Unfortunately I didn't enjoy this book. I found the plot to be very slow. I am really disappointed as the write-up made it sound really interesting but sadly it wasn't for me.

3.5 stars rounded to 3

This book fell a bit flat for me, as it was a bit repetitive and after a while I got bored.
I figured out the twist about Esmie quite early in the book, I think it was a bit obvious who she was (or wasn't...) due to the way she spoke about Nico. So unfortunately this didn't grip me as I thought it would, but it was ok to spend a few hours with

Thank you NetGalley and Random House UK for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

The cleaner is on a secret mission and nothing is quite what it seems.

A very well woven and gripping story that has the reader guessing throughout. Esmie is devoted to her brother, Nico and when he returns home unexpectedly from his studies in Ireland and then falls into a coma, she wants answers. Knowing he fell in love and was destroyed by someone, Esmie travels to Ireland and contrives an accident. Thereby becoming involved with the people Nico was living with. She becomes their cleaner and is determined to discover exactly who is responsible for Nico’s demise. Three interwoven families live in the exclusive Woodlands and Esmie cleans for and spies on them all. Huge secrets are uncovered and the somewhat disturbing characters are not all they seem from the outside. Esmie gets closer to the truth but the path is an extremely dangerous one. An enormous twist towards the end gives some clarity to the many questions the reader may have. A somewhat sad tale of love and destruction that has no real winners and although a little contrived at times, it is well written and thought out.

Esmie has arrived in Ireland, determined to try and find out what happened to her brother Nico before he returned home a broken man. She knows that someone in the Woodlands knows more than they’ve told anyone. And she is determined to find out what she can.
In her role as their cleaner Esmie has virtually free access to the homes of the last people to see her brother before he returned home with nothing left to give. Nobody suspects her, but what secrets will she uncover?
The story was a little repetitive, but it was clear that there were people other than Esmie hiding things. As we unearth the hidden secrets it’s evident that we’re not being told everything.
Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this before publication.

Thank you Netgally and to the publisher for letting me read this!
3.5 ⭐️
The Cleaner by Mary Watson. what can I say? Esmie finding out about everyone’s dirty little secrets. But dose she need all these secrets to find out the truth about her brother? Becoming a cleaner at the Woodlands is a good start!

This was a good read. It kept me engaged for most of it. Slow at times as there are a lot of story lines but ones your in it your in it!

Esmie is not looking for dust, but dirt. By dirt, we mean everybody’s little secrets and closet skeletons, the things we want no one to see. But someone does… Esmie keeps memories of everything that’s going on in the gated community in which she works.

I had high hopes for this, but unfortunately it left me quite bored and I found it difficult to differentiate between, or care about, a lot of the characters.

The premise of this book looked good and I thought it would be right up my street as I was expecting a thrilling, gripping story. Publishing on 16th January 2025, I received an advance copy. Thanks to Random House UK Transworld publishers and NetGalley for my copy.

At the start of the book I was curious to find out more about what was going to happen.
Esmie is in Ireland, ostensibly to improve her English, but there’s more to the reasons behind her trip than meet the eye. She manages to orchestrate a job cleaning for a few houses in the prestigious gated community called the Woodlands. Esmie is looking for revenge for Nico, who had been studying in Ireland until his scholarship was revoked and he had to return home. He had rented a room at one of the houses in the Woodlands.

I didn’t like any of the characters and couldn’t relate to any of them. At times I got them a bit muddled up as they were all so flat and vapid it was hard to distinguish between them. Esmie does a lot of raking around in the houses and seems to think she’s being elusive but she’s far from it and it didn’t ring true to me that no one would raise questions about why so little cleaning was being done.

Unfortunately I found this book dragged so much and for most of it I was bored. The author has tried to create some excitement with different goings on for the characters but I cared so little about them it didn’t interest me. The twist, when it eventually came, was so underwhelming. Some of the book is a bit predictable and the ending was a bit silly. You need to suspend your disbelief for some of the story.

I had hoped to enjoy this book but it wasn’t for me.

Sadly I found the book slow and dull. It started off well with the possibility of a great story but half way through I was bored and skip read to the end.

