#released: 2016

The Perfect Nanny by Leila Slimani (Penguin Books, 2018. Translated from the French by Sam Taylor)

Synopsis When Myriam, a mother and brilliant French-Moroccan lawyer, decides to return to work, she and her husband are forced to look for a caretaker for their two young children. They are thrilled to find Louise: the perfect nanny right from the start. Louise sings to the children, cleans the family's beautiful apartment in Paris's upscale tenth arrondissement, stays late whenever asked, and hosts enviable kiddie parties. But as the couple and the nanny become more dependent on each other, jealousy, resentment, and frustrations mount, shattering the idyllic tableau.(Goodreads)

+ The first paragraph is a fantastic start of the novel. It dives right into the conflict, making the reader want to read everything immediately. It grabs the reader's attention, and it is something I look for in thrillers.

+ It plays the mystery well. The book presents conflicting accounts on who the nanny is and how she really was. She acts differently around other people, making it difficult to grasp who she really was and that adds intrigue to the story.

- It does slow down around 60% in and it rushes the conclusion once you get to the last 5-10 pages. I wanted more for the conclusion.

+ It is a page turner. Based on the translation, it's well-written. It's articulate, but also has descriptive narrative. The author voices out the thoughts of the characters in various situations, so one isn't left guessing about how this or that character reacted.