This twisty tale about an au pair who gets drawn into a dysfunctional love triangle kept me turning pages to the end. Told in two different voices, between the past and the present, this story was at times confusing and convoluted but still an enjoyable read.

This is a story told from the POV of the two main characters. The POV are from different periods of the story and alternate back and forth. It took me a bit to keep the storyline straight but once I got in a few chapters, I was off.

I thought at different times during the story that I had figured out the mystery but of course I was wrong. Once I got in to the plot then I didn't want to put the book down. The characters were well developed and I enjoy the book.

This family will need a walk-in closet for all of their skeletons! This story is told in alternating voices, one in the past, and one in the present. A well-to-do family is in need of some help with their son because the father works in London all week and the mother isn't quite herself. The au pair arrives and is thrust into a complicated set up. The events of late 1991 and through the summer of 1992 reached into the present day and continued their complicated story.
While a little predictable, it was still a good tale. Three and a half stars.

An intense, roller coaster of a ride. One of those thrillers that some might not want to read at first glance, but one that they should definitely take the time to read. 4-5 stars.
Will be highly recommending and using in a daily challenge in Chapter Chatter Pub!

This book held my interest for a while, then the author went a different way then I thought it was going to end. Ending was unbelievable and I didn’t enjoy it.

This is a highly entertaining read, but also somewhat predictable. From the moment you are filled in about the protagonist's "mysterious" birth, there seems to be a clear solution as to what happened. Of course that solution requires some questionable actions of its characters, but that's as to be expected in modern day psychological thrillers. If the characters acted rationally, you wouldn't have a book. While the end isn't shocking or even surprising, it's still a fun read to get lost in for a few hours.

After the death of her father, Seraphine discovers a photo in his belongings that raises questions about her childhood--and the she thinks the au pair living with them at the time of her birth and her mother's death might have the answers she seeks.

This book alternated between Seraphine in the present and the au pair in the past until everything comes together in the end. An entertaining, gothic-style story.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing this review copy.

Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we... etc., This particular deception had lasted from the time the twins were born til they were twenty-five years old, and now one of the twins was curious. Always having a feeling of isolation and something not right in the family, it was only after her father's death that she finally felt driven enough to pursue her inquiries into her family. Warned off by family and friends, she remained determined to find an answer.

The answers she finds keep her asking more questions, and in the end the answers are so convoluted it's almost hard to keep them straight! However, the answers and the way the answers actually came about will keep you interested to the end.

Great book!

Engaging the whole way through. Stayed up late because I needed to know what the answer to the mystery was. In the end, it was a maybe a little too unbelievable for my tastes but I still enjoyed the ride.

Thank you to Netgalley and Kensington Books for the opportunity to read The Au Pair before its release on January 8, 2019 in exchange for an honest, impartial review.

Wow. What a crazy, wild ride I just went on. There was so much going on in the last part of the book I am still in shock. Currently I am suffering from a book hangover, I’m sad this book is over and I just cannot pick myself up and move on just yet.

The premise of the story is about a wealthy family who lives in their grandmother’s home; The Summerbourne House. This family is about to uncover a web of secrets that they aren’t sure they can handle. When the “Summerborn Summerbourne” twins were born, there was a lot of mystery surrounding it. To top it all off the mother killed herself on the day her twins were born. Only picture from the day of their birth can be found and the mother is only holding one child; which one and why was only one in the photo?

Before any questions can be answered, the family is faced with another tragedy as their father suddenly and unexpectedly passes (albeit 25 years later). Seraphine, one of the twins, takes it upon herself to find answers about the day of her birth by seeking out the only person who could have them, the au pair who was there that day taking care of her older brother.

I did not see how this story was being played out. We have an older brother and a set of twins and the author does a fantastic job at weaving the stories of the children in and out. One cannot possibly guess what is going to happen with them until the very end of the book. I could hardly put this book down. So. Much. Happens. At. The. End.

I usually am a fast reader but at the end of this book I had to slow down to keep up with what was happening. It all comes to the surface at once. You have to brace yourself, take deep breaths, and prepare yourself for what Seraphine will finally uncover. Have no fear when it comes to the end, The Au Pair treats us with a fitting ending and an even more appropriate epilogue. YES!

This is a must read, 5 star book. It flips from the au pair telling her story in 1992 to Seraphine telling her story in the present day. The puzzle starts to be put together, but, there are still key pieces missing until the very end which always makes for a great psychological read. This definitely keeps you guessing and your brain will explode when the truth comes to light at the end of the book. Wow. I am just elated that we found out what really happened on the day the twins were born and what came of the truth being set free 25 years later. Don’t miss out on this read!


***THIS WILL BE PUBLISHED TO WWW.BOOKINTHEBAG.WORDPRESS.COM ON THURSDAY, JANUARY 3RD AT 5:00 AM PACIFIC STANDARD TIME***
***THIS WILL BE FEATURED ON THURSDAY, JANUARY 3RD AT WWW.INSTAGRAM.COM/MRSDMVH***

The concept of this story is very interesting, I just wished that the plot had moved a little faster. I'm not sure that I really liked any of the characters, but I don't think that the writer really wanted me to like them. It was all rather improbable, hard to really connect with the characters. I have a hard time believing that a woman could be pregnant with twins and nobody noticed she was pregnant! I asked an American friend what gaining "two stone" meant to her, and she had no idea, so I suggest you change it to read 28lbs.