This sounded really interesting but it was, for me, slow and fairly dull. Although there were many characters I thought the majority were dull and I didn’t enjoy reading this. There were too many storylines running concurrently but this annoyed me rather than intriguing me. I

Read the book purely to leave a review, not because I wanted to finish it and in hindsight the ending wasn’t superb anyway

The premise for this book really grabbed me. Cleaners have unprecedented access to the most intimate aspects of our lives, silently working amongst our most personal of effects and seeing things which aren’t for the eyes of the outside world. The idea, therefore of a cleaner infiltrating people’s lives, undercover style, to avenge the fact their brother has been put in a coma is brilliant and held a lot of promise. Our main character Esme does this and becomes a cleaner in a set of apartments where her brother Nico rented a room. She discovers many secrets along the way as she delves into the lives of the people she encounters. There is a however…. I tried really hard to engage with this book but unfortunately struggles. I’m not sure if that was me or the book, perhaps you’ll have to give it a whirl and make your own mind up, I’m thinking it’s probably a bit Marmite and you’ll either love or hate it. I skim read from about two thirds through as I was determined not to entirely give up but I wasn’t turned, sorry.

Esmie takes a calculated step into the lives of the secluded residents of The Woodlands, becoming their cleaner as a way to dig into their secrets. Her ultimate goal? To uncover the truth about her brother Nico, who mysteriously disappeared while living in this enigmatic community.

As Esmie delves deeper, it becomes clear that no one in The Woodlands is who they appear to be. With every character hiding a secret, the story masterfully unfolds layer by layer. Readers are drawn into Esmie’s investigation, discovering shocking truths alongside her.

The narrative seamlessly intertwines Nico's past with Esmie's present, building tension and intrigue as the mystery unravels. The pacing is sharp, and the twists keep you hooked until the very last page. A compelling and suspenseful read that explores themes of trust, deception, and the lengths one will go to for family.

I liked the idea of this book but it wasn’t quite executed as I’d hoped.

There were too many storylines running concurrently, I got a bit lost. I found the ending and the twist to be unrealistic. However, it was an enjoyable read that kept me hooked to find out what would happen.

I couldn’t stop turning the pages. The tension kept building, and the story’s unpredictable twists left me speechless, a true masterpiece from the author.

We meet Esmie (Esmeralda) who’s come to Ireland from her own, far away country. She’s on her bike but waiting by the edge of the road for something. That something turns out to be a fast driving car with two men in it. Of course there’s a small accident but Esmie is being carried into a lovely home by the owner of the car – and the home – by the name of Linc. His friend is Paul. Together with their wives Amber and Isabelle they live in The Woodlands, a very fancy neighbourhood. There’s also Ceanna, sister of Amber, who lives alone after the death of her husband, child ánd father, who’s only recently passed away.
But why is Esmie there? She’s there to take revenge on these people. On of them was the cause of the death of her brother Nico, who came to Ireland for his PhD but came home broken and unrecognisable to his and Esmie’s mother and their best friend Simone, his fiancée.
Complicated? Not at first sight. But Esmie slowly gains the trust of the people she meets at The Woodlands, not in the least because she actually is a very good cleaner (although she has a completely different profession) and because all those people share different secrets and Esmie is someone who can keep a secret.
Before long, we read about Esmie’s background and begin to understand what happened to her brother – and there are secrets behind secrets.
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.
Thanks to Random House and Netgalley for this review copy.

Esmie takes on a cleaning job at the houses of 3 wealthy families in order to find out which of the women had an affair with her beloved Nico leading to him being in a coma. A lot of the book is spent with Esmie snooping around all three houses, making me question how she had time to do the cleaning for which she was employed. However, with surprising secrets and unexpected links between characters, this became an enjoyable read as the book progressed.

Esmie inserts herself into the lives of the people in The Woodlands becoming their cleaner where she is able to dig into their lives and discover the truth about what happened to her brother Nico when he was a part of the community.

No one in the woodlands are quite what they seem and everyone is hiding a secret. The reader discovers the secrets along with Esmie and I loved the way the story of Nico is weaved into the present story as the truth is unveiled.

A really good who dunnit book. I enjoyed the scene settings in Ireland and the descriptions of the location. I did find some a little repeating in the middle but overall a good thriller read.

The Cleaner follows the story of Esmie, who 'finds herself' with a job in a prestigious neighbourhood cleaning the homes of the wealthy. But she isn't there to clean, she's there to get answers and revenge.

I enjoyed this book. The characters were really well written and I quickly became invested in their stories, although none of them were particularly likeable. I could really clearly picture the neighbourhood setting and this helped me immerse myself in the story.

There were twists and turns aplenty and I enjoyed discovering them.

My thanks to NetGalley and the Publishers for sending me this ARC in return for an honest review.