So there are about 800 bajillion books and movies about THE ATTACK OF THE BABYSITTER. Yes, this is another one.

But, hey, it’s a fun one!

I won’t go into the basic plot because it’s almost every single babysitter plot ever.

I’ll just let you know that it’s suspenseful, engaging, and a whole lot of fun.

The best character – the one who really keeps you reading – is Emma. We only get a glimpse of who she was before the attack, but I simply loved her character throughout the book. There’s also a bit of very sweet romance and just enough trashiness to get you occasionally shaking your head.

Seriously fun book!

*ARC via Net Galley

A twisty, suspenseful babysitter thriller. Just like the scary movies I grew up on! I found The Babysitter to be an enjoyable read and I would recommend it.

Twenty years ago, teenager Jamie is babysitting twins. Her sister, Emma, takes over for her so that she can go to a party. Emma is viciously attacked and left for dead, but survives with cognitive issues.

Now in the present, Jamie and her teenaged daughter, Harley, move back home to take care of Emma after their mother dies. After a babysitter is attacked, Jamie is on high alert and decides to find out who injured her sister twenty years ago, and if the same person is doing it again.

This is a great read that kept me hooked. The writing is excellent, and I really loved the relationship between Jamie and her daughter Harley...and in fact loved Jamie’s relationships and interactions with everyone. She is a very well-written character, and helped to keep me engaged in the story. With that said, I want to point out that this is a slow burn. The action in this novel is spread out, and I wasn’t expecting that. I also felt like it was a long read. It took me about an hour to finish once I was at 88%. This did not bother me at all, as I enjoyed trying to figure out the mystery, but others might not enjoy this about the book.

A lot of people have commented on getting a 70’s or 80’s slasher movie vibe. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the same feeling, but would have loved to since I absolutely love those movies! Maybe it’s just me who feels that way. Either way, I really did enjoy the story and was impressed with the writing style and character development that leads to a nice twist. 3.5 stars rounded up.

Thank you to author Nancy Bush, Zebra and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

How have I not read any books by this author??

When I requested for the ARC little did I realise that I would be completely hooked.

This is an extremely entertaining, fast-paced thriller which completely grabs you and keeps you invested in the story right till the very end. What a thrilling ride!

Emma and her sister Jamie switched places babysitting at the Ryerson's because Jamie wanted to sneak off to a party. Her sister Emma is the victim of a serial attacker, stabbed and left for dead. Emma never completely recovers and neither does everybody else.

Twenty years later their mother dies and Jamie is back with her 15-year-old daughter and suddenly the attacks start again.

I loved the pace of the book and the main protagonists. All the characters had such distinctive voices and personalities... even the peripheral characters. This does not happen all the time but the author really did a great job here.

This was one addictive book. I could not put it down. Definitely recommend thriller and mystery lovers to read this book.
Nancy Bush I am definitely going to be checking out all your other books!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

“The Babysitter”—Nancy Bush [3.5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫] Jamie Whelon is a sophomore in high school and when she was asked to go to a senior party, she desperately wants to go. While she’s babysitting, she begs her older sister Emma to come switch places with her so she can go to the party. The night didn’t turn out how they expected and Emma wound up viciously attacked and although not dead, Emma will forever be scarred for life. Twenty years later, Jamie returns back to River Glen with her teenage daughter to take care of Emma since their mother died. Another young babysitter is attacked in town, which is almost the same MO as Emma’s attack years ago. Could these incidents somehow be connected? Jamie desperately wants to find answers and to be able to protect herself, her daughter, and Emma, but will she be able to? I had a little bit of a hard time engaging with these characters and storyline after a while as I felt it was dragging on a bit, but overall it was a good read with a twisty ending. 👍🏼 *Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for providing me a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review* 📚

As soon as I saw the title of this book, I knew it would be something that I was interested in reading. A thriller novel that revolves around a killer who stalks and kills babysitters? Um, yes please!

When it comes to urban legends and scary stories, my favorite has always been the babysitter storyline. There’s just obviously something so very ominous and eerie about thinking about babysitting and having a stranger stalking you, making creepy phone calls to you (especially from upstairs in the very same house!) and of course, when the babysitter (and even worse, the kids too) ends up dead. One of my favorite horror movies is the classic version of ‘When A Stranger Calls’, a movie that has always creeped me out!

Nancy Bush’s ‘Babysitter’ gave me the same feel as an old 70’s/80’s horror film. It was ominous, with the build up and suspense slowly creeping up on you more and more the further you read.

This story is definitely a twisty, unique take on the babysitter story, and fans of suspense, thrillers, and mystery will surely enjoy this book, just as I did!

The storyline revolves around two sisters, Jamie and Emma. At the beginning of the story, while they are in high school, Jamie switches places with her sister Emma while she’s babysitting, so that she can sneak off to a senior party. Emma ends up being attacked by a serial killer, stabbed, and then left for dead. While she ends up surviving the brutal attack, she is never the same person after the attack, and never completely recovers, and neither does Jamie nor their mother. Their mother blames Jamie for her sister being attacked, and ultimately, she never forgives her, just as Jamie never loses her sense of guilt for switching places with her sister.

Eighteen years later, the killer seemingly comes out of hiding, and strikes again. The new killings seemed to be connected to the old babysitter attacks, and leaves you to question: who is attacking babysitters and why? Jamie, now a mother, is determined to find out the answers of who the attacker is and why. The story bounces back and forth between the past and the present, making the suspense and feeling of dread and suspicion, that much more intense the more you read and get closer to uncovering the truth.

Nancy Bush sure knows how to write an edge of your seat, thriller novel that is full of heavy suspense, and twists and turns!

This was my first book that i’ve read by Nancy Bush, and I am now definitely interested in checking out more of her writing.

