The Nanny by Gilly Macmillan

Hello everyone.  I hope you're enjoying the day.

I was fortunate to grow up in a very nice neighborhood. It was nick named "peanut butter hill" because once you paid for your house all you could afford to eat was peanut butter. I have to laugh as my house payment is more than ten times my parent's. Although it was a nice area, it wasn't nanny nice, it was babysitter nice.

My mother had an older lady stay with me when my parents went out. One night she had the nerve to tell me that there was no such thing as Santa. My parents were furious as I was still very young and they loved everything Christmas. Now to be honest, as an adult, I totally believe in Santa...who doesn't? Anyway, my sisters, the triplets, came along and a few years later I was the babysitter, it was no fun. Funny thing, one of my sisters is married to the nephew of the Scrooge like sitter. By the way, he loves Christmas.

I recently read The Nanny by Gilly Macmillan. I love stories full of atmosphere and this book has plenty. The bulk of the novel takes place at an English manor house, owned by a Lord and Lady.  Their daughter, Jo, is just seven when her beloved nanny disappears.  Years later, after losing her husband, Jo and her daughter are in financial trouble and forced to move back to the manor.  Now only the Jo's mother Virginia survives. While Lady Virginia is grateful for her family being there, something is off. She holds secrets that could change everything. This becomes very apparent when a body is discovered on the property, a body that could be the missing nanny.

I have started to purchase this book several times.  What finally made me click "buy" was hearing someone say that the first hundred pages were slow but then it took off and barreled to the end.  I didn't find this to be true. I thought the pacing was pretty consistent throughout. While perhaps not keeping you on they edge of your seat, it was far from boring. Pages kept flipping and soon it was over. In addition, it holds some pretty major twists and a considerable amount of action for a book about an elderly lady, her daughter and granddaughter living in an old English manor house.  I enjoyed it equally, start to finish.

If you're good, maybe Santa will bring you The Nanny for Christmas.

Craven Manor by Darcy Coates

Hello everyone. This post is a bit long, so if you want to skip to the book part and ignore the personal stuff I won't be the least bit offended. Start at "I recently read".

I thought I would finally tell you about our haunted house as I've mentioned it several times. When hubby and I were first married, we were very fortunate to buy our first house, a small townhouse. Five years later and we were bursting at the seams. We found a neighborhood we loved. We put contracts on several houses but something always happened. I finally said out loud that I would buy any house on this street but that one...pointing to a certain Victorian. Now as you can all guess, yes Virginia there is a Christmas and yes, the Victorian is the house we ended up buying. It had been divided into apartments, had no heat or air, you literally had to go outside to another entrance to go to the second or third floors and was home to lovely active termites. We would have to restore our new baby. But...the house had been great at one time, it had a ballroom, a large dining room with staff call button in the floor so you could hit it discreetly under the dining table. There was a beautiful staircase, a huge third floor and a big ol' wrap-around porch. 

Amazing things happened while putting the house back together. While taking down a false wall, we found a wall with original raised paneling behind it, with the picture hangers still in place. On the third floor we found, tin types, button up shoes, booze bottles, servants love letters, a corset, paintings, original drawings by a national gallery artist, needlework, toys, and kids writing on rafters that had long been walled off. We talked to one of those kids, who was then in her seventies. The experience was amazing. If you ever have a chance, do it. 

One night while sleeping in our newly completed bedroom, I awoke to find a woman bent over me.  She was moving hair off my face. I screamed, broke into tears, was violently shaking and obviously ran out of the room. It was a kind, gentle interaction, I just was ...I don't know, frightened doesn't cut it. Anyway, after that day, things started happening, not just to me but to my nonbelieving husband as well. There would be hard soled shoes making footsteps up our stairs.  A doorknob would constantly rattle and turn back and forth. In the family room, you would see a shadow and hear something fall, but nothing was ever out of place. I finally looked up the local paranormal society and they considered a house haunted if you had one of a list of things happen. We had EVERYTHING on the list happen, and not just at night, in broad daylight, every day. We ended up getting used to it. My husband started traveling for work, and whatever was in the house started to feel almost protective. By the time we moved, eight years later, we regret leaving our pal behind. 

Later a tv show (A Haunting) used our house as a set and burned sage. I'm hoping that didn't send the ghostly resident from the house she obviously loved so much.

I recently read Craven Manor by Darcy Coates. This is the story of Daniel, who is down on his luck. He receives a mysterious job offer from an unseen employer. He is offered a generous salary and place to stay if he'll be the gardener at Craven Manor. The Manor is quite spooky, and although it has been vacant for years it has lots to hide. This is a great example of a haunted house story, with a mystery thrown in. Darcy Coates has written several haunted house books; this is my second and they've both been quite good. This book doesn't have tons of gore, nor will it give you nightmares, but it is fast paced, interesting, spooky, and will get you ready for all things ghostly. It may haunt you with a bit of book hangover after you're done. Just lots of fun. By the way, that other book I read by Coates is The Haunting of Rookward House.

You know, sometimes when you're outside doing a bit of yard work, it's best to not look up to the windows of your house...you never know what you'll see.

Invisible Girl by Lisa Jewell

Hello everyone. How are things on your side of the planet?

Were you a good kid? I was a brat, especially as a teenager. I can't imagine the stuff I put my parents through. My sisters were even worse! (yes, that was for their benefit but I can't help that it's true) We were so lucky to have two great parents. Still, there are some things that parents can't solve.

I recently read Invisible Girl by Lisa Jewell. This is about a teenage girl, Saffyre. Something bad happened to her when she was a young child that she is still trying to deal with. To help her, Saffyre has been seeing a therapist, Roan, who has his own secrets. When he declares her ready to stop therapy Saffyre is caught off balance. She still hasn't told him her biggest secret. Add in a neighborhood of some not so nice people, a sexual predator on the lose and you've got a whole lot of suspects when Saffyre suddenly goes missing. This book is a typical Lisa Jewell thriller. An enjoyable, easy read with plenty of twists. You'll think you have this figured out repeatedly but will still be wrong. 

If you're in the mood for an interesting thriller, you may want to not shake your etch-a-sketch board and keep Invisible Girl visible.