A bit obvious up to the very end, but interesting and entertaining nonetheless.

This book is so challenging to review. My review system is that I only go on how much I enjoy the book, I don't consider how skilled the writing is specifically... however, in this case, I enjoyed the book less because the writing had a lot of problems. Overall I enjoyed the book and was quite captivated by it, curious about how things would end, and what the agenda of various characters was. However, SO much of this book is filler. You know when you're in school and you have to write a 1000 word essay and you write about 750 and then just add random crap to fill it in? That was this book. It's already a quick read so I can see why they didn't edit this down, but it would have been better as an even shorter book, culled to the best parts. I'd give it 4* for how much I enjoyed reading it, but I'm taking off one star for the lack of editing. Andrew Hart, you need a better editor.

I received an advanced copy of this book from Net Galley, in exchange for an honest review.

Gripping

Edge-of-your-seat, can’t-put-down thriller!

The story of Nadine-turned-Oaklynn coming to live with the Klein family as a live-in nanny will have you guessing from the first chapters. Gripping and intriguing, I found myself guessing the ending through the entire book, only to be surprised by the ending. Very well written and an overall terrifying concept of a storyline.

I thought I knew precisely what was happening and why, and I was wrong. I liked that the author gave me as the reader just enough wins and I-knew-it moments, coupled with intermittent curveballs that I kept listening. The writing itself was a cut above the average suspense novel in terms of lyricism and sheer creative use of language so that I listened not only to find out what happened next, but to hear how it was communicated by the author. That’s a rare surprise in this genre which is one that works best (in my opinion) with very simple, not overly expressive language.

I also loved that the author had a very diverse cast of characters. The main protagonist, Anna is of Japanese descent, and occasionally, the author identifies supporting characters in part by race, not only mentioning when they were not white, but sometimes mentioning when they were. At first, I thought that was a tell, indicating that the author must not be white himself, but when it happened a few times, it came across as a subtle nod to the fact that white is not and should not be the “default race” of characters if race is not mentioned. I don’t know whether that was what was intended, but I received it as such and appreciated it.

I listened to this book in its entirety and liked both the male and female narrators. They weren’t exemplary, but were very good — expressive and emotional when called for, and dispassionate narrators when appropriate. I would be interested in other work by this author. Recommended for those looking for a fast-moving, twisty (but not too twisty), light mystery-suspense yarn.

When Anna goes back to work, she brings a young woman into their home to help care for the children, but things seem to be spiraling out of control. No matter how many things she points out, she is told that its all in her head. But something is definitely off about Oaklynn.

I think this is the first Lake Union book that I just didn't fall head over heels in love with. The writing was great, but the storyline just stalled for me. While there is real potential for a fabulous book, I just felt that too much was missing.