If V. C. Andrews and Kate Morton had a literary love child, Emma Rous’ USA Today bestseller The Au Pair would be it.One of the most anticipated books of 2019 from Pop Sugar, Bustle, Cosmo, Parade, and Goodreads!Seraphine Mayes and her twin brother, Danny, were born in the middle of summer at their family’s estate on the Norfolk coast. Within hours of their birth, their mother threw herself from … Norfolk coast. Within hours of their birth, their mother threw herself from the cliffs, the au pair fled, and the village thrilled with whispers of dark cloaks, changelings, and the aloof couple who drew a young nanny into their inner circle.
Now an adult, Seraphine mourns the recent death of her father. While going through his belongings, she uncovers a family photograph that raises dangerous questions. It was taken on the day the twins were born, and in the photo, their mother, surrounded by her husband and her young son, is smiling serenely and holding just one baby.
Who is the child, and what really happened that day?
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This is now my favorite book, well written, unpredictable and a real page Turner.
Love this author.
Very meh. Started out pretty good, but just ended up very blah. Skimmed a lot from the middle towards the end. Wouldn’t recommend.
It seemed really good but then events became totally unbelievable. I felt cheated by the end.
Surprising turns in story,
At times difficult to keep track of characters and changing relationships. Interesting constellation of family.
This book had more twists in it than any book I ever read. I had no idea what was going on till the very end. And I still don’t know how much the twins interacted with each other when I finished the book. The ending could have been more clear about the lives of the children.
Well written and interesting, but predictable. If you want to be surprised, pass it by. If you like to understand motivations more than you want surprise, you might like it very well.
Interesting storyline. I like the present and past stories. I’m a big psychological thriller and I didn’t see the twist coming.
Really enjoyed this one. It was twisty but easily followed so you didn’t get lost in details.
Family secrets come to light in this compelling debut with a gothic touch and a shocking denouement.
I felt this book did not live up to the hype around it. It was billed as suspenseful, but I never had any feeling of suspense. It was mildly mysterious regarding the events that were happening to Seraphine, but nothing truly suspenseful. I had most of the mystery figured out very early in the book, especially regarding the suspect behind the odd occurrences, plus the mystery of the babies.
I also felt the book went on a bit longer than necessary. It could have been edited to less than 300 pages in my opinion, giving it a crisper and more tense feel, making it a better mystery.
#TheAuPair #EmmaRous
Well written story with unpredictable plot. This is a very interesting novel and I enjoyed it from start to finish.
I loved this book!!
This book was wonderful! With tons of mystery, alternating timelines, and possibly unreliable narrators – super fun ride! Did not see the end coming!
A confession: I picked up this novel because I was about to board an airplane and I always have this dread fear that I won’t have enough to read (despite my packed Kindle). It was the perfect escape read. Emma Rous gives us a double timeline. One of the characters tries to ferret out family secrets in one of them, while the au pair, a young woman with secrets of her own, lives the actual story in the other and we see the events unfold. The pacing and setting are terrific—who doesn’t love a house on a cliff above a beach, complete with a folly?–and the family secrets, while somewhat easy to guess, unfold in a satisfying way. The writing is fluid and fun. My only quibble with this book is that there is nearly zero back story on most of the important characters. For instance, we don’t even know what the protagonist and her brothers do for their dang jobs. The resolution is also a bit rushed. But, as I said, those are quibbles, and I’m sure this author, like so many, was encouraged by her editor to make the prose race forward so nobody’s attention flags while reading, and she succeeds in that. I’d definitely read another of her books.
Talk about a complicated family DRAMA
For a simple premise, this book was captivating. A young woman looking for confirmation about her identity and answers surrounding her mother’s death, discovers more than she ever imagined. If you love a mystery with a cleverly twisted plot, involving family dynamics in a seaside atmosphere, this book should keep you intrigued.
With a transporting sense of place and gripping story line, The Au Pair delves into the darkest of family secrets. A great read.
While this book is not a really a psychological thriller, it is part a well told old fashion mystery and part domestic drama. There is definitely a gothic atmospheric undertone in this page turner.
This story is told in alternating narratives, the present timeline told by Seraphine and the past timeline told by Laura. I love dual storylines and I thought both were equally engaging. I thought the storyline was unique, less of a whodunit and more of a whoisit.
The story gets a bit complicated at times, but as I slowly started to put the puzzle pieces together, the faster I turned the pages. And once all the pieces fell into place, oh my! What a great reveal and great ending.
I highly recommend this book to fans of suspense, family dramas and anyone who enjoys the slow unraveling of a mystery.
Thank you to Penguin Publishing Group for my copy of this book via Edelweiss
This book is a mystery. From the first chapter, it had me hooked. The only thing I didnt like is that the chapters switch from present to what happened in past. However, that is necessary for the build up to solving the mystery at the end. It is a surprise ending and not entirely a happy one.