Single mother Emily and her teenage daughter Sofia seem to live a happy, normal life. However, suddenly Sofia becomes more secretive and moodier. Emily begins to feel like someone is watching the house and that fear only deepens when someone breaks into their house and leaves a mysterious note. Emily wants to keep her daughter safe, but she fears that someone from her past has found them.

There were parts of this story that I really liked. Sue Watson did a great job keeping me guessing as to the secret Emily was hiding. While the story was interesting, it didn’t have the suspense that I have come to expect from a thriller. While I wanted to know what happened to Emily and Sofia, I wasn’t desperate to find out like I usually feel when reading a thriller. I also really disliked the character of Nancy. I felt she was just taking away from the main storyline of the book. For these reasons, I rate this book 3/5 stars. Definitely a mystery, but not a thriller for me.

I've been a fan of Sue Watson's work for a while and The Nursery certainly doesn't disappoint!

The book focuses on Emily and her daughter Sofia. When Sofia was a baby, Emily moved them to a new place for a fresh start to escape her past. With a strong relationship and a settled life, all seems to be calm until Emily sees a mysterious and confusing message from an online friend of Sofia's. Who is the faceless Internet friend that Sofia is in touch with? Is she really who she says she is? And if she isn't, then what does it mean for Emily and her hidden secrets? The past can't stay hidden forever....

Something I love about Watson's books are that her characters are always very realistic and well-developed, giving a sense of realism and believability to the narratives. This is the same in this book where Emily is the embodiment of a concerned parent.

Although some of the chapters have a stereotypical sense of suspense through rhetorical questions, overall the narrative does create a lot of suspense and the ending doesn't disappoint.

Thank you to Sue Watson, Netgalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read and review this arc.

Grips you from the beginning with lots of twists and turns.
Emily is a single mother to Sophie and finds Sophie messaging a stranger online and seen messages of 'Your mother isn`t who you think she is' Then Sophie disappears.
Definitely not what you where expecting just keeps you reading till the end and would recommend.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC
Posted on Goodreads

Then: Morning light shines into the nursery, casting shadows across the pale pink walls and wooden cot in the middle of the room. She opens the door expecting to hear the soft coo of her daughter Sofia stretching herself awake. But the room is silent. The cot is empty. Her little girl has vanished…

Now: Twelve years have passed, but Emily will never forget the night her life changed forever and she’s happy to have her daughter back beside her. A teenager now, Sofia – who was once a star student – is getting into trouble at school and she’s started asking questions about when she was a baby, but Emily can’t tell her what really happened the night she went missing. Nobody would understand why Emily did what she did, and if anyone ever found out, she could lose her daughter forever.

But when Emily catches Sofia messaging a stranger online, her heart pounds in her chest as she reads the last message received.

Your mother isn’t who you think she is.

Days later, Emily returns home to find the house silent. She checks every room but Sofia has vanished, again. She shudders as she remembers that night in the nursery. Has her past finally caught up with her? And is she already too late to save her precious daughter?

A completely gripping, utterly twisted thriller that will leave your jaw on the floor.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. If this book is any indication, my October reading is off to an amazing start! Emily packed up her daughter and escaped her husband, but now she keeps feeling watched and is scared he has located them. Her daughter has started chatting with someone online who she worries may not be who they say they are....Emily just wants to keep her and her daughter safe. I couldn't put this book down, it was atmospheric, twisty, dark and had me literally even reading it whilst cooking dinner, I just couldn't put it down. Just when I thought I had things figured out, in Sue's signature moves she had me thinking wtf and wanting to read "just one more chapter". Another awesome, unputdownable read from one of my favourite authors.⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ #suewatson #thenursery #netgalley #tea_sipping_bookworm #goodreads #litsy #thestorygraph #thriller #bookqueen #bookstagram #amazonaustralia

This book is the first I have ever read by Sue Watson. It really kept my attention with the twists it had and thoroughly enjoyed reading it. I look forward to reading more of her books in the future.

