Marie is an ex-convict cum nanny who reminds one of the Russian fable about the scorpion and the turtle: Promising not to sting, the scorpion overcomes the turtle's better judgement and scores a ride across the river. Reaching the other side, the scorpion stings and kills the turtle anyway saying in defense, "I am sorry, but I couldn't resist the urge. It's in my nature." There are a few turtles in this story, including Ellen, the childhood friend who hires Marie on; Benoît Doniel, Ellen's husband who has written Marie's favorite book; an Oscar-Award nominated actor who provides Marie a taste of life on the French Riviera... What becomes clear however, is that as Marie goes on the lam, is that these "turtles" have natures and stingers of their own. The only innocent of the story is Marie's charge, the toddler Katy, who attenuates Marie's proclivities. Still, there is a harrowing scene in which it becomes clear that even Katy cannot redeem "Bad Marie" however much we may root for Marie. ( )

Kept me uncomfortable yet I could not put it down. Good to read if you're feeling transgressive. I wonder if "Doniel" is a later change as it seems so un-French and was spelled differently in the author's note. ( )

Well-written, yes, and the character of Marie is sharply drawn. But I disliked the treatment of Ellen, who is unrealistically remote. This stereotypical portrayal of a working mother bugged and ultimately spoiled the book for me. ( )

Well-written, yes, and the character of Marie is sharply drawn. But I disliked the treatment of Ellen, who is unrealistically remote. This stereotypical portrayal of a working mother bugged and ultimately spoiled the book for me. ( )

The jacket blurbs and lots of reviews make this sound like a slightly trashy, guilty-pleasure of a novel, and it's got plenty of that quality but it's also a very moving read, a character study of a recklessly self-indulgent woman who encounters disaster after disaster but powers through it all and almost always stay true to the love of her life, the toddler whose nanny she is and whom she stole, along with the child's father, from the childhood frenemy for whom she works. I laughed, I cringed, I started thinking about planning a trip abroad.

Full review here:

http://bit.ly/guB25I ( )