Love, deceit, betrayal, mystery, and suspense fill the pages of this gothic mystery/suspense book. All Seraphine wants is to know who she is. To find answers, she goes against the advice of her brother and seeks out their former au pair.
Two different times are blended in this story. In 2017, it is told through Seraphine’s eyes. In 1991, it is told through the eyes of Laura, the au pair.
What a tangled web of lies has been spun. In 2017 while going through her father’s belongings, Seraphine finds a picture that raises questions in her mind. It was taken on the day she and her brother were born, but in the picture, her mom is only holding one of them. And it was taken just hours before her mom threw herself over the cliff. Her mom looked so happy in the picture. What had happened to cause her to jump off the cliff?
I can understand her curiosity. Who wouldn’t want to know what happened? Who wouldn’t want to know which of the twins was in the picture? And where was the other one? I can understand why Seraphine would seek out the au pair. She should know just what happened that fateful day. What I couldn’t understand was why her brother would discourage her from doing so.
Seraphine also wonders if she is really a twin, really a member of this family. Rumors about her family and talk about changelings she had heard while growing up didn’t help any. What will she learn from the au pair?
When the truth is discovered, it is devastating yet comforting.
Anyone who enjoys mystery/suspense books will love this book. The closer I got to the end of the book, the harder it was to put down. Did I ever figure out what was going on? No. I had my suspicions, but not all of them were right.
I was sent a copy of this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. If you would like to purchase your own copy of this book, I’ve provided an Amazon link below.
Amazon Link: The Au Pair
Favorite Sentences:
He had a turn at biting doughnuts hanging from strings, and then a go at sliding his hand into the lucky dip barrel where slimy toy bugs hid among the sawdust.
There’s an edge to his voice, and out of nowhere I am engulfed in a wave of regret so overwhelming I can’t draw breath.
A lone ball of light flared and swooped in a downward arc, leaving a trail like a silver scar in the sky.
All the while my insides squirmed, as if a sea serpent was rearranging its coils inside me.
Perhaps I don’t feel the same need for friends that other people do.
New Words Learned:
chipolatas – small thin sausages
conkers – a game in which a child swings a horse chestnut on a string in an attempt to break that of another player
greengage – any of several varieties of light-green plums
About the Author:
Emma Rous grew up in England, Indonesia, Kuwait, Portugal, and Fiji. From a young age she had two ambitions: to write stories and to look after animals. She studied veterinary medicine and zoology at the University of Cambridge, and worked as a small animal veterinarian for eighteen years before starting to write fiction. Emma lives near Cambridge in England with her husband and three sons. She now writes full time.
The Au Pair is her first novel. It will be published in ten countries in nine different languages. She is currently writing her second book.
