DNF at 10%. Unfortunately I just couldn't get into the writing style. I know this book will definitely be a 5-star read for some; unfortunately I was just not one of them. Sorry!

I loved the setting of the story in Paris, yet I did not find the characters engaging to really care about them. I wanted to like the book, the description of the book that appealed to me.

The Caretakers is a story of au pairs and what they go through with their host families. I loved that this was set in Paris. It gave me such wanderlust and made me want to be there. However, the overall story fell flat for me. There wasn't anything exciting that happened in the story until about 75% in and then I was hooked until the end of the story.

The Caretakers opens with an American au pair being hauled off to jail in Paris after the youngest child in her care dies. The rest of the story focuses on what happened to the child and the events leading up to his death as told through 6 different POVs.

Definitely would classify this one was more of a slow burn mystery as opposed to a fast paced thriller. The pacing didn't really ratchet up the suspense. I enjoyed the multiple narrators. Not sure all of the back stories were needed but I did like the way the story wove together by the end. Most of the characters were unlikeable.

I will note that my friends who've had au pairs and that have read this book did enjoy it more than I did. My rating: 3 stars, liked it/it was fine.


Special thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of The Caretakers for review purposes. All opinions are my own.

The ending of this book made me think huh? The cover and storyline pulled me in but the ending left me unsatisfied. The story told from the POV of six different women ranging from au pairs, family members, and a French teacher set in Paris in 2015. There is an entire cast of supporting characters which makes for a whose who kind of game and the story unravels at a snails pace.
The writing style is easy to follow but the slow pace took away from the thriller/mystery of who done it?

Basically every single character featured in this book was a case study in living a life consumed by their hurts and wounds and were drowning in anger, bitterness, loneliness or vindictiveness. Even when they had an opportunity to choose love, friendship, and vulnerability, they chose to lash out of their hurt instead. It was completely depressing and sad. If you wanted to see how people operate in anger, self-preservation, and lack of love, this is it. While there was a very minute amount of positive resolution at the end of this, it was overall a little disturbing how dark the entire thing was.

Aside from the content, the writing itself was good, as well as the character development. It was interesting, and I didn’t get bored, it was just so hopeless and depressing. Also, it was by no means a thriller, or even a mystery as it’s been categorized. I’m not sure why it was pushed in that vein since it was more about the characters than the one point of the child’s death.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Caretakers is set in a suburb of Paris and is focused on several young women who have traveled to Paris to work as au pairs. The book also reveals issues with the host families of the women, and other people in their lives, such as their own families.
The book opens when one of the au pairs has been arrested for murder of a young boy, one that she was caring for as part of her job. She is being questioned by the police. Then the book goes back to tell the story of the au pairs and their families, and what may have led to the incident.
I was excited to read this book based on the description, but sadly, I didn't find one likeable character in the book. The competitiveness and deceitfulness of one of the mothers, and her distance from her children, the au pairs and their drunken binges, the children who were odd and difficult - none of them warranted any sympathy from me.
I felt the best part of the book was the final few pages, when Lou finally did the right thing, and also had a realization about her host family.
Thanks to NetGalley and Book Club Girl / Harper Collins for the ARC. All opinions are my own and freely given.

I looked forward to reading this beautiful book…from the stunning cover to the enticing jacket cover. Although the writing was beautiful and the storyline original, this read fell flat for me. One dimensional characters devoid of emotion, I really had no vested interest in any of the characters. So many storylines, some dissecting briefly. Too many parents that should not have become parents. Too many sad sacks that should not have been in charge of young children.

I would definitely give this new author another chance. Thanks to Amanda Bestor-Siegal, William Marrow and NetGalley for this ARC. Opinion is mine alone.

Desperate housewives with an au-pair twist is how I would describe this. The story revolves around 6 complex female characters mostly part of dysfunctional families. Set in a Parisian suburb. The story begins with an au-pair being led off in handcuffs. After that it is a slow burn of the lives of the six women. The author neatly ties it together in the end.

