Cover Image: The Lindbergh Nanny

The Lindbergh Nanny

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

I enjoyed the audio of this book. Wide range of character voices was done well with accents and all. The storyline was interesting as I didn't know much going into it about the Lindbergh family. It did tend to drag at a few points, but overall, I found it to keep my attention. I learned a lot about the circumstances surrounding the baby's disappearance and the people connected to the family.
Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy.

Was this review helpful?

We’ve all heard about the kidnapping of the Lindbergh baby in 1932. My heart has always gone out to the parents and family over the tragedy. But what about the person who really took care of him day and night? The person who was always by his side and the person he called for when he needed comfort; the nanny.

This historical fiction is so well written and much of it based in fact. It is told from the nanny’s perspective, Betty Gow. She was a young woman from Scotland and she treasured Charlie, and had a very strong bond with him.

The story begins on the day Betty interviews to be the nanny, or nurse, for Charles “Charlie” Lindbergh Jr. Fredericks writing warms your heart as you read about the day-to-day life of Betty and Charlie. It is clear how much she adored the baby and it made my heart break all the more when the baby was taken.

Frederick’s story shares not only the pain of losing Charlie, that Betty Gow experienced, but the suffering she experienced at the hands of law enforcement who suspected her involvement. The incident changed her life forever and she felt the effects of the tragedy for the rest of her life.

I listened to the audiobook and I highly recommend it. The narrator, Penelope Rawlins’ scottish brogue was beautiful and made Betty’s character even more endearing. It was a wonderful performance.

Was this review helpful?

I've always had a mild curiosity about Charles Lindbergh, as he is buried near where I live in Maui, Hawaii, and had a home here in a remote area that, local lore says, was a great solace to him in later life. However, I had never heard of the Lindbergh Nanny, nor knew much about the controversy surrounding the events of the Lindbergh Baby's kidnapping and death - I guess I had just assumed it was an open and shut case. Although this is a fictionalized account of those events, it inspired me to do some research after reading, and I feel it does a fairly good job of representing a lot of the mystery surrounding the case at the time (and to this day). I enjoyed the writing - I switched easily back and forth between the e-book and the audiobook and the transition between the two was seamless. The narrator was engaging and I didn't feel like I had to work to listen to the story. The characters were well-developed and there were a few I would have liked to know more about. My interested is so peaked, in fact, that I am searching for more material to read on the subject, which is always a good sign with Historical Fiction!

Was this review helpful?

Told in a very captivating manner through the eyes of Betty Gow, the Lindberg nanny, this fascinating book follows Betty from when she was hired until the end of the trial of the kidnapper.
We don't see very much of the actual lives of the LIndbergs themselves, which is fine, as Betty is a wonderful narrator. Her life and story are more than interesting enough, especially as told by Fredericks.
As someone who knew vary little of the actual details of the case, I found the weaving of facts and historical fiction to be very well done.
Excellent narration and story.

Was this review helpful?

Rabbit hole, here I come.
Mariah Fredericks has created a beautiful book version of venues fly trap with her book The Lindbergh Nanny.
Betty Gow, a young Scottish immigrant, is hired to be the nanny for Charles Lindbergh. A loving nurse until the baby goes missing, Betty becomes a prime subject. The book resolves the case as it is "solved" in real life, but the conspiracy theories surrounding the family and the patient will keep you guessing long after the last page.

The narration was excellent; the accents were authentic but not intrusive.

Overall rating: 4/5
Plot: 4/5
Character development: 3.5/5
Background information: 5/5
Spice: 0.5/5 ( premarital relations)

Triggers:
Husband -> wife belittling
Harsh parenting
Child kidnapping
Child death

Was this review helpful?

I really enjoyed this book. I had little knowledge of the Lindbergh family prior to this book. This book gave the perfect amount of suspense and factual information. While the book had some fictional elements it was based on true events. This book had me blaming everyone and guessing until the end. This book is scheduled to be published on November 15, 2022. I would definitely recommend this one.

