REVIEW: The Niece by Georgina Cross

The Niece by Georgina Cross

Genre: Domestic thriller, Suspense

Read: 2nd September 2022

Goodreads

Amazon

Published: 2nd September 2022

★★★★ 4.5 stars

DESCRIPTION:

I love my family. But can I trust them?

Walking down an airport corridor I see her. My mother’s sister. There is no mistaking we’re related; we have the same long, black hair and brown eyes. But my aunt is the one person in the world my mother told me never to trust.

Nothing feels real right now. My beloved mother was my whole world—she taught me everything and she said she would always be there for me. My last memory is of her screaming at me to get out. Then the flames took her, and she was gone.

Now I have to live with my aunt and I hope she’s changed after all these years. But when I secretly watch her speaking to her friends, she makes it sound like I’m a stranger in her home.

She leaves her bedroom door open and I hear her on the phone to the police late at night. I start to wonder if she had something to do with the terrible fire that ripped my life apart. And my blood turns to ice when the detective asks, what are you hiding?

Is my aunt trying to protect me, or is it time to teach her a lesson?

An utterly addictive psychological thriller about a family with a dark secret at its heart that will make you question everyone you trust. Perfect for fans of The Wife Between Us, The Woman in the Window and Gone Girl.

MY THOUGHTS:

This is only the second book by Georgina Cross I've read and I have to say that I am impressed. The previous one I undertook "Nanny Needed" was thrilling and I didn't think it could get much better but THE NIECE is so addictive and absorbing from start to finish, and entertaining to boot! Why have I not discovered her sooner?

Tara and Beth are sisters who have been estranged for some thirteen years. The reason for their estrangement will gradually become clear as the story unfolds. So Tara is shocked to learn that not only has her sister died in a house fire but that according to her wishes, her sixteen year old daughter Hannah will be sent to live with Tara until she reaches eighteen and comes into her inheritance. Tara hasn't seen Hannah since she was a three year old toddler...when her world fell apart and her family disowned her.

Now Tara is faced with telling her own daughter Cassie that not only did she have an aunt but also a cousin she knew nothing about...and who is now coming to live with them. But it seems she needn't have worried because Cassie is super excited to have a cousin and it would be like having a big sister. From the moment she arrives, Hannah and Cassie bond immediately.

With Cassie thrilled at having a cousin and Hannah settling into life with them, Tara starts to hope that maybe things will work out after all. Hannah is enrolled at high school and begins within a few days, with high hopes for her education having excelled in the homeschooling program she undertook with her mother. But when she sees the school registrar waiting with Hannah when she arrives to collect her one afternoon, Tara realises that things may not be going as well as she first thought.

However, the past never stays buried...no matter how deep you dig. And if you've left a troubled past behind, chances are it will catch up with you. And Tara has a secret. One that she made with her sister Beth all those years ago. She kept her side of the bargain...but did Beth keep hers? From what Hannah appears to be alluding to, it seems Beth has told her different. Did she break their promise to each other? Did Beth lie to Hannah about what really happened? What did she tell her? It seems that Hannah knows something but just what it is, Tara isn't sure. And as her niece is still grieving the loss of her mother in such tragic circumstances, she won't pressure her. But Tara has to wonder...had Beth been honest with her daughter or has Hannah been manipulated?

Another thing that seems strange is the fact that Beth had become something of a recluse in recent years, never leaving the house. What is with that? That certainly didn't sound like the Beth she knew...so what has changed? Being the older of the sisters, Beth was always one to take charge...so what happened to make her take to her home and never leave?

Tara is in constant contact with the detective investigating the circumstances surrounding Beth's death in the fire and despite following a lead Hannah had given him, Tara had to wonder if it wasn't the past coming to catch them up. The secret she vowed to take to her grave...is it coming back to haunt her? After receiving threatening notes and silent phone calls, Tara believes that whoever killed Beth is now coming after her.

Filled with secrets, lies and deception, THE NIECE is an addictive fast-paced read from beginning to end. It is high energy, high octane and highly entertaining. Just when you think you know in which direction it's going, you won't. The twist, when it came, I had suspected due to one tinsy tiny tidbit that was dropped and grabbed with both hands and went with it. The fact that it was mentioned, even in passing, had to mean something. And so I wasn't surprised by the twist but I was by the outcome. 

Although the entire read was thrilling and exciting, the ending did kind of peter out into nothing much and in comparison to the rest of the story, I did find it to be a little lack lustre. BUT...that is only a small part because the rest of the story was a thrill-ride you didn't want to get off. I enjoyed every minute of it and finished this book within a day. Plenty of drama, suspense and oh so many secrets that we had to unravel to get to the truth. And the tension was palpable.

A delicious story that I couldn't put down, THE NIECE is a thriller packed full of family secrets that just makes it all the more enticing. So far, I have enjoyed two thrillers by this author and I look forward to more! I shall be adding her already published ones to my ever-growing TBR list and will keep an eye out for more.

I would like to thank #GeorginaCross, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheNiece in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Georgina Cross is the author of The Stepdaughter (September 2020) and The Missing Woman (January 2021) and Nanny Needed (April 2022) which are works of domestic suspense, psychological suspense, and thriller.

She is represented by Rachel Beck with Liza Dawson Associates with her suspense fiction appealing to readers of The Good Girl by Mary Kubica, The Marriage Lie by Kimberly Belle, The Mother-in-Law by Sally Hepworth, and Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty.

Georgina has been writing since she was a child. Notebooks & floppy discs filled with stories: adventures growing up in New Orleans and tales from Malaysia & England where her family lives. After graduating from Louisiana State University, she pursued a career in marketing & communications and founded Susie's Wish non-profit which sends patients with life threatening illnesses to the beach. She spends time with her husband and their combined family of four sons watching plenty of scary movies and is thrilled to be a full-time author.

