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3.3 AVERAGE
3.3 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
It was strange, very dark, sometimes confusing, and not engaging enough that I wanted to try to understand.
I wanted to like this a lot more than I did.
Pros - it was more of a character study than a thriller to be honest. I did like getting to know Louise and I liked the delve into her background. I enjoyed that it was set in France, and that the author incorporated a lot of the xenophobia we all know exists in France. It was a slow burn, and it did ramp up a bit towards the end.
Cons - I didn't really feel 'in' Louise's head. I didn't get a proper feel for her. The ending was so abrupt I was like??? where is the rest of the book? We find out pretty early on Louise has done something bad, and I was looking forward to delving into that a little but we got nothing - just a short, sharp 'this happened'. Like, okay?? and?? what happened to her? Why did she do it? How did she do it?
I couldn't decide between 2 or 3 stars but went with 3 because despite the short ending I did find myself enjoying reading it more often than not.
Pros - it was more of a character study than a thriller to be honest. I did like getting to know Louise and I liked the delve into her background. I enjoyed that it was set in France, and that the author incorporated a lot of the xenophobia we all know exists in France. It was a slow burn, and it did ramp up a bit towards the end.
Cons - I didn't really feel 'in' Louise's head. I didn't get a proper feel for her. The ending was so abrupt I was like??? where is the rest of the book? We find out pretty early on Louise has done something bad, and I was looking forward to delving into that a little but we got nothing - just a short, sharp 'this happened'. Like, okay?? and?? what happened to her? Why did she do it? How did she do it?
I couldn't decide between 2 or 3 stars but went with 3 because despite the short ending I did find myself enjoying reading it more often than not.
This book blew my mind. The way in which it explores the intimacy of parenthood, womanhood, care work, and class is astounding. I have never read another book that captures characters so intimately, including their dreams, flaws, and neuroses. The book begins with its end and then rewinds, showing how this horrible conclusion came to be, punctuated by chapters that flash forward to the crime. It proceeds at such a pace that you understand everything. You begin to understand the terrible longings of the nanny, the nervousness and ambition of the parents. You are immersed in this world, waiting for the inevitable.
Did not like this writing style. Found the story telling and characters boring.
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
No
I'm going to try to not overly denounce this book since it's a foreign translation, and I often find that foreign novels read differently than those in my native language. Writing styles vary around the world, so perhaps in France this is how thrillers are written.
But man, this was a bad book. I absolutely cannot recommend it. It's a very surface-level story of a nanny, highly recommended, who comes to work for a well-off family because the mother wants to go back to work after years as a stay at home mom. There are a couple of off-putting incidences - the nanny puts a full face of makeup on her 4 year old charge, and when the dad is angry she just glares at him and refuses to apologize or even say a word in her defense - and then she murders the children.
We never really get an inside look at any of these characters. The mom wants to go back to work, that's all we know. The husband doesn't care, if she thinks work will make her happy. They both do well at their jobs. We get some hints about the nanny having a mental illness history, but no insight into what's wrong with her.
I didn't care about any of these characters, or feel any way about them at all really. The nanny seemed a bit strange, maybe, but I didn't dislike her or find her creepy. I also didn't like her. Everyone was just neutral, and uninteresting, and even the murders aren't interesting - we learn about the murders in the opening chapter of the book, and then at the end we jump to a time past the murders, when a cop is investigating why they happened. That's it. No explanation for what happened, just... neutral storytelling about some events that happened.
Can't recommend. Not worth the time.
But man, this was a bad book. I absolutely cannot recommend it. It's a very surface-level story of a nanny, highly recommended, who comes to work for a well-off family because the mother wants to go back to work after years as a stay at home mom. There are a couple of off-putting incidences - the nanny puts a full face of makeup on her 4 year old charge, and when the dad is angry she just glares at him and refuses to apologize or even say a word in her defense - and then she murders the children.
We never really get an inside look at any of these characters. The mom wants to go back to work, that's all we know. The husband doesn't care, if she thinks work will make her happy. They both do well at their jobs. We get some hints about the nanny having a mental illness history, but no insight into what's wrong with her.
I didn't care about any of these characters, or feel any way about them at all really. The nanny seemed a bit strange, maybe, but I didn't dislike her or find her creepy. I also didn't like her. Everyone was just neutral, and uninteresting, and even the murders aren't interesting - we learn about the murders in the opening chapter of the book, and then at the end we jump to a time past the murders, when a cop is investigating why they happened. That's it. No explanation for what happened, just... neutral storytelling about some events that happened.
Can't recommend. Not worth the time.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Veryyyyy different to what i normally read, i picked it up because i wanted something short to read while i was waiting for my next book in a series. The tagline of the baby being killed drew me in as i thought the way the crime would unravel would be interesting, and it was. The journey through Louise's life, her state of mind, is completely disturbing. I felt quite uneasy all the way through reading the book but in a way which gripped me and made me want to carry on to see what was gonna be next.
First thriller ive read in ages and am happy i did decide on this story. It felt like a weirdly refreshing mini break in-between my romance/fantasy as it was just the right amount of entirely different.
First thriller ive read in ages and am happy i did decide on this story. It felt like a weirdly refreshing mini break in-between my romance/fantasy as it was just the right amount of entirely different.