Was this review helpful?

I’ve been oddly intrigued by the Lindbergh kidnapping ever since my parents gave me a book with newspaper clippings of the milestone events of the 19th century. This book tells the story from the viewpoint of Betty Gow, the Scottish woman charged with watching the Lindbergh baby and the person who discovered the baby was missing. The first half of the book moves a little slowly, but that’s necessary to introduce the wide ensemble cast of characters (the Lindberghs plus their various staff). Once the baby is kidnapped, the story kicks into high gear and I honestly felt myself becoming a little breathless as the events of that night and the immediate aftermath are detailed. The story slows back down after that as the investigation and trial are detailed.

I had to pause my reading a few times so I could Google the characters and discover more background info on them. I felt like this book was very well researched and that the author did a great job of humanizing a story and characters that everyone knows. Definitely recommend if you like historical fiction. Thanks to NetGalley, Minotaur Books, and Dreamscape Media for the opportunity to review this advance copy.

Was this review helpful?

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read this! It was so interesting! I didn't know much about the Lindbergh kidnapping before this, but I learned a lot and this made me want to know more! This book is told from the perspective of the nanny so we get an inside perspective of what is going on. This is definitely a blending of fact and fiction and the author is transparent about that so I'm not sure what the truth is, but this was interesting throughout. The end got a little slow but overall really fast paced and enjoyable.

Was this review helpful?

Twenty months old Charlie is taken from his family home. Distraught parents and the house help work closely with the police to find and bring little darling back home. Every person in the house is under suspicion, and Charlie's nurse Betty carries the heaviest burden.

Prior to reading the novel, I didn't know this was based on real-life events. Although this novel is pure work of fiction, the author did amazing research and focused her story on the boy's nanny. From the very beginning, I was fond of young Betty, a Scottish immigrant who came to America to follow her heart but instead landed employment with the most famous family in the country. The Lindbergh Nanny is a gripping read, and sadly without a happy ending.

I was surprised to learn Agatha Christie's "The Murder on the Orient Express", one of my favorite mystery novels, is based on the story of the missing Lindbergh boy. I am glad Mariah Fredericks has brought this devastating story back to our time and told it in a beautiful yet melancholic way.

Thank you, NetGalley for an advanced copy of the novel in exchange for my honest review.

Was this review helpful?

Before you stop reading to go down a google hole figuring out truth and fiction be warned the author has a note at the end explaining everything.

I was hesitant to read this book because my kids are the same age as Charlie was when he went missing. As a mother it was very hard to read, but as a lover of a good mystery I was captivated from the start.

Betty Gow is a Scottish immigrant hired to be the nanny for the Lindberghs. She was a loving nurse until the baby goes missing and the finger point at her. The book resolves and the case in real life is resolved, but the conspiracy theories that surround the family and the case will keep you guessing.

The book also has excellent narration. The accents were authentic, but not intrusive.

This was a good read, but also we have a window alarm on the babies bedroom around her now.

Was this review helpful?

i have heard about the Lindbergh baby kidnaping but I never looked into it or read about it until this book. I enjoyed how detailed it was and learned so much from it. It has stir an interest for me to read more books on the kidnaping and will continue to learn more POV of it all.

Was this review helpful?

I had the opportunity to review the "advance" release copy of The Lindbergh Nanny audiobook. The book is listed as historical fiction, but definitely well researched and well written. I can't imagine how heartbreaking it would have been to be the nanny/nurse in this situation. Time and time again, she is called to support the Lindbergh's and would drop all her plans to care for "Charlie". She has very little life away from the little Lindbergh; and then when he disappears she is a suspect.

The author does an amazing job revealing the entire story from the Nanny's perspective. At times the book feels very "long", but I wouldn't condense the book a bit. The audio is 12 hours, but GoodReads indicates that the book is 320 pages. That doesn't really seem that much longer than other books. My heart really goes out to the nanny.

