parents’ estate. Suddenly their lives are uprooted when a human skeleton is discovered in the lake behind their mansion. Soon after, another unexpected twist occurs when Hannah appears at their front door willing and able to care for Joceleyn’s daughter. No one knows why Hannah has reappeared, but as she spends more time with the family, it becomes clear she has dark secrets she hopes to keep hidden. 

The Nanny was a slow-burn thriller. Told from multiple perspectives and time points, I spent much of the book trying to figure out what Hannah’s motives were. There was a fair bit of backstory and minor characters that I needed to keep track of. While this did help build the world of suspense, the frequent perspective changes made it hard for me to stay within the story. 

I was frustrated with Jocelyn for most of the book. I could not understand why she was so hesitant to believe her family when they warned her that things were suspicious. Obviously, there wouldn’t be a book if the main character had just sent Hannah away immediately, but the constant dismissal of her family’s concerns seemed unrealistic for a mother who is doing everything she can to protect her child. 

Once the story picked up and we reached the climax, it was thrilling. However, it was rushed. There was a lot of build-up but then not much development when Hannah revealed her true intentions. I felt like I was missing something that happened between the characters that would explain the final confrontations. 

Overall, The Nanny did satisfy my need for a psychological thriller. The pacing and missing pieces of plot development left it as a three-start read for me, but it did have my heart racing at the end and make me want more thrillers.