The Nanny at Number 43

Be Careful Who You Let Into Your Home

Wanted, a respectable woman to care for a motherless child.

When William D. Thomas’s wife dies in childbirth, he places an advertisement in his local newspaper seeking a nanny for his newborn child.

He is thankful when an experienced nanny arrives at 43 Laurence Street and takes over from his frazzled housekeeper Mrs McHugh.

Mrs McHugh confides in her bedridden friend Betty, who has a bird’s-eye view of all the happenings on Laurence Street, that the Nanny is not all she seems. Betty begins her own investigation into the mysterious woman.

When the bodies of twin babies are discovered buried in a back garden, by a family who have moved from their tenement home into a country cottage, a police investigation begins.

But it is Betty who holds the key to discovering who the Nanny really is … and the reason she came to 43 Laurence Street.

Review

I recieved a free copy of this book via booksirens in exchange for honest review.

I felt this book was a little slow to get getting, but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing. It just adds to the suspense, but for me personally it was a little slow. The secrets were revealed in a slow manner.

Since there was at least three time-lines and mutiple POV’s I would have preferred a reference to where and when the chapter was taking place. I got a little confused at times. Especially when there were characters with the same name. I also got a little confused with characters. I felt that all the stories were sometimes a little un-needed or not explained until a lot later in the book, when I had forgotten a lot of it.

The characters were good but sometimes a little niave, deaths were not really given much thought other than to grieve. I know it’s set in the 1800’s so different times but it just seemed a little easy to  me.

I knew there was something up from the beginning but not sure what, I didn’t feel the big reveal was quite shocking enough, yes it was horrific but I had worked it out quite early on. One death was unexplained, not sure if it was connected or just an illness, wish that was explained.

Overall it was a decent book, with mystery but a  little slow for me.

3.5 stars out of 5

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ARC Review: The Sister

Tags

mystery, thriller

Grace hasn’t been the same since the death of her best friend Charlie. She is haunted by Charlie’s words, the last time she saw her, and in a bid for answers, opens an old memory box of Charlie’s. It soon becomes clear there was a lot she didn’t know about her best friend.

When Grace starts a campaign to find Charlie’s father, Anna, a girl claiming to be Charlie’s sister steps forward. For Grace, finding Anna is like finding a new family, and soon Anna has made herself very comfortable in Grace and boyfriend Dan’s home.

But something isn’t right. Things disappear, Dan’s acting strangely and Grace is sure that someone is following her. Is it all in Grace’s mind? Or as she gets closer to discovering the truth about both Charlie and Anna, is Grace in terrible danger?

There was nothing she could have done to save Charlie …or was there?

I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book took me a long while to get into, it was only about half way through that I started properly enjoying it. There was too much fluff and not enough substance. It took too long for the book to get into what was going on. There was a lot of half secrets, ones that were not fully formed and some even once I found out what they were, they were a little of a let down.

The characters were fine but a little all over the place. Grace grew through the book but she was extremely naive and that didn’t really change. Dan was a grumpy sod and the way he treated Grace was shocking. Lexie was quite an unbelievable character, she seemed too over the top. Anna was a strange character, over the top nice with a very mean streak.

I did really want to know what happened after I got about half way through, I raced through the second half in almost one sitting. I was a little let down about what the secrets were, I guessed a few and some were disappointing.

Overall this book was a little disappointing.

3 out of 5 stars

Similar books in my opinion

 

ARC Review: The Silent Ones

Tags

mystery, thriller

He’ll do whatever it takes to find his missing sister.

Darren Evans was only eleven when his beloved sister Carly and four other teenage girls disappeared, sparking a huge police investigation.

Eventually, a woman confessed to their murders. But although she admitted her guilt, Olivia Duvall refused to say what had happened to those five missing girls. Or where their bodies might lie.

Ten years later, Darren’s family are still no closer to the truth. Desperate to alleviate his parents’ heartbreak, Darren gets a job as a cleaner in the psychiatric hospital where Olivia was committed, hoping he can make her tell him his sister’s fate once and for all.

But playing a killer is a very dangerous game . . .

