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kdurham2's review against another edition
3.0
Check out the full review at Kritters Ramblings
A gothic mystery thriller that was a good read in the cold winter season. Twins Seraphine and Danny were born and shortly thereafter their mother committed suicide. When their father passes away they are cleaning out his things and stumble upon a photo that leaves Seraphine questioning everything that the adults in her life have told her, so she must do some sleuthing and get to the bottom of it all.
A gothic mystery thriller that was a good read in the cold winter season. Twins Seraphine and Danny were born and shortly thereafter their mother committed suicide. When their father passes away they are cleaning out his things and stumble upon a photo that leaves Seraphine questioning everything that the adults in her life have told her, so she must do some sleuthing and get to the bottom of it all.
kaitlynvella's review against another edition
5.0
Thank you to Goodreads and Berkley for this ARC!
This novel absolutely consumed me and my thoughts in the 24 hours I spent reading it. I felt as though I had been transported to the beautiful Summerbourne estate with the Mayes family, as I tried to piece together their confusing family history.
After chapter one, I had feared that I wouldn't be able to get into this story and I'm beyond thrilled that I didn't give up. Flipping back and forth between present day and 1991, this story tells the tale of an incredible family's history and the dark secrets that have been hidden for years. With twists and turns around every corner, I highly recommend this book for those seeking a new kind of thriller in their lives.
This novel absolutely consumed me and my thoughts in the 24 hours I spent reading it. I felt as though I had been transported to the beautiful Summerbourne estate with the Mayes family, as I tried to piece together their confusing family history.
After chapter one, I had feared that I wouldn't be able to get into this story and I'm beyond thrilled that I didn't give up. Flipping back and forth between present day and 1991, this story tells the tale of an incredible family's history and the dark secrets that have been hidden for years. With twists and turns around every corner, I highly recommend this book for those seeking a new kind of thriller in their lives.
lalalalane's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.75
amkirk313's review against another edition
5.0
Wow.... just when you think you have the story figured out, you find out you are completely wrong! This book was my first one straying from Dean Koontz and Stephen King and I loved it. Always kept you guessing and wondering what happens next.
girlinthepages's review against another edition
4.0
*Many thanks to Berkely and NetGalley for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review!*
In today's over saturated world of mediocre thrillers, it can be hard to find one that simultaneously manages to surprise me and that's well written. So many thriller novels I actually find work better for me in a movie format, so I'm always on a hunt for a solidly written mystery/thriller that manages to create an unsettling, atmospheric world on the page. That's exactly what I experienced with The Au Pair to my delight, and found myself completely immersed in a mystery that not only enveloped me in its setting, but actually had an ending that I didn't foresee in advance.
The Au Pair is a mystery told in a dual timeline story, switching back and forth between Laura, an au pair for a wealthy British family at their country mansion, and Seraphine, a daughter from the same family who wasn't watched by Laura but who is determined to find out the truth about her family's shady past after the death of her father. Seraphine believes the family's previous au pair, Laura, may know more than she's letting on about her family's history (is she adopted, why did her mother commit suicide hours after giving birth, etc.) Of course, this leads to Seraphine making bad, impulsive decisions to try and trick Laura into meeting with her and she's like NOPE and does the classic "never speak to me again" while also receiving a threatening letter about keeping quiet about the events of Summerbourne all those years ago which of course just makes Seraphine dig deeper into the tragic past of her family's estate.
While I enjoyed both narrators, I was especially fond of Laura's timeline and seeing the Summerbourne estate at the height of its infamy when it was bustling with drama and intrigue. Laura, a single child from a middle class family in London, becomes so entangled and entrenched in her posh employer's family dramas and her journey into becoming unhealthily enmeshed in the family is both believable and compelling. I was also particularly fascinated by the fact that she was such a neutral character, who I neither liked nor disliked and who was both a good person (she was wonderful with Edwin, her toddler charge) and who also made really terrible decisions at times. She was a character who was perfect as the protagonist in a mystery because her neutral personality made it hard to guess her motivations and how she would respond and react to the twists and turns in the narrative.
My absolute favorite thing about the book, however, was the atmospheric setting. Summerbourne itself felt like a character, a beautiful yet slightly eerie house set on the cliffs in the countryside that's been the site of so many tragic events, and yet is such a defining and magnetic force for both the family and the community. It's sprawling grounds, dangerously rocky beach and sense of grandeur slightly gone to seed was a deeply beautiful and yet unsettling backdrop for the mystery, and it felt like the mansion itself was playing a role in keeping secrets and pushing the characters into their questionable decisions. I also liked the slight fairytale esque thread throughout the narrative due to the lore that surrounds the myth of the Summerbourne twins, and the curse that plagues them and the rumors of sprites and changelings. It lends itself to the overall unsettling and anxiety inducing feeling I had throughout reading the entire novel which is a great feeling when reading a mystery novel!
