This was so fascinating to read and I learned so much. Who amongst us hasn't heard of the Lindbergh kidnapping? But that's pretty much all I knew - just that I had heard of it. Reading this caused me to do a bit of my own research and sleuthing to try to sort out the fact from the fiction and any liberties the author may have taken. And she did an amazing job at the end, writing about what was derived from published "facts" and what she took liberties with and why. So now I've been entertained and I've been educated, and what more can one expect from a couple evenings of reading? Betty Gow, the nanny, was one spitfire of a woman. Smart, articulate, compassionate and very real. The author did an amazing job of bringing her and her story to life amongst the pages.

Mariah Fredericks's The Lindbergh Nanny is powerful, propulsive novel about America’s most notorious kidnapping through the eyes of the woman who found herself at the heart of this deadly crime.

"A masterful blending of fact and fiction that is as compelling as it is entertaining."—Nelson DeMille

When the most famous toddler in America, Charles Lindbergh, Jr., is kidnapped from his family home in New Jersey in 1932, the case makes international headlines. Already celebrated for his flight across the Atlantic, his father, Charles, Sr., is the country’s golden boy, with his wealthy, lovely wife, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, by his side. But there’s someone else in their household—Betty Gow, a formerly obscure young woman, now known around the world by another name: the Lindbergh Nanny.

A Scottish immigrant deciphering the rules of her new homeland and its East Coast elite, Betty finds Colonel Lindbergh eccentric and often odd, Mrs. Lindbergh kind yet nervous, and Charlie simply a darling. Far from home and bruised from a love affair gone horribly wrong, Betty finds comfort in caring for the child, and warms to the attentions of handsome sailor Henrik, sometimes known as Red. Then, Charlie disappears.

Suddenly a suspect in the eyes of both the media and the public, Betty must find the truth about what really happened that night, in order to clear her own name—and to find justice for the child she loves.


This was a great read. I'm normally not big on historical but was really interested in this one with the crime aspect. We may never know what actually happened. This was a little bit of a difficult read due to the content and the fact that it was a tragedy.

Thank you to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book.

Betty Gow, a young Scottish emigree, is hired by Ann and Charles Lindberg to be the nanny for their infant son, Charlie. Since the Lindbergs are often away from their home for months at a time, Charlie looks to betty as his mother figure. While under Betty's care, 20-month-old Charlie is kidnapped from his home while sleeping in his crib.

Told in the first person, this book is Betty Gow's story. We see her insecurities and her strengths as she goes about her job of caring for Charlie and as she suffers through the police investigation of the kidnapping. Using Betty's point of view offers a unique perspective to the events. We see them unfold from the inside out rather than the outside in.

This is a fictional story based on historical facts. Fans of historical fiction, mystery, and suspense will devour this book, as I did.

Thank you, St. Martin's Press and Net Galley, for an advanced reader copy of this book in enchanage for an honest review.

I am a lover of historical stories, and this one did not disappoint. I, like most Americans, know the basics surrounding the kidnapping. I enjoyed the story from the point of view of someone inside the house and close to the situation. I great read for those who enjoy what if books!
I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Full review to come on Goodreads and Amazon. Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for a review copy.

The story of the kidnapping of the Lindbergh baby is one I have heard about but never knew the complete facts. At the center of the story seemed to be the nanny, but who was she? In The Lindbergh Nanny we meet Betty Gow the person, not just the nanny. In this deeply researched work of historical fiction the author brings to life Betty Gow showing us the complete person including her life before and after the tragic event. Through Betty's eyes we get a picture of what life was like in the Lindbergh household, as a family member, and as an employee. I am incredibly impressed with the portrait of Betty that we get, as she faced extreme stress. She remained level headed and worked to help the police in the investigation in any way she could.

Put together in a way that allows us to become familiar with the day to day life and people who were ultimately at the center of the case, each person and activities are described as Betty knew them to be. This is an entertaining and gripping story which I connected to quickly. The authors notes at the end of the story are a must read. We learn how transcripts of interviews, quotes and facts were combined with what was rumor and speculation to create the cohesive picture of the story.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press Minotaur Books for the advanced reader copy. This is my honest review.

Gripping. Emotional. Compelling. Full of intrigue, complimented by moments of humanity. The Lindbergh Nanny delivers....a well researched, clever historical fiction. I have to admit I didn't know much about the kidnapping or Lindbergh family before reading this book, but what a tale! About 50% through and I couldn't put it down and when I did, I found I was thinking about it until I could return to the book to finish.
Thanks to #Netgally and St. Martin's Press for the ARC of this remarkable story.

