This had me gripped from cover to cover and just didn't let go.

Domestic thriller isn't my usual genre but my LORD was this good!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC.

Thank you so much for Netgalley allowing me an early copy of this book to review.

Sadly I really struggled with this book. I was so rooting to like it but I struggled slightly with the characters and the plot - and I just ended up a little bored (which I really hate to admit!) The story also felt a little repetitive. I pushed through, but I think the book just wasn't for me unfortunately.

Thank you Netgalley, Random House UK, Transworld Publishers | Bantam and Mary Watson for the eArc of The Cleaner.

I have read a few of Mary Watson's books and I have really enjoyed them and although I liked this one, it's not one of her better ones.
The premise of this book starts out strong. there's a lot of mystery and psychological twists and turns and the pay off at the end is good. I found the pacing of this book a little off as it seemed to drag, get repetitive a bit in the middle and then picked back up near the end,.

Our MCs felt real enough, flawed and usually I like unlikable characters but I didn't really bond with any of them which was a shame. I loved where the book was based, in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by woods in which the houses/cottages spaced out in the countryside. I got a real sense of seclusion and beauty from this part of the world building and probably my favourite bit.

3 stars for Netgalley and other review sites.
3.25 stars for Storygraph

Over the last few years, I’ve noticed an uptick in thrillers with a maid or cleaner as the central character. I’ve read a few of them and always think it’s a very interesting perspective to read from. She has easy access to her employer’s private spaces and is often dismissed as being insignificant with underestimated intelligence, so there is something quite formidable about life as a cleaner of the wealthy.

Esmie is largely ignored as she cleans the homes of the exclusive Woodlands gated community. Little does anyone know that cleaning is actually the last thing on her mind, as she carefully searches the rooms for evidence of who took the man who means the world to her. As she bears witness to her employers’ marriage fractures, indiscretions and secrets, she is quietly plotting her revenge and waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

Esmie spends her time carefully watching all of the women that she works for and she gains a strong understanding of their habits and personalities through this. These women rarely pay attention to her, so she’s able to sneak around quite easily. There was a tension to her voice that convinced me that she was about to inflict violence at several points, so I was often on edge while reading.

Much of Esmie’s world view seems to have been shaped by Nico, who she is trying to avenge. It’s clear that she completely idolizes him to the point where it’s quite unhealthy. I wasn’t sure that Nico was a wholly good person and this was still relatively abstract by the end, so I was never sure exactly what Esmie was capable of.

Due to her complexion and foreign accent, Esmie is questioned about her origins several times by the white Irish people she works for. Their persistence was pretty frustrating because she’s right -it doesn’t make a difference at all to her work, it just highlights her difference. This inherent prejudice shows itself a few other times in the story namely the things that are said about Nico and the way that Esmie is dismissed as insignificant.

Even when she starts to flirt with one of the men, Linc, it’s clear that he still doesn’t think she’s any kind of threat. Yes, he does absolutely get a kick of out the cliché of flirting with his cleaner because that’s what men of his status do, a lot of the time with zero punishment.

The Cleaner has some interesting social dynamics at play but ultimately, I think there were slightly too many characters for me to be able to keep everyone straight in my mind. I also wasn’t floored by the twist, so when that was revealed, I think I just shrugged and nodded. Overall, it was OK and relatively entertaining but I didn’t exactly fly through it, which I do with thrillers I think are truly great.

I thorughly enjoyed this book. as it's well plotted, gripping and twist, and entertaining. . I liked the good storytelling
Highly Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Well, gosh. This has everything: revenge, tragedy, drugs, domestic abuse, deceit, violence, obsession, death, bribery and…believe it or not…love and passion. The whole kit and caboodle.

I loved it. It kept me glued to the pages (well, my Kindle!) and with all the twists and turns, guessing until the final pages.

It's dark, it's deep, it's tense and the suspense builds as you peel back the layers of secrets and lies to reveal why Esmie, the cleaner wriggled her way into cleaning three homes. Three homes owned by three families of very particular significance to Esmie.

I'm a bedtime reader and couldn't wait to go to bed and devour this book for an hour before lights out.

I love a good thriller, especially when it involves a woman as a killer, it's my favourite trope currently and this sounded good, but it didn't live up to it. I was struggling through it, I didn't connect with the characters and I didn't feel much jeopardy. It felt like a thriller in essence, but hadn't been executed to the standard I was expecting and so I had to force myself to finish it sadly.

Gloriously gritty. Exciting to read and kept you wanting more. Always guessing what is going to e and always getting it wrong. Written strongly!

I read this book in just a few short hours because it grabbed me from the first few pages. There are secrets behind secrets, and some unexpected twists. None of the characters were very deep but just interesting enough to want to know how this very well written story would end.

Good story, gripping. good twists with the main character that I never expected. Kept me reading. Look foward to hearing more from Mary Watson

You need to read right to the last page! A really good read. Lots of loathsome characters that I loved to hate! All the characters have secrets and you’ll be torn by what the lead character does.
This story is about be careful what you’ve done as it might follow you in to your future. The ending is fabulous!

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

Esme has travelled to Ireland with a plan. A plan to infiltrate a community as their cleaner so she can get answers as to why her brother changed and came home after spending time with them. Esme's plan is to snoop in the houses while she is cleaning to find answers. During this she gets more questions than answers.

This was definitely a slow burn, that did get better the more I read. Esme was a very intriguing character, who had many layers to her. The story was ok, but it got infuriating in places where Esme was mid snoop and she was constantly interrupted by various excuses. Aside from that, the story flowed quite well, and did pick up pace around 75% in, and there was quite a big twist around this point. A good solid read.

Following Esmie’s journey to Ireland as she digs for answers about her brother’s tragic state was utterly gripping. Impossible to put down. Highly recommend for anyone who loves a thriller with real emotional depth! Thank you for the ARC

A twisty book, with mysterious and nefarious undertones, with an unexpected ending. Full of unreliable narrators and various side stories which distracted from the main plot, for me at least.

The ending was good but I struggled with the pacing leaning towards meandering and lengthy rather than suspenseful.

After a tragic event Esmie leaves her country to come to Ireland and get some answers.

This was definitely a slow burner, it seemed very long or it just took me a long time to read it! It took me a while to get into it but once I did I enjoyed the story. And for once I didn't guess the twist! (Which I thought was a good one.)

They know pretty much everything about you and you don’t even know it !

Well written, perhaps a bit weak at the end but enjoyable nonetheless

This was a compelling read with a lot of twists and turns to keep up with, along with the abundance of characters! A slow burn but worth the read for the shock of the last quarter of the book.

I was so looking forward to reading this book but sadly it just was not for me. The characters were all unlikeable and the pace so slow I just gave up.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A great little thriller that goes backwards and forwards in time line !! Loved the slow burn storyline and felt it all finished well ! A good thriller

A slow burn thriller that builds tension and suspense throughout.
4 stars- Could not put it down wanted to know what was happening so I was flying through the pages!!