Sarah Larsen is in New York City, trying to live her best life. She moved there from Virginia Beach after her aunt died, and she found a decent restaurant job. She even met the love of her life. But living in New York is expensive, especially as she’s also carrying debts from her life in Virginia. Her aunt had died of cancer, and Sarah has credit card and medical debt from that time, and the debt collectors are breathing down her neck. Her job waiting tables is not enough to pay for all the bills.

So when a flyer went up in her building’s lobby, advertising a nanny job, she grabs the page to call. It asks for discretion, so Sarah thinks that the family is wealthy, and when she goes to the address for the interview, her suspicions are confirmed. The doorman out front of thee building directs her to the elevator, and then to the top floor. The Birds own the entire floor and Sarah has to work hard to keep her jaw from dropping at the lush furnishings, the artwork, and the beautiful attire of Mrs. Bird, the mother of three-year-old Patty, who Sarah would be the nanny for.

Sarah can’t see Patty, who is on the floor behind her mother, but she makes a connection with Mrs. Bird, and she’s asked back for a second interview. Sarah ends up signing a contract, after being offered a salary that was more than she dreamed. The first couple of days are slow, as Patty is sick. Sarah spends some time talking to Mrs. Bird (“Call me Colette”) and meeting Pauline the housekeeper. And while everyone seems nice, Sarah can’t shake the feeling like something is off.

Why does a wealthy family advertise for a nanny by posting flyers? What happened to the last nanny? Why are there no family photos on the walls or in frames in the family’s house? Why isn’t Patty allowed out of the apartment? And when Sarah sees Collette giving Patty a bubble bath, she only has more questions for the family.

While she feels a genuine connection to Collette, Sarah’s not sure she can continue in the job. But then it’s pointed out to her that the contract she signed not only has a nondisclosure clause but also that she agreed to stay for three months. Steve, Colette’s stepson, insists that Sarah not be let out of her contract. And he’s willing to fight her if she tries to change her mind. However, he also offers to pay her rent for the rest of the year, which in Manhattan is not a small amount of money.

She just has to make it 3 months, until Patty’s fourth birthday. And she’ll be making enough money to start to make a dent on those debts, along with her rent being paid for. What could go wrong, really, in that time?

Nanny Needed is the latest thriller from Georgina Cross. She talks in her author’s note about how she would walk around Manhattan, looking up at those expensive apartments and wondering what could happening, what the rich and influential do behind their closed doors. Whatever it is that they do, doubt that it’s anything like what happens on the Birds’ apartment, speaking to the power of her imagination.

I had a little trouble getting into Nanny Needed at first. There is an underlying weirdness to the Bird family that is a little off-putting. But the more I read, the more I needed to get to the end and find out all the secrets (and that last one is a monster of a reveal!). I liked Sarah a lot and cheered her on throughout, but otherwise I didn’t know who to trust or what to believe. The ground kept shifting below me, and while it was strange at first, it got more and more riveting, until that crazy birthday party that turned it all around like a carousel. So I have to say if you find the book a little slow or a little strange at first, take a deep breath and keep going. You won’t believe where you’ll end up!

Egalleys for Nanny Needed were provided by Random House Publishing Group-Ballentine through NetGalley, with many thanks.