The Au Pair by Emma Rous

The Au Pair by Emma Rous
Published in: 2019
Reviewed by: Book Worm
Rating: [★★★]

Digging into the past can be dangerous…

This ARC was provided by Little Brown Book Group (via NetGalley) in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis from 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 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 beautifully dressed, smiling serenely, and holding just one baby.

Who is the child and what really happened that day?

One person knows the truth, if only Seraphine can find her.

Book Worm’s Thoughts: First off I have to say while reading the early part of the book I was intrigued, the story was fast moving and compelling and there was a sense of danger lurking for the central characters. The switching narrative between Seraphine in the present and Laura in the past worked really well especially when past and present meet.

We then got to the first big reveal and I started thinking hold on things don’t add up here. Statistically I would say the first reveal is so unlikely it is almost impossible especially given the family history that places a great emphasis on twins.

Then we get further details about what happened after the mother dies and again it really wasn’t making much sense.

The final reveal ties up the story but really I had a hard time believing the motivation behind what had happened.

Despite its faults I am still giving this 3 stars because it did keep me reading, it held my attention, I loved the description of the landscape, I enjoyed seeing how the au pair interacted with her young charge as well as his parents.

Who would like this? If you are happy to go with the flow of a story and not think hang about how likely is this, give it a go. If however you like believable fiction this may not be the book for you.

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