Lonnie is 26, beautiful and rich, with a husband and son to match. Ella is also 26, but lonely, hungry and far from home.
Under normal circumstances its unlikely the two would ever meet, so different are their social circles. However, fate intervenes when Ella is hired as the family’s nanny and she quickly finds herself mesmerised by Lonnie. Ella soon realises that Lonnie has little regard for the normal boundaries of friendship and marriage as she navigates a glittering world.
Resentment soon grows, roles are confused, reversed and nothing is ever quite as it seems. This is a captivating debut novel about desire, deception, destruction and devotion. If you enjoyed Laura Sim’s recent novel, Looker, you will revel in Madeline’s debut novel, Devotion.
Madeline Stevens is a writer from Oregon, currently based in Los Angeles, USA. Madeline spent seven years working as a nanny in New York City. Though the characters in her novel are not based on any former employers, they are based on attitudes she observed and the peculiar intimacy she experienced, she says.
Reviewer: Andrea Molloy
Allen & Unwin, RRP $32.99