Seraphine and her twin brother, Danny, were summoned by their father, Dominic, to the family’s country estate, Summerbourne, for their 25th birthday. He explained that he had something important to tell them. The day before the visit, Dominic was killed in an accidental fall from his roof.

Seraphine’s mother, Ruth, had taken her life soon after Seraphine and Danny were born. Now Seraphine moved into the family estate and started sorting through their father’s papers. When she found a photo of her parents holding one child on the day after Seraphine’s birth, she was confused about why only one twin was present. The only other person who had been living at Summerbourne at that time was Laura, an au pair hired to care for Edwin, their older brother. Laura had been dismissed shortly after Ruth’s suicide and a series of nannies raised the 3 children.

So Seraphine set out to find Laura using the Internet. She discovered Laura’s current workplace in London and tried to contact the older woman. Laura’s immediate reaction was to flee but Seraphine followed her and eventually made contact.

Once the 3 siblings got Laura to talk, she & Alex, a longtime family friend, were able to expose secrets that had been hidden for 25 years.

The story is told in alternate chapters by Lauren in 1991 and by Seraphine in 2016. I enjoyed the story and my interest was kept until the very end of the book. I hope to read other stories by this first time author.

So many twists!
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This is one crazy book. As it was I ended up reading the story in the middle of one of my busiest weeks. So I only got to read in bits and pieces and it was frustrating for me. I was chomping at the bit to tear into this story!

This story is very unique. Told from two different points of view, we are introduced to a twin who is confused and wondering about certain bits of her family history. On the other hand, we hear the story from the au pair who worked for the family because the mother was slightly unstable and delicate.

And what a story these two people told. From unexpected deaths to questionable accidents, my head was spinning several times! We also learned of suspicious activities, deep, dark secrets, and very interesting circumstances surrounding the twins in the family.

The author has created an intricate plot that made me go back a few times to re-read sections. With many twists and turns, we are kept off balance just a bit as we learn of this twisted family history. You have to read it to believe it.

Interesting and surprising in many ways, Emma Rous brings the unexpected to the mystery and suspense genre. Can’t wait to read more from her.

This mystery/thriller will not disappoint. Seraphine is mourning the death of her father and lives in the family estate in Norfolk, UK. She is going through some old boxes. and comes across an old photo of her mother, but her mother is only holding one baby and Seraphine has a twin Danny. Also her mother committed suicide soon after she gave birth, and this looks like a family portrait with her mother, father and older brother, but where is the other baby? With both parents now deceased, Seraphine has to try and find out what mystery there was in her family. She knows that they were raised by an Au Pair and that her grandmother is still alive. There was always strange stories circulating about the twins and Seraphine knows that it is time she sought out the truth.
The storyline is strong and flows well. A good mystery with an ending I was not expecting.

This book was quite a wild ride! Seraphine is going through her father's things after his death, and finds a photo of the day she was born. But there is only one baby in the picture! Seraphine has a twin brother Danny. On the day they were born, their mother committed suicide. Where is the other baby and which one is in the picture? Their mother looks so very happy why would she kill herself only a short time later? These are the questions Seraphine wants answered. The story is told by Seraphine in the present and by Laura the au pair in the past. So many secrets and family drama both current and in the past, make this a page turner that is very hard to put down! I received an advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Berkley Books. All opinions are my own.

I found this book very compelling up until the end, and though I won't give spoilers, I will say that I found it to be melodramatic at that point. Still well worth the read, but I found that the idea of what seemed likely had to be stretched a bit. Up until that point, I found it to be a page-turner and the description of being a cross between V.C. Andrews and Kate Morton is apt. (Which is saying a lot because I loooove Kate Morton books.) I would definitely read another by this author, hoping for an ending that seems to flow better with the excellent prior narrative. I received an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

After finding a disturbing photo taken 25 years earlier, Seraphine Mayes sets out to find the truth about the picture, her parentage and her mother’s suicide. This search leads her to Laura, the au pair who worked for her family when the photo was taken. Told from the alternating view points of Seraphine and Laura, the book follows what happened the year before Seraphine and her brother Danny were born and how those events are still impacting not only the Mayes family, but also the people who are connected to the family.

The story was interesting for about two-thirds of the way and then began to slowly deteriorate. Laura’s explanation was totally unsatisfying and I had a lot of trouble buying into it. I was expecting more from the ending.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This story had me hooked from the very beginning.

I kept turning the page waiting for the other shoe to drop and figure everything out. It kept me guessing all the way through. Just the way I love them to do!

You’ll go through the whole range of emotions before you get to the end and when you get there, you’ll be exhausted.

Things are never what they seem and how you see the past will impact how you see the present. Grab this book and take this journey to Summerbourne. It’s a wild ride!

Without a doubt, this was one of the better books I have read recently! The story was fantastic, and kept me guessing up until the very end. Full of mystery and intrigue and suspense, I cannot wait until this comes out to share with my customers!

THE AU PAIR by Emma Rous follows Seraphine, a young woman who stumbles upon a previously unseen family photo that makes her question who she really is. The photo shows her mother, who committed suicide not long after her birth, with one baby...but Seraphine has a twin. Where did the second baby come from? What unfolds is a mystery about dark family secrets, inheritance and adultery. I can’t say I loved the far-fetched ending, but this is a great page-turner.