I received a free copy of this book via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a book full of mystery and intrigue and I lapped up every moment. I was guessing  my through and never coming up with the right until the very end. Through the book I found myself distrusting the wrong characters and loving it. I liked that it wasn’t predictable and I was kept guessing. I sometimes got confused at the change of POV, especially when it was characters that I deemed not important and not really necessary.

Darren was a great character, I liked learning along with him, seeing his anguish and need to find his sister. Although he knew the risks of what he was doing, he did it anyway.

I loved how the start we saw from Olivia’s POV, it started the book off with a bang of mystery. I was wracking my brain through the whole book, as to why she did it.

The ending cleared all mystery’s for me but one. Which wasn’t really a mystery it was more of a guessing on my part and I want to know!! But all the main mysteries were cleared up and I enjoyed the ending, not at all what I was expecting.

4 out of 5 stars

Review: Ten

SHHHH!
Don’t spread the word!
Three-day weekend. Party at White Rock House on Henry Island.
You do NOT want to miss it.

It was supposed to be the weekend of their lives—an exclusive house party on Henry Island. Best friends Meg and Minnie each have their reasons for being there (which involve T.J., the school’s most eligible bachelor) and look forward to three glorious days of boys, booze and fun-filled luxury.

But what they expect is definitely not what they get, and what starts out as fun turns dark and twisted after the discovery of a DVD with a sinister message: Vengeance is mine.

Suddenly people are dying, and with a storm raging, the teens are cut off from the outside world. No electricity, no phones, no internet, and a ferry that isn’t scheduled to return for two days. As the deaths become more violent and the teens turn on each other, can Meg find the killer before more people die? Or is the killer closer to her than she could ever imagine?

I love this kind of book, it was fun and exciting, left me guessing who the murderer was. I also liked the that there were other small mysteries to work out as well. It was a well written book and the story progressed well.

I liked the characters, wasn’t the biggest fan of Minnie, her outbursts annoyed me. T.J. was a good character, he was kind, loyal and true to his heart.

Meg was a good main character,  she was loyal to Minnie no matter what, even if it meant her own feelings got hurt.

The killings were sometimes brutal but not overly descriptive (which I am quite glad of). It was a little odd that Meg found the victims first every time, maybe it was meant for us to think she was the killer but I never really thought she was. I had someone else in mind and I was completely wrong. I never once guessed who it actually was.

I recommend this to people who like the scream films.

4 out of 5 stars

Review: Covert

After seven friends take a trip to a secluded log cabin, what should have been a drunken weekend of fun end ends in the tragic and brutal murder of two of them.

Mackenzie Keaton and four of her friends wake in a disorientated state to find the bodies of Josh Harper and Courtney Young on the kitchen floor.

With the police determining that there was no forced entry or signs of a struggle, suspicion turn to the five survivors. And everyone’s finger is pointed to Josh’s estranged brother, Blake.

Mackenzie refuses to believe any one of them could have done it and embarks on her own investigation to prove their innocence, but after a few shocking revelations, she is forced to face the fact that one of them is the murderer.

I am sucker for this kind of book. Young adults in a secluded place, murder happens, who was it. Not sure why but I love it. Probably the fault of slasher films like Scream and I know what you did last summer.

I was hooked from the word go. I loved how it started, so many questions, not as to what was happening then but the secrets the group kept. There seemed to be so many I never thought I would find them all out. It took me ages to work out the book was set in the UK, not a big deal but I like to know where I am ready about, makes it more interesting.

The characters were interesting. I never really felt you got to know them since there was so many secrets and things being revealed that did not fit into the previous persona I had worked out for them.

In a way it was similar to those films since it had a false ending as such, there was a year later bit when the true killer was revealed. The motive was weak for me. Very weak.

The killer was actually my first guess since it’s someone un-obvious if that makes sense.

I think I would read more from this author but not sure if I would read this kind of book.

3 out of 5 stars

ARC Review: Black Chalk

One game. Six students. Five survivors.

It was only ever meant to be a game.

A game of consequences, of silly forfeits, childish dares. A game to be played by six best friends in their first year at Oxford University. But then the game changed: the stakes grew higher and the dares more personal, more humiliating, finally evolving into a vicious struggle with unpredictable and tragic results.

Now, fourteen years later, the remaining players must meet again for the final round.

