When Jocelyn Holt was a young girl living with her parents in the
family mansion known as Lake Hall, her beloved nanny, Hannah Burgess,
disappeared. Thirty years later, Jo
returns to the family home with her daughter Ruby. Jo has always regarded her mother Virginia as
emotionally distant and remembers her childhood as unhappy once Hannah
left. Jo returns only because her
husband died and she has few financial resources; she hopes the stay at Lake
Hall will be a short one.
One day, Jo and Ruby discover a human skull in the lake. Virginia believes it belongs to Hannah, but
then a woman claiming to be Hannah reappears.
Because her happy childhood memories revolve around Hannah, Jo is happy
to reconnect with her. Virginia, on the
other hand, wants nothing to do with the woman.
The central question is whether Hannah is really Hannah. If it isn’t Hannah, who is impersonating her?
If it is Hannah, why is she behaving as
she does?
The story is told from the perspective of four characters: Jo, Virginia, Hannah, and Andy Wilton, the
detective in charge of the investigation concerning the body in the lake. The narrative also moves back and forth
through time. Slowly, the reader is given
more and more information to piece together the puzzle of who is who and what
people are hiding.
The pace is uneven. It begins
slowly and lags in the middle and then moves very quickly towards the end. There is a subplot involving the Holt family business
which ends up being totally unnecessary.
The red herring the police follow is too much of a focus, and Detective
Wilton’s perspective adds very little to the plot. Some judicious revision would have tightened
the narrative. At times the plot seems
contrived; for instance, more than one character reappears at a very opportune
time. Having Jo basically repeat
Virginia’s actions is artificial plot manipulation.
Other than Ruby, there are no likeable characters. Both Jo and Virginia earn some sympathy at
different times but their overall behaviour negates much of that sympathy. Virginia was not a good mother and Jo has
such blind loyalty to her nanny. If the
two of them just communicated honestly, so much drama could have been
avoided. Certainly their involvement in
the family’s finances does not show them in a positive light. The way both women remove threats, seemingly
without regret, cannot but leave the reader feeling uncomfortable, despite the
women’s motivations.
This book has murder, adultery, deception, obsession, and manipulation
but not too many surprises. A frequent
reader of thrillers will accurately predict much of what happens. If you want to read a thriller featuring a
nanny, I’d suggest The Perfect Nanny by
Leïla Slimani.
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