Firstly this was such a well-written book, I read it in one go! Secondly the book has fantastic twists and is built very well, a must-read for those who love domestic thrillers. This a story steeped in passion, revenge and the balances between actions and consequences. Thanks to netgalley for an ARC!

Esmie takes a job as a cleaner for people who have ties to her missing brother. When you’re silent and unseen and blend into the background there’s no telling to what you might discover. I enjoyed this it was a nice breezy book to get through which was a great change from the book I’d finished previously this stopped me from ending up in a reading slump!

Esmie travels to Ireland to try an find out what happened to her brother Nico who had been studying in Dublin when his funding was stopped and he had to return home. She manages to get a job as a cleaner for three sisters who are neighbours and seem to have had some involvement with Nico. While she's cleaning she takes it upon herself to search every cupboard and drawer looking for evidence to connect the occupant to Nico I found this quite strange as the family were usually in the house at the time and would have surely been aware she was snooping.. This was quite a slow book to start with and somewhat repetitive. However there was quite a twist at the end which I didn't expect.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity of reading this ARC.

This book is full of twists that you think you’ve sussed but then has you second guessing once again.

I really did enjoy this book. It had me hooked and guessing (completely wrong I hasten to add). Mary Watson really knows how to captivate her readers.

The only thing stopping this from being a 5 star review in my eyes is that it didn’t feel like it was set in Ireland to me! However, I am not Irish and it is only my personal feeling so not everyone will agree with this. I am sure.

Overall definitely one to read!

Esmie is a cleaner who works in the homes of wealthy people. She's not really seen or noticed, and people don't pay much attention to her. She wears simple clothes that help her blend in, and she uses this to explore the homes of the rich and famous.

Esmie doesn't just clean; she also notices the secrets and problems of the people she works for. She sees the things they try to hide, like broken relationships, lies, and mistakes. She keeps these secrets safe, at least for now.

It's a great book!

Esmie is out for revenge but she is not sure who is the focus for her hatred. She fakes an accident to worm her way into the lives of the three families she thinks may be responsible for her brother's downfall so that she can find the culprit. What she thought would be simple, turns out to be more complicated than she thought. This was a compulsive read about the dangers of obsession which had me hooked from start to finish. Hoping to read more from Mary Watson!

Esmie is supposed to be invisible. Just a cleaner with a foreign accent that no one quite has time to place. Her uniform of leggings and a duster allows her to explore the homes of the wealthy, unseen; an outsider creeping around the edges of privilege.

But as she sweeps through the exclusive Woodlands gated neighbourhood, cleaning is the last thing on her mind. Treading silently over the polished wooden floorboards and cloud-soft carpets, Esmie gathers up the mess of broken marriages, quiet deceptions and careless failures. She tucks away their fragments, keeping them safe. For now.

Great book

A twisting tale of heartbreak, deception, anger, manipulation and ultimately death. A carefully told tale gradually filling the reader in on the circumstances that lead to the final outcome. Quite the page turner and a clever twist at the end, don’t want to give too much away! I didn’t know what to expect but in the end enjoyed the read and the way it was told, though a very sad ending.

A very different story - unusual & intriguing. A tale of secrets, revenge & passion with a great twist at the end. The characters, although unlikeable, are well written.

"The Cleaner", written in a revenge thriller genre, wasn't particularly engaging, nor thrilling, for me. The plot relies too much on the clueless, gullible rich versus canny poor, deprived of their fair chances, and vulnerable to the whims of their counterparts. The first-person narrative is not constructed in a way than justifies the big plot twist nearing the end, to put it quite vaguely.

I enjoyed reading this book. Every time I put it down I counted down the minutes until I could pick it up again to continue the story. I liked how the story ended. I would rate it as a good thriller and I’d love to read more of Mary Watson

I have mixed feelings about this book. It was an easy read, but nothing particularly sparkling. Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the early copy.

The Cleaner is a tense, slow-build thriller set in a wealthy gated community. Esmie, a cleaner takes on the job to seek revenge for her brother. As she blends into her employers’ lives, we see her plan unfold.

The story explores revenge, secrets, and the hidden lives of the rich. Though it has a slow start, the surprising twist at the end pulls everything together.
This one is perfect for lovers of psychological thrillers

I found this story captivating and I was really intrigued about what had happened to cause the current events of the book and what was going to happen. I felt the descriptions were well written without being too pretentious but were still in depth and created a good atmosphere.
Towards the end of the story I was beginning to question why certain characters were acting the way that they were, I thought some behaviours seemed odd considering the relationships between the characters. And then the plot twist happened and it all made sense. I suppose looking back some people may think the plot twist was predictable however at the time of reading the book I hadn't guessed what was going to happen.

This is Mary Watson‘s debut attempt at adult literature. Faking a road accident, Esmie worms her way as cleaner into the posh households of the families of three sisters in order to find out how they caused her brother to lose his Irish university scholarship. The plot is based on a good idea but the execution lacks in all respects: longwinded musings of Esme, the drab endless story jumping chaotically from childhood to three years ago to today, superfluous detailed descriptions of clothes, nature, interiors etc., plus all the characters being utterly unlikeable make this disappointing book unrewarding toil.

Thanks to the publishers and Net Galley for my advance ecopy in exchange for a review. This is the first book by Mary Watson I have read and I really enjoyed this thriller. The book follows Esme as she goes to Ireland to be a cleaner for a specific house. Her brother Nico is in a coma and she has come for revenge, however all is not as it seems as she tricks her way into the cleaning job. The Woodlands is a trio of homes shared by sisters and all have secrets and lies that become uncovered. The books focuses on the lies, family and greed with a shocking twist. I read this book in a couple of sittings and was hooked. Loved the writing and the flow as each deceit is gradually unfolded. I will be recommending to others and looking out for more from this author.

The plot and setting for this book had such potential when I read the description, however it left me dissatisfied and tired.
Esmie becoming a cleaner for a street of rich and morally questionable characters as a revenge plot felt intriguing and exciting. The execution of this concept, however, left much to be desired. I found the book quite difficult to get into and at no point throughout did I feel hooked. This may be a result of the long chapters and rather convoluted subplots.
Considering the multitude of key characters in the book, I didn’t connect with any of them which made it difficult to care about the outcome of their stories. I think in a book like this it’s essential to root for at least one character yet throughout this I couldn’t find one outcome I’d have appreciated.
I did appreciate the twist at the end as this was done well and explained questions I’d had throughout the book.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

I have loved Mary Watson's three YA books, The Wren Hunt is one of my all time favourites. So I was very excited to read this new novel. I'm not a huge mystery fan but I thought the author did a decent job. I couldn't connect to the characters and ended up just wanting to find out what happens in the end instead of taking my time with the story. It didn't wow me. But it was fine. I'll still read whatever she publishes.

I found this book a little underwhelming unfortunately and I found that I couldn’t relate to any of the characters making it a difficult read. However I liked the writing style, I’ll be sure to check out other books from this author

A good read.

A book to keep you guessing. Thought I'd worked it out. How wrong could I be?

A revenge story in a great setting. You will feel for our main character.
Esmie visits her brother's university lodgings hoping to uncover the details she desperately needs to exact her revenge.
Choosing a job where it is easy to been seen but not really seen, she can gather facts and avenge her brother.