When Lou comes to Paris, she has quite different ideas from those of the family she works for as an au pair. Yet, her greatest concern is to leave behind her old life. Alena, another au pair, also has left much behind, but in contrast to her outgoing and loud colleague, she hardly speaks to any of the other girls and does not make friends in their language course. Holly first and foremost feels totally alone and only wants to be the friend of any of them. Geraldine, their teacher keeps them together and gathers information about the host families, especially the mothers. Such as Charlotte, who does not work but needs an au pair to comply with the social demands she perceives. Well, she actually does not have much time for her children as her marriage is beyond the point where anything could have put them together again and she prepares its final blow. For none of the inhabitants of the posh Parisian suburb anything is easy in the winter when the city is under terrorist attacks.

Amanda Bestor-Siegal has created quite a number of complex characters who are linked randomly even though they hardly share anything. The most striking aspect they all show is a feeling of being alone, being misunderstood by the world and questioning the decisions they have made. “The Caretakers” is about people who do not really take care, who cannot take care as they are not at ease with themselves. They try to comply with expectations they can never fulfil and are always at the fringe of total despair.

I found it easy to relate to some of the characters when their background is revealed and you get to understand how they could end up where they are at that point in their life. Showing the same event from different perspectives surely added to underline the complexity of their personalities and the mixed feelings they have. However, springing from one character to the next was a bit distracting and forced you to refocus again and again.

Throughout the novel there is also a mysterious aspect about a child’s death. Even though the quest for the answer of what happened could be felt, I could have done without that element as the focus was more on the characters and less on the mystery.

I enjoyed reading the novel due to the nuances in the characters’ emotions and minute differences in the cultures that are presented.

Brilliant book, well written, excellent storyline, believable plot, enjoyed this book from start to the end. Read in two sittings and well into the night!

This novel begins with the arrest of an American au pair. The youngest son of Charlotte Chauvet, Julien Chauvet, is carried out of the house, while the neighbours watch. Those mother who work blame the au pair, while those mothers who stay at home, blame the mother…. It is 2016 and we are in Paris in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks. The city is on edge, and this takes an interesting look at a group of outsiders in Paris; American au pairs who are both part of a family and yet employed by them.

Although I liked the premise of this book, I felt it got bogged down. We hear of events through the point of view of Charlotte Chauvet, her daughter, Nathalie, a French teacher and three of the au pairs. In hearing all of their stories, the book seems to lose contact with the central event and the meandering character stories means there is a lack of tension. Indeed, where the book is successful is in painting a portrait of being an au pair, with all of the problems and issues that can go wrong. I think concentrating on the au pairs, and perhaps the teacher, might have narrowed the focus and made the storyline more compelling, but perhaps that was just me.

I received a copy of the book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.

I really really enjoyed this. The setting was great and although I didn't warm to any of the characters I didn't particularly dislike them, I think the parents could have been a little bit more fleshed out and I would have felt I understood them a little. My other criticism is I was so confused as to how old the children were...sometimes I felt that Nathalie was 14 and at times 17, same with the little boy, could have been 3 but also seemed like he was a ten year old at times. Overall though I thoroughly enjoyed this!

Alena has been accused of murdering a nine year old boy . She was his au pair.
This book is cleverly written and the story is told through five women connected to Alena and all of them have played some part in the death.
This book explores the different class and culture between France and America.
Loved it!

I really enjoyed parts of this but felt totally disengaged with other parts. I think the problem was that I didn't really like any of the characters, although Lou did grow on me, and there was a lot of jumping around in time and point of view. Think it may just have been me though so give it a try.

Unfortunately this book was not for me. Other readers may enjoy it more, but I could not get into it and ultimately did not finish it.

A fantastic novel set in Paris revolving around a murder of a young boy and the lives of a group of au-pairs. There were a lot of characters in the book and it was a little difficult at times to keep up with who was who. However, it was well-written and I could empathise with the young au-pairs.

Three American au pair girls situated in host families on the outskirts of Paris. They are all lost souls trying to belong and realise their dreams. Two of the host families are next door to each other. They are rivals and the girls become embroiled in their petty one upmanships. A child dies.
The girls, Lou, Holly and Alena attend Geraldine’s French tuition lessons and their individual stories both past and present are revealed but in such a way I wasn’t quite sure where I was and at what time and with whom!! I loved the competitiveness between Charlotte and Severine, the rival neighbours, they were brilliantly portrayed but unfortunately I didn’t really like any of the characters. I found them all rather depressing! Surely these young girls must have found a little joie de vie somewhere, somehow!

I felt like the stories in here could have been told quicker and it would have made it a more enjoyable read. Why was the story only about US au pairs in France? It did mention there were others at the language school but they were completely skirted over. Do they only employ US girls in Maison Larue. I did keep losing interest but I stuck with it and wished I had not.

Thank you to the publishers and Net Galley for my free e-copy.

This is a story based in Paris and the suburbs and the families that live their along with their au pairs,

This is a character driven book. Some I liked and some I really didn't.

Each chapter is from a different characters point of view and we get to build up a picture and idea of each of them and what happened at the very start of the book where we start with Alena being arrested after the death of a child in her care.

Themes are family, love, loss, secrets and this book was quite heart - wrenching at times.