When Emily fled to the Seaside port of Sidmitth she wanted to leave her past in Victoria and start a new with her daughter Sophia in for a while she thought she did. Until the night someone broke in and left a plastic moon with a cryptic note on her table. Fearing it was her husband Chris she was beside herself with worry she left him because he wanted to put Sophia in care and Emily had already lost a family before when her mom died and her brother and sister went to live with their dad’s. She wasn’t going to let it happen a second time. She had a great relationship with her daughter Sophia or at least she did until she noticed Sophia being secretive and then found out she was talking to someone named pink girl online that she didn’t go to school with despite the fact Emily told her no strangers could be her friend on Instagram. Then Emily‘s best friend Nancy tried to kill her self in when she was released from the hospital she insinuated a stay at Emilys home. Sophia didn’t like Nancy nor have sympathy for her situation it all just added to Emily‘s stress, the only respite she God was work and her new friend Oliver who seem like a nice retired widow and he made Emily feel safe. When things escalate to the point where Sophia goes missing and refuses to tell her mom where she was and then Emily find her looking through her dresser drawers and all the secrets Emily kept from her she now knows who is stalking them but how can she stop it? There is so much more I could have put in my summary but I didn’t want to ruin it because that is about the jest of what I knew when I started the book. I really enjoyed the book but my one criticism is how Emily kept apologizing to Sophia and I found Emily spineless instead of letting her daughter know she was the one who knew best that not listening to her wasn’t an option like when Sophia kept going missing and there was no consequences for it and not only that Sophia let her daughter talk to her with total disrespect and I noticed that is a new trend and books today and I understand you choose your battles but there should be consequences for not listening worrying her mother in total disrespect but having said that the book was still really good and they were a couple of eye rolls in the book but not so many that it ruined the read! I received this book from NetGalleyShelf but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

I am a huge Sue Watson fan and have read most of her novels. So when I got approved to read her new novel The Nursery I could not wait to start reading. This novel did not disappoint - Sue Watson's novels are continuously brilliant and keeps me engaged and on the edge of my seat.

The blurb reads
"Then: Morning light shines into the nursery, casting shadows across the pale pink walls and wooden cot in the middle of the room. She opens the door expecting to hear the soft coo of her daughter Sofia stretching herself awake. But the room is silent. The cot is empty. Her little girl has vanished…

Now: Twelve years have passed, but Emily will never forget the night her life changed forever and she’s happy to have her daughter back beside her. A teenager now, Sofia, who was once a star student, is getting into trouble at school and she’s started asking questions about when she was a baby, but Emily can’t tell her what really happened the night she went missing. Nobody would understand why Emily did what she did, and if anyone ever found out, she could lose her daughter forever.

But when Emily catches Sofia messaging a stranger online, and as she reads the last message received, her heart pounds in her chest.

Your mother isn’t who you think she is.

Days later, Emily returns home to find the house silent. She checks every room but Sofia has vanished, again. She shudders as she remembers that night in the nursery. Has her past finally caught up with her? And is she already too late to save her precious daughter?"

Emily is really trying her best to be a good mum to Sofia, but like many teenagers this is causing some what of an issue as Sofia is slightly starting to rebel. I really could feel Emily's emotions through this novel as it is portrayed in such a realistic point of view from a mother.

I enjoyed the characters in this novel and really enjoyed the dynamic between Emily and Sofia. This book really compelled me as the story is so intense and intriguing that you literally do not want to put this book down and go about and do anything else.

This novel really weaves a brilliant masterpiece of a tale and is exceedingly good.

Thanks to Sue Watson, NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me a copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

This is my first book by this author Sue Watson so I was excited to dive right in when I got it from NetGalley and the publisher. I had a hard time starting it as it was a slow burn for me at the beginning but once it got going, then I enjoyed it. To be published October 2022.

when you start a book buy this author you know from the 1st page it will draw you in. Emily arrives in a blizzard of snow getting of the bus with her baby daughter in a costal town of east devon..a kind couple help them. Mr and Mrs woods they give her a flat and a job in there perfume shop and treat Emily liks a daughter and Sofia. but Emily has never told anyone why she fled her husband and ran with her daughter and someone from the past wants to make Emily pay for what she did I thought i had figured it out but got so wrong very gripping and twisty

This story started off decent enough, but then it took some weird turns...when the not-nice best friend moved in, when the strange man appeared and was so interested in the Mom, when the daughter was talking to dangerous people on the internet, etc. It seemed unrealistic on every level! Then, in the last 30% of the book, the author tried to put twist after twist, 4 different times. It just seemed too contrived. 3 stars because it held my interest, but not more because it was downright ridiculous.

I went into this book expecting one thing and was completely surprised when it turned into something else! It was a great read full of twists and turns. Some of them I saw coming, and the rest blindsided me completely. It is definitely a book everyone should pick up because it will take you on a trip.

