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The Nanny: A Novel
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“The Nanny kept me in white-knuckled suspense until the very last page. Gilly Macmillan’s breakout thriller is a dark and twisted version of Downton Abbey gone very, very wrong.” — Tess Gerritsen, New York Times bestselling author
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. Haunted by the loss, Jo grew up bitter and distant, and eventually left her parents and Lake Hall, their faded aristocratic home, behind.
Thirty years later, Jo returns to the house and is forced to confront her troubled relationship with her mother. But when human remains are accidentally uncovered in a lake on the estate, Jo begins to question everything she thought she knew.
Then an unexpected visitor knocks on the door and Jo’s world is destroyed again. Desperate to piece together the gaping holes in her memory, Jo must uncover who her nanny really was, why she left, and if she can trust her own mother…
In this compulsively readable tale of secrets, lies, and deception, Gilly Macmillan explores the darkest impulses and desires of the human heart. Diabolically clever, The Nanny reminds us that sometimes the truth hurts so much you’d rather hear the lie.
Azioni libro
Inizia a leggereInformazioni sul libro
The Nanny: A Novel
Descrizione
“The Nanny kept me in white-knuckled suspense until the very last page. Gilly Macmillan’s breakout thriller is a dark and twisted version of Downton Abbey gone very, very wrong.” — Tess Gerritsen, New York Times bestselling author
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. Haunted by the loss, Jo grew up bitter and distant, and eventually left her parents and Lake Hall, their faded aristocratic home, behind.
Thirty years later, Jo returns to the house and is forced to confront her troubled relationship with her mother. But when human remains are accidentally uncovered in a lake on the estate, Jo begins to question everything she thought she knew.
Then an unexpected visitor knocks on the door and Jo’s world is destroyed again. Desperate to piece together the gaping holes in her memory, Jo must uncover who her nanny really was, why she left, and if she can trust her own mother…
In this compulsively readable tale of secrets, lies, and deception, Gilly Macmillan explores the darkest impulses and desires of the human heart. Diabolically clever, The Nanny reminds us that sometimes the truth hurts so much you’d rather hear the lie.
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This one was off to a slow start but it was worth sticking through it. As the story progressed it got more interesting and intriguing. With a really good ending it was well worth the read.The story alternates between several different points of view. At first, it may seem haphazard and all over the place. At certain times it’s a little confusing and as mentioned earlier, it’s slow to start. The time jumps back and forth also add a bit to the confusion but once you get the characters straightened it makes a whole lot of sense (and adds a lot of the mystery that is scattered throughout the novel)None of the characters are likable although Virginia starts to grow on you as you learn more about her and what she went through. It’s surprising at first because she comes across as high brow, snobby and doesn’t really treat Jo like she should. As the story goes on however, you figure out why and what was behind her behavior. All the pieces start falling into place and it makes for a real good plot.As mentioned before, the plot jumps back and forth and may be hard to follow. Eventually everything starts making sense and turns out to be a well written thriller. The ball gets rolling as the story progresses. I have to admit, however , the role of the police in this book wasn’t much of an impact and it looked like they were just there to tie loose ends and to be a filler. Oh well, I suppose the police can’t do everything right?Well worth the read if you stick with the slow start. Absolutely loved the fitting ending!
Jo grew up privileged in a manor house, but while still at a young age, her beloved nanny disappeared without warning. Having a strained relationship with her parents, esp. her mother, Jo fled her family at the quickest opportunity. Now, years later as an adult and with a young daughter of her own, she returns to her family's manor house after her husband dies and she is left without any way to support herself. However, shortly after arriving, a skull is discovered in the nearby lake. As the police attempt to work out who the skull belongs to, Jo begins to suspect that it may belong to her nanny. However, when a woman then shows up claiming to be her long-lost nanny, Jo and her mother begin to doubt themselves and new questions arise: Is this woman really who she claims to be? And who does that skull really belong to? Jo's mother (Virginia) begins to act peculiar and Jo herself has has gaps in her memory from childhood, so ultimately, what really happened?I'm still mulling this one over. It had sort of a creepy undertone, and none of the main characters were especially likeable, though it did keep me guessing as a reader. The mother, Virginia, is made out to be suspicious, but you also start to feel sorry for her when the "nanny's" character emerges as being rather evil. Though this story was borderline disturbing to me, I was reading along fairly contentedly until the end. It seems that other reviewers found the ending satisfying, but it felt off to me, sort of rushed and almost too unbelievable and ridiculous. Overall, this was a decent novel, although probably not my favorite of Gilly MacMillan's.
