The Woman in Our House by Andrew Hart was a great book. I thought I had it all figured out fairly early on in the book but boy did it surprise me!

When Anna and Josh decide to hire a nanny to facilitate Anna's return to work, they have no idea what they are in store for. Lies, mistrust and betrayal are throughout this story but just when you think you have it figured out - it switches.

If you love twists and turns you will love this book!

3.5*!

Read for Winterween (blue cover), Murder Mystery TBR challenge (favorite genre), and Hooked on Audiobooks (thriller)

“Love. The two women looked at each other, and that most loaded of words hung between them, stuffed full of misconceptions willful and otherwise, a word that meant everything and nothing.”

I almost gave this book 2.5*, but the more I wrote the review, I held firm on 2 because this book was sooooo boring! All the drama was given away in the beginning, and there was no big twist, except for one in the end, and it wasn't even very exciting. I halfway tuned out through the last hour of the audiobook because I was just over it.

Anna is a wealthy suburban mom who needs help caring for her two small children. Oaklynn Durst is a Mormon nanny from Utah who seems to fit the profile of everything Anna and her husband could ever want for their live-in help. She is attentive, mild-mannered, knowledgeable, and dotes on the children. But Oaklynn (PS--how dumb is that name??) isn't who she seems to be... Very early in the book, the author gives away that the REAL Oaklynn Durst, the Mormon nanny, goes on a mission trip, and her friend Nadine takes over her identity for unknown nefarious purposes. So the whole time the story goes on, the reader knows "Oaklynn" is Nadine, and you are waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Mysterious things begin to happen to Anna's daughters, and it makes Anna look like a bad mother and Oaklynn look like the hero. She doubts herself, resents her daughters' trust in Oaklynn, and trouble brews. There is a minor plotline with a book Anna is editing that mirrors reality, and I found that really implausible. Because you know Oaklylnn is Nadine the whole time, you figure out why she's doing it and the fact that she'll be caught, and so there is virtually no suspense. Each time a daughter is hurt, it's just awful because you wish you could stop it.

The ending literally comes out of left field, hearkening right back to the beginning of the book, and feels forced. Definitely skip it.

Finished reading: June 7th 2019

"That was the real thrill: not the commission, not having clients hitting bestseller lists or coming home from awards shows with little statuettes. It was the electricity of finding magical, compelling words, stories, and ideas, all entrusted to me to put them where they could be seen."

*** A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ***

Spoiler

There was just something about the premise of this story that immediately left me intrigued and with no other option but to add it to my reading pile. It's true that a potentially dodgy nanny or babysitter doesn't exactly make for an all that original plot base on its own, but the literary agent angle, the promise of dark secrets involved and the menacing cover were enough to convince me to read The Woman In The House. I'm definitely happy with what I found. While I can't deny that this story is what you call a slowburner and it took me some time to warm up to both the characters and the plot itself, things speed up as we get closer to the final reveals and the ending is without doubt intense. The Woman In The House has multiple characters and point of views incorporated into the story, which can be a bit confusing in the beginning as it's kind of difficult to get a proper idea where everybody stands. In fact, the involvement of some of the characters only get explained near the ending, which can get a tad frustrating as you are kept juggling with lose ends and information that doesn't seem to fit the puzzle. As for the characters themselves... I'm not sure up to what point they are likeable, but I loved the parts with the focus on Anna's job as a literary agent, her interaction with upcoming author Ben and the novel fragments of his upcoming work. Those elements are very cleverly incorporated!

I did feel the story tried to incorporate too many different elements into the plot, with Oaklynn's secrets and past, Josh's secrets, Anna's job and novel fragments and the home life of the Klein family among other elements fighting for the spotlight. Having to juggle all those different elements slowed down the pace and made it harder to keep track of everything, although all secrets and connections will be revealed before you reach the final page. The last part of The Woman In The House was without doubt intense, although I do wonder if it was over a bit too soon and quickly after such a slow building up of intensity... Most people will be both shocked albeit still quite satisfied by the final reveals though. If you love surprises, this story will definitely have a few in store for you! In short, The Woman In The House is a psychological thriller with a slow start and an explosive twist that will leave you rattled.

P.S. Find more of my reviews here.

This book was OK. I did enjoy it, but there were some things I would have changed. Things were predictable, others were shocking. Overall, 3.5-4/5 star.

Truth: I was not a fan of the readers of this audio, but I really enjoyed the story. It was a mystery that allowed the reader to figure things out along the way, and I always like playing detective.

SO GOOD. Could not put it down.

Anna and her husband moved from New York to North Carolina a few years ago because of her husband's job. Anna was pregnant with her first child at the time. Now she has two children and would like to get back to her job in publishing, but she needs help with her children in order to do that. They are wealthy and decide to get a nanny to live with them. Enter Oaklyn, a Morman from a nanny service based out of Utah.

Hart(ley) seems to be trying to complete the set of all available literary genres with this new addition to the domestic suspense arena. Just like all his other books, he crafts and excellent story that keeps you on the edge of your seat. I look forward to reading his upcoming bodice-ripper romance or cozy mystery up next. 😉

2.5 stars rounded up to 3.

If I could sum up this book in one word it would be average. The plotline was fairly original but didn't really inspire me and at points felt like a slog to read, to the point I skim read parts as I didn't feel it was relevant to the plot.

The subplot (if it can even be called that) with Josh was pointless in my opinion, it didn't add any value to the story and that was part of the book I skim read.

I did enjoy how the book was mainly led by Anna and had a strong female presence within it, I felt empowered by the fact she wanted to return to work, the way she wanted to be known as "Anna" and not just Mum. 

I loved the interactions we had with Oaklynn, I felt the author really kept us on our toes with little snippets about her and the way she was behaving with the children and the twist at the end was very well done!

However, I saw the main ending of the book coming from about halfway into it, it was predictable. Without giving too much away, this was really disappointing as I felt we were left with a lot of questions and holes in the story. The ending was rushed and it almost felt like an injustice to the book itself. 

The book itself, the chapters were strange, to say the least. They constantly swapped between characters, at points, they were labelled as to who's POV we saw it from but then other times we were left guessing. 

On the whole, I just felt The Woman in our House was average, whilst some parts felt original and exciting, others felt like they were rehashed and taken from other similar books on the market.