Cleaner paints a great picture of the hidden dynamics of an office, the cleaner an interesting - if slightly creepy - narrator.
I did find myself drifting in and out of focus in places, and it took a little while to grip me, but over all I had a good time with this quirky, strange novel.

I actually really enjoyed this audiobook. I thought it was fun. It was thought provoking and it also shows you how important roles are that people look down on, especially in corporate society like cleaners. Although I did think of the main character was a little bit narcissistic and a little bit everything revolves around them when they kept saying how are the people can be replaced, but she cannot I think not only does this try to talk around the ranking of jobs in corporate society which is something that needed to be talked about. It also talks about how different people confuse themselves comparatively to others and I think that was a very good topic point, especially when it is coming from someone who is more narcissistic has more self-centred who is more I am a God role

The author did a great job of creating realistic and relatable characters, setting the scene, and building suspense.

Really interesting, I haven't read anything like this before and enjoyed it. IT captured the monotonous feeling of office work whilst still being on the 'other side' unable to breach the inner circle.

Not really for me, I didn't gel with the main character and didn't feel there was much happening from a plot perspective.

The cleaner works at night when the office staff have left the building. This in a very introspective tale with only minimal interaction with other characters. The cleaner bases what they know about people on the items found in their desks and as a result learns their secrets and tries to help the business run better with tweaks of intervention. I enjoyed the overall story and the narration with which it was delivered.

A clever story about a cleaner who takes on more than her job description! The cleaner, who is not given a name, is more than a little nosy about the workers in the office she cleans and makes subtle changes in the firm belief she is helping to make workers healthier and happier. Her work is her world and the way she feels compelled to secretly change things is rather disturbing. The great narration helped to make it as compelling as it was unnerving. Thank you to Net Galley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed listening to this but I wanted more from it - I don't know if I wanted more mystery or more depth into the office workers or what. The voice was great and I definitely want to read more of this author's work but ultimately, I didn't retain much of the "plot" so I can't rate it higher

"Cleaner" by Brandi Wells is a brilliantly subversive and thought-provoking tale of a custodian who transcends her role as a cleaner to become a clandestine office guardian angel. With humour and keen observation, Wells delves into the lives and secrets of the office's inhabitants. As the cleaner unravels a hidden secret, the narrative takes an unexpected turn, exploring the complexities of power dynamics and the unseen forces that shape our lives. This short story is a compelling and clever exploration of the hidden world within an office, where appearances are deceiving, and the most powerful revelations come from the most unexpected sources. Wells crafts a unique and engaging narrative that will leave readers pondering the unseen heroes in their own lives.

A really interesting take on who does those jobs that you don't really notice day to day.
I found it quite creepy and it felt like a secret world that you don't really pay much attention to, but can affect you day to day without you realising.

I was compelled to see what the cleaner would do next, to see what kind or awful antics she would get up to next and what the fallout would be.

The narrator was perfect, told in a way that I felt fitted the cleaner to a tee!

I really liked the premise of this book , its quite different and its a thought provoking read.

The book is told entirely from the perspective of an unnamed cleaner in an unnamed city. Every evening, they meticulously clean a corporate office in a high rise building. They have a routine which they stick rigidly to and we learn about the people who's work space is cleaned purely from the cleaners perspective. The cleaner knows what is in their drawers, checks their email , works out how things are going for them by the state of their desks and the cleaner tries to help the employees by making changes. The cleaner feels the staff and not just the cleaning is their responsibility.

This was entertaining and unique and I thought it started strongly but my attention drifted in the middle third of the book before pulling me back in in the last third.

I really enjoyed the audio of this it added to the creeping nosiness and parts were almost uncomfortably compelling.

Recommend

3.5 star.

I enjoyed the writing, I loved the main character

FROM THE COVER📚

'I clean the offices and bathrooms and lobby five nights a week, but my actual job is to take care of everyone. They need so much help.'

At night, in a corporate office block in an unnamed metropolitan city, a cleaner begins her shift. 

As she cleans Sad Intern's desk, she throws away some of her more alarming health supplements, and leaves her healthy snacks instead. Mr Buff's desk is immaculate, but he seems to have a secret smoking habit - not conducive to his fitness journey - which she's going to help him kick. She confiscates the knitted coaster that sexy, sensitive Yarn Guy has given to Soda Woman - someone who clips her nails in the office doesn't deserve his gifts. 

She's the office guardian angel - and no one even knows it.

But tonight, while scrolling through your emails, she'll discover the secret you've been hiding - the one that will threaten her job, and the jobs of everyone she takes care of. And you're about to find out that, sometimes, your most powerful enemy is the one you don't even see.








REVIEW ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️



The narration was brilliant; clear and concise, easy to listen to but definitely capturing that strange, uncomfortable and quirky vibe that makes the character come to life. Narrator: voice did start to grate a little towards the end for me but overall good tone and pace. Also felt the voice matched the unknown nature to the “cleaner” was hard to place could be anywhere or anyone.

Our faceless, nameless narrator speaks right to us in a crude, blunt voice from the start I loved the opening line made me giggle and hooked me in. It’s full of dry humour and uncomfortably strange prose that just gives the main character, the cleaner a sort of uneasy charm. She reminds me of meddling old mother knows best time she means well. Her inner monologues are sassy but she is very the much the anti hero, I felt quite sorry for her, she was very lonely.

