For a book that I found mostly preposterous, this is actually quite an entertaining light read – but it doesn’t really stand up to any great scrutiny. I can see why it has polarised readers, with as many 5* reviews as 1* ones. I think I’m somewhat in the middle, as I did in fact quite enjoy it even whilst furrowing my brow at the sillier bits. It opens with little Joey incarcerated in the High House School for Disturbed Children, but having met his nanny you can quite see why he might be disturbed. Although to be fair that adjective can be applied to most of the characters before us here. Strange nannies are a trope in literature and this one is up there with the best. She actually is quite creepy and the way she manipulates everyone is quite well done. I did actually feel quite scared on occasion and there are enough plot twists and turns to retain the reader’s interest, even if you do have to suspend disbelief quite regularly. Nevertheless, poor little Joey does engage the reader’s (or at least this reader’s) sympathies and I found it quite a fun on the whole. It’s no surprise to discover that it was made into a film, with Bette Davis as the Nanny, one of Hammer’s typical offerings.