A special thank you to Edelweiss and William Morrow for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.Seven-year-old Jocelyn Holt is devastated when Hannah, her beloved nanny, suddenly leaves and vanishes without a trace. This monumental loss in Jo's life haunts her to this day. She grew up bitter and distant from her parents, eventually leaving Lake Hall, the family's aristocratic residence. Thirty years later, Jo confronts her complicated relationship with her mother when she is forced to return to Lake Hall after the death of her husband. To add to the sting, Jo's daughter, Ruby, seems to be enamoured with her grandmother, Lady Victoria Holt. In an attempt at mother-daughter bonding, Jo takes Ruby on a boat ride because it was something she loved to do as a child. The pair make a grisly discovery of some human remains in the lake that is on the grounds of the estate. Jo begins to question her past and everything she thought she knew may not be as it once appeared.An unexpected visitor comes calling and sends Jo into a tailspin. She is desperate to piece together the mystery of who her nanny really was, why she left Jo all those years ago, and what role her mother played in all of it. The only problem is she can't seem to trust her memories.The Nanny is a dark and diabolical tale that exposes the dark impulses and lengths people will go to not only protect themselves, but to hurt one another. Sometimes the truth hurts so much that you live the lie instead.Gilly is quickly becoming one of my go-to authors. When I read the synopsis for this dark and twisty Mary Poppins, I was smitten! Macmillan is an accomplished and methodical writer. This book is equally as polished as her other four novels, but more of a psychological thriller/character study versus a classic thriller type story.Opening with the sudden disappearance of Jo's beloved nanny, Hannah, Macmillan hooks her reader right away. She ratchets up the tension with the added layer of the strained relationship between Jo and her mother (if it's not one thing, it's your mother) and plays it off the dynamic between Victoria and Ruby.A slow burn, The Nanny is a a tale of secrets, lies, betrayal, and revenge. I highly recommend this book.
Jocelyn, who prefers being called Jo, escaped to the states from her childhood estate, Lake Hall a cold place, as is the mother she escaped from, intending to leave everything behind and never returning. She remembers being raised by a doting nanny she loved deeply until one day when she disappeared without a word, “because she was a naughty girl”, said her mother, Virginia. Her life after Hannah was miserable; a mother who was highly critical and controlled the relationship she tried to have with her father. Many years later, against everything she swore, she finds herself back at Lake Hall with her 10 year old daughter Ruby. After the death of her husband, she had no choice but to return there, but vows it is only until she can get back on her feet again and then she will be gone.She isn’t there very long before a human skull is uprooted in the lake on the family estate when Ruby and a friend are doing the forbidden kayaking in the lake. Jo is having a hard enough time fitting in, but the fiasco of that afternoon has labeled her by some as neglectful or careless. Who does the skill belong it? What secrets are the Holt family keeping?Not long after, Jo thinks she has spotted her former nanny, Hannah. Can it be after all this time? Why did she come back? Jo has many questions as to why she left so abruptly, and longing for the loving relationship with Hannah that she remembers, she tries to locate her. But when she brings her to Lake Hall, her family members aren’t as enamoured. Her daughter dislikes Hannah. And Virginia? She knows there is no way this could be Hannah. Or could it be? She resembles Hannah and has Hannah’s memories but if she isn’t Hannah who is she and what does she want? This story is told alternately from the viewpoints of Jo and Virginia and a narrative of the life of Hannah and what brought her to Lake Hall in the first place. What a delicious twisty read this is. What lengths would we go to to protect the ones we love? There are many skeletons in the Holt family closet. And they are all threatening to burst out. Sometimes when I read a book, I have a hard time enjoying it if the characters aren’t very likeable. Not in this case. I devoured this book even though I found many characters in the book not very likeable. I felt quite sorry for Virginia, whose daughter had nothing but disdain for her. She made mistakes, but perhaps it wasn’t all deserved. While I wanted to like Jo, I had a hard time when everything she seemed to do was so disrespectful to her mother that she seemed cruel. And Hannah? Or pretend Hannah? You’ll have to see for yourself what she is all about. The relationship between mothers and daughters is complex. The mistakes our mothers made with us, we don’t make with our own children. The mistakes we made with our children, we don’t make with our grandchildren. The dynamic and rapport between all three Holt females with each other shows how the actions in the past have affected the present relationships with all of them. But does it always have to be? How do you get behind the same pattern?This was a pretty quick read for me in spite of being 400 pages. The descriptive style I love and the flow in the writing brings you right in; you can see what’s there; you can feel the emotions and the intrigue kept me engaged. Gilly’s “Perfect girl” was one of my favourite books the year it came out so I was thrilled to have been allowed the opportunity to read and review this one. Thank you to the publisher and edelweiss for the privilege of reading this book in exchange for an honest review. 4 1/2 star for me.