I loved the premise - murder mystery set in France dealing the the Uber rich families with Au pairs. The storyline and settings were good but I just couldn’t get into it. I disliked all the characters. Just didn’t work for me

When our kids were small, I had a demanding corporate career, and my husband worked all hours starting his own company. Getting them to and from daycare was stressful, and we couldn’t stay home with them when they were sick. Like most young parents, we couldn’t afford a nanny, so we got the next best thing, an au pair. We had five different au pairs from five different countries: Denmark, Norway, England, Germany, and Slovakia. The experiences were overwhelming positive, although our first one should have been sent packing after wrecking our car twice and several of her friends expelled licorice-flavored liqueur on our family room rug. Oh, and then there was the time we had a tornado warning and she sent our 5-year-old up to her bedroom alone to get her pajamas when she sheltered in the basement. There was a touchdown less than two miles away. Such was my perspective while reading The Caretakers.

Paris, 2015. A crowd gathers outside the Chauvet home in the affluent suburban community of Maisons-Larue, watching as the family’s American au pair is led away in handcuffs after the sudden death of her eight-year-old charge, Julien. The grieving mother believes the caretaker is to blame, and the neighborhood is thrown into chaos, unsure who is at fault—the enigmatic, young foreigner or the mother herself, who has never seemed an active participant in the lives of her children.

The novel explores the complex perspectives of several women: Charlotte, Julien’s chilly socialite mother; Lou, an incompetent au pair fired by the family next door; Holly, an anxious au pair who is desperate for friends in France; Charlotte’s sullen teenage daughter, Nathalie, who is desperate for her mother’s attention; Alena, the young woman accused of the child’s death, and Madame Geraldine, the French teacher who knows all the girls intimately.

Set during the weeks leading up to the event, The Caretakers is a poignant and suspenseful drama featuring complicated women. Contemplatively written with exquisite characterization, the author pulls in her readers and never lets them go. Amanda Bestor-Siegal’s debut was brilliant. The plot was unique, intricate and salacious, and the author’s gift for character development was obvious. Each of the au pairs had very different experiences—some were treated like family, while others were mere servants to demanding host parents. The Caretakers was a fast-moving thriller unlike anything I’ve ever read. 4 stars.

Published Date: April 2022
Genre: Mainstream fiction
Read-alikes: Greenwich Park by Katherine Faulkner, Monogamy by Sue Miller, All We Ever Wanted by Emily Griffin

I was excited to read The Caretakers. The opening hooked me. American au pair Alena is taken out in cuffs from Charlotte and Simon Chauvet’s home in upscale Maisons-Larue superb of Paris in connection to the death of Chauvet’s young son Julien. I soon found that I needed to take notes in order to remember names of all of the characters, their backgrounds, and relationships. I ended up with 10 full pages. The story is told by six women. Chapters are exceedingly long, and I found myself rereading passages several times. There was just too much happening. I think the author had a great idea, but the story went off on two many different paths. She needed a good editor. My thanks to William Morrow and NetGalley for an ARC of this book. The opinions in this review are my own.

Set up for a Parisian adventure, I really tried to get invested in this novel - but it escaped me. The premise is that a nanny royally messes up. There are a plethora of characters to keep tabs on and I struggled to connect with any of them. Add to that an incredible amount of detail and the book really lagged for me. Thanks to NetGalley For the early read.

Loved this novel full if secrets after an au pair is arrested. Wonderful atmosphere like being in a Parisian bistro. Masterful storytelling.

