A child is stretchered out of his home into an ambulance with his mother wailing behind him and the Au-Pair is led out in handcuffs.
Set in Paris -we hear the story told from different perspectives . The Au-Pair and her friends ,the mother and the rest of the family and lastly the neighbours .
Little by little we learn of the events that have led to that disastrous morning .
A wonderfully atmospheric novel

Thankyou NetGalley for an ARC in return for an honest review

It’s difficult to review a book where you don’t like most of the characters but I’ll try to be constructive. The idea of the story of a group of au pairs in a Parisian suburb was a good premise but the relationships they all had with their au pair families and with each other were all toxic and didn’t ring true for me. The two au pair mothers, Charlotte and Severine were again stereotypical and too similar and the final female, the teacher wasn’t particularly well defined. I liked the tension of knowing from the start that one of the children had died and his au pair was taken into custody but I didn’t feel or understand why and what her motives were for remaining aloof and silent.
I would like to add that I have been an au pair in a French family and then years later had au pairs living with us when the children were small so I do speak from experience.

My first DNF of the year.

As part of Suzanne’s #netgalleyshelfdestruction challenge I finally started this book last week. In my defence I grudgingly gave it until 46% before I threw in the towel!

This has all the makings of a great, gripping read.

Set in France, six months after the November 2015 Paris bombings at the Bataclan.

When nine year old Julian Chauvet is found dead, this book goes back over the accounts of six women that all had a role the play in his death.

I think this is more of a whydunnit but also an extremely slow burn. Overly heavy in descriptive text and a lot of unnecessary dialogue. Unfortunately not for me.

This book was quite a slow read which meant that although the premise was good, the book took too long to get going.

I must say, this was a somewhat disappointing book, as the blurb missold it.
It was not that much of a thriller and mystery, more of a contemplative piece.
Which alone I would not mind, but that is not why I picked it up, so it would have to be a pass for me..
Thank you, NetGalley for the ARC!

Set in a wealthy Parisian suburb, this debut novel neatly fits into the "bad nanny" genre. It follows the lives of a group of American au pairs and their families in the aftermath of the death of a child. Told from the perspective of six characters in alternating chapters, it is set during the 2015 terror attacks in Paris.

An au pair is led away in handcuffs after the body of eight years old Julien is found at the bottom of a stairs. . The back story leading up to this point is told from the point of view of three nannies, a French language teacher and Juliens mother and teenage sister.

This is a novel that suffers from serious "bloated book" syndrome, replete with rambling subplots that added little to the main narrative. The association with the terrorist attacks, specifically the Bataclan attack, was clunky, opportunistic and inappropriate in my opinion. None of the characters were particularly likeable and I found myself speed reading through pages of unnecessary and repetitive dialogue. What could have been a good yarn was ruined by the uneven pacing. Much sharper editing is required. A disappointing 2 star read.

Many thanks to @netgalley and @littlebrownbookgroup_uk for the ebook in return for my review.

The caretaker’s- Amanda Bestor-seigal

I’m sorry I didn’t get to read this title and so it expired therefore I cannot give an accurate review. Sorry

Star rating 3***
It took me a few weeks to read this book I think mainly due to a busy life currently. I also think the chapter lengths played a part. The chapters are split in to names (rather than numbers) and you continue with this character for near on 100 pages. As for the book itself I found the storyline interesting and definitely wanted to see what transpired the further on I read. I believe the main plot line of the book was overshadowed by the stories of each character. I think it’s important to understand each character and there background but there was a lot of information I found was a little pointless. The ending was extremely flat and wrapped up within the final 30/40 pages. Despite my review I would recommend this book if you don’t mind long chapters and enjoy getting to know each character in lots of detail.

The caretaker is about au pairs in Paris who are looking after children for rich families. The chapters are very long, first of all it took a while to get into the story. However, as the book continued you go to understand the characters more.

In a wealthy Parisian suburb, an au pair has been accused of murdering her charge.

A number of characters play a role surrounding this tragic event and as the story unfolds through their eyes, we're given a full insight into what happened before and what happened then.

The caretakers was an engrossing look into the lives of a group of female au pairs and the families they worked for. Each chapter was told from a different perspective and while we gained knowledge into the build up of the death, what really hooked me was learning how the women found themselves in Paris and their lives before.

The author shows a very raw, honest and oftentimes ugly side to our human nature and I was here for all of that. It ain't always rainbows and butterflies in Maisons - Larue.

The Caretakers starts with a tragic event in a wealthy Parisian suburb, the story then takes you back through the lives of the people involved. The main characters are all women, they come from different backgrounds, diffierent countries and they all have there own battles.

I didn't really warm to any of the characters, but it was still a pleasant read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for letting me read The Caretakers.

I requested this book based on the blurb, which sounded really intriguing. Unfortunately I just couldn't get into it, though I tried a few times I only got 10% in and have decided to DNF for now. It is just too slow for me and I couldn't connect with any of the characters. Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for giving me an opportunity to read and review.

The Caretakers by Amanda Bestor-Siegal was a beautifully written book, set in Paris, 2015. When a small crowd gathers outside the Chauvet home in the affluent suburban community of Maisons-Larue, all watching, as the family's American au pair is led away in handcuffs after the sudden death of her young charge. The grieving mother believes the caretaker is to blame, and the neighbourhood is thrown into chaos, wondering who fault it was.
This book was a very interesting read and it did take me a while to get into it. But, when I did I was glad I stuck with it especially as Amanda was a new author to me

I highly recommend this book.

Big thank you to NetGalley and Little Brown Book Group for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

Not for me. Too much expliaing where I could work it out myself. Not believable. Very repetitive and a terrible saw it coming a mile off ending.

An interesting subject matter. A child dies and an Au Pair is immediately arrested. Unusually, the book gives insights into the world of au pairs and their host families, living in an affluent suburb of Paris. It took me a while to find an engaging character amongst either the au pair fraternity or their mothers. Interestingly, the role of fathers was not examined. Well written.

I so wanted to enjoy this book and give it a good rating but I’m afraid I found it a very difficult read.
It was set in a wealthy Paris suburb and about a group of American au pairs. It starts with the death of a young child and then the stories of each of the au pairs and families they work for and their French teacher are revealed. It took me so long to read each chapter and place all the characters in the story.

A terrible, tragic event has happened in a suburb in the outskirts of Paris. The truth about what happened is unravelled by six women telling their story in the week leading up to the tragedy. A tale about belonging, and family, and community, and finding your place I'm the world.
A well written book, with emotionally charged characters. A little bit of a weak ending for me.

An unexpected thriller of a debut!!!!!! An unbiased look into the lives of au pairs and their host families amongst tragedy and mystery. A must read for this year!!!!!!

I thoroughly enjoyed this one. Told from many different peoples perspectives in turn, we peel back to find more and more secrets in these families and au pairs lives, until we finally get to the bottom of what actually happened on the day that the disaster struck.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an advanced digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A beautifully written book. With a wonderful insight into the Paris lifestyle. A fabulous debut. I am looking forward to reading more from this author.