Fiction | Book Chatter

The Perfect Nanny
By Leila Slimani, Sam Taylor (Translated by)
Penguin Books, 9780143132172, 2018, 240pp.

The Short of It:

This is a one-sitting read.

The Rest of It:

Myriam is offered a job at a law office, doing what she loves and misses, but what about her two young children? After having her son, she pretty much removed the topic of work from the conversation but the everyday routine of kids, house, errands, with little mental stimulation if any, begins to tear at her sanity. While talking to her husband about the opportunity, the possibility of a nanny comes up. Could that work?

No. It couldn’t possibly work. Who would be able to spend all that time with the children, raise them well, AND take care of all the other stuff too? Louise, that’s who. Louise is perfect. She’s tidy, a natural organizer, efficient, reliable to a fault, and she does what many do not. She plays with the children. She gets them. Understands their wants and moods and more importantly, she understands their parents too. She is the envy of all the other families at the park because she is too good to be true.

Let that sink in. Too good to be true.

As perfect as Louise is, everyone has a breaking point and Louise’s is very subtle at first. Her backstory gives you just enough to know that Louise wasn’t always perfect and things were not always storybook worthy. This little bit of info is enough to have you flipping the pages because from the very first line, you learn that things go terribly wrong.

I was pleasantly surprised by this one. I did not expect to be sucked into the story so quickly but that opening line! I was supposed to be reading this with a friend but once I started, I just kept going. All that said, the ending was a bit of a shock. I seriously need to talk to someone who has read it.

If you need a book to escape into, this is it. Another blogger just pointed out to me that this is based on a 2012 case. REAL events. Wow.

Source: Borrowed
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

Exiles
By Jane Harper
Flatiron Books, 9781250235350, January 31, 2023, 368pp.

The Short of It:

This is a light, enjoyable mystery.

The Rest of It:

Federal Investigator Aaron Falk is on his way to a small town deep in Southern Australian wine country for the christening of an old friend’s baby. But mystery follows him, even on vacation. ~ Indiebound

In this mystery, the baby doesn’t go missing, but her mother does. As Investigator Falk is visiting with friends one year after the disappearance, the details of Kim’s disappearance continue to plague both Falk and those who knew Kim, particularly her grown daughter. Kim would never leave the baby like that, parked in stroller at a summer festival, unsupervised and alone. It was completely out of character for her, and yet no one witnessed anything or can remember seeing her that night.

As the family gathers for the child’s christening, they decide to use the time together to try to re-enact what happened that night. They are all desperate for answers and something feels off to Falk. The memories from a year ago are vague but as they all talk through that night, new details come to light.

This is a sleepy little mystery. It’s not fast paced but the characters are likable and the setting of a wine festival was rather enjoyable. I’ve read one other book where Investigator Falk was featured and it was quite enjoyable as well. I’d say that there aren’t any big revelations in this one, but somehow it all comes together nicely. I liked it.

Source: Review copy provided by the publisher.
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

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