When Jocelyn was seven-years-old her nanny disappeared in the middle of the night. The loss hit Jo hard and it became a bone of contention between her and her parents for many years. How could her nanny simply disappear without saying goodbye?Thirty years have passed and despite Jo’s best efforts to separate herself from her mother she finds herself moving back home with her young daughter, Ruby. Soon after their arrival human remains are found on the lake behind their house. Jo begins to suspect the worst about the remains. Is this what happened to her nanny all those years ago? An unexpected visitor shows up at their doorstep who brings with them secrets and truths that will change everything Jo ever thought about her childhood.THE NANNY is my second book by Gilly Macmillian and it made me remember all the reasons why I loved the first book I read by her! Macmillian is back yet again methodically planning out a slow-burn read. This time the story focuses on the Holt family and the drama that happened in their household nearly thirty years ago.From the start, Macmillian makes it clear that there is a tension between main character Jocelyn AKA Jo and her mother, Virginia. As the narratives switch between the two women the reader starts to piece together each side of the story. Each short chapter offers the reader a tiny glimpse into the truth, but Macmillian holds the grand reveal close to her chest until the very end. Some parts of the plots and the dynamic between the main characters is obvious to a long-time crime fiction reader, however, I was pleasantly surprised at the direction the story took at several places. For me, I’m completely fine reading a book with a bit of predictability as long as the story is engaging, which is exactly what I found with THE NANNY.The structure of THE NANNY is what made this book such a great success. Not only does Macmillian alternate the narrative between Jo and Virginia, but she also adds in sporadic passages from the missing nanny and the detective investigating the remains. Everything subtly builds to the grand reveal where all of the narratives collide in an intense ending.I’ve seen some mixed reviews for this book. My biggest concern is that readers will walk into this book expecting a thriller and THE NANNY is not that. There are certainly intense moments, but for the most part, this book is very much a slow-burn. I listened to this book via audio and adored the multiple narrators that helped the story come to life. I highly recommend enjoying it through audio over reading the physical book, as the narrators helped to keep everything fresh and moving forward. THE NANNY is a great read for anyone looking for a subtle, family-centric story in crime fiction genre.Disclosure: A huge thank you to William Morrow and LibraryThing for sending me a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This is a twisted tale of Jo, her parents and her nanny Hannah. While Jo has wonderful childhood memories of Hannah, all was not as it seems. After Jo's husband dies, she returns to her childhood home to get back on her feet. While there a skull is discovered in the lake by the family home, raising all sorts of questions with the locals and inspiring "Hannah" to return to the "scene of the crime." There are no straight answers and no "happy ending" but there are lots of ethical questions to consider.
A very cleverly written novel with a number of narrators: Virginia, the matriarch of the family; Jo, the daughter; and then a third person who gives us the background to Hannah becoming a nanny.The setting jumps back and forth over a period of more than three decades. There are plenty of clues about where we are in time. The result is a complicated intertwining of plot threads. There is an almost Gothic feel to the plot.In the long run I found the ending a bit unsatisfactory, but I will let you read it so that you can decide for yourself. It probably should have affected my rating.
