About the Book:

The woods are creeping in on a nanny and two young girls in this chilling modern Gothic thriller.

Architect Tom Faraday is determined to finish the high-concept, environmentally friendly home he’s building in Norway – in the same place where he lost his wife, Aurelia, to suicide. It was their dream house, and he wants to honor her with it.

Lexi Ellis takes a job as his nanny and immediately falls in love with his two young daughters, especially Gaia. But something feels off in the isolated house nestled in the forest along the fjord. Lexi sees mysterious muddy footprints inside the home. Aurelia’s diary appears in Lexi’s room one day. And Gaia keeps telling her about seeing the terrifying Sad Lady…

Soon Lexi suspects that Aurelia didn’t kill herself and that they are all in danger from something far more sinister lurking around them.

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My Review:

Lexi Ellis’s life is, quite frankly, about as bad as it gets.  A recent suicide attempt has caused her boyfriend of eight years to ask her to leave.  Now homeless, jobless, and trying to adjust to new antipsychotic drugs, Lexi doesn’t know where to turn.  When she overhears a conversation where the young woman turned down a job as a nanny, Lexi manages to obtain the pertinent information from the woman, Sophie’s, laptop.  She replies to the potential employer, assuming Sophie’s name, and directing the correspondence to come to a new email address she created.  When an interview is set up, and she is offered the job, Lexi can’t believe it.  So, she becomes Sophie, and sets off for her new life as a nanny to two young girls in Norway.

Tom Faraday is an architect, who was working on building a dream house for his family, when his wife, Aurelia, committed suicide.  Tom decides to complete the house, located in Norway, to honor his late wife and her heritage.  Though Tom is determined to be environmentally friendly in his construction, several mistakes have occurred, causing serious damage to the native wildlife and the land.  Stories start to swirl about Norse legends, and how mythical creatures do what they have to do to protect the land and water.

Lexi, now known as Sophie, arrives and has soon fallen in love with her two young charges, Gaia and Coco.  Surprisingly, she seems to fit the position of nanny perfectly, and it looks as though her life has finally taken a turn for the better.  Then odd occurrences begin to happen  —  mysterious animal footprints inside the house, and the threatening phantom like creature dubbed as “Sad Lady” who appears and just as easily disappears.

THE NESTING has a creepy atmosphere and a definite gothic feel.  The setting of Norway is not one typically found in fiction, so reading about the land and the legends was unique.  The reader is taken through Aurelia’s story, wondering at her sanity, until the truth comes to light.  Will Sophie’s masquerade be discovered?  And, if it is, will she be forced to leave?  If she stays, can she protect the girls?  There is plenty of evil at work, both supernatural and of the human variety, making for a compelling read for those willing to open their mind to all the possibilities.    ~Rose