I wrote a lovely long review of The Nanny, then accidentally deleted it before it could be posted. Oh no! Anyway, here goes again.... having loved Gilly Macmillan’s previous books I was excited to read this one and delighted to be approved for an ARC.

Reeling from the sudden death of her husband, Jocelyn (Jo) returns to her family home, Lake Hall, with her ten year old daughter Ruby. Jo’s childhood was blighted both by the overnight disappearance, never to be seen again, of her beloved nanny Hannah, and by a relationship with her haughtily aristocratic mother, Virginia, which is distant at best. Although Virginia is now also a widow, their long-damaged relationship remains frosty in the extreme, although Virginia bonds to a surprisingly immediate extent with Ruby.

When a shocking discovery is made in the lake, things escalate quickly. Can it really be connected to the long ago disappearance of Hannah? And how reliable are Jo’s childhood memories, anyway?

The story is narrated mainly by Jo with sections from the points of view of Virginia, a police detective named Andy and a young woman called Linda in the 1970s and 80s. This generally worked well although I’m not entirely sure how much was added by Andy’s brief sections, other than to provide an outside perspective and illustrate how the Holt family are regarded by many.

Towards the end things perhaps rushed a little too quickly towards a dramatic conclusion, for which there would surely be consequences further down the line. However it was a gripping read with an original premise, touching on themes of familial relationships, manipulation, and where and why our love and trust are (mis)placed. I very much enjoyed all the characters, particularly Virginia and Ruby, and found Jo’s struggles and dilemmas very relatable.

The author lived in the US for some years and very occasional Americanisms do creep in - Lord Holt is described as wearing a “vest” over his checked shirt, which I’m pretty sure is the American usage rather than the British! And I’m not sure the British police use Jane Doe as a placeholder to the same extent as the Americans - although I could be wrong.

All in all an excellent read which I really enjoyed.

It's difficult to review this book without giving away too much. Jocelyn, a young woman from an upper class background has a terrible relationship with her mother Virginia. Brought up by her nanny who disappeared when she was 7, she is resentful of Virginia who she thinks is cold and unloving. So it is with reluctance that she returns to the family home when her husband dies. Ruby her daughter strikes up a good relationship with her grandmother, something that Jo finds hard. A skull is found in the lake on the estate but whose is it? Could it be that of her nanny or is it someone else. Then the nanny reappears...

I'll say no more about the plot or characters except that the characters were all flawed and there is no-one really to relate to, except perhaps ten year old Ruby. The plot has the usual twists and turns that you'd expect in this genre but ended a little abruptly.

Did I enjoy it? I don't know to tell the truth. It was a compelling read and I read it with a sense of fear and dread. Would I recommend it? Yes, on the whole I would. If you like psychological thrillers, then I think you'll like this one.

I enjoyed reading The Nanny, it was slow in places and a tad predictable but I liked the way it held the mystery back till the last few chapters. I really liked the dual storyline of the past and the present slowly telling each side of the story. Of all the characters I only really liked Virginia and Ruby, Jo I found far to desperate and Hannah of course deserved my distain. The book length could have been reduced without a the unnecessary storyline of the forgeries.

Widow Jocelyn and her daughter, Ruby. Now there's an interesting relationship. This book is full of them. Much more meaty and twisty than I though this book was going to be. Turns the whole missing child book right on its head as this time, the nanny goes missing.

it's quite complex in parts and there are multiple narratives and timelines which got a bit confusing for me before it al worked out nicely in the end ( from a narrative structure point of view) I 'm not giving any spoilers away about the plot. Missing nanny, body discovered but is it the person they think it is? All gets very shady.
Plenty of red herrings in this book so armchair detectives will have a lot of fun with this!

Families are complicated and funny creatures aren't they? Memories shut away can create interesting and frightening images in the future. Not a booktrail read as all the locations are either vague or fictional but it's a a creepy landscape which the author creates here.