This is a famous story, but told from the eyes of the author, and be sure to read her notes at the end of this book!
The focus here is on baby Charles nanny, Betty Gow, an immigrant from Scotland, and her life in and out of Charle's care.
Now, several years ago I did read Ann Morrow Lindbergh's "Hour of Gold, Hour of Lead", such a sad hard time, and unimaginable grief.
We are walking in Betty's shoes, and she is the one who is responsible for the daily care of the baby, when I think of it that way, she must have had horrible grief, and then to be a suspect!
We know what happened, and who was convicted of the crime, but now the author gives us a list of those who were on the inside, was justice served?
The author has done her research, and presented a very research, fictional story of what might have happened, and used the nanny as the main focus!
I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher St. Martin's Press, and was not required to give a positive review.

A big thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Minotaur Books for providing me with a copy to read and review.

This book is an excellent dive into a captivating and sensational story. I appreciated how closely the author stuck to facts with weaving some speculation and popular conspiracy theories in.

Great read for admirers of historical fiction, especially if you’ve grown tired of WW2 stories!

Following his solo flight Charles Lindberg was America's hero and he and his wife, Anne were the golden couple of the 1930s. When his only child was kidnapped from their Hopewell home on a chilly night in March, 1932 the whole world grieved with them. But there was another woman deeply affected by the loss, Charlie's Scottish nanny, Betty Gow.. With his parents flying and touring "Beddy" was the one always there. In the ensuing days, Betty came under close scrutiny during the police investigation and flogged in the press. She was the one given the heartbreaking task of identifying his body and is determined to find justice. This was a well researched and engaging narrative of a historic crime. As a true crime fan I have read some of the non-fiction accounts cited by the author in the afterward and enjoyed this representation of the events. Anne Morow Lindberg's book "Hour of old, Hour of Gold" based on her diary entries from this time is one of the most memorable books I have ever read. I recommend that readers peruse the author's end notes where she clarifies fact versus fiction and relates the primary characters' afterward. Hilling story.ghly recommend this compe

I really wanted to love this one, but it ended up feeling slow and flat. Maybe it was because I knew the gist of the story or maybe it was the writing style that has the character’s thoughts interspersed in the narrative, making me go back and re-read for understanding. There are still many conspiracy theories surrounding the Lindbergh kidnapping and I think the author did an excellent job tying them all into the main storyline. Unfortunately, this one didn’t live up to my expectations.

Phenomenal take on a history making crime!!! This book's main character Betty Gow (based on the true Lindbergh nanny) will have you crying, laughing and wanting to just be in her presence. What an incredible cast of characters and descriptions of their relationships that put you directly in their path, transporting you into the 1930's as if you are existing with them. This writer's prose is so easy to read, yet rich in details. I loved this book and I am looking forward to more by Mariah Fredericks!!!

This is the story of the Lindbergh baby kidnapping told from the viewpoint of his nanny, Betty Gow. Betty was an Irish immigrant who was hired to take care of Charles, Jr.

Very similar to the writing of Marie Benedict (The Other Einstein and other historical fiction books).

A lot of ink is still spilled about this dreadful criminal act, ninety years on; it has everything we love in a public spectacle: a pretty woman, a handsome hero, a quiet young girl with big dreams. That these won't survive contact with the ever-increasing celebrity culture that mass media, only recently including newsreels and radio broadcasts, with its invasive tentacles shoving into each and every cranny of the principals' lives, thoughts, actions before, during, and after the events described, is the darkest tinge of tragedy.

As part of this non-fiction novel coming this November, Author Fredericks presents her research in epitome..."this is true, this bit's been changed but is mostly true"...which to my mind is the proper way to handle a researched work of fiction that is based on fact. I do not care for the research-paper lists of sources, citations, and so forth, that some authors provide so as to spike the many, many guns aimed at creators in internet culture. "Appropriation! Inaccuracies and falsehoods!" ::eyeroll:: It's called FICTION, people, CTFD.

