A solid thriller with a decent commentary on wealth and class but I fear I could not STAND the protagonist. Rachel drove me nuts with her self-focused obsessions and overall cluelessness. It was impossible to believe she was seventeen and not fifteen. In books like this I usually rely on the protagonist to be a likable anchor in a sea of upper class snobbery but the utter lack of connection I felt towards Rachel made most character interactions a slog. It's hard to understand the central point of this book but the thriller aspects kept me glued to the page and the story is well-paced.

2 stars. I really wanted to like this book. The description sounded like a perfect vacay read--a mysterious incident in a big country house, visiting niece, misplaced blame--but alas I just didn't get hooked. My main issue was the inconsistency in the 17-yo niece's maturity--sometimes incredibly naive like a child, esp with the use of painkillers, yet somehow worldly enough to piece together a complex corruption scheme from overheard conversations between investors and her uncle. I could go on, but I'm not one to pile on negativity.

Best part about this one was the cover -- captured my eye for sure!

+++
Thank you to Net Galley and Random House for an ARC in exchange for my unbiased review.

Greenwich is a literary thriller / mystery centering on Rachel who arrives at her wealthy aunts mansion for the summer to help out with her younger cousin. Quickly upon arriving Rachel begins to realize not all is as it seems. Further complicating this is her quickly intensifying relationship with her cousins nanny, and the only POC the family really interacts with, Claudia.

This book is an exploration of the ways we betray each other and how one persons voice can cause irreparable damage. Rachel is an interesting character in that she usually isn’t doing the right thing. Her loyalty to her family sometimes clashes greatly with her personal beliefs. I liked the way we follow this story from its inception to the end, not just focusing on the summer where the catalytic events occur but following them to their conclusion years later.

I think Claudia’s story is the more interesting one and I found myself wishing this was a dual perspective story. The blatant racism in this book felt under examined though that’s likely due to Rachel’s extreme ignorance on the topic.

In the end I enjoyed this book but found myself wanting more from it. Claudia’s story seems only half told (though there is a larger conversation here about this) and I would have liked to get her voice more.

The ethics in this book are messy and it’s an interesting read but I think requires the reader to really do some work. With very little of the racism examined we are left to piece together comments Rachel makes and overhears to learn the extent of this content. Hearing Claudia’s story through Rachel’s lens felt reductive and I wish more had been done to discuss this, though this could of course be the point the author is making.

Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Greenwich is a compelling coming-of-age story that kept me reading, even as it got more and more uncomfortable to do so. Rachel Fiske feels lost after graduating from high school in the summer of 1999. Her younger sister, Jules, is battling illness, and Rachel has been ostracized from her friend group. She is sent to stay with her wealthy aunt and uncle in Greenwich to help care for their toddler, since Rachel's aunt is recovering from a riding injury. Once Rachel arrives at her aunt and uncle's country home, she quickly becomes obsessed with her cousin Sabine's nanny, Claudia. Over the summer, Rachel learns some unsavory truths about her aunt and uncle, and a tragic accident changes the course of everyone's lives. I had to know where the story was going, but this book is more of a slow-burn character study than an edge-of-your-seat thriller. A fantastic debut! Recommended if you enjoy reading about class, race, and morally grey characters. Thanks to St. Martin's, Netgalley, and author Kate Broad for the librarian preview!

A pretentious summer read with a bit of mystery, but I found it to be a bit dull at times too. Maybe it should have been shorter or the pacing was off and I'm not sure if the ending was worth all of the build up. Still, rich people being messy it something I tend to enjoy.

This debut novel captures that time of impending adulthood marked by an end of innocence – the realization that the world is not as simple, and people are not as good, as you want and believed them to be. And it achingly illustrates some of the inherent emotional struggles: desperately wanting to reinvent yourself; feeling like a grown-up, but being treated like a kid; and the embarrassment that comes with being confronted with your own immaturity. That’s Rachel – facing a lonely and empty summer before she heads to college, she opts to spend it with her wealthy family in Greenwich, Connecticut. The languid pacing and tone perfectly match her restlessness and impatience. And with hints that things go terribly wrong that summer, there is a nice tension and hold-your-breath quality to the writing leading up to that event.

