The Nanny was my first Gilly Macmillan novel I read. It did not disappoint! This was the first thriller I took my time to read because I didn’t want it to end! The twists kept coming and the ending felt perfect.

Jocelyn Holt, the daughter of a wealthy family living in a mansion in rural England, is crushed one day when her beloved nanny, Hannah, disappears without a trace. Decades later, a recently widowed Jocelyn and her young daughter move back into the mansion with her mother. Out of the blue, Hannah remerges into the Holts’ lives at a time when they desperately need help. But not everything and everyone are as it seems. The discovery of a skull initiates a police investigation and the revelation of shocking family secrets. Told at a breakneck pace, the Nanny takes readers on a wild ride of pulse pounding suspense.

Macmillan effortlessly weaves alternate time periods and multiple narrators to create an atmosphere of psychological tension and perpetual suspense. I’ve read and enjoyed all of Gilly Macmillan’s books, but this is at the top of my list of favorites. Her writing and character development is superb and left me wanting more. For fans of psychological suspense, this is a must!

Many thanks to Netgalley, William Morrow and Gilly Macmillan for my complimentary e-copy ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this ARC via Netgalley. It didn't disappoint! Jocelyn Holt's husband has died, forcing Joelyn back to the one place she never wanted to return to- her family home in the UK. Jo and her mother have never really gotten along and she hasn't taken her daughter Ruby to meet her mother, Lady Holt. Lady H0lt isn't necessarily the woman that Jo recalls. Victoria (Lady Holt) reaches out to Ruby to become close with her much to Jo's dismay. A skull turns up on the island in the lake on their property. Is the skull connected to the disappearance of Jo's beloved childhood nanny? Read the story to find out and solve the mystery.

Very little mystery in this mystery book as the story line was very predictable very early on. With a little more twists, suspense, and a main character that wasn't so grating, this could have been a good story.

I didn’t love this book, but it certainly kept me turning the pages. Book groups will find plenty to talk about, and I will be sure to recommend it.

I am afraid that this book was just not my cup of tea. It was extremely slow and did not capture my attention as I have come to expect from a mystery/thriller. I couldn’t connect with any of the characters and found it to be very predictable.
This is my first by Gilly Macmillan and even though this book was not for me I would like to try another one in the future. I always say, books are not a one size fits all, so I suggest everyone try this one for themselves. There are plenty of wonderful reviews for it, it may be just me.

Oh my word! I found it quite hard to put this book down, as there were so many twists and turns that I was desperate to know what was going to happen next. It is extremely well written, with excellent character development. I highly recommend this one, especially to fans of psychological thrillers. Thanks so much for the free advance copy!

When her beloved nanny, Hannah, left without a trace in the summer of 1988, seven-year-old Jocelyn Holt was devastated. 30 years later Hannah reappears and attempts to resume a presence in the family. Secrets revealed, loyalties are tested and shift and ultimately all is revealed.

If you enjoy a mystery involving family secrets where nothing is quite as it seems, The Nanny is definitely for you.

Told in alternating points of view, The Nanny tells the tale of Jocelyn Holt as she is forced to return to her childhood home after the death of her husband. Jocelyn must face her estranged mother, while trying to put her and her daughter's life back together. If that wasn't hard enough - a skull is uncovered on the estate's lake, stirring up memories of Jo's beloved Nanny who disappeared without a word one night.

This is a slow burn type mystery - where bits are revealed little by little. The aristocratic characters were quite scandalous and I found the memories of their past deeds entertaining and often times abhorrent (which I rather enjoy!). The Holt family has quite the saga going on in this story and Nanny Hannah - well, let's just say she was the opposite of Mary Poppins.

This novel was full of regrets, misdeeds, secrets, misplaced trust, manipulation and unhealthy relationships. I enjoyed this mystery but I did have it figured out fairly early on and it felt a bit too long. Had it been just a bit faster, it would have been all the more gripping

4.5 STARS

Secrets, secrets and more secrets abound in this slow-build thriller! Loved it.

Jocelyn Holt was recently widowed and she must move back to England with her young daughter Ruby to live with her mother. Jo grew up in the imposing Lake Hall with her beloved father and cold mother, whom she always believed to be distant and unloving. Jo is still tormented by the sudden and traumatic departure of her beloved nanny Hannah when she was very young.

Jo is determined that her daughter will not have the same upbringing that she had in Lake Hall. Raised by others, her parents were but a distant presence in her life. I loved the diverging viewpoints in this book on class division in England. The very wealthy handed off the raising of their children to others, who basically became like parent figures to their young charges. Jo is still traumatized by Hannah's abandonment of her, which she has always blamed on her hateful mother Virginia. But is Jo's memory reliable? What really happened to her beloved nanny"

"I no longer know who or what to believe."

