Mariah Fredericks’s The Lindbergh Nanny is powerful, propulsive novel about America’s most notorious kidnapping through the eyes of the woman who found herself at the heart of this deadly crime.
When the most famous toddler in America, Charles Lindbergh, Jr., is kidnapped from his family home in New Jersey in 1932, the case makes international headlines. Already celebrated for his flight across the Atlantic, his father, Charles, Sr., is the country’s golden boy, with his wealthy, lovely wife, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, by his side. But there’s someone else in their household—Betty Gow, a formerly obscure young woman, now known around the world by another name: the Lindbergh Nanny.
A Scottish immigrant deciphering the rules of her new homeland and its East Coast elite, Betty finds Colonel Lindbergh eccentric and often odd, Mrs. Lindbergh kind yet nervous, and Charlie simply a darling. Far from home and bruised from a love affair gone horribly wrong, Betty finds comfort in caring for the child, and warms to the attentions of handsome sailor Henrik, sometimes known as Red. Then, Charlie disappears.
Suddenly a suspect in the eyes of both the media and the public, Betty must find the truth about what really happened that night, in order to clear her own name—and to find justice for the child she loves.
THE LINDBERGH NANNY
Mariah Fredericks
I don’t know what I expected, but it wasn’t this.
THE LINDBERGH NANNY written by Mariah Fredericks is a historical fiction mystery that is not wholly fictitious and inherently not mysterious. The book is loosely based on the 1932 Lindbergh kidnapping case, specifically the Lindbergh’s nanny-Betty Gow, and her involvement.
It took me a good amount of time to latch on to the story.
The first thing I noticed was a lack of connection with the characters. It was almost as if you were reading from behind a veil. I cannot imagine anything more emotionally driven than the situation these characters were in, yet they were tepid, flat, emotionless, and seemed to be going through the motions. I can only assume that it was intentional that we interpret their behavior this way.
However intentional it was, it read like it was researched and came across at first as a rather dry and boring reading experience. Once I caught on to the writing style and reconciled with the fact that I’d be questioning my memory of the case throughout the duration of the book, I settled into a groove and enjoyed the rest of my time.
In conclusion, I felt that the author struggled with the constraints of writing a fictional novel about historical people. Knowing what to keep true to fact and what details to fictionalize for effect is key for this kind of material. I don’t know that the author was 100% successful.
Thanks to Dreamscape Media, Netgalley, and St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books for the advanced copies!
THE LINDBERGH NANNY…⭐️⭐️⭐️
Leave a Reply