But ‘Greenwich’ is not just a mystery or a solid coming-of-age story. This novel also deftly explores class, privilege, and race. Perception, position and power are pointedly examined through Rachel’s young and painfully eager eyes. Decisions and actions result in lasting consequences that reverberate on through to the very last page.

I will be thinking about this one long into the future. Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an ARC of this emotionally complex novel.

Greenwich is an ambitious debut novel from Kate Broad set at the end of the nineties that tackles several complex subjects, including racism, classism, homophobia, addiction, and political corruption.

Rachel is a privileged 17-year-old white girl who goes to the affluent CT suburb of Greenwich for the summer to stay with her aunt (Ellen), uncle (Laurent), their preschool daughter, and her cousin's Black nanny, Claudia. While living with the family, Rachel discovers that there is marital strain between her aunt and uncle, her aunt is addicted to prescription medication, and her uncle is engaged in shady business dealings.

Growing up in New England around this same time and running in some of the same social circles as these characters, I think the author was influenced by the real former CT Governor Rowland and the bribery scandal that led to his eventual downfall. While I appreciated and related to many of the points and insights the author was making in this novel, the overall execution did not work for me.

The story started strong and reeled me in, but the latter half of the book dragged and had inconsistent pacing. Also, most of the characters are unlikable, with minimal character development, which made it a struggle for me to care about their story arc. That being said, this was a realistic portrayal of the adage "some people never change" and a reminder that unfortunately, the bad guys do often win, especially when they have all the money and power.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest feedback.

When Rachel goes to Greenwich to escape her problems for the summer and help her aunt recover from surgery, she bonds with her cousin Sabines Nanny. As the summer unfolds and they get closer, tragedy strikes and it becomes apparent that their relationship can never be the same. As the story unfolds so do the complex relationships built that summer.

I just love books about messy rich people. Add in complicated family dynamics and a fun setting- sign me up!! I flew through this book the way that I would read a magazine. It was entertaining and an overall fun time. I do feel like I have read this story before, but that didn't take away from my overall good experience!

Unfortunately, I did not find anything thrilling about this thriller. The unreliable narrator is annoyingly repetitive and the attempts at foreshadowing aren’t successfully building suspense because they’re so overdone and overt. The commentary is quite in your face, too, instead of subtly illustrated in the story. Quit at 35%.

One summer, Rachel goes to stay with her aunt and uncle in Greenwich where she meets and becomes close with Claudia, their nanny. A tragedy strikes, which causes a rift between Claudia and the family and Rachel must picks sides. I thought the first half of the book was slow, but it picked up in the second half. I thought the messaging of this book was intentional and very important. Overall, a great debut!

Kate Bond did an excellent job with Greenwich, her debut novel. I enjoyed the combination of suspense and mystery with a coming of age story that addressed important ideologies that exist in upper class circles.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read Greenwich by Kate Broad. I couldn't put this book down. The description of a coming of age story. Including domestic tragedy and privilege was right up my alley.

Rachel goes to Greenwich for the summer to stay with her very wealthy aunt and uncle. A tragedy occurs that summer and the rest of the story involves the repercussions of that event. Rachel wasn’t a particularly likable person. Her life seemed to be a series of tests of her loyalty that she never really passed. But I was rooting for her to find her place until the very end.

I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more from Kate Broad!

This was a strange one. Was totally attracted by the cover and the synopsis, but it didn’t completely deliver for me.
Rachel is staying with her aunt and uncle in Greenwich, when tragedy strikes. Will she tell the truth about her complicated feelings for the nanny throughout the summer, or will she testify against her?
The pacing was a bit off for me on this one, and I didn’t really care for any of the characters. The location was picturesque, and I thought the ending was interesting.
Thank you netgalley for the arc!

Greenwich is a bit of an odd book that isn't easy to slot into conventional genre conventions. As a millennial, it's hard for me to call this historical fiction, as it takes place in 1999, but take that as you will. There is a heavy dose of suspense, as we know the summer ends in tragedy from the beginning with no idea of what it might be. But more than anything, this is a coming-of-age story.