As the plot somewhat develops it becomes isolating and eerie, especially as the mystery starts to take hold of the story and the uneasy tensions almost feels like they are really holding into our own secrets. What do you keep hidden in the office…

The quieter pace is suited to the audio book it gently simmers and charms the reader into wanting more even when the plot starts to really getting going it remains quiet and calm but with an added intensity and feverishness as our narrator finds more secrets, more problems to fix under the cover of night. Let’s just say the cleaner saves the day but at what cost to her….brilliantly played out.


A delightfully strange and deeply unsettling read that’s off the wall and quirky in the very best way- if you don't absolutely love this, at least it'll make you think about cleaning your desk clean. Won’t be for everyone one but I liked the whacky off the wall way the writer examines a bigger picture. A easy and fast read/listening that is a really interesting social commentary exploring seen and hidden people in capitalist hierarchies. Treat people with kindness and respect regardless of their place within that was the take home message for me.

This is a wickedly clever story makes that me have my own night shift up listening

I really loved this. Insular and creepy, with a wonderfully unique narrative voice. Made me feel like I was complicit with her weird actions. Also provided some wryly funny takes of capitalism and bullshit jobs.

Interesting book but a strange/abrupt ending.

Thanks to netgalley for an audio review copy of this book. I enjoyed the narration and the first two thirds of the book, but the final third and ending felt cold and rushed, which was a bit of a letdown.

Overall though, an insightful and provocative look at a ‘normal’ workplace setting and at the interactions between professions and colleagues.

Nope ... not for me I'm afraid. It started off really well and I was gripped wondering what was going to happen but found that nothing really happened and I just got bored.

The narrator was good though!

A really great and intriguing read. I loved the characters and the story. Will look out for more from this author. Really liked the person reading it.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for offering me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I honestly enjoyed this book more than I thought I would do it.

I recently read The Housemaid by Freida McFadden, and not long before that The Maid by Nita Prose and this book gave me a lot of vibes about the books mentioned earlier at the very beginning. However, the story in this book goes in a different direction where it makes you realize how unimportant you can be for certain people for which you believe you are important.

Slightly disturbing but engrossing your-cleaner-sees-all debut.

Your office is clean in the morning. It's like magic. What was tea-stained or dusty is now sparkling. Your mugs are back in the kitchen, washed and ready for use. The bins are empty.

Every day, the unseen are acting as fairies for offices and workplaces and the daytime staff usually don't give it a second thought. And that's how our unnamed Cleaner quite likes it.

She takes pride in her job, but not only keeps the office up to standard, she'll take care of those daytime office users too, worrying about the supplements they're taking, noticing the lonely and the unappreciated and doing what she can to help them in their lives.

The cleaner even looks through emails and documents - she's very thorough.

This made for a very intimate-feeling audiobook. Breaking through many taboos and unwritten rules, the cleaner is the nosey fairy we all wish we could be. She knows everyone's secrets, tweaks things around the office to encourage relationships and success, takes petty revenge on those she doesn't like. And still can't work out who the Secret Shi**er is!

Living for her job and what she sees as her mission of looking after her daytime colleagues, the audiobook gets up-close-and-personal with our protagonist. We see the other night staff's reactions to her and her interactions with particular office workers as she tries to influence them for the better.

I really liked it. It satisfied my own nosey tendencies - don't we all want to say what we really think to other people and 'help them' with the changes we see as obvious that they don't see themselves?

Everything is kept very anonymous, from the names of characters, to genders. It takes place in an unnamed city. You can't even picture the cleaner herself.

It felt unnerving, picturing someone snooping, interfering, 'helping', but also fascinating and quite deeply satisfying. The cleaner was relatable, unappreciated and observant, the changes she makes and action she takes would leave you questioning your sanity at times.

Makes you appreciate those around you who quietly keep the status quo. And made for a very entertaining listen. I'd love to watch these goings on over a CCTV over time, see the psychological effect on the office workers.

Great idea, and nicely executed. I like the non-descript female voice who brings the cleaner to life on the audio, she doesn't give you much to work with, plays it without a lot of emoting, is logical and factual and helps you see why she blends into the background.

With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample audio copy.

Disturbing and funny in equal measures! The unnamed cleaner of an office block gains a perceived insight into the people who work in the offices by what they keep on their desks and in their drawers. Often with good intent, believing she cares for their welfare, she interferes with their lives by leaving, removing or switching items on their desks and in some cases, logging onto their computers to clear their diary or read their email - both business and personal.

As nameless as she is, she gives them names, based on their desks and so Sad Intern, Yarn Guy, Mr Buff and others become the focus of her life.

It is thought provoking in that in the important lives of these executives, the cleaner is largely invisible. In fact, one character is surprised to hear they even have a cleaner! This exploration of societal hierarchy is poignant, highlighting that often, these "invisible" people have a larger insight into the lives of those they provide a service for than they might imagine.

The narration was brilliant. Clear and well-paced.

4 star. Thanks to Netgalley, Brandi Wells and Headline for an ARC in return for my honest review.

I don’t know what it is, but I really struggled to get into this one. I found it a little slow paced and I kept waiting for something to happen which I guess just didn’t. I do understand the message of this book and think it’s a good one, and the main character is definitely intriguing, but just don’t think this one was for me.

The narration was okay. Nothing particularly wrong with it but not especially engaging.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to listen to an audio copy of this book!