Virginia actually seems quite taken by Ruby and seems to have genuine affection for her. Virginia and Jo battle constantly throughout much of the story: Jo is judgmental of her mother's upper-class lifestyle and does not want Ruby to grow up spoiled and with a sense of entitlement. Virginia, on the other hand, is exhausted from life and from years of battling her daughter Jocelyn over every single thing.

"Do you know how it feels when your child looks at you with eyes full of hatred? You feel as if your soul is being scraped out of you. I had so much love to give her, but she didn’t want a single piece of it. "

Soon the discovery of a skull on the lake of their property leads to an investigation and the unraveling of the several lives which have been intertwined for decades. Secrets are revealed and the author completely shocked me with this intricate tale of love, family loyalty and betrayal. What really happened to Hannah all those years ago? Is Virginia really as distant and unloving as Jo believes her to be?

"I’ve seen things I hadn’t remembered quite right and other things I had forgotten completely. It’s a strange sensation to see yourself somewhere doing something you would not have remembered otherwise."

This is my first novel by Gilly Macmillan and I absolutely fell in love with her writing. This book surprised me until the very end! I loved the setting of an English manor house and the traditions were enchanting. There were several characters I loved to hate and found the ending to be incredibly satisfying. Highly recommend this atmospheric and well-written thriller!



READING PROGRESS

Wowza! What a book. I love dual timelines and love that Macmillan leaves you unsure of who to believe. The Nanny is a book that has something for everyone. You will not be disappointed.

Being a former nanny, I'm a bit offended by evil nanny stories, but I enjoyed this twisty thriller! Nothing is as it seems in this story, and you truly don't know who you can trust until the end. It's a bit of a slow burn, but as the secrets unravel, the pace picks up and you won't want to put it down until you figure out what really happened.

The Nanny begins innocently enough. Jocelyn (Jo) is a recent widow with a ten year old daughter. Due to financial circumstances, they move from their California home back to the English manor house, Lake Hall, where Jo grew up. Jo’s relationship with her mother had always been strained and uncomfortable and she finds that little has changed. Meanwhile, her childhood memories are dominated by the sudden disappearance of her nanny when she was only seven years old. This long-ago disappearance takes on an ominous tone when a human skull is discovered in the lake near the house. It would appear that there are many more secrets in the family than meets the eye.

The Nanny is a well-developed story that captivated this reader. The characters’ backstories are slowly revealed from several points of view. The story also goes back and forth from different periods of time. Sometimes this can be confusing but Ms Mcmillan is very good at what she does and the time period shifts are nearly seamless.

The mood of the story is relentlessly suspenseful. At one point I thought I had it all figured out, only to be blindsided (in a good way) with a new development. This was a book I found hard to put down and I thoroughly enjoyed the author’s style of writing and the story she told.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book for review.

"The Nanny," Gilly Macmillan's latest psychological thriller, is a blistering character study of flawed people who make horrendous errors in judgment and, in some cases, prey on the weakness and vulnerability of those foolish enough to trust them. The title character, Hannah Burgess, might have been a great success as an actress, since she can skillfully feign sincerity and benevolence. She insinuates herself into various households, where unsuspecting parents entrust her with the care of their sons and daughters. If a child is docile, everything is fine, but Hannah has little tolerance for disrespectful and disobedient youngsters. Furthermore, if the man of the house happens to be wealthy and attractive, she schemes to lure him away from his wife, so that one day she can fulfill her dream—to be a lady of leisure.

The author does not pigeonhole her characters into clearly defined categories, and that is one of the fascinating aspects of this suspenseful and engrossing book. Hannah is conniving and deceptive. Nevertheless, we feel pity for her, since she had to flee from an abusive and sadistic father. Most of the novel focuses on the Holt family, who live in a manor house in England, and in flashback we learn that Lord Alexander and Lady Virginia Holt were once social butterflies who had an only child, Jocelyn. One day, the girl's nanny, the aforementioned Hannah, disappears unexpectedly. Thirty years later, Jocelyn is an impoverished widow with her own daughter, and she reluctantly moves back in with her mother. Secrets, lies, and long-buried transgressions emerge and threaten to destroy this fragile family, especially when a skull surfaces in a lake on the Holt estate.

Macmillan presents alternating points of view, so that we grow to understand that, as guilty as some of the characters are of such sins as fraud, greed, adultery, and murder, they find a way to rationalize their actions so that they can continue to live with themselves. There are a fair number of surprises along the way, and the conclusion suggests that almost anyone is capable of committing a crime when someone threatens them and those they love.

I've read 3 books this summer (ok, this is the last book that we can call summer) that all included a Nanny as one of the main characters. This one had me guessing all the way until the end. As far as a review goes, I felt this book grabbed me at the beginning and it crawled a little more than I typically like in the middle. However, I found the ending (last 75-80 pages) to be extremely suspenseful and as the pages decreased I just couldn't figure out how it was going to end.