My personal axe now ground to my own satisfaction, let me tell you what I enjoyed most about the read:
<blockquote>It's not clear where I'll be living. I'm part of the Lindbergh household, but they have no house of their own yet, which is why they're living with her parents. They've not even been married two years and seem to have spent most of that time in the air.</blockquote>
That's Betty's voice from the beginning of chapter three. She's direct. She's concise. She does not shilly-shally, not ever and not once. I like that in a person, I appreciate that in a character, and I am glad to say that Betty was (despite the media circus that she endured without much in the way of role models to guide her) a delightful companion in her own life as well. (The author speaks of her meeting with A. Scott Berg when he was writing his Lindbergh biography, what transpired during that meeting, and this informed her awareness of how she wants Betty's voice to sound. She nailed it.)

This being a factual story, and the author giving no hint that she intended to pull a fast one at the end, I was deeply pleased to feel invested in the unfolding tale. It's really easy, with a story not exactly underreported, and about which there is quite an extensive trove of writing already. (Ye gawds some of what's been said...!) No, the ending hasn't changed; yes, the guilty party's guilt is evident; but there are so many cockroaches scuttling for cover in any person's existence if an arc-lamp like the one aimed at the Lindberghs is trained on it that there's room for a lot of juicy speculation.

How can you not be impressed when someone takes ninety-year-old facts and makes a solid, well-made story out of them?

But...I hear the <I>Gotcha!</i> Gang clearing their throats...this is a four-star review and you're describing a five-star experience. Well, no thing made by human hands is perfect, is it. I rankle mightily at the author's choice to ascribe a certain suspect's furtive, secretive, and frankly unpleasant suspiciousness as down to that suspect's gayness. Yes indeed, the suspect's actual sexuality was not ever even hinted to be "deviant" in the parlance of the day. In the endnotes, the author says she made this deliberate choice to give the character a "need for privacy that would be instantly understandable to the modern reader."

Uh-huh.

That star-losing choice aside...Yes, I'm impressed. Yes, I'd say go pre-order one. I'm so glad I was able to read it as a DRC because the wait for the library's inevitable copy will be long. Get on it soon.

Excellent story by Mariah Fredericks. The Lindbergh Nanny is a fictional story with historical facts blended into it. Betty Low was the Nanny for the Lindberghs when little Charlie was kidnapped. Ms Fredricks imagines Betty starting work and how things may have transpired before Charlie was missing and during the frantic time waiting to hear more from the kidnappers. I want to thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an early copy to review.

I found this book to be rather interesting. I knew it was historical fiction. I was assuming throughout the book that it had taken more liberties with facts than it did. The author's final notes illustrated how much research she had put into before writing this book. This account was fascinating from the perspective of someone that had been present throughout all of the events. Servants are mostly always overlooked and yet they see things. The author gives us a fictional version of the events that, who knows, may have been close to what happened. I rather enjoyed reading it.

I wish I could give this a higher rating, as I think my ambivalence comes down to a personal preference rather than to a failing in the book itself. Although I love historical fiction, I don’t really care for fictionalized biographies. Add this to the fact that the author chose to use a sort of stream-of-consciousness (which I also dislike) style for Bettie’s inner thoughts, and you can see why I had a hard time settling in to this one. It was certainly not a poorly written or uninteresting novel and I think other readers, not gendered by my duo of dislikes, will like it better than I did.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing an ARC copy for my review.

I requested a digital copy in order to sample the prose on my phone (since I don't have a eReader) before requesting a physical copy for review. My review will be based on the physical ARC I read (if I qualify)

Well written and engaging story. It was fiction, but and interesting take on the kidnapping. It was clearly well researched and thought out. Def recommend.

Betty Gow, a Scottish immigrant has been hired as a nanny to the world's most famous baby - Charles Lindbergh Jr. As she adjusts to the odd household run by Colonel Lindbergh, she learns the rules and what is expected of her. Betty starts to realize how sweet a little boy Charlie is and how important he is to her. When Betty goes to check on Charlie one night she makes the surreal realization that he is not in his bed. After searching the house and the grounds, the police are called and the world is told that the famous baby has been kidnapped. In the eyes of the police, everyone is a suspect - including the help.

This was a unique historical fiction as it covers a person who I never thought would have a novel written about them. It was interesting to see the Lindbergh kidnapping from the point of view of someone who worked in the house. The author's approach to discussing different people in the Lindbergh home was perfectly done and showed different sides of the Lindbergh couple. Mariah Fredericks takes great effort to explain to the reader where she received her information and the true story of those she mentions in the novel. This was a wonderful novel that I flew through; it was so well told and endearing that I couldn't wait to see how she tied a lovely bow around it. This wonderful book is released on November 15, 2022, and it is one I will definitely be purchasing for my shelves.