The Nanny Murders

I just finished up The Nanny Murders, and it was exactly what I needed after trying to read Naked in Death. While it wasn't anything spectacular, I did enjoy it and it was the start to a new series featuring a single mom and her six year old daughter. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Single parenthood is challenging enough for Zoe Hayes, raising a young daughter in Queen Village, a Philadelphia neighborhood whose homes- like its residents- have seen better days. Then comes the blustery afternoon when little Molly makes a shocking discovery while playing outdoors: a dismembered finger.

What Zoe longs to believe is a gruesome fluke quickly takes on unsettling significance. One by one, young nannies are vanishing from the neighborhood, falling victim to a shadowy killer. Uneasily drawn into the chilling case- and an unexpected relationship- by engimatic detective Nick Stiles, Zoe assumes she and Molly are safe. But then terror strikes close to hom.

Now Zoe must acceot that nobody in Queen Village is protected. A bloodthirsty predator lurks nearby, perhaps concealed behind a passing stranger's friendly smile, a longtime neighbor's front door- or as Zoe fears most, perhaps even nearer than that...

This book had a nice suspense going on, though the story does bounce around a bit. I absolutely adored Molly, and liked that the story was told in first person. I know some people can't stand first person, but I like the way it allows the reader to get inside the character's mind. There was some jumping around and several suspects are possible. I was constantly changing my mind on who the "bad guy" was. Nick as a hero is kind of a stretch, as we do not get to learn too much about him. Like I mentioned before, it is the start of a series, so I hope to see more of their relationship blossom or falter. The next book in the series, titled The River Killings, is currently out in hardcover and I may look for it at the library the next time I am there.

One other note, while this is a mystery series, I would not say it is a "cozy". I also would feel it would be a stretch to call it a romantic suspense. But it was a nice, fast read and I enjoyed it. One other thing I really liked was the fact that there were short chapters. I have a problem with taking a break in a story in the middle of a chapter, so this book was great for me to have to read whether I had 5 minutes to read or 5 hours (though I don't think it would have taken me 5 hours to read it).

I am not sure what will be up next. I have three library books that I need to get to first. I have Motor Mouth by Janet Evanovich, as well as Jesse Kellerman's first novel, and another mystery. I am too tired to think about it now, so it will have to wait for (hopefully) tomorrow!