Member Reviews
Another firecracker of a book from Ruth Heald! It wasn’t fast-paced, but the plot was well developed with a nice simmer that keeps you turning the page. It was a fun domestic thriller that didn’t disappoint!
Loved this book! Lots of good twists. I figured out a couple of them but it’s still a good solid book. How do you continue through life after you’ve done something criminal and unforgivable? Always looking over your shoulder and wondering when or if your world will collapse. This book has a very good satisfying ending which is important to me. I would definitely recommend this book. It’s a 5 star read for me.
Wow this was such a gripping psychological thriller that had me hooked from the beginning till the end and was up till all night reading this book!
Hayley and Lars are in a bit of a financial problem that they decided to look for a lodger. So when a woman named Johanna answered the ad, Johanna reminded her of someone long time ago...Meanwhile, twenty years earlier, while Hayley and her friends are backpacking around Thailand, Hayley answers an ad that was looking for a nanny. She gets the job but her dream job soon becomes a nightmare...
The story shifts back and forth between the present day and the year 1999 when Hayley was in Thailand. I enjoyed reading the part where Hayley was in Thailand and the descriptions of the Bangkok including the temples and the lives of the expats living in Bangkok for the reader felt like they are also in Bangkok with the main character. The present was also an interesting read as a man had found out about Hayley's secret back in Thailand and is pursuing after her coupled by the fact that Johanna makes a shocking revelation. There were some unexpected twists and turns along the way and the pace of the story was fast paced that the author did a good job of drawing the reader into the story! The ending was a complete shocker to me and completely unexpected.
Overall, if you are looking for a thriller that will take you on a roller coaster ride, then I highly recommend this fast-paced unputdownable thriller that is packed with twists and turns--worth five stars!
Many thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review*
Haunting. Captivating.
I could use many more words to describe the book, except those would take me days. I love thrillers and mysteries. Ever since I was little, it has been one of my favorite genres to read. However, I was always picky about what type of thrillers and mysteries to read. The Nanny was the type of thriller I love. I couldn’t get enough of this book; I was hooked from the beginning and to the end of the book. Every page had something happening, and it was almost impossible for me to put the book down; I needed to see what would happen next. The Nanny was the first book that I have read by Ruth Heald , and now I am eager to check the rest of her books out. There isn’t a single page in this book that doesn’t have you wondering what’s going to happen when the truth about Chloe is going to comes out.
I loved the writing style, which went between the present and when Haley was the Nanny for Chloe, Emily, and Eva. Every time I read about the past, I found myself trying to see if I could put the pieces together of what happened. I did get a feeling that Haley wasn’t being honest about something. The way that she was acting after she told Lars what happened in Thailand, there was something else that she was not sharing with him. I wondered if Haley had something to do with Chloe’s disappearance. That was one of the reasons that I kept on reading late into the night, and I wanted to find out what Haley was hiding, was she possibly not the person that everyone thought that she was? The thriller aspect of the story was terrific, and just you thought it couldn’t get any more suspenseful; something new happens. I’m so glad that I got a chance to read an early copy of this book. I would highly recommend checking this book out.
i couldn't put this book down, read it in one day, it keeps you guessing until the very end. , you never know what happens from one page to the next.
20 years ago, Hayley was working in Thailand as a nanny when the baby vanished. Now she lives with her husband, mum and daughter and tries to forget the past, but when a lodger comes into their lives and seems to look very familiar, Hayley can't help but wonder...
I loved this book! The story is thrilling, tense and exciting, full of twists and turns. I couldn't stop turning the pages until the shocking ending. Absolutely brilliant!
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of the book in return for my honest feedback.
The Nanny by Ruth Heald is definitely a page turner! It's not the best book by Ruth Heald but it's a bit less gruesome, making the story a bit lighter. The suspense keeps you going until the very end, where one important detail surfaces.
Thanks to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for the digital ARC.
Wow this is a book that was unstoppable with so many twists and turns! 20 years ago, Hayley led a life that not many people know about. She was a Nanny who fled the country after the baby she watched went missing, This has followed her mentally and still can't shake what happened too many years ago. In fact, even her husband does not even know of this incident. All he knows is she spent a gap year in Thailand.
Hayley's mom is slowly fading with dementia and not doing so well. Hayley and her husband decide to hire a caregiver to help. Shortly after her mom starts declining Hayley and her husband determine they need to take in a lodger. However, something is off with her. As the book progresses, you may think you have figured it out, but good luck!
The book is full of shocks and turns. I thought I had some of it figured out, but I was dead wrong. Ruth Heald knocked it out of the park with this one!
This book was supposed to be a thriller but it wasn't very thrilling sadly. The plot was SO SLOW and super predictable. I kept waiting for a surprising reveal or something earth-shattering to happen, but it never really did. The characters weren't very sympathetic. There were many of sections of the book that were unnecessarily detailed and long - but didn't add anything to the story.
A lot of potential, but sadly it never quite got to where I was hoping it would.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC!
Thank you to the publisher for this ARC of The Nanny!
Being a Nanny myself I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this one.
Hayley Taylor is just an ordinary Mum married to Lars who would never guess in her past life she was hunted as the suspected Bangkok Baby Killer. 20 years later when a stranger turns up on her doorstep Hayley’s life unravels as she knows it and secrets are revealed at an alarming rate.
