The intimate and unique relationship between a nanny, essentially a surrogate for an absent parent, and a malleable child, is always an intriguing one. Drawing on personal experiences and her own family history, Flora Collins explores this infatuous bond in her compulsively readable domestic suspense debut NANNY DEAREST (on-sale: December 1, 2021; MIRA Books; $16.99), where a woman takes comfort in reconnecting with her childhood nanny after her father’s death, until the dark secrets the nanny has been holding for twenty years begin to unfold. Perfect for fans of The Turn of the Key and The Perfect Nanny, NANNY DEAREST examines both sides of the obsessive relationship between a nanny and her grown-up charge and brings a much-needed refresh to the genre.
Set in New York city and upstate New York, NANNY DEAREST is the story of twenty-five year-old Sue Keller, a young woman reeling from the recent death of her father, a particularly painful loss given that Sue’s mother died of cancer when she was only three. At just this moment of vulnerability comes Anneliese Whitaker, Sue’s former nanny from her childhood days in upstate New York.
Sue, craving connection and mothering, is only too eager to welcome Annie back into her life; but as they become inseparable once again, Sue begins to uncover the truth about Annie’s unsettling time in the Keller house all those years ago, particularly the manner of her departure – or rather dismissal. At the same time, she begins to grow increasingly alarmed for the safety of the two new charges currently in Annie’s care.
Told in alternating points of views, switching between Annie in the mid-90s and Sue in the present day, this is a taut novel of suspense that will keep readers reeling.
Please let me know if I can send you an ARC or e-copy of this smart and compelling debut. I look forward to your thoughts!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Flora Collins was born and raised in New York City and has never left, except for a four-year stint at Vassar College. When she’s not writing, she moonlights as a content manager for a tech start-up. NANNY DEAREST is her first novel and draws upon personal experiences from her own family history.