It's a difficult time for Rachel, and for the summer her parents ship her off to live with her aunt, uncle, and 3-year-old cousin in Greenwich. She's not a babysitter, but she's also not not a babysitter (even though they technically have one of those, too). Their posh lifestyle is a bit of a shock to Rachel's system, and she's left feeling like she doesn't exactly fit anywhere, an echo of her problems back home. She's also exposed to new things there that pique her curiosity.

I felt a little unsettled reading this book. The focus was unsure, the pacing was quite slow and exploratory, and it didn't end when I expected it to. It stretched on quite a bit longer than I'd have guessed, in fact. I'm not sure how Kate Broad evoked that same feeling that lived inside Rachel that summer as a reader in this story, but actually it's quite brilliant in retrospect.

A lot of this story is very dark. It's not something to read to feel good or when you need a pick-me-up. There are drugs, pornography, allusions to illegal practices...it's also a reminder that young folk (it feels strange calling an 18 year old a kid) notice everything, and are constantly forming their opinions about things they're exposed to.

The feeling of suspense was quite high as I read. Knowing that something big was coming, something that would change everything, was always in the back of my mind, and not knowing what it might be had my mind on over-drive through everything.

My instincts tell me to rate this at three stars because that suspenseful feeling wasn't very comfy and that's not exactly my taste, but I recognize the brilliance of this novel, and kudos where kudos are due.

Note:: I received an early copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This book captured my attention from the start! It was such a quick read that I finished it in one sitting. The writing style made it seem like things in the story were going fine but you could feel a sense of unease and a feeling that something was just bound to happen at any moment. I was surprised to find out this is the authors first novel so for this being a debut I thought the writing was excellent and engaging. I would recommend this to readers looking for a quick read that pulls you in from the beginning.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review and feedback.

This is a slow burn literary suspense and once you hit the half way mark there is no stopping. I devoured the last half of this book and as I got to the end I realized how important the earlier chapters were for the ground work.

Broad takes her time building dynamics’s and nuance that when we get to the guts we are quietly awed by the turn of events. This is a story where everyone is guilty but how privilege and power can change the way the game is played. I loved that no one goes unscathed and not all consequences are black and white.

The spinning of guilt in this story is unmatched I was constantly turning over outcomes and plot turns never really settling on a verdict. I love books that toy with the reader and Broad did just that.

Greenwich by Kate Broad took me a little while to get into (which was likely not the author's fault but my own), but I’m glad I stuck with it. The writing is thoughtful and observant, and once I got into the rhythm of it, I really appreciated how it explored memory, identity, and the weird pull of going back to where you came from. It’s one of those books that feels quiet on the surface but has a lot going on underneath.

The teenage niece of a powerful and wealthy Greenwich family comes to stay for the summer in 1999. Rachel is all but ignored by her aunt and uncle, spending most of her time with the actual nanny, a young woman named Claudia, and her little cousin, two-year-old Sabine. The whole summer is steeped in heavy foreboding, from the minute Rachel arrives and a dead deer carcass is hauled out of the pond. Things are not right in the household, and Rachel (who is escaping her ex-friends and her sister's illness at home) finds herself bored and not coping well. There are many instances where issues of class and race are brought into the light, and when an extreme tragedy strikes, the family pulls strings, circles the wagons, and protects themselves at *literally* all costs. Rachel can't admit the role she played, and her self-destruction continues as she heads to college. What choices could have been made differently? Broad explores themes of guilt, redemption, trust, and justice. Good choice for book clubs.

2.5⭐️This was a classic “rich people behaving badly” book, and it was a wild ride.

I liked the way this story was told, kind of starting from the end and then going back through the events. Rachel was not a likable main character at all, which didn’t exactly bother me, but it did make it harder for me to care about the story as much. She was manipulative, selfish, and clueless, and after a while, I just got tired of it. The drama of the whole book kept me engaged about to finish it, but mostly because I wanted to see how this rollercoaster of a story was going to end.

This was bingeable and dramatic, and would be good for someone looking for a quick read.