Set in Paris and in the backdrop of Paris terrorist attacks, The Caretakers is a slow paced mystery.
The Caretakers gives us a glimpse of Paris where the author shows us the side of the effluent families versus the immigrants who want to settle in that country. The French dream brings in the Au Pairs who work for these effluent families featured in this novel. Alena, Holly, Lou and Géraldine all have dreams and their own stories. They form deep bonds with their charges and sometimes know more than what the host families want to reveal to the outside world. Does anyone spill any secrets?
The premise of the book is really great but by the time this story reaches to its conclusion, I lost interest. The story is interconnected with all the characters but with so many background stories I felt that, the narrative was lost somewhere. I had a hard time connecting to some of the characters but liked the story and the writing.
Thank you NetGalley , William Morrow and HarperCollins
Triggers: Terrorist attacks, Narcissistic behavior, Infidelity, Self harm, Immigration

A bit too dark for me

This is a well-written, interesting novel, but not my favorite genre. I love books set in France, so expected to like it, but it is a bit too dark for my taste. A quirky thing -- it made me feel very inadequate about my trials learning the French language! I agree with some of the blurbs above, it does remind me of Liane Moriatary's books. So, this is somewhat of a mixed review. But, I am certain that there will be many people who just love the book due to the writing style and interesting, unique plot!

Thank you to the publisher who lent me a time-constrained e-arc via Netgalley. This review is optional and my own opinion.

The Caretakers, by Amanda Bestor-Siegal, is a well-written novel about women who fill the various roles of caregivers---au pairs, mothers, teachers—in a suburb of Paris, and the ups and downs of their vocations. The book begins with the dramatic scene of an au pair being led out of her employer’s home in handcuffs, suspected of involvement in the death of her young charge, Julien. After that promising beginning scene, the rest of the story plays out in long chapters and alternating POVs of several nannies, their various wealthy employers, and their language teacher, with the real-life drama of the 2016 terrorist bombings in Paris and Belgium looming over all.
While the story unfolded very slowly and was populated by unreliable narrators and unlikeable parents, the underlying theme of life in Paris for those who labor in other’s homes, with other’s children, for parsimonious remuneration, rings soundly.
The nuanced writing is this novel’s strength and the reason I would recommend it to readers who like character-driven contemporary drama, with a soupcon of mystery added. I would seek out future works by this author.

Thank you to Book Club Girl FB group/William Morrow and NetGalley for the ARC. This is my unbiased review

Spoiler Alert: I LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH. Ok, no more spoilers.

This is a debut and I still can’t believe it. The book is set in a wealthy Parisian suburb and tracks the lives of several American au pairs who work for these wealthy families. The points of views switch from the au pairs to the mothers, children and even the language teacher in town who has her own back story.

Each of these characters had such a separate voice and a compelling story. This isn’t a book where really big things keep happening, it is more of a character study — with all of these personalities converging in different ways. Throw in a slow-burn mystery, and you have a stand-out family drama. I will say that it is very difficult to get the voice of a 20-something and the voice of a 40-something right in the same book. Some how Bestor-Siegel manages to do this expertly.

I was thinking about this book for awhile before writing this review. There are two characters in the book that I wish I knew more about, but it doesn’t take away from the book or story in anyway. It is just me hungering for more. I can’t wait to read Amanda Bestor-Siegal’s future books.

I am so excited to share this one with my book besties. This would also be a great book club book. There is a lot to discuss!

Thank you @harpercollins and @bookclubgirl for an advanced e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book! The setting and POVS from both Aupairs and the families they work for was awesome! I found the beginning a little slow but quickly got sucked in to see what was going to happen!!

***I received and advanced copy of The Caretakers for my honest opinion. ***

I really thought I was enjoying this book but was just having a slow reading week. The premise seemed intriguing—au pairs in Paris and a kid dies…who’s to blame? But I got through half the book and realized…nothing was happening. A bunch of background, and not especially interesting background, of a few au pairs. And even at the end, as it all wraps up and we find out how the kid died…it wasn’t anything earth-shattering. Bottom line is, I wasn’t having a slow reading week, this book was just slow.

