REVIEW: The Nanny by Eleonor Samuel

The Nanny by Eleonor Samuel

Genre: Psychological thriller

Read: 26th June 2023

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Published: 20th June 2023

★★★ 3 stars

DESCRIPTION:

India McKenzie lost her mother far too young. And now she’s lost her best friend, too.

She needs to escape, so she takes a job with a wealthy family.

They live in an isolated old manor house in the Derbyshire countryside. There’s never anyone around.

The parents are not exactly warm. It’s all piano practice and scheduling playdates.

Seven-year-old Alicia can be difficult sometimes, but really she’s just a sweet little girl who’s lonely. She needs a friend — not just a nanny.

Everyone says the grown-up son is dangerous. But India can’t help being drawn to him . . .

And there’s something no one talks about. A secret that this family will do anything to keep.

India became a nanny to finally find a family to call her own. Now that she’s found them — will they destroy her?

. . . She’s part of their family now.

MY THOUGHTS:

She's part of their family now...

Where do I start? The premise for THE NANNY was intriguing and the cover reminded me so much of "The Housemaid" (which was one of the best thrillers ever!) so naturally I was excited to read it. It started out compelling...and then it petered out into...what, exactly?

India McKenzie is running from a secret. Straight into the arms of the Maines. There she takes up the position as nanny to their somewhat precocious seven year old while they flutter about their lives. Admittedly, I'm not a fan of precocious little children but it didn't take long for me to warm to Alicia. Probably because she didn't really read like your typical seven year old. She was India's only companion and vice versa. The two seemed to find an equilibrium together that complemented the other. 

And then there was Alex. He is the adult son of John and Julia Maine. Twentysomething, home from Oxford having studied medicine to follow in his father's footsteps. So why isn't he? And why does he keep himself locked away in the attic room? Away from the family? And why do the family show such disdain for him? Julia ignores India's questions as to who is Alex. And John just gets angry. It's Alicia who enlightens her. No one likes Alex and Alex doesn't like anyone either. Keep out of his way and he'll keep out of theirs. But there is something intriguing about Alex that India can't keep away from...

But if Alex has problems, then India has plenty of her own too. After all, she took this job in rural Derbyshire to escape her past in Leeds. A secret from which she's running. And every day she writes a letter to her best friend Hope telling her of her new life and how much she wishes she could share it with her. Letter after letter after letter...until she stops. 

And then one day, Hope begins to write back. Reminding her of their friendship, of their secret and how they will always be together. And that forever is a long time.

There's not a lot I can say about this book without revealing anything but I will say there's a lot of slow build up. Like pushing a heavy trolley uphill for miles, waiting for the end in sight. Simply put, half of the book could probably have been editted out. I mean we have surplus characters that do nothing and then those who do nothing spend half their time bonking like rabbits! Is this a thriller or fifty shades? Seriously though, there is something sinister going on and nothing is as it seems at the Manor. The parents are fruit loops - I mean who wakes their seven year old child up on a school night after getting home from Austria to give them presents?! This could be done when the said child came home from school the next day! I had no time for the parents and poor Alicia was just a lonely child starved of affection.

THE NANNY had the promise of an interesting thriller but it failed in its execution I feel. It's OK but it is just soooo drawn out. It needs to be shorter, snappier, punchier. And less of the steamy sex scenes. I get it. Alex is intense. India fancied him. Need we get chapter and verse on everything that ensued? It felt like a romance most of the time, not a thriller.

I would like to thank #EleonorSamuel, #Netgalley, #JoffeBooks and #ZoolooTours for an ARC of #TheNanny in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Eleonor was born in Ely, Cambridgeshire, and grew up in the fens, attending the King’s School Ely before moving to Nottingham to study medicine. Since graduating in 2011, Eleonor has worked as a children’s doctor in a number of hospitals and pursued her love of writing alongside her medical career. She married her husband Tim in Ely Cathedral in 2014, and they now live in rural Nottinghamshire with their two young children.

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