Jocelyn begrudgingly returns home to her posh family estate in England with her young daughter Ruby in tow after the accidental death of her husband. After spending so many years trying to avoid contact with her estranged mother, Jo now finds herself dependent on the family wealth she has come to resent. The only fond memory Jo has from childhood is of her nanny, who unexpectedly disappeared one night due to what she was led to believe were her own faults and misbehaviors. Secrets of an aristocratic family, resentments built on faulty memories, the grisly discovery of a body threatening the family's reputation- these tropes have become very familiar to today's reader of mystery fiction. The Nanny, a new novel by Gilly Macmillan, begins with a well-worn premise but remarkably rises above other suspense thrillers that have already wandered down this path. Jo's mother, Lady Virginia Holt, is not the frosty self-absorbed stereotype that she first appears. Jocelyn is not the likeable but hapless victim of a neglectful upbringing, and the body in the lake at Lake House may not be that of the missing nanny, after all. The story depicts the high moral price that is exacted in order to maintain a status that is hopelessly outdated and even despised by contemporary society. Even Jo and Ruby find themselves drawn into lies that may break their precious bond as they blindly struggle to protect each other. MacMillan's book addresses both the debasement of those attempting to forcibly attain access to a life of privilege and wealth, and the rigidity and false glamour that makes their covetousness undeserved. With vivid characters and well-paced action, The Nanny would be most suitable for lovers of suspense looking for a familiar tale told with a refreshing style.Thanks to the author, Edelweiss, Library Thing and William Morrow for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.
I received this book as an LTER. This book is the story of a nanny, a mother and her daughter. Hannah Burgess, the nanny, wants a better life for herself. Lady Virginia Holt has it all and Jocelyn, or Jo, her daughter, has a strained relationship with her mother, but Hannah is her world. The story goes between present day, when Jo and her daughter Ruby return to Lake Hall to live her Jo's mother, Lady Holt, and Hannah's story in the 70's. I felt sorry for Virginia because she was trying so hard to have a relationship with Jo, but Jo keeps pushing her away. Tidbits and snippets of what happened 30 years ago are slowly revealed until it all culminates to one night. We understand why Jo pushes her mother and we understand why Virginia did what she did. I did not really predict the end. I enjoyed this book.
After her husband’s untimely death, Jocelyn Holt has no choice but to move herself and her young daughter, Ruby, into her mother’s home at Lake Hall. She hopes it’s just temporary because she and her mother have always had a difficult relationship. When Jo thinks of her childhood, it’s her nanny, Hannah, who she remembers as giving her the love and care she needed. But Hannah unexpectedly disappeared from Jo’s life and home when Jo was 7 years old and Jo has never gotten over the loss. As soon as she was able to, she left her home and parents behind. Now she’s returned home but things are tense between Jo and her mother. Then Jo and Ruby find a human skull in the lake and the past is pulled into the present and Jo doesn’t know if she can trust her memories.I found this one to be more of a gothic mystery in nature than a true thriller. I literally cringed at some of Jo’s behavior towards her mother. The only sensible one in the book was 10-year-old Ruby and I felt a lot of sympathy for her. The story is told from several perspectives and the author does a good job of shifting the reader’s allegiances. There is a certain point in the book that gripped me, mainly due to the horrible situations people can find themselves pulled into. But then it races to the very distasteful, at least to me, ending.An average book about an extremely dysfunctional family.This book was won by me in a giveaway contest.
I really enjoyed this book. It's not a edge of your seat thriller, but still really good. The book had me engrossed and I really enjoyed it.
You think you know what happened to the nanny. You think you know whose skull they found in the lake and you are pretty confident by a third of the way in that you know who the bad guy is and in true Gilly Macmillan style, you would be wrong. The well off Holt family is so very lucky that Nanny Hannah has shown up after all these years, just when her grown charge is back home with her young daughter in tow. Some were very surprised to see her back. Gothic whodunnit for fans of British shockers and good old twisted endings. My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy.