I enjoyed reading this book and found it very atmospheric, at times I believed I was in Paris too..

A thoroughly enjoyable story containing no real excitement just an insight into other people's lives and emotions.

A very slow burner in my opinion.

Features six American au pairs who fled to Paris. That part felt quite a cliché.

I didn’t love it and wasn’t a fan of any of the characters really.

What an amazing debut novel, following the lonely, issue-packed lives of young American women working as au-pairs in affluent Paris suburbs. The novel. begins with a tragic incident, then we learn about the lives and histories of the women, leafing up to the fateful day. Its a commentary on rich, suburban lifestyles and how young people struggle with emotions, relationships, friendships and fitting in. Thought- provoking, emotionally intense and gripping. I loved it!

I think this is the Amanda Bestor-Siegal’s first novel. It’s a delicious tale about au-pair’s in Paris. Now I was never an au -pair but this smacks of authenticity and I think the author took inspiration from her time as an au-pair although without the murder. Although it’s nominally a murder mystery I think it reads more as an expose of Paris society. A great read.

There is a tragic incident on an affluent neighbourhood just outside Paris, and a young child is dead. The novel then follows the weeks leading up to the tragedy through the commentaries of 6 women. I got a title lost in some of the voices, but this is an original and though-provoking debut novel.

An interesting premise but I did nit find that the story follows up on its initial promise. Various American girls escape their hone environments to go to Europe as Nannies. They travel to Paris but find (as we could have told them) that their problems have been packed, along with their bags! Attending language school - learning French is, supposedly, one of the reasons for the trip - they meet other nannies and a sympathetic tutor who takes them under her wing in various ways. This is not always helpful, to the girls or the tutor. When a boy, in the care of one of the nannies, is killed we reach what is possibly the crux of the story. Does the nanny protect herself or her charges.? I think it was supposed to be quite a deep psychological commentary but I found it rather boring and essentially shallow. Sorry , not my cup of tea at all.

In a wealthy Paris suburb in 2015, a nine year old boy is found dead at home, and the family's American au pair is arrested. Did she really murder the child, and if so, what on earth could have motivated such a crime? 'The Caretakers' starts with this tragedy, and then goes back to tell the story of how it came about, from the viewpoints of six women involved in events. The boy's mother, his teenage sister, two other au pairs living locally, the au pairs' French teacher, and the accused au pair herself.

It is a densely written, quite slow paced book. None of the characters are particularly easy or likeable, except perhaps for one of the au pairs featured. The mother of the dead boy is a caricature of a rich, selfish woman who cares only for appearances and not her son. I felt that was a rather frustrating cliche as it plays into the narrative that people who access childcare are somehow inferior as parents, which is nonsense. However for the purposes of this story the characterisation of this particular woman and family in that way is necessary for the storyline.

The story of what really happened that night unfolds with maddening slowness, and yet once we do get the eventual reveal (very near the end) there are a couple of plot holes that weren't explained. In a story that took plenty of time over everything else it seemed annoying that key aspects of its underpinning tragedy were left a mystery.

The most interesting aspect of the book is its reflections on and comparisons between French and American culture. The character of Holly, one of the au pairs, summed this up in an interesting way - a quiet, reserved girl, she identified far more strongly with the more restrained behaviour of French people compared to her own more open culture. Whereas in America she was seen as shy - and that not being a good thing - in France she was simply average in her more measured approach. Of course stories about culture clashes are far from unusual, but it's rarer to find one about the differences between those between people of two wealthy 'western' countries.

Overall though, I found the book too slow and too dark for my taste. It is one of those stories that makes you feel people and life are generally horrible. It puts you off both France and America. It's definitely not one to read if you are feeling down and looking for something uplifting or escapist. It's a story that is interesting more than enjoyable - the author I notice has previously written non-fiction and this is her first novel, and that makes sense when you consider the book. The story is not without merit, but it is not written in an engaging way. I'd recommend only to those with a particularly interest in books set in France or about French culture.

I nearly didn't finish this novel but glad I did, just to find out what actually happened. I hate to say it but I was underwhelmed with the storyline which is a shame. The writing is beautiful and the characters well drawn, clearly thought out and beautifully described. However, every single person was troubled. They were either traumatised, lonely or deeply sad. All were dissatisfied with their 'lot.'
I think the novel's hook is the mystery of how the child died, but it's more about the interaction and friendships of a bunch of au pairs, their 'host' families and the French tutor. It didn't really need the death. The characters' stories were enough (although depressing in their unhappiness).
I hope the author writes more. She's a great writer, observer and thinker, she just needs to get the right story.

The story is set in a wealthy Parisian suburb with the backdrop of the 2015 terrorist attacks. The lives of the families and their au pairs are entwined so when a child dies it isn’t completely clear who is to blame. The truth is gradually unravelled through the different stories of six women. Charlotte the social climbing mother, Nathalie her isolated teenage daughter, Geraldine a teacher at the language school and Lou, Holly and Alena the three au pairs all with their different reasons for travelling to France.

I loved this book with its exploration of what it means to belong somewhere and the push and pull that families exert whether we are with them or not. The characters each fear revealing too much of their real selves to others and this means their connections are fragile. The beautiful writing means we slowly get to see the real person underneath the exterior they present to the world.