“Suellen Dainty has created such a sense of place and lifestyle here that I genuinely didn’t mind if nothing happened. I was as entranced as Anne by the languorous half-lived lives of her employers and their offspring, the ramshackle house with its stained curtains and rickety chairs, the grumpy dog, the slapdash parties and peculiar friends. I wanted Anne’s job, I wanted to fold up their laundry and hear their secrets, let them unburden themselves to me. The fact that there was also a rip-roaring story of shocking betrayal and childhood trauma underpinning the whole thing was just the cherry on top. I loved, loved, loved this book and cannot recommend it highly enough.”

“In THE HOUSEKEEPER, Dainty writes with such nuance that I felt completely submerged in the Helmsley’s world. I actually loved the characters of Emma and Rob, until of course, I hated them. And even after all is revealed, they act with such infuriating obliviousness, I couldn’t help but fly through the pages, anxious for them to receive their just desserts. Gorgeous writing, wonderful characterisation, immersive atmosphere and a final twist that I did not see coming!”

“A compelling setup, intriguing characters, expertly handled plot, full of sharp details and insight. I couldn’t stop reading it!”

“The Housekeeper is a tense, compelling story of memory, madness and family secrets. Dainty’s lush prose drew me into an orderly, domestic world where eerie images of the past lurk beneath charming, polished surfaces. I fell under this novel’s urgent spell—page by page to its shattering betrayal — and could not pull myself away.”

“I could not stop reading this book till the last page was turned. Suspenseful and intriguing, wise, funny and shocking. This is a thriller for an age obsessed with celebrity, and all too ready to give its heart away to glamorous gurus.”