I have read and loved several of Gilly Macmillan’s books, and knew I would love The Nanny. Jo reluctantly returns home to Lake Hall with her young daughter, Ruby, after her husband’s accidental death. A skull was discovered in the lake, and everyone assumes it’s the body of Jo’s nanny, Hannah, who disappeared when Jo was seven. Of course, nothing is as it appears. Loved the twist at the end! And I loved this English, gothic mystery!
I've read and enjoyed all of Gilly Macmillan's books, so I was eager to read this one too. I agree that it's more of a gothic mystery than a thriller. You think you know who the skull belongs to and who the evil character is, but as the story slowly builds, you come to realize that things are not necessarily as they seem. Good read!
The Nanny by Gilly Macmillan was set in both the past and present. I found it pretty unbelievable in several areas. After losing her husband with no where to go, Jo and her daughter return to the Holt family home and her estranged mother. Many years prior her beloved nanny Hannah disappeared without a trace and broke Jo's heart. While in the lake, Jo finds a skull and police are called. Suspicion centers around the Holt family and many locals wonder if it is the skull of the missing nanny. This idea gets laid to rest when out of no where Hannah returns. Hannah slowly worms her way back into the family and drives a wedge between mother and daughter again. The nanny is not who she portrays herself to be and Jo must find this out the hard way.
** spoiler alert ** Maybe I am just getting too saturated with psychological thrillers, because I actually feel a bit irritated with this one, and I am thinking my two star rating might be too much. Let's start off with the good. The story was really well written, in fact the author has this great casual writing style that I really love. The characters themselves were pretty well fleshed out and they were all really deplorable people. I think that's hard for an author to do and shows some great talent. When I detest everyone in the book I often find I can't keep engaged and end up not finishing. So very well done in my opinion. Now let's get to the bad stuff. The plot. Oh the plot. This started out with promise: a disappearing nanny, a house full of unlikable people, and plenty of misdirection from several characters to keep you wondering. But then what happens? Everything exactly like you thought from just the blurb on the back cover. But then, just to be original I guess - let's throw in some art forgery. And how does the daughter act when she finds out her parents have been in that business her whole life? Like it's no big deal. And how does she act when she realizes she has now become complicit in this illegal operation? Like it's no big deal. Was this supposed to show us "how the other half lives" and add to the unlike-ability of the characters? I have no idea. What I do know is that it was completely unnecessary to the plot and is directly contributing to my low rating. The other factor is how the MC very violently kills the returned-from-the-dead-nanny, with her mother watching, and neither of them seem particularly upset. Oh well, let's just dump her the lake after we have stabbed her repeatedly in the stomach so she won't float up with trapped gasses. And did I mention this lake is on their property and is the same lake the police are investigating because they just found a body in it? And did I mention this is the same nanny that was already killed by this family and dumped in that same lake and miraculously survived? See how they learn from their mistakes - stab your dead bodies to ensure their deadness before you dump them in your lake. I understand this is fiction, but the number one rule (according to Margaret Atwood) is that the reader has to believe the story could be true and I just couldn't find this one believable. But I have to repeat my first thought - maybe I have become jaded by reading too many psychological thrillers. Or maybe the market is so saturated with them the plots are getting harder to create.I was provided an advanced copy by the publisher and the opinions in this review are very much my own.