I received a free copy of this book via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I found this book intriguing but slow to get going. I found myself 20% the way in but not very far into the story, yes there was a lot of background which was useful but I did feel there was too much of it.

It was interesting that we did not find out who the narrator was until a fifth of the way into the book. It was not who I guessed. Very smart move.

The plot was intriguing but it would have been much more exciting if it had moved faster. It was a very good ending, finished the book off nicely.

The characters were interesting, I liked seeing how they were 14years prior and how they were after everything that had happened.

I would recommend this book very much to anyone who likes psychological thrillers.

3.5 stars out of 5.

ARC Review: The Vanishing

Then Vanishing by Wendy Webb.

Recently widowed and rendered penniless by her Ponzi-scheming husband, Julia Bishop is eager to start anew. So when a stranger appears on her doorstep with a job offer, she finds herself accepting the mysterious yet unique position: caretaker to his mother, Amaris Sinclair, the famous and rather eccentric horror novelist whom Julia has always admired…and who the world believes is dead.

When she arrives at the Sinclairs’ enormous estate on Lake Superior, Julia begins to suspect that there may be sinister undercurrents to her “too-good-to-be-true” position. As Julia delves into the reasons of why Amaris chose to abandon her successful writing career and withdraw from the public eye, her search leads to unsettling connections to her own family tree, making her wonder why she really was invited to Havenwood in the first place, and what monstrous secrets are still held prisoner within its walls. (Synopsis from Goodreads).

I received a free copy of this book via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

General Overview

I do not know where to start, I LOVED this book. I do love this genre just don’t read it very often. It was everything I wanted it be and more. At first I was comparing it to Kate Morton and Diane Setterfield, then as I kept going I realised, I should not compare because Wendy Webb is an excellent storyteller and is as good as the Queens of this genre. Hail the new Queen.

It was fast paced, exciting, full of twists and turns, with lovable characters (mmm Drew). The story kept me guessing the whole way through, when I thought I had figured something out, a new snippet of intrigue was revealed and I had no clue which was up again. The ending was fantastic, I knew there was going to be a fantastic reveal, I just could not work out exactly what. I never expected what happened though.

I would read this book again. I will be buying her two other novels that are already out.

5 stars out of 5

Step by Step Overview

0%- Looks like a good mystery, featuring mansions, family secrets, someone who is thought to be dead is alive. Apparently family secrets in books is Wendy Webb’s specialty. Really looking forward to reading this book.

10% – I like the prologue, set in the 1800’s, just wondering how it relates to the rest of the story. Ah, is that why it is called The Vanishing?Or is that just what we are meant to believe just now? I am expecting some dark mysteries.

20%- It’s reminding me of Kate Morton and Diane Setterfield. Possibly because they are the only authors I have read in this genre or because they are the Queens of this genre. They are giving Julia permission to snoop around the house, I would. I love books that have stories within stories. Adding ghost story to the mix of family drama and mysteries. I am hooked.

30% – Mrs Sinclair is a great character, full of life and energy. Yet her home and herself are oozing with mystery.

40% – A phone call from her dead husband- beyond creepy.

50% –Who is the little girl? I thought at first it might be Julia as a child but not sure how that would work. It could be a sister of hers. Or could they all be ghosts? Could she have died in the fire? Maybe the traumatic event that put Mrs Sinclair in the mental hospital happened in the room with the scary seance painting.

60% – I think somehow it’ll have been Julia that was in the mental hospital 10 years ago.

70% – I find it funny how practical Julia is, in the middle of the hauntings she is look for a fire detector. It’s endearing. Were Andrew and the physic meant to be together for ever and history is righting itself?

80% – No answers yet but lots more questions. I am hoping for a spectacular ending, lots of fireworks.

90%- We finally find out who the little girl is and why Julia can see so many ghosts. Is she the physic who killed Adrian’s daughter, why did they bring her there? To kill her?

100% – Wow what an ending. I do not know what to say. I could not tear my eyes away. Is there another mystery that we are not going to get the answers to? Did she go into the future? Will there be another book on this? I loved that she and Drew were happy together.

Who would I recommend this book to?

Anyone who likes drama, mystery or horror. Fans of Kate Morton and Diane Setterfield. If you like a ghost story with a twist this is for.

Available on the 21st Jan 2014