The Agency: The Norwood Nanny Chronicles, Book One

by Monica McGurk

Overview

The Norwood Nanny Chronicles begin . . .

When American orphan, Bree, arrives at Norwood College-the elite English training ground of nannies to the world's rich and powerful-she knows that making it through the first year to land a spot in the coveted certificate program is the key to her future. She also knows she can't go it alone, bonding quickly with her groupmates: an errant (and broke) nobleman, son of one of England's oldest families; the ambitious and whip-smart daughter of a self-made immigrant; and the ditzy, husband-hunting daughter of a disgraced playboy aristocrat. What none of them realize is that there is more to Norwood than meets the eye: the school itself may unlock the secrets of Bree's own shadowy past, and the classmates' very lives will depend on their ability to work together to meet the dangers ahead.

"Fast-paced and full of unexpected twists, Monica McGurk's The Agency is the perfect mashup of Mary Poppins and James Bond. If you love deftly drawn characters in exotic locations and a compelling plot that will keep you reading past your bedtime, this is the book for you!"

-Kathy Wilson Florence, journalist, blogger, and author of Three of Cups, Jaybird's Song, and You've Got a Wedgie Cha Cha Cha

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781632994783
Publisher:	River Grove Books
Publication date:	01/04/2022
Series:	The Norwood Nanny Chronicles , #1
Pages:	362
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.81(d)
Age Range:	13 - 17 Years

Editorial Reviews

02/07/2022

Bree Parrish, the lead in this first installment of McGurk’s (Dark Before Dawn) Norwood Nanny Chronicles, has her sights set on becoming one of the Norwood Agency’s famously trained nannies, until she discovers the opportunity is nothing like she expected. In the course of her training, Bree—who has always believed she was orphaned as a young child when her parents died in a vehicle crash—stumbles onto decades-old secrets and baffling mysteries that haunt the agency, making her question what is real as she’s swept into a labyrinth of lies, betrayal, and espionage that threatens her life and puts her friends in danger.

McGurk weaves a well-paced, suspenseful story rich with puzzling events, surprise turns, and an irresistible premise, all while always taking care to develop her characters, fleshing out the distinctive backgrounds that will make Bree and her three close roommates–Ruby, Dash, and Susie–relatable for thriller readers of all ages. There’s no shortage of action alongside the suspense, either: when Bree and her cohorts realize they’ve been tapped to become part of an intricate spy system controlled by the Secret Intelligence Service, they start a grueling training program that eventually drops them into the middle of political reconnaissance in Turkey, all under the guise of being elite nannies. When Bree’s mission goes south and lives are lost, she braces herself for the fallout–and in the process learns painful truths about her parents and her friends.

Readers who crave thrillers that keep them guessing, with doubts about who can be trusted at every turn, will delight in the hazards that Bree and her friends face. McGurk uses the straight-laced, old England nanny system to offset recklessly dangerous undercover work, and her skillful pacing will keep readers attentive–all the way to the cliffhanger ending. Backmatter includes Q&A with the author and a sneak peek into book two of this entertaining series.

Takeaway: A twisty thriller following undercover spies who pose as nannies, loaded with betrayal, action, and suspense.

Great for fans of: Jenetta Penner’s Configured, Jillian Dodd’s The Prince.

Production grades Cover: A Design and typography: A Illustrations: N/A Editing: A Marketing copy: A

BookLife Reviews

2022-01-18
A young American woman is forced to adapt to a new world when she arrives at a mysterious school for nannies in McGurk’s mystery/thriller.

Alabama-born Bree Parrish is the first American to enroll in the prestigious Norwood College, an elite English preparatory school for au pairs who will one day serve members of the world’s elite. As an orphan with few memories of her childhood, Bree initially feels out of place in her new surroundings before she finds her footing with a close-knit group of fellow students: Dashiell Heyward,the first male pupil ever enrolled at the school and the son of a wayward duke; Susie Hilvale, a privileged offspring of a now-disgraced baron, and Ruby Fripp, the determined, working-class English daughter of Trinidadian immigrant parents. The motley crew bond over the rigorous and demanding expectations at the elite school, and McGurk’s pacing is deft before the story reveals Bree’s true purpose—when she disrupts an abduction attempt by a human trafficker during a class excursion to a refugee camp in Calais. After it’s made clear that Norwood is, in fact, a covert arm of an organization that will be very familiar to spy-thriller aficionados, other mysteries take center stage, as more information about Bree’s parents comes to light. Readers will particularly enjoy the frenetic action of the novel’s second half, but it’s the dynamics between the nanny-school students as each struggles with familiar teen anxieties that make this novel stand out among similar action-adventure tales. As Bree undertakes her first real missions in far-flung places, such as Istanbul, readers will relate to her determination as she unveils secrets that will shake Norwood to its core.

A taut, brisk espionage tale, cleverly disguised as a private-school drama.

Kirkus Reviews