One of my best gauges of a good book is how much I discuss the book with my husband as I'm reading it. And we talked about this one quite a bit. I have this on my "best of" shelf, hoping it is part of the GoodReads Readers Choice Awards for Historical Fiction, if so ... it would have my vote.

Thank you to NetGalley for (once again) introducing me to a "new to me" author. And for the opportunity to review the advance "listen" audiobook in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author Mariah Fredericks, a fantastic narration by Penelope Rawlins and Minotaur Books the publisher. Publication date is Nov 15, 2022.

Was this review helpful?

I’ve also been fascinated with the Lindberg kidnapping and this book was a perfect listen for me. This book does a nice job with making the reader recognize the importance of the staff to this family and definitely gives rise to questions I’ve always had as maybe the kidnapping was the work of more than one person. I loved the narration and I felt that that the storyline takes us through Betty’s life through the trial was excellent. The facts and fiction at the end by the author is important and also gives great resources for dither nonfiction reading to all those like me that are interesting in this true crime.

Was this review helpful?

I LOVE historical fiction but have always found myself stuck in the WWII area. Well let me tell you, The Lindbergh Nanny pulled me right out of that rut and thrust me into 1930’s USA and it did not disappoint at all. Based on the kidnapping of Charles Lindbergh Jr. the story focuses on Betty Gow the Nanny who was with the baby most of his short life. Mariah Fredericks does an incredible job fusing the true history with the fiction she creates to fill in the gaps!! Highly highly highly recommend!!

Was this review helpful?

I got bored with this about 1/3 of the way through and decided not to finish it. It just didn't hold my attention.

______________________________________

Was this review helpful?

I enjoyed this piece of historical fiction. This is the story of the famous kidnapping of the young Lindbergh child told through the eyes of the child’s nanny, Betty Gow. Overall, I found the story to be fascinating, although I found the pacing was a little off.
3.5 stars

Was this review helpful?

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for an ARC of this audiobook.

I found this book to be a totally engaging historical fiction account of the Lindbergh kidnapping, told from the perspective of the child's nanny. My mother was a child during the time of the kidnapping and often talked about the case years after. It must have been a story that really stuck with her when she was growing up, and because of her account, I was familiar with the case. However, I never really thought of it from the perspective of the nanny and how devastating this must have been for her. Not only was she very close to the child, but she was also a top suspect because she was the last person to see the child alive. It was very interesting learning about the nanny's life also. The book was very well researched and although it was historical fiction, I felt that the conclusions that the author reached were very believable. I hope the author continues to write more historical fiction in the future. I would love to read more of her books. I listened to the audio version of the book and thought that the narrator, Penelope Rawlings was phenomenal. Her accent and voices were spot on and kept the listener engaged throughout. Since I listen to many audio books, I know how important a good narrator is. I plan to look up other books that she has narrated.

Was this review helpful?

Thank you for this book in wxchange for my honest review.

The Lindbergh Nanny was a spiraling trip down the mystery of “Who Dunnit?” Mariah Fredericks does a terrific job of painting a scene of intrigue and I got an insider look at the “Media Coverage of the Century.” I loved how Mariah gave me a glimpse into the lives of those working for the Lindbergh and Morrow (Anne Morrow Lindbergh’s) families. Fredericks did a beautiful job of describing the time period as well.

Was this review helpful?

I was really into this one. I thought it was paced well and it was as heartbreaking as it was intriguing. I think the most heartbreaking piece of this case is that there was no closure. Just a poor boy's life taken for seemingly no reason at all. Sure, you could say it was for ransom, but money could have exchanged hands without the boy being killed.

This book makes me interested to read other perspectives on the case. I think this weaved fact with fiction really well and I'd be curious to see other takes on what might have happened.

Was this review helpful?

Thank you Net Galley for an ARC of The Lindbergh Nanny by Mariah Fredericks. The main character was Betty who was the nanny for the Lindbergh family's son. This is a work of historical fiction with some true content.

Was this review helpful?