Mark and Melissa Cain are thrilled to have found Jade, a babysitter who is brilliant with their young children. Jade's house has burnt down so Jade. Needs them as much as they need her. Mark works long hours as a police officer and Melissa struggles with running her own business. But are things as perfect as they seem?

My only criticism of this book is that I found it hard to believe that Mark is a police officer and could not see what was going on in his own home. He is busy with his current case, trying to find a missing child. We know who the antagonist is right from the beginning. This book covers mental health issues in two women, and how it can effect the other members of the family. The story is told from alternating points of view from Mark, Melissa Jade and Lisa.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Bookouture and the author Sheryl Browne for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What a great read. As this book started and I was slowly getting into the story, I just knew something was going to happen. The anticipation of it, was a similar feeling to not wanting to look under the bed, in case the bed monster was lurking to grab you and eat you up. Great build up and suspense the story.
What a great read this was.
When Jade's cottage burns down, she is taken in by Mark and Melissa, she then becomes Mark and Melissa's babysitter.
It seems Melissa is slowly losing the plot, Mark starts to doubt her and her ability to look after the children and is so grateful that Jade is there to lend a hand. Odd things have started to happen that looks like Melissa isn't coping at all.
But it seems Jade is not at all the helpful babysitter she portrays.

This book was good, it was damn good. Guessing and thinking the whole way through it. It has you wondering if you are on the right track, have you figured it out? then you change your mind. Then you change it again. This story shows how one person can change the lives of others.

This book felt totally different from the previous books I have read by this author, A great read and her other books are well worth checking out if you haven't already read them. I look forward to reading more books by Sheryl Browne in the future.

This book was breathtaking from start to finish. A story that grabs and involves you, tense and pacy, chilling and heart pounding. The writing is fabulous and you get immersed in the story and the characters, until you are so invested that you just have to know how it's all going to pan out. A twisted, complicated story with a wow ending. I just could not put it down. An absolutely brilliant tale from an incredibly talented author. I cannot wait for her next.

You trust her with your family. Would you trust her with your life?


You know the age old saying ... when something seems too good to be true, it probably is!

The opening scene in this book is fantastic! It has everything... a whirl wind of chaos surrounding a family, a devastating fire, a survivor and a past that's unforgettable!

Fast forward to present times... Melissa and DI Mark Cain are happily married with two beautiful children. Mark works on cases involving child victims. He will never forget the little girl who survived the fire 7 years ago. Now he's working on another case involving a missing little girl, Daisy. One day a neighboring house goes up in flames and the young tenant is left homeless. Jade, a friendly, sweet, young woman seems like the nicest nigh or. It wouldn't be right not to offer her s place to stay while her situations is sorted out.

Jade quickly becomes the babysitter of the year, always seeming to be in the right place st the right time. Melissa, a busy working mom who has recovered from depression in the past, is so grateful for Jade.

After a series of weird, unpredictable events surround their family the reader is forced to think...there's something else going on here. Why do things keep going so horrible wrong! Are these things a coincidence?
Why does Jade seem connected to the disasters this family is experiencing!
We LOVED this book! Knowing the antagonist from the beginning only added to the storyline. It didn't ruin it. Awesome, twisty, fast paced read!

The babysitter

When Mark and Melissa take their neighbour Jade into their family home after a fire at her cottage, they see it as a solution to their problems, Melissa has been struggling to cope, so they employ jade to help look after the children. As the story unfolds we discover that the whole saga had been pre planned and Jade had her own agenda for being there. A great psychological thriller that keeps you reading into the night.
I thoroughly enjoyed and would highly recommend.

Sheryl Browne has delivered yet another fabulous nail biting read. What is interesting about this story is that unlike her previous thrillers, this time we actually get inside the head of the incredibly evil young woman who owns the title of this book. We learn her motives and see exactly how she means to achieve her goals, acting with an icy callousness common to those with psychopathic tendencies.
She is someone whose actions have been triggered by events experienced as a child long ago. A traumatic event and the first time she met DI Mark Cain. He said he’d always be there for her and she hasn’t forgotten that promise. Now an adult, she has recently moved in opposite Mark and his family. When her cottage is badly damaged by fire they come to Jade’s aid. As she has no relatives they offer to put her up while the insurance is being sorted. Jade tells them she is trained in child care and offers to help Mark’s wife Melissa, looking after the children while she works.
On the surface Jade is perfect. She’s pretty, competent; nothing it appears is too much for her to cope with. Her arrival seems to have come at the right time as Mel suddenly begins to feel unwell, leaving her with the day to day responsibilities for seven year old Poppy and baby Evie. Mark too is affected as Mel’s depression and lack of energy worsens and begins to have an adverse impact on his job.
I was amazed at how cleverly Jade manipulated everyone around her, creating massive cracks in the Cain’s previously idyllic marriage. Even when things don’t quite go to plan, she’s there, finding ways around the problem to get her back on track.
And poor Mark, like all Sheryl’s previous central male characters he comes under incredible pressure as he battles to save both his marriage and his job. There were times I wondered how or even whether he’d survive.
Jade is a thoroughly nasty character, complex and damaged. She’s one jump ahead of everyone in her twisted plan to get rid of Mel and have Mark for herself. She’s on a mission and absolutely nothing is going to stand in her way.
An edge of the seat story, cleverly written with great characters - Jade was an absolute masterpiece!

5/5... this book was fabulous! I loved how from the beginning we knew who Jade was. The torture she inflicted on this family was so unreal! I kept screaming for Mark and Mel to WAKE UP!! If you read this book and you are a parent you won't ever hire someone to take care of your kids without a proper background check! We LOVED this book!

I was very disappointed in this. I'd hoped it would be a unique and interesting take on a well known plot device - new baby sitter and how it effects the family. Unfortunately it came across like a badly thought out movie plot. I wanted mystery and red herrings but everything was laid out from the start.

Thank you to Bookouture for an arc of this book. I'm really sorry to say I wasn't keen on it. The storyline was too obvious and the 'baddie' just too over the top ridiculous. I did like the character of Mark, I think he was well written and I would definitely read more about him. Mark and his wife Mel seemed to have a fantastic relationship at the start of the book and they were far too quick to suspect each other, surely between them they could figure out that bad things started happening when Jade conveniently appeared? I did finish the book as I was eager to find out if Mel and Mark got things under control before the end!
One aspect of the book I have to comment on is the constant giving of Calpol to a child. A real bugbear I have in books is when people give calpol to a child to keep them sleeping. Calpol is paracetamol, it won't make a child sleep, it relieves pain and fever and continually overdosing with Calpol is going to cause liver damage and a horrible death!

An excellent psychological thriller. With lots of twists and turns it's hard to put down. This is an author to look out for. Cracking!

This was a cracking read - so exciting! The characters were fantastic, too; baddies and goodies alike. It was cleverly written with such a good, intriguing and engaging plot that it was hard to put down some nights. And I do love a story with a satisfying ending. A top class psychological thriller.

Loved it.....! Totally my kind of book full of twists and turns and fast paced to boot. No messing about with this one! God I hated Jade what a creep she was!

So basically Mark and Melissa live next door to jade, Jades house burns down (shock horror) and she moves in with them and an agenda; everyone thinks she’s a god send....we all know she’s not!

Great book, good characters a good all rounder, Jade was totally off the scale weird and if I could have removed her from that house myself I would have haha! Really enjoyed this one can’t wait for more from Sheryl....

I have read other books from this author. They were always full of emotions and I always loved them.
When I saw the cover of this book, I was intrigued. I did not see what the title and the picture had in common but I assure you, it will become clear very soon. I have to admit that it was a very good choice. Needless to say that it was difficult not to be intrigued by the blurb.
I was happy that I could finally sit down and start reading it and boy oh boy ... WOW!!! What a story!
From the first word I was dragged into the story. You know the feeling when sometimes you feel sorry for the bad guy and even feel some sympathy? Well, in this case, I wanted to dive into the book and strangle the bad 'guy' but at the same time my heart broke because I understood what she had been through. She was deeply damaged by it and misunderstood the few kind words that, for once, were spoken to her.
It was a very well and fluently written book and the schemes were very clever. A big 10 out of 10 for manipulation and psychological torture.
I can only say this : if you read the book, I am sure you will be in for a few hours on a rollercoaster of emotions. Enhjoy!

Oh my gosh, the story line in this book. It is amazing. Even though you know right off the bat who the villain is & why she is doing it, the book grabs you and will not let go. I would love to give an in-depth review of this book, but I am afraid I would give away all the secrets & the plot away. That would be a horrible thing. So I will try to gloss over the book.

It is amazing what one mentally ill woman can effect another mentally ill woman and how close they both can come to tearing a loving family apart. Mark (the husband) is such a character that you completely feel all of his emotions along with Jade & Melissa.

Sheryl Browne writes her characters so that no matter whether they are the "good" or "bad" character you completely feel what they are feeling. There is not a lot of authors that can do that to me. This one can, you will even find yourself hoping that Jade gets the mental help she needs.

This book can not be recommended enough by me if you like thrillers. Even if you do not like thrillers I think you will enjoy the complex story lines in this book. I enjoyed this book so much and I plan on reading more from Sheryl Browne.

I really liked this story. It's the story of Mark, Melissa Cain and their new live-in babysitter, Jade. The Cain's lives turn upside down when Jade comes to live with them. She is keeping a huge secret that threatens to destroy the Cain family. There were so many twists and turns in the story that kept me interested. I wished that Jades true identity had stayed a mystery for a little longer though.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to preview THE BABYSITTER BY SHERYL BROWNE.
What happens when you trust your child to someone you "think" will help you, solve your problems, and help run your family...nothing good.
Hand that rocks the cradle - good book, quick read.

I really enjoyed this book , raced through it with a sense of impending doom .... Mark and Melissa help a neighbor after her house burns down , she makes herself indispensable to the busy couple almost immediately and we realize quickly that she has an ulterior motive , as Melissa relapses into a dark depression it's Jade who is there to pick up the pieces , especially with Mark . I found myself mentally shouting at them all to realize who Jade was and what she was doing there , it all tied up nicely and I will certainly keep my eye open for more from Sheryl Browne . Thank you for the opportunity to read this 5 stars !!!

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review. I have seen people saying they saw the ending of the book and knew who the bad person was the whole time but I think that was what the author was going for. You know who it is and you are just sitting there anxiously awaiting bad stuff to happen and wondering how long it will take for Mark and Mel to figure things out. Some people have compared it to a lifetime movie but I found this book really enjoyable. If you like books that give you a fun thrill ride then this is a good book for you.

Wowsers. Reading this makes you think twice about letting anyone take care of your child, or move into your home. What you see isn't always what you get, and isn't it true about a woman scorned!!! A very good thrilling read that I struggled to put down. Recommend this read, but be aware it covers some sensitive matter, I can't say much more without giving the game away!

I have given three stars because I did enjoy the book but was left feeling dissatisfied. The book starts off well and the author has a brilliant writing style, especially when it comes to building suspense. However for me the story was too predictable! Maybe I have just read too many good psycholical thrillers lately? I know a few of my friends would enjoy this book.