Everything and Nothing, Araminta Hall
Everything and Nothing, Araminta Hall
List: $24.99 | Sale: $17.50
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Everything and Nothing

Author: Araminta Hall

Narrator: Amy Elton

Unabridged: 7 hr 8 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: HarperCollins

Published: 01/17/2013


Synopsis

A gripping psychological suspense read A family near breaking point hire a nanny with secrets of her own in this gripping novel from an exciting talent. Cupboards were sticky from spilt jam and honey, and the oven smoked when you turned it on because of the fat that had built up over the years. Agatha would never, ever let her future home end up like this. She would never leave it every day like Ruth did. She would never put her trust in strangers. Ruth and Christian are – just – holding their marriage together, after Christian's disastrous affair a year ago. But chaos beckons, and when the family are suddenly left without any childcare, Agatha comes into their lives to solve all their problems. But Agatha is not as perfect as she seems and her love for the children masks a deeper secret. Everything and Nothing –––––––––––––––- ‘An assured debut takes the Mary Poppins myth and turns it into a menacing tale of the enemy invited in… I suspect that this will be the first of what promises to be a new genre: the nanny chiller’ ‘Chilling and suspenseful’ ‘An unsettling, menacing read’ ‘A suspenseful and emotive examination of a family in meltdown…Hall’s tale is told assuredly and touches on the darkness, tensions and unhappiness behind the facade of daily family life. It’s a skilfully executed debut novel that nestles perfectly alongside the dark, nuanced psychological thrills of Daphne du Maurier and Sophie Hannah’ ‘ is a beautifully written, completely gripping novel that plays on the unsettling notion that sometimes the least safe place is your very own home'

About Araminta Hall

Araminta Hall has an MA in creative writing and authorship from the University of Sussex, and teaches creative writing at New Writing South in Brighton, where she lives with her husband and three children. She is the author of Our Kind of Cruelty, which was named a best book of 2018 by CrimeReads and Real Simple.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Felicia on May 11, 2019

I really hope an editor was not compensated for their effort on this book. Our Kind of Cruelty by Araminta Hall was among my favorite books for 2018. It was dark and disturbing with an unreliable cuckoo narrator. After reading the synopsis for this earlier book by the same author, I went into it hop......more

Goodreads review by Michelle on May 22, 2024

Hooked from the beginning. A great story line and characters but felt the ending was quite rushed. I felt like I didn't have enough information for it to end. The ending definitely didn't do the book justice hence the four rather than five stars.......more

Goodreads review by The Book Whisperer (aka Boof) on March 10, 2011

The book begins promisingly. A young girl walks down a middle class street in London on her way to an interview for the job of nanny. Greeted by the chaotic scene around her (mum and dad on the verge of spliting up, two unruly children) Agatha already knows she wants this job – and we already know s......more

Goodreads review by Plum-crazy on April 25, 2017

The theme of this book maybe not be an original one but for me this was a cut above others that I've read in a similar vein. The story is told from the views of the three main characters Ruth, Christian & Aggie yet unlike many other books it's not told in the first person. I found the style & tone o......more

Goodreads review by Gill on August 20, 2012

I enjoyed reading this book and the feeling of spiralling chaos from Ruth and Christian's problems contrasted with Agatha's tight control. In the end, of course, she is the one truly out of control and the family have a chance of balance. A good read.......more


Quotes

‘An assured debut takes the Mary Poppins myth and turns it into a menacing tale of the enemy invited in… Araminta Hall has turned the perfect nanny trope into something much more disturbing. Imagine a mash-up of Mary Poppins with Stephen King and you get the general idea… What makes this smartly written first novel so disturbing is its moral ambiguity; Hall keeps us engaged with all the characters, even the duplicitous Agatha, right up until the end. I suspect that this will be the first of what promises to be a new genre: the nanny chiller’ ‘Chilling and suspenseful’ ‘An unsettling, menacing read’ ‘A suspenseful and emotive examination of a family in meltdown…Hall’s tale is told assuredly and touches on the darkness, tensions and unhappiness behind the facade of daily family life. It’s a skilfully executed debut novel that nestles perfectly alongside the dark, nuanced psychological thrills of Daphne du Maurier and Sophie Hannah’ ‘ is a beautifully written, completely gripping novel that plays on the unsettling notion that sometimes the least safe place is your very own home'