I was approved for this arc after publication date. I wasn’t sure how to feel about this book or how to rate it. The characters are all unlikable, not sure if the author has set out to make them all seem like terrible people, including the main character.? But I really did not enjoy any of them as characters. I felt like there was too many mysteries going on in the beginning and too many characters to keep track of. What was she doing there, what was she trying to do revenge? How was Nico hurt? What was going on with Nico, who was Nico involved with? I just seemed too many things. And the characters love for Nico seemed so over-the-top, bordering on incestuous. Now, of course, at the end things were made clearer, and everything fell into place in a very satisfying way, but I could not shake the negative feelings. I had about the characters and storyline from earlier in the book, which is why I gave it three stars.

A thorough bunch of awful people populate the pages of this mystery. We have Esmie, who’s come to Ireland for revenge because something terrible happened to her brother Nico while he was studying here that caused him to return home a wreck.

And we have a set of well-off people living in a gated neighbourhood, all of whom have secrets of their own, and Esmie means to find out which one hurt Nico.

Esmie engineers an entry into one of her targets’ homes, and convinces them she is a cleaner, and doncha know it, the cottages’ regular cleaner is off for two-month vacation. So, Esmie’s in.

While cleaning, which she does well, she goes through their closets and drawers, trying to figure out which of the three women she is spying on manipulated Nico to such an extent he returned home addicted and morose.

I think I liked the idea of this book more than its execution. I was expecting a tense, claustrophobic atmosphere, but instead found that the story's pacing was a little too slow for my taste.

Also, though I expected to dislike many of the characters, I did not expect to find everyone distasteful or horrible. That's not always a dealbreaker for me, but I also found it hard to tell characters apart, and had to keep referring back to earlier sections to clarify who was Ceanna? Who was Isabelle? Who was Linc?....

I ended up skimming the last half of the book to get to the end, and by the time I got there, I wasn't really all that interested in the wrap-up.

2.5 stars.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Penguin Random House Canada (Adult) in exchange for my review.

Thank you net galley and killer crime for giving me this opportunity to read this book.

The story takes place in Ireland.
Essie goes to Ireland and gets a job as a cleaner to well-off clients. Esmie's clients are neighbours and/or relatives to each other.
Esmie's brother Nico is laying comatose in a hospital. Nico was in Ireland working on his PhD degree when he was expelled..
Esmie went over to Ireland to find who put her brother in a comatose state.
Each of Esmie's client all have a reason for hurting Nico. But who is it?
As Esmie does some digging in her clients homes, is she opening up a can of worms?
The story started of slow, but, it sure did pick up as there was several characters who could have done the horrific crime.
The story has twists that I hadn't even expected.
These are my own opinions.

This is a mystery thriller that didn’t feel like it brought anything new. The writing was extremely straightforward, as if it were aimed at a younger audience, aside from the explicit moments. By a third of the way in, I was prepared for a slog. The main character is sloppy and frustrating rather than intriguing. Since the entire story is told from her perspective, it was impossible to connect with or care about anyone else. Characters’ actions remain practically unexplained until a big exposition dump at the end. It didn’t require much thought, and that didn’t make it a relaxing or enjoyable read. There’s an attempt at themes of wealth, privilege, and power, how the rich can get away with anything, class and racial disparities included, but these ideas never get fully explored. This one is a miss for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for providing access to this book.

DNF at 34%

I just couldn’t get into this. I even waited for the audiobook to come out but I still couldn’t get invested. Seems like the cleaner has a strange almost intimate relationship with her brother. We spend a lot of time in her head so that it takes ages to get through a single conversation since we go through her commentary after each sentence that’s spoken. If she’s from Brazil why does the narrator give her a British accent?

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.
This book was not for me, with thrillers I need to be pulled in right away and this one was a bit of a slog at the start, I guess I am just more used to thrillers where the drama ensues right from the start and this one just didn’t feel that way for me. It will definitely be someone else’s vibe for sure but it just didn’t meet the expectations I usually have for a thriller.

thank you for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Watson plotted this story about beautifully. This was a well driven domestic thriller that kept me engaged and wanting to continue reading the book.

I didn't enjoy this, but mostly for reasons of personal taste. The writing is fine, and it's entertaining enough in a summer-thriller way. But I predicted the twist and the outcome, and I just don't care about who's-sleeping-with-whom storylines. All in all, I found it kind of average.

“𝐈 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐫𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐮𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐮𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐨 𝐚𝐥𝐥-𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐬𝐨 𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐛𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐭.”

The Cleaner is a character-driven slow-burn tale of obsession and revenge.

Esmie is just the cleaner, a girl working for three families in a gated neighbourhood, but these families are keeping secrets and Esmie is determined to find them out, because she isn’t there to work. One of the women of these families is responsible for her brother, Nico’s, downfall, and she is there for revenge.

