This was a perfect summer thriller. It was engaging, the pace was good, and while I did find it predictable I still thoroughly enjoyed it! This will be published on July 14, 2020.
This alternates between three perspectives Emily a down on her luck actress who can't seem to hold a job, Scott a powerful businessman who seems to have everything all figured out, and Nina's diary entries which give us insight into events of the past. I found Emily to be annoying at times because she seemed unrealistically gullible, naive, confused by the simplest of task, and the ability to make every bad choice presented to her. This was all blamed on a bad childhood she can't remember, despite being saved from said childhood and raised with solid, loving adoptive parents from a very young age. Scott and Nina were very much in love at one point, but they live apart much of the time. Nina raises their sick daughter and is working restoring their French home with grand plans to turn it into a vacation home of sorts while Scott funds her escapades from England. Nina is lonely and needs help with the restoration and upkeep of the property, so when Emily is conveniently fired as a temp from Scott's company, her acting career goes belly up, Scott swoops in with an offer she can't refuse. Desperate to make some cash, Emily finds herself taking a position as a housekeeper, groundskeeper, jack of all trades, and possibly aupair to help Nina with whatever she needs. Emily finds herself immediately drawn to Nina and her daughter Aurelia and in love with the French home. Everytime she finds something amiss she dismisses it as something she doesn't understand or part of Aurelia's illness.
The more the story unfolds the more Emily starts to see that something strange is happening at the house. Determined to unravel the mystery, she sets out to find out the truth behind all of the weird things that have happened since she arrived in France. What she discovers is more than she expected, and hits closer to her own story than she planned.
Thank you to Minotaur Books for sending me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
This alternates between three perspectives Emily a down on her luck actress who can't seem to hold a job, Scott a powerful businessman who seems to have everything all figured out, and Nina's diary entries which give us insight into events of the past. I found Emily to be annoying at times because she seemed unrealistically gullible, naive, confused by the simplest of task, and the ability to make every bad choice presented to her. This was all blamed on a bad childhood she can't remember, despite being saved from said childhood and raised with solid, loving adoptive parents from a very young age. Scott and Nina were very much in love at one point, but they live apart much of the time. Nina raises their sick daughter and is working restoring their French home with grand plans to turn it into a vacation home of sorts while Scott funds her escapades from England. Nina is lonely and needs help with the restoration and upkeep of the property, so when Emily is conveniently fired as a temp from Scott's company, her acting career goes belly up, Scott swoops in with an offer she can't refuse. Desperate to make some cash, Emily finds herself taking a position as a housekeeper, groundskeeper, jack of all trades, and possibly aupair to help Nina with whatever she needs. Emily finds herself immediately drawn to Nina and her daughter Aurelia and in love with the French home. Everytime she finds something amiss she dismisses it as something she doesn't understand or part of Aurelia's illness.
The more the story unfolds the more Emily starts to see that something strange is happening at the house. Determined to unravel the mystery, she sets out to find out the truth behind all of the weird things that have happened since she arrived in France. What she discovers is more than she expected, and hits closer to her own story than she planned.
Thank you to Minotaur Books for sending me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.