Social Media links:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads

REVIEW: Nanny Needed by Georgina Cross

Nanny Needed by Georgina Cross

Genre: Domestic thriller, Psychological thriller, Suspense

Read: 24th April 2022

Goodreads

Amazon

Published: 28th April 2022

★★★★ 4 stars

DESCRIPTION:

A young woman takes a job as a nanny for an impossibly wealthy family, thinking she's found her entry into a better life--only to discover instead she's walked into a world of deception and dark secrets.

Nanny needed. Discretion is of the utmost importance. Special conditions apply.

When Sarah Larsen finds the notice, posted on creamy card stock in her building's lobby, one glance at the exclusive address tells her she's found her ticket out of a dead-end job--and life.

At the interview, the job seems like a dream come true: a glamorous penthouse apartment on the Upper West Side of NYC; a salary that adds several zeroes to her current income; the beautiful, worldly mother of her charge, who feels more like a friend than a potential boss. She's overjoyed when they offer her the position and signs the NDA without a second thought.

In retrospect, the notice in her lobby was less an engraved invitation than a waving red flag. For there is something very strange about the Bird family. Why does the beautiful Mrs. Bird never leave the apartment alone? And what happened to the nanny before her? It soon becomes clear that the Birds' odd behaviors are more than the eccentricities of the wealthy.

But by then it's too late for Sarah to seek help. After all, discretion is of the utmost importance.

MY REVIEW:

OK, first you need to go into this one a little open-minded as it is not your typical run-of-the-mill thriller. In fact it's quite an original spin on the nanny trope that is both fresh and utterly twisted! But, oh, what a read! And I loved every single minute of it.

This is my first book by Georgina Cross and I must say I was impressed...even if it is a tad far fetched. So what? It's fiction. It's supposed to be fun and entertaining. And, boy was it ever! And I do love a good nanny thriller. But where do I start to review this deliciously twisted tale?

Sarah Larsen is 26 years old and drowning in debt after caring for her now deceased Aunt Clara, who raised her after the death of her parents when she was five. Wanting a fresh start, Sarah left Virginia Beach and headed to the bright lights of New York, where dreams are made of (as the song goes). But living in NYC is a tough gig as it is so expensive. She meets and falls in love with Jonathan and the two bceome engaged and move in together to pool their expenses and help keep Sarah from bankruptcy. Jonathan is the perfect fiance, supportive and basically an all-round good guy. Currently getting by on tips waitressing, Sarah and Jonathan have grand plans for their future if only they could get out from this mountain of debt.

One day, Sarah comes across a flyer pinned to the noticeboard in the foyer of their apartment building advertising for a nanny in the Upper West Side.

"Nanny needed. Discretion is of the utmost importance. Special conditions apply."

That alone should have been a red flag but she applies for the position, is interviewed and offered the job. The salary alone is just what she needs to help get them out of debt and move towards their future together.

Arriving at the Upper West Side penthouse to start her employment, Sarah is keen to meet the child whom she is to nanny. Her employer, Collette Bird, greets her in a cloud of Chanel No.5 but with no sign of 4 year old Patty just yet. To say Collette is odd is a bit of an understatement. Eccentric? Loopy? Or just plain strange? Whatever it is, Sarah gets an odd vibe whenever she's in her presence that she can't quite explain. But she thinks no more about it after signing her employment contract, which she barely reads, for three months with a salary of $1200 a week and a condition that "discretion is the utmost importance". Red flag much.

After Collette herself, dealing mostly with her stepson Stephen and the housekeeper Pauline, Sarah believes this job to be a dream come true. But...if it sounds too good to be true, then it usually is.

The Birds are an extremely odd family with a lot of secrets and a circle of protection that surrounds Collette particularly. For she never ever leaves the apartment. And Sarah soon discovers there is far more to this nanny position than she had bargained for. But she has signed a contract by which she is bound for three months or she could face financial ruin with an unwelcome lawsuit. She should have read that fine print.

Just wow! NANNY NEEDED really is pure unadulterated fun and entertainment, even if you have to suspend belief at times. Who cares? It's fiction and it was such a fun read. It was certainly a bunch of crazy with some very odd occurrences and some strange people. There were times it was creepy particularly when the big reveal came as the narrative takes a very disturbing direction. Seriously, the Crazy Train has arrived and is ready for boarding!

It is such a crazy read that was such fun and had me turning the pages that I read NANNY NEEDED in the space of a few hours in a day. It was such an addictive read I couldn't put it down. I was seriously like a moth to a flame.

Overall, it was engrossing and heart pounding and a whole lot of crazy fun! The reveal was shockingly unexpected and well played. The ending, satisfying. I have to say it was one of the most fun reads I have had in a thriller. I enjoyed every moment of this deliciously disturbing tale.

I would like to thank #GeorginaCross, #Netgalley, #AvonBooksUK for an ARC of #NannyNeeded in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Georgina Cross is the author of The Stepdaughter (September 2020) and The Missing Woman (January 2021) and Nanny Needed (April 2022) which are works of domestic suspense, psychological suspense, and thriller.

She is represented by Rachel Beck with Liza Dawson Associates with her suspense fiction appealing to readers of The Good Girl by Mary Kubica, The Marriage Lie by Kimberly Belle, The Mother-in-Law by Sally Hepworth, and Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty.

Georgina has been writing since she was a child. Notebooks & floppy discs filled with stories: adventures growing up in New Orleans and tales from Malaysia & England where her family lives. After graduating from Louisiana State University, she pursued a career in marketing & communications and founded Susie's Wish non-profit which sends patients with life threatening illnesses to the beach. She spends time with her husband and their combined family of four sons watching plenty of scary movies and is thrilled to be a full-time author.

Social Media links:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads