I've heard so much about this book and the cover was what totally drawn me towards it at the first place.

I must admit, knowing who the main antagonist was from the beginning threw me a bit. It's quite unusual and I wasn't sure if the book will hold my attention but it did. It wasn't so much about knowing Jade was after Mark and his family, it was following and watching her well made web of lies and deceive. What a great plan she had and how she went to get what she believed was hers.

This book was well written and made me turn pages just to see what Jade, Melissa or Mark will do next. I felt quite involved in the story and the fact that I knew who is all behind it didn't change my opinion about this book. I really enjoyed reading it and I hope you will to

The hand that rocks the cradle by a millennial= so very twisted.
The book is fast paced from the beginning, I found the shift in Jade excessively quick which did question the reality initially until you continued into the book and realised just how damaged she is.
I did feel the book touched on too many issues, Sexual Abuse, psychosis, special needs, depression, affairs, corrupt police, infant loss, life threatening allergies, this list goes on and with this I feel some of the issues were rushed through.
Overall I really enjoyed the book and couldn't wait to get to the end to find out what happened. Fab cliff hanger that has left me wanting more.
I did feel for the victims and it amazes me how quickly a good relationship can crumble and self doubt and recrimination can destroy strong foundations. The Babysitter makes you think and know not to take anything for granted.

This book just wasn't for me. I didn't really find any attachment to the characters or the full story. I do see s lot thst could make this good. Many love the book but for me this was just ok

From the start you know not to trust the Babysitter, the clue is in the title and the blurb, in fact from the prologue I was 99% positive I had worked out her identity and I would expect most people reading this to get that far in their predictions.

And yet despite being sure you know what the reveal will be, due to the various perspective the book is written from, and the specifics of the story, I found myself drawn into this rather twisted tale, which contained more horrors than I initially anticipating.

We get chapters from Melissa and Mark's perspectives and its amazing how they seemed to be seeing various incidents differently and then there were chapters from the Babysitters point of view, in theory meaning the reader was one step ahead of Mark and his family, but in reality, there are still shocks to be had.

There was just something that seemed to keep the book on my mind constantly until I gave in and sat down to finish it. It is a story about knowing who you can really trust, whether people really are what they seem, and of some really sloppy police work with one of the most dislikeable colleagues of Mark's that I've met.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

I enjoyed this book. While some parts were quite predictable, I found myself unable to put it down. I will be reading more of the authors work. Thank you to publishers and Netgalley for an ARC of this novel in return for an honest review.

Excellent. I really enjoyed this book. The storyline was a bit obvious but did have some twists and turns.

Wow this definitely sucked me in from the first page. A cracking psychological thriller then had me wanting to shout at the characters then hug them 5 minutes later. Just shows that people are not all they seem. Gone have the days when you would asks neighbour to babysit. Gripping story I didn't want to end

I love a good psychological thriller and am always on the lookout for something a bit different. The Babysitter jumped out at me with its fantastic cover and chilling premise, so I couldn't wait to read it.

Police officer Mark and wife Mel live a generally happy life, despite certain struggles; for example, Mark working long hours as he tries to crack a distressing case as well as deal with a rather troublesome colleague, Mel trying to keep her art business running whilst looking after their two young children, and a previous traumatic event that the couple have only just started to put behind them.

When a fire in a nearby house leaves tenant Jade temporarily homeless, good-natured Melissa opens her home to the young, pretty neighbour until she gets back on her feet. As it turns out, Jade is wonderful with children, and Mel's kids take to her in an instant. Soon Mel is taking up Jade's helpful offer of becoming a live-in babysitter, which is exactly what Mel needs.

Of course, Jade is too good to be true.

While Mel believes she's a lovable, sweet and big-hearted saviour, Jade is in fact evil, with a plan to bring down the happy family and claim what she believes is rightfully hers. And she's about to start with Mel...

Okay, so the prologue of this book was extremely chilling, and I couldn't wait to read on. Sadly though, the rest of the book didn't live up to my expectations.

The author's writing style is fantastic; the story flows well, and it's a great fast-paced read. The problem I had was mainly the plot - or more that this seems to read like many other psychological thrillers. Perhaps it's just me; maybe I have read so many of these over the past year or so that I'm picking up on the many shared elements. Such as the almost panto-like villain, the evil plot to tear a family apart, the slightly naive mother character who 'really isn't crazy, but who will believe her?'

Also, certain things didn't ring true, such as the fact Mel didn't ask for any proof of qualifications (Jade says she has done a childcare course) or references. I mean, I'd do checks before I even invited someone to live in my home, LET ALONE look after my children. Given that Mark is a police officer, this just didn't seem right. Also, things began to go wrong in the household straight after Jade's arrival. It was blatantly obvious what was going on. Why did Mark (again, a police officer) not suspect anything at first?

Granted, I liked this book, and if you can suspend disbelief long enough for the above points not to cross your mind or irk you slightly, then this is a fast-paced thriller that's well worth a read. I think it just seemed to 'samey' for me to rate it any higher, but like I said, this could just be down to my own personal preference.

This was a fantastically creepy and at parts downright terrifying read. A certain 5* for sure.

I didn't really know much going into this, I had requested it on NetGalley then it sat on my TBR for some time, and it was a case of a random pick to read it - but oh am I glad I did. I was one big ball of anxious/stressed mess from beginning to end.



We meet Mark & Melissa a strong, loyal and loving couple as they are beginning to face a few small troubles, nothing major just day to day work/life/family balance. So when they find Jade (who has moved next door) she couldn't have come along at a better time. I mean for Jade, its an awful time as her cottage has burned down, but when Mark & Melissa offer to take her in, it works out wonderful for them. A built-in babysitter. An arrangement that helps everyone.



This arrangement especially helps as Melissa is going downhill again, her depression is seeping back in and Mark is concerned but as there is a major case at work he finds it hard to resolve the issues and Jade is left to pick up the pieces.



However, not is all as it seems and as Marks starts to wonder a little more about his perfect babysitter, everything changes. The babysitter was a fantastic read - and whilst in some parts i guessed what was happening, but that didnt make it an easier read for me.



I was literally worried, stressed and panicking all the way through - i was concerned i wouldn't get the answers i wanted, i was worried what the outcome would be for the characters and i was so fully invested in this it crept into my night time thoughts.



Please, if you read one thriller this year - go for this one.

A fantastic book, where we know the perpetrator from the start, and watch through fingers as she plays with her victim's mind and marriage. Highly recommended.

This was a real page turner. I couldn’t put it down. A great book, highly recommended. Loved it

Many thanks to Netgalley and Sheryl Browne for the advanced copy of this book. I agreed to give my unbiased opinion voluntarily.

I have read and enjoyed a fair few of Sheryl Browne’s books. When I heard that she was due to release a psychological thriller, I just knew that I had to get my hands on a copy as I just love psychological thrillers. The synopsis immediately intrigued me and so I opened the front cover to begin reading. It was certainly an interesting read and then some.
I really felt for Mark & Melissa Cain. Mark is a Detective Inspector and Melissa works from him. They have tried for years to have a child but sadly they lost their premature baby and they have suffered several miscarriages. I really empathised with their struggles to have children. I have no children myself but 2 people very close to me had similar struggles and so I saw how hard it was first hand. Their struggles brought the couple closer together and so when they have their later children, they dote on them and quite understandably so. However, I had an issue with their behaviour part way through the book. Their neighbour called ‘Jade’ loses her home to a fire. Mark & Melissa allow her to stay with them whilst she looks for somewhere else or her house is repaired. Now here is the issue: I would have expected that a couple who had had as much trouble as they had to have a family would have had more sense than to let a complete stranger to be around their children and to look after their children. It’s not long before ‘Jade’ worms her way into the family dynamic and makes herself indispensable as a babysitter, a role she claims to have a lot of experience of. Despite being a policeman and knowing the horrors that happen to children on a daily basis, Mark allows her to look after his & Melissa’s children without checking out her back story, without getting references from previous clients and most importantly without getting an enhanced DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) check. I should explain here that I used to work in safeguarding children and vulnerable adults for many years so that’s why I am hyper sensitive where these sort of things are concerned. A whole room of alarm bells rang for me whenever ‘Jade’ appeared as there was something about her that made me uneasy and uncomfortable. ‘Jade’ was a funny old fish. I won’t go on too much as to why because that might give far too much away. To say that she has issues is a massive understatement.
‘The Babysitter’ is one heck of a rollercoaster read. There were so many ups, downs and moments where I just wanted to scream at the book (& I actually did on one occasion which got me some very strange looks on the bus) to warn Mark & Melissa about what I could see happening and why they should get shot of that ‘Jade’. Once I started reading, I became addicted to this book and I just needed to read one more page, one more chapter and so on and so forth, because I needed to know how long it would take for Mark & Melissa to wake up and smell the coffee so to speak. I didn’t notice how quickly the pages were turning and before I knew it I had finished the book, which I had mixed feelings about. Don’t get me wrong I enjoyed the writing style so much that I wanted the book to continue but at the same time, I was pleased to finish because it meant that I would be free of ‘Jade’.
In short I did really enjoy reading ‘The Babysitter’ and I would certainly recommend it to other readers. I can’t wait to read what comes next from the very talented but oh so twisted mind of Sheryl Browne. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a well deserved 4* out of 5*.

2.5 stars rounded off to 3

I would like to thank NetGalley and Bookouture for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book is about a babysitter who appears to be a godsend but has some secrets.

I have to admit that I found the book to be rather predictable. It was similar to quite a few other psychological thrillers out there. There were no real surprises or twists. It was an 'okay' read for me.

I usually enjoy psychological thrillers but was disappointed with this one. The cover promised so much but the book didn’t live up to that for me. I found the storyline was too obvious, no twists and turns to keep me enthralled. A predictable story, not one I will remember.
Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

4.5 stars. This book was a fantastic read. It was very creepy and kept me guessing throughout. The only reason it didn't get 5 stars as I was getting frustrated that nobody could see what was going on. It was however very cleverly written and suspenseful. Would definitely recommend this book.

I raced through this wondering if Jade would get her comeuppance whilst feeling sorry for Melissa and her decline into confusion. A well paced thriller, can’t waot to read more from this author

Sometimes a person is just too perfect

Mark and Melissa Cain employ their newly homeless neighbour, Jade, as a nanny. She is perfect; always knowing what to do and being in the right place at the right time. But then things in the Cain family start to go terribly wrong. Is Melissa losing her mind? Is Mark having an affair?

Mark Cain is also a detective and begins to realise things may not be as they seem.

If you are old enough to remember the film The Hand that Rocks the Cradle in 1992 then you may experience deja vu, because this book is almost identical. It is also as unbelievable as the movie. Mark must be the worst cop in history as he couldn’t find his face in a mirror, let alone a child!

This must be one of the worst stories I have read, which is a shame as the author has a good writing style. Sorry to be so brutal, but it was awful.

I will not be recommending this book, but each reader must make up his own mind.

Chester

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

Thanks so much for the opportunity to preview this book. However, I just couldn't get into it at all. Very formulaic and obvious. Not for me.

I love this author's books so I was thrilled when I found out she was releasing a new book - and after seeing the cover and loving it and then reading the blurb I was keen to get stuck in!

This is a great psychological thriller and I enjoyed the plot. The characters were great and I loved their interaction which helped make the book full of suspense for me and left me guessing more than once. I like books that tell the story from different view points and this one was great - spot on for the story.

The plot is highly addictive and I was gripped but it does deal with some tougher subjects too. Four stars from me, a very enjoyable read and highly recommended!!