A slow-burn thriller with bite, “The Cleaner” (out July 29 from Crown) follows Esmie, a woman posing as a house cleaner in an elite Irish neighborhood, hellbent on uncovering who destroyed her brother’s life. Beneath the pristine surfaces and manicured lawns lie secrets, betrayals and enough dirt to bury reputations.

Mary Watson’s adult debut is moody, morally murky and brimming with quiet rage. While some characters feel thinly drawn, Esmie’s sharp-eyed quest for vengeance will keep readers hooked till the final sweep.

This book is well written but rather dark and unpleasant for me. It will be a good fit for people who want a slow burn revenge story.

I received a copy for review. All opinions are my own. I couldn’t put this book down! Definitely a twisty thriller. The plot was fantastic! I really loved Esme’s character. Complete with drama, secrets, sneakiness, and a great example of how you can be treated depending on your “class” this book was juicy and hard to put down!

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of The Cleaner.

I love revenge tales so The Cleaner sounded right up my alley.

A young, unassuming woman named Esmie is hired to clean the house of an affluent family. She's unseen and disregarded but she's not what she seems and someone should watch their back.

If I hear the word Nico again, it would be too soon.

Esmie's brother, Nico, has been wrongfully treated and is in the hospital as a result of the actions of the family Esmie is cleaning for.

She's not sure what went down but she aims to find out and wreak vengeance.

The problem is, Nico is not a nice guy. I don't know why everyone is sweating him, including his sister. Not creepy at all.

She's got a freaky Freudian relationship with her brother, and even after the twist, the way the cleaner continues to moon over Nico is in no way healthy.

The cast of haves and have-nots are not likable or even empathetic; I didn't like or care about anyone.

Typical of novels in this genre, everyone has a secret, everyone is backstabbing everyone else, everyone has something to hide, and nearly everyone is adultering, including Nico. What a prince.

Esmie or whoever she is is no princess either.

The narrative lacks suspense and urgency; the story drags and becomes repetitive as Esmie digs around for info and clues, follows people, watches them, gathers info, etc.

Stuff happens in the last 20 pages or so and though I liked the ending, I didn't like the narrative or the people or anything else.

The writing was fine, but there wasn't anything new I haven't read before in countless 'domestic thrillers' with similar premises.

This a dark twisty revenge tale with an unreliable narrator. I little too violent and psychotic for me but it kept me hooked until the end