I give this book a 2.5/3⭐️ It was pretty slow going at first and though it had great character development, I had no idea what the ‘thriller’ part could possibly be. The last quarter of the book things changed drastically and picked up as it was finally wrapped up.
A mother and her young child move to a new town to start a new life, away from her husband. It doesn’t elaborate why he was so bad, only that he was going to ‘take her child from her’ and she wouldn’t let that happen. Fast forward 12 years her daughter is now a 15 year old with typical teenage secrets and angst. She also has someone online telling her her mother isn’t who she says she is and etc.. Creating more trust issues between them. Eventually the story comes out which was quite surprising in the end.

This was a brilliant thriller. I did not expect a lot of the things that happened. It made me want to read more and more and that's when you know it's a great book!

Well this was an enjoyable book although I wouldn’t describe it as fast paced until over half way through. I felt it dragged a bit to start with but the second half was great and the final twists totally unexpected. A few of the characters were a bit one dimensional and I felt they could’ve been explored further but overall I enjoyed reading it and would recommend to others.
Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy

OMG! I certainly did not see those twists coming! What a fabulous page-turner this book was. You know from the beginning that Emily and her 15-year-old daughter, Sofia, have run away from someone or something, but what??? Emily is the typical helicopter mum who is trying to protect Sofia from someone or something and we slowly find out what it is as this story starts to unfold. I really enjoyed this book with all its twists and turns although I did think Emily and her very manipulative friend, Nancy, were both unlikeable.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC of this page-turner.

Any book by Sue Watson is going to be a good time, but THE NURSERY exceeded my expectations!

Twelve years ago, there was an empty crib in a silent nursery. Emily is determined to keep her teenage daughter Sofia safe. But Sofia is getting into trouble and keeping secrets, communicating with strangers on social media, and worst of all, asking questions about the night she went missing. Emily isn't prepared to answer those questions, and when Sofia's secrecy becomes too much for her to bear, she goes through her phone and is shocked to see the last message her daughter received: 𝒀𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒔𝒏'𝒕 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒔. When Sofia goes missing again, Emily is forced to confront her own past and the terrible events of that night so many years ago.

This was action packed, and the pace was relentless! The reader was drawn right in to these deeply flawed characters and to the tough choices a mother must sometimes make. Highly recommended for any thriller fan. Thank you you to the publisher and NetGalley for my early read. THE NURSERY publishes October 20, 2022.

4.5 stars rounded up

Then: Morning light shines into the nursery, casting shadows across the pale pink walls and wooden cot in the middle of the room. She opens the door expecting to hear the soft coo of her daughter Sofia stretching herself awake. But the room is silent. The cot is empty. Her little girl has vanished....

Now: Twelve years have passed, but Emily will never forget the night her life changed forever and she's happy to have her daughter beside her. A teenager now, Sofia, who was once a star student, is getting into trouble at school and she's started asking questions about when she was a baby, but Emily can't tell her what really happened that night she went missing. Nobody would understand why Emily did what she did that night, and if anyone ever found out, she could lose her daughter forever.

This is a gripping, page turning, twisted read. The characters are well developed and not who you think they are. The pace is fast as we follow the relationships between mother and daughter. Emily keeps mentioning her past and a secret she hides. We are slowly drip fed the relevant information and events. The tension builds with each turn of the page. I did feel some parts dragged on too long, so I took off half a star. Otherwise, this is a fantastic read.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I've been a fan of Sue Watson for years, and her books just keep getting better and better.
This is an absolute homerun or a book!

Trust no one. Believe very little of what you're told. Because nothing in this story is quite what it seems. What sounds like a pretty straight forward tale of a mother desperate to protect her teenage daughter from her abusive father and online stranger danger, quickly becomes a fast-paced, twisted tale that will leave your head spinning. The tension and suspense hits you right from the prologue and doesn't let up. And the twists and conclusion left me speechless. Honest to goodness, didn't see any of that coming (which says a lot because I've read a lot of psychological thrillers).

Love this book! Couldn't recommend it more!

The title, as many have mentioned, is misleading. The synopsis writers did a good job piquing my interest. More so than the author. They got me from the first sentence. The book took almost 60%.

I don't think any book that takes more than halfway to get the reader invested should be called a thriller. I get having to set the stage, but don't waste my time doing it and realize that sometimes less is more. Don't get me wrong, I love a couple good plot twists, but they shouldn't be added just to get the page count up.

As for the characters, they were underdeveloped and unlikeable and often irritating.
All in all, the book was just okay. There were a couple twists that I didn't see coming and after a disappointing beginning the end was better than expected, This not a book I would reread or highly recommend.