Obviously when reviewing a mystery/thriller I can't speak too much to the plot details or twists, but I will say that I didn't guess the ending or the antagonist which is so refreshing! The ending did however get a little far fetched at the end to tie all of the plot threads together (it was definitely possible, just not very probably) however I did like how the big reveal didn't fall all on one character but rather it was the culmination of several character's motives and actions.
Overall: The Au Pair is one of the best mystery stories I've read in a while. It's cleverly crafted with all of the family entanglements and every character was complex. While the ending was a little far-fetched and convenient, I overall enjoyed the twists and adored the setting, and highly recommend The Au Pair to readers who love slow burn unsettling thrillers. This review was originally posted on Girl in the Pages
In today's over saturated world of mediocre thrillers, it can be hard to find one that simultaneously manages to surprise me and that's well written. So many thriller novels I actually find work better for me in a movie format, so I'm always on a hunt for a solidly written mystery/thriller that manages to create an unsettling, atmospheric world on the page. That's exactly what I experienced with The Au Pair to my delight, and found myself completely immersed in a mystery that not only enveloped me in its setting, but actually had an ending that I didn't foresee in advance.
The Au Pair is a mystery told in a dual timeline story, switching back and forth between Laura, an au pair for a wealthy British family at their country mansion, and Seraphine, a daughter from the same family who wasn't watched by Laura but who is determined to find out the truth about her family's shady past after the death of her father. Seraphine believes the family's previous au pair, Laura, may know more than she's letting on about her family's history (is she adopted, why did her mother commit suicide hours after giving birth, etc.) Of course, this leads to Seraphine making bad, impulsive decisions to try and trick Laura into meeting with her and she's like NOPE and does the classic "never speak to me again" while also receiving a threatening letter about keeping quiet about the events of Summerbourne all those years ago which of course just makes Seraphine dig deeper into the tragic past of her family's estate.
While I enjoyed both narrators, I was especially fond of Laura's timeline and seeing the Summerbourne estate at the height of its infamy when it was bustling with drama and intrigue. Laura, a single child from a middle class family in London, becomes so entangled and entrenched in her posh employer's family dramas and her journey into becoming unhealthily enmeshed in the family is both believable and compelling. I was also particularly fascinated by the fact that she was such a neutral character, who I neither liked nor disliked and who was both a good person (she was wonderful with Edwin, her toddler charge) and who also made really terrible decisions at times. She was a character who was perfect as the protagonist in a mystery because her neutral personality made it hard to guess her motivations and how she would respond and react to the twists and turns in the narrative.
My absolute favorite thing about the book, however, was the atmospheric setting. Summerbourne itself felt like a character, a beautiful yet slightly eerie house set on the cliffs in the countryside that's been the site of so many tragic events, and yet is such a defining and magnetic force for both the family and the community. It's sprawling grounds, dangerously rocky beach and sense of grandeur slightly gone to seed was a deeply beautiful and yet unsettling backdrop for the mystery, and it felt like the mansion itself was playing a role in keeping secrets and pushing the characters into their questionable decisions. I also liked the slight fairytale esque thread throughout the narrative due to the lore that surrounds the myth of the Summerbourne twins, and the curse that plagues them and the rumors of sprites and changelings. It lends itself to the overall unsettling and anxiety inducing feeling I had throughout reading the entire novel which is a great feeling when reading a mystery novel!
Obviously when reviewing a mystery/thriller I can't speak too much to the plot details or twists, but I will say that I didn't guess the ending or the antagonist which is so refreshing! The ending did however get a little far fetched at the end to tie all of the plot threads together (it was definitely possible, just not very probably) however I did like how the big reveal didn't fall all on one character but rather it was the culmination of several character's motives and actions.
Overall: The Au Pair is one of the best mystery stories I've read in a while. It's cleverly crafted with all of the family entanglements and every character was complex. While the ending was a little far-fetched and convenient, I overall enjoyed the twists and adored the setting, and highly recommend The Au Pair to readers who love slow burn unsettling thrillers. This review was originally posted on Girl in the Pages
alexthtrbg's review against another edition
3.0
This was just okay tbh. Kinda predictable and lowkey boring at times.
shronlee's review against another edition
1.0
i enjoyed reading the book but absolutely hated the ending
ashtynhope's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.5
nlwisz's review against another edition
2.0
Read this if you like:
▪️ people who become weirdly suspicious of their parentage simply because two newborn twins are not both in a photo ▪️ LEAPING to conclusions ▪️ bored shameless housewives ▪️ hard-to-believe twists ▪️ major family drama ▪️ misread signals ▪️ domestic suspense, but slow-building ▪️ revenge sex ▪️ Lifetime movies
▪️ people who become weirdly suspicious of their parentage simply because two newborn twins are not both in a photo ▪️ LEAPING to conclusions ▪️ bored shameless housewives ▪️ hard-to-believe twists ▪️ major family drama ▪️ misread signals ▪️ domestic suspense, but slow-building ▪️ revenge sex ▪️ Lifetime movies