This is a brilliant novel from Mary Watson!
Many of us employ a cleaner and offer them access to our homes and therefore our lives, but what happens if the cleaner isn't who she appears to be and has a grudge to settle.
Highly recommended.

The Cleaner - Mary Watson
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“Revenge could be small and petty, a sign of moral weakness. Or it could be majestic, biblical: a grand retribution, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.”

The Cleaner follows Esmie as she intercepts the Woodlands gated neighbourhood as a cleaner. But she’s after a different kind of dirt on those that live there. In a desperate search for revenge, Esmie finds herself with more secrets than she can handle, muddying the real reason she’s there.

The Cleaner is Mary Watson’s debut adult thriller and it is a very compelling and immersive read. It is told from one perspective across two timelines, and I found myself gripped as the past caught up with the present with each chapter I read.

Every character has flaws and some are extremely dislikable, so you find yourself rooting for Esmie and her reasons for wanting revenge. Esmie’s unhinged and morally grey behaviour reminds me of Millie from Freida’s novel The Housemaid, and I do think fans of that series will enjoy this book too.

I will say, there are a lot of characters to get your head around which took me a minute to get used to, but once I’d worked out who was who, I was okay.

The plot itself was complex and intricately written. The drama built up beautifully and chaotically to a twist I did not see coming. The book radiates jealousy, tension and manipulation - making this is a thrilling read.

Thank you to NetGalley, Mary Watson, Random House UK and Bantam Books for sending this advanced copy of The Cleaner in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Do you really know your cleaner? Esmie was not here to clean other peoples houses, she was here for revenge for Nico. But who is the real Esmie?

Good style of writing, dark and at times unputdownable. Lies, cheating, lovers and expense accounts, do they make you happy, or just prone to boredom?

Good debut novel.

The cleaner is a book about of lies, secrets, manipulations, how revenge is best served cold, and how those that can hide in the shadows and observe, should not be underestimated; it's always the quiet ones! It's a slow start as we are introduced to how the main character Esmie became a cleaner for the characters that she would then secretly study, and I'm afraid I was unable to finish it. With thrillers, I prefer short snappy action-packed chapters, rather than where the plot is trickle-fed to help develop character dynamics, so unfortunately this book wasn't for me. But that's not to say, that it wouldn't be a good fit for other readers, and I think the mixed reviews coming in reflects that. If you like carefully built up plots and complicated characters, then this would be a good thriller for you. The prose was absolutely fine, so i'm happy to rate it a 3 star, even if it wasn't to my liking.

I did try hard with this book, nearly giving up half way through, but persisting in the hope that it would engage me more. Unfortunately despite all the twists at the end I found the characters unconvincing and the story contrived.

This is a real page turner about ‘Emsie’ and her journey for revenge. This book firmly held my attention from the very first page and I just couldn’t stop reading, the lies and secrets had me on the edge of my seat, and that ending! Wow!

Reading the blurb for this made me request it from Netgalley straight away and I was surprised to find out it was set in Ireland which added to the story for me, it’s a complex plot that keeps the reader guessing as there are twists and surprises all throughout the story, there aren’t a lot of the characters with any redeeming qualities and apart from two of the minor characters, everyone else has a backstory to the eventual conclusion. Definitely an author that I will be looking forward to reading more of her books

This book was full of twists and turns, which I enjoyed,
I do feel like parts were a little predictable but on a whole I enjoyed this and for a debut adult novel Mary Watson did really well

I tried to get into this book a few times, and I'm not sure why, I just didn't enjoy it. It didn't feel realistic. Sorry!

4.5/5

One of the firdt ARC books I have received from net gallery, and I wasn't dissapointed. The first 200 pages start strongly and move through the narrative quite quickly. I found the characters intriguing (even if at times unlikeable) and quite realistic to people you'd meet in everyday life.

Overall, it is a definitely an easy read (an hour or so before going to sleep) and maybe a little predictable. However, I finished this book within five days of getting it so must of been quite invested. The only main criticism I would have is the book could be slightly shorter. The pacing of the first 200 pages felt perfect to me, and then I feel it slowed slightly. But overall, truly an enjoyable read.

This book started off quite strong however I did lose interest quite quickly. Unfortunately the characters were hard to find any connections with and I actually found the main character quite annoying, which meant I didn’t really have the drive to find out what had happened. The conversation and relationships between characters didn’t feel real unfortunately. I really enjoy fast paced thrillers and this just didn’t quite hit the mark for me.

Esmie is out to avenge what happened to her brother Nico.

In her tatty uniform of leggings and t shirt she quietly goes about her deadly business right under the nose of those who employ her

Being a lowly cleaner for the rich residents of a quiet neighbourhood she uncovers secrets and desires that she isn't meant to know.

I loved this book. It is deadly, full of deceit and with lots of drama.

This would make a good TV drama. The characters are unlikeable but the plot is riviting.

I loved the premise of this and had high expectations for something different and fresh. The setting and characters worked well but the plot didnt feel especially new or distinctive and the prose/protagnosit voice didnt always sparkle for me. It was, however,, an entertaining easy read. It reminded me of The Housemaid to an extent but didn't land quite as well as that book.

I loved this. The lies, and the deceit was highly entertaining. I had a few guesses but genuinely didn’t know how this would pan out. My jaw DROPPED multiple times.
The DRAMA in this was chaotic but in the best way. The twist at the end was just mind blowing, I read the whole book genuinely holding my breath and sat on the edge of my seat, huge props to the author for keeping my guessing the entire time.
To add to the suspense was the timeline jumps. Subtle enough to give you a little bit of the puzzle but not enough for you to figure out the picture. Always giving you a crumb, leaving you needing more and unable to stop reading until you got more!
Very well written.

"The Cleaner" by Mary Watson is an outstanding adult novel debut. As promised author delivers very complex plot with dark and atmospheric twist. It is incredible picture of family links, jealousy, secrets and revenge. Likeable characters are changing with each exposed secret and teaching us that we all have darkness within. It is definitely well thought book and deserves 5 stars.

Description :
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.

Because one of the residents took from her the person she loves most. She’s not here to clean; she’s here for revenge – and she’ll get it using the weapons her employers unwittingly handed her along with the keys to their homes: their own secrets…

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House UK for giving me the opportunity to read an early copy in exchange for an honest review

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me this ARC, in exchange for an honest review.

Esmie is a cleaner for an exclusive neighbourhood in Ireland. Wearing plain t-shirts and leggings, Esmie is invisible to the privileged families who live at The Woodlands.

But Esmie isn’t really a cleaner. She’s only there for one thing, revenge. Quietly sneaking around and scrambling for pieces of information, Esmie soon finds herself entangled in the lives of the people that she came to destroy.

The Cleaner is Mary Watson’s debut adult book. I read this in less than one day, a real page turner. Full of thoroughly dislikeable people, plot twists and a few surprises along the way.

3.5 stars


What a bunch of thoroughly dislikeable people.
With their secrets and obsessions, lies and manipulations.
We know from the start Esmie is out yo discover what happened to her brother Nico in this small community, and becoming the cleaner, someone who hardly gets noticed is perfect cover.
She unearths a few surprises along the way, which was entertaining.
An enjoyable read.

In the Woodlands gated community, the well heeled never notice the hired help. Put on an overall and leggings, and brandish a duster, and it renders you invisible.

Esmie is there to clean up. Not just the detritus of the lives which are less than perfect the closer you look. She's there for revenge.

And her weapons of choice are the secrets that the Woodlands residents try to keep hidden.

Excellent