After the death of her husband, Jocelyn "Jo" must return home with her ten-year-old daughter, Ruby. His death has left her in financial trouble, and she has no choice but to head back to Lake Hall, the aristocratic home she shared with her parents when growing up. It's a far cry from California where she lived with Chris and Ruby, escaping a stifling childhood with her mother. Jo's happiest childhood memories involve her nanny, Hannah, but Hannah disappeared suddenly one summer when Jo was seven. Her mother blamed Jo, and the two never repaired their relationship. Back now, thirty years later, Jo must deal with her mother and their fractured relationship. And when she and Ruby find a skull in the lake behind the house, she begins to wonder exactly what happened to Hannah. Jo isn't sure of anything anymore, or who she can trust, even her own memories."I'll never be able to change this place, but if we stay here long enough, I'm afraid it will change my daughter and me."I've loved Gilly Macmillan and her books since I won one of them in a Librarything giveaway a few years ago. She's an excellent writer, and I quite enjoy how different each book is from the next. This one was very different and quite unexpected. It's told from a variety of alternating viewpoints--the primary ones being Jocelyn and her mother, Virginia, but we even get a local policeman and a mysterious woman dating back to the 1970s. I liked the way Macmillan wove all of of these perspectives together. At first, it seemed really easy to trust everyone, and then quickly, you realize that you can't be sure if you can believe either Jo or her mother.I don't want to go too far or reveal too much, because it's probably better to let most of the plot reveal itself organically, but it's definitely easy to say that much of the book is a little befuddling (in a good way). I found myself drawn to Ruby, the young girl, and oddly, Virginia, despite her history as a pretty terrible parent. Jo frustrated me, with her somewhat naive nature. She would trust some things at face value, yet not others, and I wanted to shake her at points.There are definitely some convoluted plot points in this one--there's quite a saga with the Holt legacy. I didn't really question it while I was reading, but after, I find myself wondering if it was all necessary. Still, I loved reading about the slightly faded grandeur of Lake Hall--it's just not something you get in America, and it's fun to picture when you read these type of novels. Macmillan does an excellent job of portraying her characters and the setting.I definitely was caught up in the plot. I thought I had it figured out for a while, then I realized I didn't, and then the ending was a little crazy. I'm still not a 100% sure about it, but I appreciate Macmillan for embracing it. Overall, I enjoyed the varying viewpoints and the slightly fusty, aristocratic setting. I was interested in the characters and wondering what happened with Hannah. A few things seemed a little far-fetched, hence my 3.5-star rating, but still a good read.I received a copy of this book from William Morrow and LibraryThing in return for an honest review.
It has been a long time since I have enjoyed a book this much! I recommend, loved the entire thing. Now I must track down more of this authors works. Easy, engulfing read.
Gilly MacMillan has earned a place on my must read list. After the last few lackluster mysteries it was a pleasure to tuck into a book that I couldn’t put down. I like a book with lots of twists and revelations.The story takes place in an old English estate. Seven year old Jocelyn Holt was a little girl when her beloved nanny Hannah Burgess up and disappeared. The little girl was devastated as she seemed to love her more than her own mother, Lady Virginia Holt.What happened to Hannah Burgess?Thirty years pass and Jocelyn, now called Jo, returns to the Holt estate due to financial difficulties after her husband dies. She brings her young daughter Ruby along and while she struggled with a relationship with her estranged mother, she has no choice but to live there. She can’t understand the warm connection Ruby has to her mother Virginia.One day Ruby and Jo take a kayak out on Lake Hall and drift toward an island. Ruby discovers a skull near the shoreline and we are on our way to an interesting mystery. Could it be Jo’s nanny Hannah who disappeared in the late 198o’s? It all wraps up nicely but you’ll be in for quite a few surprises. You will simultaneously dislike and feel very sorry for Virginia Holt as her character develops.This is a dysfunctional family but it’s due to outside influences, in my opinion. Great read, lots of intrigue and I will certainly be looking for more of MacMillan’s novels.Much thanks to LibraryThing for this advanced copy of the book. Grab a copy when it comes out September 10, 2019.
2.5 I made the decision at the end of last year to for go many of the psychological thrillers being written. I connected to do few of them and they were all blending together in my head. So, this is one of the few I have read this year, but found myself having the same problem. Different characters telling the story, made this book, for me, choppy reading. Very seldom does this format work for me, though there have been a few exceptions. The sections narrated by Detective Andy, were nonensial,, didn't add much to the story.There were screw surprises, but for the most part it was predictable. At 400 pages, much to long for a predictable read, though to be fair, it read quickly with the format used. I've enjoyed a few of this authors reads in the past, and will probably try her again. Hopefully, I will find the next more engaging. My final analysis is it was just okay, but nothing out of the ordinary.ARC from Librarything.