As 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐊𝐄𝐑𝐒 by Amanda Bestor-Siegal opens, a young French boy is dead in his own home, and his American au pair is being taken away in handcuffs. From there, two questions need to be answered. What happened to the boy and did Alena have anything to do with it? The rest of the story seeks to answer both questions, with six different women contributing to the narrative. Three are au pairs working in the same wealthy Paris suburb, one is the mother of the child, another, his older sister, and the last, the local French teacher.⁣
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Set against a backdrop of uncertainty in 2015, as terrorist attacks were rocking Paris, the au pairs faced fear, loneliness, and a longing to fit in as quasi Parisians. The experience of each was very different, together painting a picture of life as a very young woman far, far from home. The mother and daughter lived in the same house, but in many ways barely knew each other, and the French teacher had a history of loss that continued to haunt her. All were lonely, some were angry, others afraid. ⁣
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I thought Bestor-Siegal did a wonderful job with her debut. She kept me fully invested in her characters and had each pulling at my heartstrings for different reasons. Of course, I also loved the Paris setting. I'll most definitely look forward to reading more from this author.
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Thanks to @williammorrowbooks for an electronic copy of #TheCaretakers. a

The Caretakers by Amanda Bestor-Siegal is labeled a thriller, but the reality is that it is a bunch of unhappy people whining about their lives. True-many are to young to have the coping skills that would be learned, as they get older. It's too bad many marriages can't go the distance but seducing your next-door neighbor is not the answer, nor is marrying just to improve your economic condition. I wonder how many couples would hire an au pair from overseas if they realized how maladjusted many of them are. I didn't like this book, particularly.

There are two neighboring couples. The female in one is jealous of the other: more money, better life, et al. She's bored with her husband, who is having an affair. He suggested she do the same. Great, huh? The kids are the losers here, plain and simple. Missing parents, au pairs that can't show they care because of their own baggage. I hate books full of whiners and people who are unable to be grateful for what they have.

I was invited to read a free e-ARC of The Caretakers by Harper Collins, through Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #netgalley #harpercollins #thecaretakers #amandabestorsiegal

I received an ARC of The Caretakes in exchange for an honest review.

This was a challenging one for me. I didn’t love it and although stories about the individual characters and their lives were interesting, I never felt the story came together for me.

The story focuses on American au pairs in France and begins with an au pair being led away in handcuffs after the sudden death of the boy in her care. Ultimately, we learn who is responsible for his death but there is a lot of information to get us there.

We get snippets into the lives of the different au pairs, some of children and their parents and the French teacher responsible for teaching the au pairs. Again, some interesting insight into their lives, dysfunction and what drove their actions and behaviors, but I had a tendency to get lost in the details and forget where the overall story was going.

Great premise for the story but I just didn’t feel it was fully executed.

This is one of those books that at some point I'll be looking through my Kindle and see I have read it, but remember nothing about it.
The storyline was boring, the characters didn't make me want to like them or care about them and the book had too many unimportant details.
I wanted to like it at first but just found myself not caring and wondering how much longer it was.
The best part of the book was Alena's mom's story and it was told second hand through Alena.
Thank you Netgalley for the book for my honest opinion.

Title: The Caretakers
Author: Amanda Bestor-Siegel
Available now

This book tells the story of au pairs, Lou and Alena. They are young American girls working as au pairs in France. The book opens with someone dying inside Alena’s house. I’ll leave it at that. The story unfolds from there. We learn a lot about the characters before and after this pivotal day.

I liked this one. It has suspense but characters that are both intriguing yet at times frustrating. Part of me lacked empathy for the au pair I once kicked out a foreign au pair from my own home. I found myself at times being disgusted with Alena and her mental baggage for this reason. This would be a great book to discuss with a book club.

Pick this up if you like some suspense with deep emotional characters.

This is one of those books where the major event happens at the very beginning and the entire book is then the lead up to that event so that you find out how and why it happened. The book centers around a group of au pairs in France and their host families. There is drama among the girls, between the girls and their host families and past trauma/drama in each of their lives. It all intersects throughout the book but especially on the day when one of the host children ends up dead. These characters are not loveable--they are all quite broken in a multitude of ways. This is far from my normal genre but I was intrigued enough to keep reading to figure it all out. In the end though the whole story is just depressing and sad.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.