Twisty and fast paced a real page turner.
I couldn’t put this one down! The narrative moves back and forth between past and present, which I don’t always love, but both stories were engrossing and kept me coming back for more.
Oh my goodness this book had me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. .and also wants me to say a,resounding NO if my child wants to spend a gap year anywhere out of my reach! For anyone who ever wonders what becomes of children who go missing, this book will enthralling you. How much do we know of our partners past lives until they come crashing into our present. Spellbinding,absorbing,intriguing and with a brilliant twist to finish. Five star magic !
Firstly thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC in return for an honest review.
I really enjoyed this book & have sat reading it all day, didn't want to put it down till finished. Very gripping and full of drama.
Hayley was an inexperienced nanny in Thailand when she was nineteen, she cared for three little girls whose parents couldn't care less about them, as soon as the third child Chloe was born Hayley was responsible for her too. She cared deeply for these children.
Twenty years later and the mystery surrounding baby Chloe's disappearance is still unsolved and now someone is digging up the past and wants answers, and then Hayley and her husband take in a lodger, Johanna, who bears an uncanny resemblance to someone she knows and then Johanna reveals her real reason for being there.
There are many twists and turns and unexpected people turning up and revealing who they really are. I had already guessed some of the story, so that wasn't a surprise, but I was still intrigued to know the whole story and to find out the truth. I just have a feeling that this wasn't the whole truth and I did guess it right again.
I really did like Hayley, she's an interesting character and the back and forth in time was good, both past and present were equally good and gripping.
A sad ending, as I always kind of hoped for something different. But it was nice at last for everyone involved.
Be careful who you hire to take care of your children. You never know who comes to your hone to be interviewed as a nanny..A lot of people with false information. Beware!!!
This is really Haley's story. As a nanny in Thailand in 1999 she cares for three girls including newborn Chloe. She loves all the children but after an accident occurs baby Chloe goes missing and is never found. Jump ahead twenty years and Haley is a happily married woman with a five year old daughter. She has buried what happened in Bangkok until she meets Ryan , a student who wants to write a book and revisit a twenty year missing child case that Haley was once suspected of being involved in. Shrouded in secrets from the past the story takes you on Haley's journey from past to present. Repressed memories come to light as the story evolves. and the twists just keep coming one after another. Like an onion the story is revealed layer by layer to a satisfying conclusion. It is an excellent, well constructed page turner with well defined characters and deviously thought out plot.
What a great well written read, loved every page and it kept me involved in the storyline all the way with great characters. I am not always a fan of two timelines but this one worked perfectly and told you at the beginning of each chapter what timeline you were reading which isn't always done with some reads.
I cannot speak highly enough about this book and I have read a few from this author but I think this is one of her best yet.
Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for this fantastic ARC which I have no hesitation in recommending.
I could not put this book down. The beginning was very fast paced and very interesting. The middle and ending kinda dragged along. There is soooo much extra detail that is not necessary to the story. There is also a LOT of repetition in the story and the dialogue that could be cut out. Other than those few cons it was overall a decent story.
I do love a dual time line book! This one is perhaps, a bit predictable - however, it’s still a thrilling and unputdownable read.
In 1999 Haley worked as a nanny for a British couple, who were living in Thailand at the time when their baby, Chloe, went missing and was never found. Haley was arrested at the time but was later released due to a lack of evidence. Current day, in order to meet her mothers care bills, Haley and her husband Lars take in a lodger, a young woman who looks just like Chloe’s father. After all these years, could she be Chloe?
Thank you to NetGalley and publisher Bookouture for the opportunity to read this riveting ARC.
What is a good book? That is different for everyone. Let me tell you what does it for me.
First of all the subject, of course. If it’s too technical or too political you often lose me, so that’s a no no for me.
Then there is the writing style. You can have created a book with the most interesting content possible, but when it’s not fluently written, you will not keep your audience captivated.
Third thing is the point of view. I don’t mind the use of the first person, but I do find it easier to read when it’s in the third person.
The characters. They can be bad, of course. Without bad people there are no thrillers or crime stories. In my opinion they need a reason to be the way they are and not just be annoying and thus getting on my nerves.
I like dialogues and not too many descriptions. For me it slows the pace down and that’s what I don’t want in a thriller.
Last but not least, the plot. If the plot is not correct, the book is a waste of paper. I love It when the author adds twits and turns. I like it when they are sneaky. They convince you that you have figured it out, and than BAM. They hit you with another twist. Love it.
This book had everything I enjoy in it. This is one of the examples of what I consider a good book. In fact I am not doing it justice. This simply was an excellent book.
It felt like I was not reading a book. It was more like the characters were talking to me. I was not reading about Thailand. I was in Thailand. I was not reading about Hayley’s family. I was one of them.
Did I already say it was an amazing book? 😉 I was able to figure out one thing, but boy oh boy, there was still a lot I could not have predicted. 5 stars
Thank you
Twists Aplenty…
Twists aplenty in this menacing suspense where nothing is quite as it seems. What really happened twenty years ago? Effectively portrayed in a dual timeline format the reader is pulled from pillar to post as the secrets begin to emerge. With a well defined cast and a simmering, mounting tension there are plenty of surprises here. Immersive and tense.