Initially I thought the book was a bit slow, but the pace picked up and I found it a really good thriller.  Would love to read more by Gilly Macmillan, this was a really enjoyable read.

This thriller cleverly builds up pace and tension until it is difficult to put down. 

The relationship between the main character Jo and her mother really intrigued me and I liked how you were kept guessing with secrets, lies, mystery, and deception. 

Great characters, a clever plot and a surprising ending.

Mystery thriller readers who love a little family drama thrown in will really enjoy this book.

The New York Times bestselling author of What She Knew conjures a dark and unpredictable tale of family secrets that explores the lengths people will go to hurt one another.

When her beloved nanny, Hannah, left without a trace in the summer of 1988, seven-year-old Jocelyn Holt was devastated.

This was a brillianlt read! Full of twists and turns that will have you gripped until the ending.

Can you trust your memory? Jo remembers her Nanny fondly, she loved her more than she loved her mother. But one night the nanny vanishes without a trace.Years later, when Jo returns to her family home, a body is pulled out of the lake. At first Jo thinks it must be her long missed Nanny Hannah. But then Hannah suddenly reappears....

There's a lot going in in this book. Maybe a bit too much at times. The main story is great but theres a few side stories (details would be spoilers) that seemed superfluous but luckily do not overtly detract from this been an enjoyable twisty suspense novel.

I really enjoyed this book that was part mystery part thriller that I couldn't put down. Will be looking out for the next book by Gilly Macmillian

This was an excellent mystery thriller and one which I got stuck into right from the beginning. It wasn't a very fast paced read but nevertheless it was one which I thoroughly recommend.

A modern day version of Downtown Abbey. A nail biting read which had me rooting for the main character to battle through to the very end.

I positively devoured this book and loved it right up until the end, which had so many holes, they could have filled the Albert hall. 

Jo adored her nanny, Hannah, so she is devastated when she suddenly disappears. When Hannah returns many years later, however, she brings with her a whole heap of new problems.

While the plot is well set up, there are a lot of character flaws which simply don't make sense. Jo forgets important details; her mother is callous and uncaring until she isn't. These flaws are, unfortunately, essential to the plot which is what made this ultimately so disappointing.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC without obligation to review.

A thrilling read which kept me turning the pages, characters you care for and just brilliantly written.  Great novel!!

A Nanny, one child, titled folk and a dark secret - what could possibly go wrong?

The Holts are well to do, titled family with Lord and Lady Holt at the helm. Jocelyn, whom we come to know as Jo later in the book has a Nanny. Nothing out of the ordinary here, until one day, the Nanny has gone, nowhere to be seen, no clue, nothing. 

Fast forward to adult Jo, life hadn’t been all sunshine and rainbows for her and she turns up at the family home with her own child in tow.  But she isn’t the only one! The Nanny is back too, but how, wasn’t she dead? Is she still dead? Is it all a dream?

Well, this is one book which takes you down the path of mystery, reveal, plots which thicken and surprise you and who is telling the truth? Who is lying? Well you have to read and find out for yourself, but it isn’t what I expected to read 👍🏻

Wow! This was such a good book with a really unusual theme.
Jocelyn grows up in a life of luxury and wants for nothing. She is doted on by her Nanny and her parents (her mother in particular) pays her little attention.
One day, her Nanny, Hannah disappears and Jocelyn is devastated. Jocelyn  is told Hannah left because of she was such a. naughty girl.
Skip forward to Jocelyn (now Jo) being forced to move back to Lake Hall with her daughter Ruby as her husband has died and she has nowhere else to go. 
Her father Lord Holt has died in the interim and the house seems empty without him.
A human skull is found in the lake at the house, could it be Hannah who hasn’t been heard of since her mysterious disappearance? 
Without adding any spoilers, what follows is a fabulous trail of deceit and lies that have held the family together and now threaten to fracture it completely.
I so enjoyed this book and will definitely look for more by this author.

Jocelyn loved her nanny. She wasso much more affectionate than her mother! In the big house sheonlyseemed to be with her parents when they wanted her to beon show. She wasdevastated when Hannah suddenly disappeared from her life, especially after her mother toldhershe had left because of Jocelyn's bad behaviour.

Years passed & Jocelyn (who now prefers to be called Jo) was happily married, living in the US with her husband & daughter. When her husband died she had no choice but to return to her unhappy childhood home, even though she stilldislikesher mother intensely. As if in answer to a prayer Hannah reappears.

The story is told by Jo & her mother. The reader finds out tje real reason Hannah disappeared & who sheis.

This was anedge of your seat read. At times I couldn't decide which side Iwas on= probably the signof a good writer as they canmake each character plausible. I really enjoyed this book. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this 5 star book.

