Gilly Macmillan | THE NANNY

Plot (via Goodreads):

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…

Review:

I have gone back-and-forth so much with The Nanny by Gilly Macmillan in the past few days since I finished it. What I will say is this one is definitely way more different than her other ones. I loved the V.C. Andrews vibe to it and I will say that between the story and the setting to this one, it was definitely way more of a slow-burning mystery than the other novels that she has released. What I enjoyed about this one was the really sinister setting, the dual timelines, and that this one really reminded me of an even darker Agatha Christie-inspired novel.

I was really invested in the backstory to this one and the combination between the characters and wondering what was really going on was at times nail-biting. Around the midway mark, I did kind of guess the big twist and reveal, but that didn't stop me from overall enjoying the story and wondering what happened along the way. The family dynamic in this one was really interesting to read and was realistic to me when it came down to the nitty gritty of family relationships. The characters in this one are what really shone for me and made me enjoy the story even more.

Maybe it was my mood or just the relaxing vibe I was feeling the weekend I read this one, but I really enjoyed the fact that it was more of a slower-burning mystery and not a suspenseful thriller. It kept me riveted and really hanging on to each and every word. There was only one aspect to this one that I felt distracted me from the overall story and kind of felt unnecessary to me and kind of hindered me from making this a 4 or 4.5 read because it just made the plot lose steam. The ending really made up for the slower parts to this one and kept me on my toes all while wrapping up some smaller details mentioned throughout the novel and ended perfectly.

Special thanks to William Morrow for this copy in exchange for my honest review.

Rating: 3.5/5