The Caretakers by AmandaBestor-Siegel tells the story of American au pairs going to work in Paris. I read and partly skimmed through this book. I didn’t really like any of the characters. They all had issues. Never solved their problems or worked through them. The story seemed to drag on and on. I really just wanted to see what caused Justin’s death. Thank you for allowing me to read this book.

When an American au pair is involved in a fatal accident involving one of her charges, the residents of her suburban neighborhood and her fellow au pairs are shocked and struggle to figure out what exactly happened that day. Bestor-Siegal does an excellent job delving into both upper class suburban life and the expatriate world of the young au pairs, bringing both worlds to vivid life. I especially enjoyed the structure of the book, allowing each character to step forward and bring their particular world view to bear on the events leading up to the death. A tense character exploration with plenty of detail.

I interviewed Amanda Bestor-Siegal for my podcast Storytime in Paris:

This week, I have a real scoop. My guest is author Amanda Bestor-Siegal, and her debut novel “The Caretakers” has already been named one of 2022's Most Anticipated Crime Fictions by Crime Reads. ”The Caretakers” is a deeply compelling and psychological read, told from the perspective of three French women and three American au pairs living just outside of Paris. It begins with a tragedy : the unexpected death of a small boy. The story that follows is as much about solving that mystery as it is about what makes a family, a home, a marriage, how we’re defined by others and how we define ourselves.

Amanda shares with us how her worst fear sparked the narrative, her inspiration from her time as an au pair, how she crafted such strong, individual characters, and so much more. Then, she treats us to a reading from “The Caretakers.”

The Caretakers is a mystery about American women who travel abroad to become Au Pairs and one of their children is found dead.
The cover is beautiful and it had gotten me excited to start the book. Sadly when the book started I was greeted by extremely long chapters that made the book a little hard to get into. The story tended to go off course a bit. I wish it would have stayed on target because the main plot was interesting but all the filler made the book drag on.
Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow & Custom House for an eARC.

I was intrigued by the premise of The Caretakers. The story of American au pairs in Paris, their host families, and a mystery surrounding the unexpected death of one of the family’s children was very appealing.

The book was slow moving and focused on the backstories of 6 women … 3 au pairs, a host mother and her daughter, and a French teacher. Some of the stories were interesting, though confusing at times because of the numerous secondary characters.

I kept thinking that these detailed backstories would somehow come together to help us understand how the child died. I was disappointed when so much of it turned out to be totally irrelevant to the main story line. Or maybe I missed the point, and the story wasn’t the murder mystery / thriller I was expecting.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC.

I absolutely LOVED this book. The story follows people in a small French town outside of Paris, whether they be au pairs, parents, or even the kids themselves; in order to piece together the truth behind the death of a young boy. There are a bunch of twists and turns, and somehow I could have read even more. My only complaint is that I would have liked for all of the characters' stories to wrap up, not just a few of them.

Set in the suburbs of Paris in 2015 The Caretakers is first and foremost a character study of six women. The book opens with the death of one of the children of a host family and the subsequent arrest of his au pair. The narrative goes both forward and backwards from that moment and is told from the perspective.of three au pairs, their French teacher plus the mother and teenaged sister of the deceased. There is a mystery dealing with what happened and who was responsible, but that is not the focus or strength of the book. I thought it was beautifully written and crafted, all the more impressive in that really none of the characters are at all likable. Themes of class, identity, culture, and assimilation are all explored in a poignant way. Thanks NetGalley and William Morrow for the opportunity to eat an advanced copy.

This novel shows you a unique perspective on the lives of young au pairs working in France for wealthy families. This is told from six unique viewpoints. The “who did it” is not revealed until the end but the reader’s perspective on who did it changes as you hear each story. The stories are told by the au pairs and the families but each story gives you a deeper look into the person and their view of the events surrounding that day. The writers descriptive style gives the reader a real-life glimpse of Paris. This was not a fast paced suspenseful read but a slow read slowly immersing the reader into small town outside of Paris and the lives of the people living there. I liked some of the individual stories more than others but give this a solid 3 1/2 stars!

