Book review: The Au Pair by Emma Rous

A grand estate, terrible secrets, and a young woman who bears witness to it all. If V. C. Andrews and Kate Morton had a literary love child, Emma Rous’ The Au Pair would be it.

I picked up The Au Pair because it came highly recommended and it was definitely worth those recommendations. This is a story full of twists and turns and it’s not until the end that the whole mystery is revealed.

It’s a tale of a house and fairytales and of family secrets. Told from two points of view, separated over 20 years, Laura simultaneously tells her story of when she was a nanny at Summerbourne, while Seraphine searches for the truth about who she is based on the finding of a family photo showing only one baby. Who is missing from the photo, her or her twin Danny and why? What dark secrets does Summerbourne hold and what is Seraphine’s grandmother hiding? So many secrets to uncover and when eventually the truth is uncovered, will Seraphine want to know?

I found this novel hard to put down as I for one definitely wanted to know the truth about what happened at Summerbourne.