Mary Watson’s domestic suspense is a slow-burn that simmers with tension. Its short chapters help keep the pages turning as Esmie investigates just what might have caused her brother Nico’s trajectory from star student to disgraced exile. There are secrets abound, both from the residents of The Woodlands and Esmie herself. All of the characters weave between sympathetic and unlikeable, making Esmie’s quest for justice for Nico feel both honourable and sketchy. The isolated Irish countryside of the gated community adds to the eeriness, while Esmie’s obsession with her brother mirrors Linc’s obsession with a dead writer, giving the reader the sense of unease. I kept hoping for a jaw-dropping twist with Nico; Watson kept planting hints that it might not be what you think, and I was disappointed that she went a more conventional route. The epilogue was like a tragic fairy tale, which felt incredibly appropriate for the remaining characters.

The Cleaner is great for fans of domestic drama, who appreciate character study over rapid action. Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada and NetGalley for the ARC!

Esmie moves to Ireland to seek revenge on someone in ‘The Woodlands’ houses. She cleans their homes while searching for clues on who hurt her brother Nico.
Too many “Nico” in the book. Slow burn to start with some content repetition from Esmie.
“All of them were one thing on the outside and something selfish and shriveled on the inside.” Enjoyed so many of the “unlikeable’ characters.
The Cleaner - I love the title referring to Esme being an actual domestic worker; trying to tidy up broken marriages, relationships, secrets and her role of fixer like in an organized crime cleaner sense.
I gasped out loud with a twist near the end!
A great mystery suspense thriller with revenge, tragedy, addiction, domestic violence, betrayal, obsession, death, grief, bribery—and, love and passion.
My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC.

This is definitely a slow burn read, but if you can stick with it, it’s dark, sexy, and delicious with twists that feel like a guilty pleasure. I flew through the second half of the book and thoroughly enjoyed how it wrapped up.

I tried very hard to get into this book and my vibes just weren't right. This book may not be for me but it could be someone else's tea.

This was a gripping, fast-paced read. I loved how it mixed mystery with raw emotion. Stella’s past kept me hooked and eager to see how this would end. Although this was a fast, easy read, I had a hard time connecting with the FMC and the twists were a bit predictable. Over all it was good just not great.

The Cleaner is a gripping thriller packed with tension, betrayal, revenge, and manipulation. The story pulls you into a dark and twisty world where nothing is ever as it seems, and the constant shifting of loyalties keeps you guessing at every turn. The characters are sharp and layered, each driven by motives that make the stakes feel incredibly high.

It’s fast-paced and full of surprises, with just enough grit to keep you on edge. While a few moments stretched believability, the overall ride was intense and satisfying. A strong, suspenseful read for anyone who enjoys thrillers with a dark, manipulative edge.

I love a book that is layered and full of twists! The Cleaner is Mary Watson's debut adult novel about a woman on the hunt to find truth and justice for the person she loves most. In between secrets, scandals and lies, "Esmie" finds more than what she first sought out for. Throughout her search, she is torn between redemption and revenge. Will she find the answers she's searching for? Or settle on her own satisfaction...

Esmie's world shatters when her brother Nico returns home from Ireland a changed person. His hopes and dreams have been shattered and he's been expelled from university. He's drinking and addicted to prescription drugs, when he winds up in a dire situation in the hospital. Esmie will do anything to get revenge on the person that cause all his suffering. She goes to Ireland where it all started and poses as a cleaner in order to get close to those Nico was close to. She will blend into the background and she will uncover their secrets. She will stop at nothing to find out who hurt him.

I got more and more hooked as the story went on. Gathering little details and putting things together, with more than a few twists to keep me guessing!

Set in a gated community nestled in the woodlands of Ireland.
Unreliable narrator
Revenge story
Based on a variation of Bluebeard, a Norwegian folktale.

Thanks NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for a digital copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review!

This story was not what I was expecting but while reading, I found myself wanting more. There was a lot of twisting to the story which I enjoyed very much, but some parts felt like details were missing. I also felt like it ended too quickly and a bit unresolved.

Esmie has come to Ireland to avenge the harm that has come to her brother.  She becomes the cleaner to the family she believes destroyed her brother's life. 

Nobody sees the hired help right?  Esmie starts to gather the dirt on these people in hopes of avenging her brother.  She gets somewhat entangled in their lives.   There are a few surprise twists and lots of suspense that she might get caught.  The ending caught me by surprise. A fantastic read!

The Cleaner started off great. I was immediately hooked and intrigued, and I appreciated the fact that Esmie is not a reliable narrator. However, a lot of the plot twists were easy to guess, and it meant that I slowed down in my reading and came not to really care for it. In fact, I guessed most of the book within the first few chapters. Some of the plot devices are a little too tropish for me, with the way Esmie so easily falls in to the job she needs, and it makes the antagonists feel a little dumb at times. I wish I could say better.

Personally, I had high hopes for this book but there were just too many things I disliked. I do like the idea of withholding some pieces of information to keep us guessing but there was so much kept secret until the end. The main characters were Esme, Nico and Simone. Something happened to Nico and the obsession that Esme had with the who/why was repetative. It was finally clear but much too late for me. Thank you to Netgalley for a chance to read the book. Opinions are mine and to some, this may be a more interesting book.