I had so many questions about the skull in the lake and the identity of the Nanny that abruptly disappeared and then showed up just as she never left. I fell in love with the home and grounds of Lord and Lady Holt as I read descriptions of their historic home. I felt it was lavish and Gatsby-ish but full of secrets only Lady Holt knew.

I could relate the most to Jo, the character who left the fortune and prominence of her family behind when she was old enough to, to make a life for herself that she didn't need her parent's money to support. I felt like the author did an amazing job making Jo into a "normal," struggling mom and widow and I found myself counting on a good ending for her and her daughter, Ruby.

This book and the ending did not disappoint. As expected, buried secrets about the past present themselves and threaten to tarnish the reputation and wealth the Holts are known for. Gilly does a superb job weaving the characters together in a seamless way so that by the last sentence, you understand the twists and turns, the details, and motives of the villain(s).

This was an awesome read, I highly recommend it. You'll be in the mansion, living the estate life right beside Jo and her mom. And, trying to put all of the pieces together.

I was provided this book by @Netgalley and @harpercollinspublisher in exchange for an honest review of this book. I appreciate the opportunity to get my hands on this page-turner before the rest of the world and appreciate @gillymacmillan for carving the characters out just right, detail by detail, fracture by fracture. This one was a great escape.

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I liked The Nanny well enough, and I've typically been a fan of Gilly Macmillan's writing, but this story just didn't have much that wowed me. It might have been an it's me, not you situation as I think the bar for mysteries and thrillers is just so high these days, but while I thought there were some very interesting side plots that were unexpected (and I'm always a sucker for the rich and aristocratic behaving badly), the main plot pretty much went as I predicted from early on in the story. I wished for a little more character development for Jo, and for a little more resolution on a couple of plot points, but this was in no way a bad read- just maybe not the first I'll suggest.

A fast-paced and gut-wrenching read, I thoroughly enjoyed this book from beginning to end. Spiraling twists and turns appeared at every corner that I was at when I believed I had it all figured out. Macmillan created a masterpiece with this one.

I received this book from the publishers/author via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Jocelyn "Jo" Holt has never been close to her mother. In fact, her best memories of her childhood usually include her nanny Hannah, until Hannah left during the middle of the night without saying goodbye. When Jo is forced back home to live with her mother and a literal skeleton is found in their lake, Jo begins to question what actually happened to her beloved nanny all those years ago. As the story progresses, secrets from all involved come to light.

This book switches back and forth between two time periods and various character viewpoints, which is a style of writing I enjoy reading. I believe that fans of the author will be pleased with this book, but fans of psychological thrillers will be left wanting more.

I love a good thriller so when I found out Gilly MacMillan had a new book coming out, I had to have it!
I thought the plot was good and I liked the idea she had. The book was very slow paced until closer to the end when everything was being revealed. The chapters were long also until you got about 3/4 into the book. I personally prefer short chapters because it helps me move through the book quicker. The story seemed pretty predictable too. Not every part was, but just from the synopsis you can guess the basics of what happens. There really was no mystery, no crazy twist happens either. The book was not terrible and I say it’s definitely worth the read!

Thank you so much for an early copy!

Delicious complexity! Just when I thought I'd figured it out, I turned the page and found out I was wrong. Read and repeat. Read and repeat. Read and repeat. Know, too, that characters this devious take the definition of dysfunctional family to a whole 'nother level.

When I first started, I groaned - out loud. Oh no, I groused- not another of those books that switches back and forth among characters and time periods. I'm still not a fan of the technique, but I have to admit the author handles it adroitly here, and it didn't take long for me not only to get hooked by each of the three main characters but chomping at the bit to see what would happen next (or what happened before).

Some 30 years after she grew up at Lake Hall in England, Jocelyn Holt - who's been living a happy life in California - reluctantly returns to live with her elderly mother Victoria, accompanied by her young daughter Ruby. Jo, as she now wants to be called, has been estranged from her mother, with whom she had a contentious relationship as a child. She much preferred the company of her nanny, Hannah - who one day went missing, after which Victoria told the young Jo that it was her bad behavior that drove her loving nanny away.

Then, when Jo takes Ruby on a rowboat trip to a small island in the estate's lake, Ruby makes a disturbing discovery: the remains of a human body. Jo calls in the police, much to her mother's consternation - making Jo wonder exactly what Victoria really knows and trust her even less than she did before. But now, there's a twist: just as Jo became more attached to her nanny than her mother, young Ruby has taken an unexpectedly strong attachment to Victoria. Like mother, like daughter? Perhaps; only time will tell.

Then comes a new thorn in Victoria's side: the appearance of a person she never thought she'd see again (and never wanted to). It throws Jo for a loop as well, adding more fuel to an already smoldering fire. Little by little, insights into what Jo's childhood, and her parents' marriage, are revealed - making for an absolutely riveting, surprise-filled story. Love it? You bet. And I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read an advance copy.