I enjoyed this and wasn’t quite sure how the story was evolving.  It was quite slow to get goi g and then seemed to go almost too fast.  
Jocelyn had a beloved nanny when she was a child who disappeared suddenly when Jocelyn was seven years old.  She had a distant relationship with her mother and when she has to move home with ten year old daughter Ruby all the old resentments return.  Then a skeleton is found in the lake of her childhood home.  The book is written from three POV, Jocelyn, her mother and Hannah the old nanny.
This author would not be at the top of my pile but I would read her again.
Thanks to Random house and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
#TheNanny #NetGalley

This is a fantastic book, very cleverly put together. All the characters were well rounded and believable. A truly excellent read I highly recommend. The story line is so complex right to the end and keeps you guessing through every chapter. One of the best books I've read recently. Definitely deserves five stars.

This was good and kept me guessing until the end. Characters were great and really suited this story as they all worked really well together. I didn't get the twist at the end so was surprised at the way the story went. Brilliant writing from this author so will lookout for her next book.

A slow burning psychological thriller. A dysfunctional family. A plot intertwined with stories and lies. Enjoyable.!

Yet again another well constructed and well written book by Gilly Macmillan. As usual I am pleased I did not read the blurb to this book before I started it - far too much information is given. I read the book to learn the story!!!! The style is the popular two time frames and as the book progresses it turns out to have far more twists and turns than expected. Jocelyn is quite a damaged character who seems to have spent her life trusting and believing the wrong people so perhaps her behaviour is not quite as surprising as it might be. It kept me reading til late in the night.
Many thanks to Netgalley/Gilly Macmillan/Random House UK for a digital copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

What I love about Gilly Macmillan’s book is that they are so different from each other – you never know what you will get! With THE NANNY, I was half expecting a “hands that rock the cradle” type of story, and partly it was that. On the other hand, it was a slow burning and very intriguing character study of three different women tied together by an old mystery: mother, daughter and the nanny.

Like most character driven stories that rely heavily on family dynamics and the setting, this story started off slowly to set the scene, only to build up tension as the book progressed. I admit I initially struggled a bit with the characters, but as soon as the skeleton pops out of the closet – or in this family’s case, the lake -  it had well and truly gripped me. 

Because like most mysteries, this book relies heavily on surprise elements, I will only give the bare bones here. After the death of her husband, Jocelyn Holt returns to her old family home with her young daughter in tow. Having long lost contact with her mother Virginia, who she resents bitterly, this is not a happy reunion but a move borne out of financial hardship. Initially, the two women warily circle one another in the cold, polite fashion of the English upper class, two polite to ever say how they really feel but also not prepared to air out their grievances. Jocelyn is convinced that her mother never loved her, and that she was responsible for the sudden disappearance of her beloved nanny Hannah when Jo was just 7 years old. Virginia Holt, in the meantime, remains tight lipped about the matter, refusing to discuss Hannah. Until an old skeleton is washed up on the shores of the estate’s lake, once again arousing Jo’s suspicions that her nanny has come to harm. 

Macmillan is very clever at spinning her web, so it is worth persevering over the initial few chapters where not much happens but which are vital in setting the scene. I loved the gothic vibes of the old family home and the family’s crumbling estate, which is one of my favourite settings and which added much to the intrigue. I also appreciated how the author had me change my loyalties throughout the book – whereas I first found Lady Holt cold and stand-offish, she ended up becoming the character closest to my heart. The mystery relies heavily on family dynamics and old simmering suspicions and emotions, which are explored here through the eyes of the three women. Ruby, Jo’s ten year old daughter, was a refreshing impartial perspective that added some hope and light to the book for me.

I admit that for the first two chapters I was not expecting to like this book very much, and I even put it aside for a few days to try again later. However, it soon became utterly addictive and I became so embroiled in this family’s dynamics that I ended up reading late into the night, muttering a few times as some characters made some very questionable decisions. Such an emotional response is always a good sign that a book is working for me!

All in all, THE NANNY turned out to be an addictive, character driven study of family dynamics and old secrets that have a way of making their way to the surface when you least expect it. There is no ridiculous twist or action packed finale, so if you are expecting either you may be disappointed, but I loved the way this one played out. In short, it made for an entertaining story I devoured in a couple of days and have no qualms recommending to lovers of the genre.

A really enjoyable  psychological thriller. I was totally gripped by the story line it has dark secrets and extremely intriguing , a really good read

Loved this book. the story was so unique and the characters so well described, some being downright nasty and mean. Although I guessed whose body would be in the lake I did not get all the rest of the twists.  Highly recommend this book.