I did not like either the husband or the wife in this story. They seemed totally confused and out of touch with their lives.I think I've met a lot of people similar to them. I did feel sorry for the nanny. You knew from the start that all was not right with her, but once you read why she was different pity for her took over. ( )

Just when you thought it was safe to go back to work comes this book. We know from the back cover and the opening sections that the ‘perfect nanny’ employed by the chief characters will turn out to be less than perfect, but waiting for things to go wrong is a tense experience.

I liked and admired this book for its ability to make me understand and sympathise with all the characters - including the nanny - and its willingness to take on the big philosophical topics of life and set out to encapsulate them using highly effective imagery. As events draw to a climax, and the couple who have spent the previous 200 pages bickering are suddenly engulfed in a new level of crisis, I found the description of their emotional state astute and utterly compelling.

I would have to say my favourite moment of the novel was early on, where Christian reads his daughter three Charlie and Lola books and “loses the will to live.” Coming downstairs, he remarks to the cat: “Did you know that Charlie has a little sister Lola. She is small and very funny. Except of course she isn’t. She is annoying and precocious and due to total parental neglect has transferred all her negative attention complexes onto poor Charlie who should get some sort of medal from Carol Vorderman.” What joy, what utter joy to discover I’m not the only person who thinks that. Definitely an author on my wavelength. ( )

Ruth and Christian are a couple struggling to cope with life. They have two children they hardly see, two demanding jobs, and are pulling in different directions after surviving a crisis in their marriage. They hire a new nanny, Agatha, to help them out but is she all she seems?

This is a very accomplished first novel and I loved it. Araminta Hall is very good at lulling the reader into thinking that this is a fairly ordinary story of family life, but underneath there is always this underlying tension that is revealed as the story progresses and we find out more about Agatha and her motivations. The author drops some quite shocking things into the everyday surburban life that she has created.

It's a very quick and easy read, with excellent characterisations. I hope that the author writes more great reads like this in the future. ( )