I received this ARC from LibraryThing Early Reviewers, so I felt obligated to actually read it before I reviewed it. Oh my word, this one really scores at the top of the "eye-roll scale". I should investigate more thoroughly in the future to ensure that I stay far away from these "psychological thriller" things about British women. And before any actual "real" British women get insulted, I don't know any of you personally, but I'm going to bet none of you are actually as pathetic, weak and wimpy as the fictional ones. The characters were beyond unlikable, with the exception of the little girl. The conclusion was off-the-charts ridiculous, so if anyone reads this while they're still in the middle of the book, and you're wondering if you should continue in the hope there will be a payoff in the end -- just close the book now and walk away -- you won't be sorry.
Good mystery, kept me up at night reading on....
This is my second book by this writer and wow, it was a lot of fun. Not entirely original or unpredictable, but a relentlessly driving story that makes you sit longer and longer each time you pick it up. There are white hats and black hats and one gray hat. Kinda. Jo is pretty sympathetic as is daughter, Ruby, but Virginia (Jo’s mom) isn’t so much. And it’s not even that Macmillan has drawn her as a bad mom, but that she creates almost all the bad situations she finds herself in. Even with a first person narrative that doesn’t whine, but comes close, I couldn’t muster much sympathy for her, but knew there had to be more to her and her reasons for what she did. And when Jo started acting stupidly and not believing what Ruby told her, that made me wonder what it would take to wake her up. But she does and things get resolved. I won’t say everyone is happy about things, but everyone gets what they deserve. In a fictional universe kind of way. There aren’t a lot of male characters - all the action and agency is provided by only women. Jo’s father Alexander is a vivid and carefully tended memory and Detective Constable Andy has short scenes only. Mostly where he vents his spleen and prejudice against the upper classes and his partner Maxine keeps checks him. Funny.Notes as I read Is the Holt art catalog really gone? Seems unlikely. (and what do you know? It isn’t!)Virginia is an idiot. Evading truth about the skull won’t make it go away. She’s drawn too obviously a bad guy to be wholly one, and she makes Hannah to be a deserving victim, but she doesn’t come entirely clean. There’s more to it for sure.Is Hannah really Hannah or Linda escaping her awful father? Roomie Jean is in on it and knows Linda stole Hannah’s identity. That won’t be good. Is the returned Hannah Linda or Jean? Returned Hannah will be Ruby’s nanny, no doubt.In the first get together Jo provided a lot of the specific details and H contradicts some. How long until J is suspicious & does something about it?So V & her painter friend Elizabeth & Jo’s boss at the gallery have a forgery scam. Nice. I bet V had to do it to cover Alexander's gambling debts. (Yup, that's the reason)Hannah’s bit with the ATM showing she is broke was a nice touch to hook Jo. (but having finished the book nothing is made of this although I think it was a ruse). That and the cottage owners wanting her out sob story and she’ll get to move into the big house. Ruby knows what she is, when will Jo get it?Jean’s back. I knew she would turn up sometime. Blackmail here we come. Will H maneuver her into being killed or do it herself? (she’s a hands on girl after all)Stupid Jo tells H about the forgery scam. OMFG she’s a dope. So besotted with her old nanny. If only she could talk to some of the other kids Hannah terrorized prior to getting V and A to hire her.Ruby is sick again. Is H drugging her? V’s missing pills make it likely.J’s found dad’s Faberge cigarette case in H’s room. Showdown!!Andy’s ID of Jean as the owner of the skull in the lake is a bit of a stretch - tying her to an uncle?And H has mysteriously disappeared again. The precedent makes the cops buy it and now they know that she’s really Linda and suspect her of Jean’s murder, they believe she has a perfect reason to run. Nice, that.Not sure if there is any future with our three women, but it ties up nicely. Can’t help but remember the circumstances of H’s first “death” with V drugging Jo so she’d sleep through it and now the same is done with Ruby. Like mother like daughter? Oy. That’s one family legacy.
Gilly Macmillan has been on my radar for a while but this was the first book I've read. I was really impressed. The story was engaging, intriguing, and very well written. There was a twist at the end but not in the traditional sense. It was more of a "she's not who I thought she was" kind of twist. I think the character was a surprised as I was about what she was capable of. I will definitely be checking out the author's backlist.