This story grabs you in the beginning as the reader steps inside the life of an American caretaker in Paris. The girls want the dream: to be free and escape from the life they had in the U.S. They’re now in the city of love: “The cafes, the wine, the history. You don’t realize how amazing life is here.”

It’s 2015 and the plot begins with the rambunctious Julien who dies from a fall in their home. It’s in an affluent community not far from Paris. The boy’s mother, Charlotte, accuses his au pair, Alena, of murder. How did this happen? The author dives deep into how each character relates with their complicated lives. The officer interviews her French teacher, Geraldine, who seems like the most level of all. Then there’s Alena, the siblings and parents of the family, and her au pair friends.

Each character seems to be on a dysfunctional path of some sort. Alena struggles with her role taking care of Julien while his sister, Natalie, wishes someone cared for her as much. Her older brother, Victor, is now living on his own with a disfigured face from a motor scooter accident after drinking too much. The mother, Charlotte, is focused on herself.

The chapters are long and it would have been great if the author created a few more stopping points. Towards the end, I felt like the story was drifting out a little too much and could have been trimmed down some. But overall, it was enjoyable with a satisfying ending.

My thanks to Amanda Bestor-Siegal, William Morrow and NetGalley for allowing me to read this copy with a release date of April 12, 2022.

This a tough one for me to properly rate for some reason. I enjoyed the topic, and the execution, so I will rate 4 stars, but it doesn't quite feel like my usual 4 star read.

The Caretakers shows us the relationships and experiences of a group of au pairs and their host families in a small suburb of Paris, revolving around the tragic death of one of the children of a French family.

The book opens with the death of the child and immediate arrest of the au pair. It then cycles through the narratives of several characters including 3 au pairs, the French teacher who runs the local program for the au pairs, the mother of the deceased child, as well as his older sister. In each narration, we jump back and forth through time showing "before" and "after" the incident as well as small glimpses of the characters past experiences and motivations.

The Caretakers is about family and relationships and certainly shows the dark underbelly of troubled families and how those relationships can impact how each character relates to others. All of the narrators have their own internal struggles and pains that certainly played out in how they related to each other on the page.

Do not expect a riveting "thriller" exploring whodunit so to speak, but if you want a dark exploration of the human struggle to find one's place in the world and with each other, this will do that.

Thank you to Book Club Girl, William Morrow and Custom House, and NetGalley for the electronic ARC copy of this novel for review.

This is a difficult book for me to rate. I didn’t love the novel, but I didn’t hate it either. It is a slow moving story about a group of au pairs in France and the death a child. You know this immediately- but then the reader learns the backstory of the women surrounding the incident, person by person, sometimes in so much detail that you start to wonder if it is all necessary. I will say that it is well written and the author does not leave any loose ends, but the characters are not very likable so some details seem excessive and slightly boring.
Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC.

Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow and Custom House for the copy of The Caretakers. This book was not for me. I would have liked more about the death and what happened but instead most of the book was about the au pairs and their hosts. So many characters to keep track of and in the end, most were unimportant, and the characters were not likable at all or even very interesting. It felt like the book started out to be about the au pairs and their lives and the death was just thrown in to add drama. The book was interesting in the beginning but then became tedious. I would try another book by this author because of the the promising beginning.
2.5 stars rounded up to 3.

This one was kind of middle of the road for me. I liked the premise and the setting, but there were too many characters to keep track of, and I had a hard time staying interested in the story. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

An indepth look at international aupair caretakers and their French host families, this book focuses on three American girls, their family backgrounds, their au pair experience in the French homes they are assigned to, and where they land up after their time looking after children is over.

Caretakers may or may not be fully suited for the job, and the host families may or may not be suited to have an au pair in their home. The book points out the situations that could occur - unsuitable caregivers or unsuitable host familie or, dysfunctional families. The novel covers all of these with excellent plotting.