Highly recommend!

What a thrilling ride. From the first attack until the last I was on the edge of my seat. Normally, stories like this are pretty predictable, however, this one had me guessing until the very end. Now I think I’ll sleep with the lights on for a few nights.

The Babysitter is a solid mystery with good character development and subplots. A book with a good mystery has the reader second-guessing who they believe the killer is throughout the story, and this one had me guessing until the reveal.

I liked Emma's character, and the author portrayed her well in her mannerisms and cognitive capacity. Emma's small remembrances of what happened to her had me on the edge of my seat because I wanted her to remember more or reveal a clue each time.

There were lots of twists and turns in the storylines, and you never knew quite where the clues would take you, which made for a page-turning adventure.

I liked the relationship between Jamie, the main character, and her daughter, Harley. It portrayed a true mother-teenage daughter love-hate types of interactions.

The story and mystery, the writing, and character development are all executed well. The Babysitter by Nancy Bush is a good read for fans of suspense, mystery, and a never-saw-it-coming ending.

#TheBabysitter #NetGalley @KensingtonBooks

Nancy Bush once again doesn't disappoint delivering on a well-crafted, twisty thrill ride!

Emma and her sister Jamie switch places babysitting the Ryerson twins so Jamie could sneak off to a senior party ... an event she was looking forward to seeing a certain guy there. Emma is attacked by a serial killer, stabbed and then ultimately left for dead. Emma never completely recovers from the brutal attack and Jamie's fear doesn't recover either. Their mom blames Jamie for Emma being attacked.

Eighteen years later the killer strikes again and seems to be connected? Who is on the loose stabbing babysitters? The story bounces back and forth between the attack and current time where Jamie is now a mother. Jamie now is drawn in wanting to find answers of who and why.

Fans of tight suspense, thrillers and mystery will enjoy the book. This definitely has a feel of an old 80s type horror/slash film that rockets all the way toward the end.

Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for a great ARC read!

A really exciting crime thriller about family secrets and a small town. I was suspicious of everyone. Brilliant. And the twist at the end. Wow X

Well hello, Nancy, you give good thrill!

In the best possible way this book reminded me of the movies I Ioooooooooved in high school where the babysitter was somehow stranded with a lunatic, vulnerable kids, and no viable escape route.

Emma and her sister, Jamie, switch places babysitting at the Ryerson's so that Jamie could sneak off to a party. Her sister Emma is the victim of a serial attacker, stabbed and left for dead. Emma never completely recovers but neither really does Jamie.

Two decades later their mother dies, the attacks resume and the real questions begin...

Thank you to Nancy Bush, Kensington Books, Zebra and NetGalley for giving me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Babysitter by Nancy Bush is a book I knew I had to read because every scary movie featuring babysitters makes my heart pound and my palms sweat, all while I’m yelling, get out of the house! There’s nothing quite scarier than a babysitter alone when the phone rings and a creepy voice asks if the children are safe, right? Ms. Bush did not disappoint me! She brought the sweaty palms, the pounding heart and a seriously creepy atmosphere.

Emma was attacked 18 years ago while doing a favor for her little sister Jamie, babysitting the Ryerson Twins. At the time, there was a series of ‘Babysitter’ murders happening but it was far enough away that it didn’t cause much concern for the Whelan sisters. Jump to the present, a guilt-ridden Jamie is called home when her mother suddenly passes. Jamie and her daughter, Harley, drive cross-country to her childhood home to find that Emma is still mentally scarred from the long-ago attack but there are glimpses of memory that come and go. And then, the killings begin again ….

“Jamie had a vision of Emma yelling, ‘Its his eyes … his eyes!’ and inwardly shuddered.”
(For the record, so did I)

The Babysitter is beautifully polished and well-crafted, twisty and plot driven with thrills in all the right places. I love a good suspenseful read and when the characters are emotive and realistic, I enjoy it so much more! I love to root for characters I can empathize with and Jamie, in particular, is a main character that made this easy. Any fan of suspense, thrillers, or mystery will eat this up.

Thank you to Kensington Books, Nancy Bush, and NetGalley for providing me with a DRC in exchange for my honest review.

There’s a masked killer on the loose stabbing babysitters in Nancy Bush’s The Babysitter. Eighteen years later, the killer strikes again.

Well hello there, new favorite author. This was one of those rare instances where I couldn’t put the book down solely based on how completely engrossed I was by the writing and addictive plotline, both of which oozed so much talent.

The author scatters a few clues all throughout the book but you can never piece them together until the perfectly wicked reveal in the very last paragraph. The clues include occasional passages featuring the killer's point of view, which are absolutely chilling.

There are three mysteries that need to be unraveled here:

- Who attacked Emma 18 years ago while she babysat the Ryerson twins?
- How is this former attack connected to the current ones?
- Why was Jamie, the victim’s sister, summoned to her childhood home in the first place? (—> This one shocked me the most).

This book is so well-executed, it wows the reader constantly, doesn’t try to be something it’s not, reads like a movie, and oh, this would make one heck of a Halloween read!

I will rate The Babysitter by Nancy Bush 3.5/5 stars. Jamie Whelan awakens out of a dream where her mother asks her to "come home" after almost two decades running away from her tumultuous past. 18 years ago, Jamie asked her older sister, Emma the popular, beautiful socialite, to switch places with her babysitting for the Ryerson twins after being invited to a party by her crush, Cooper Haynes. Little did the girls know, life would never be the same for them or their small town ever again after that night. While babysitting, Emma was brutally attacked by a masked intruder and left for dead. Jamie, guilt ridden, blamed herself and took off at the first chance she got and never looked back, that is... Until her mother's death called her home.

What I enjoyed about this book:
Well, the storyline was intriguing and the author managed to keep my attention for awhile until the middle where I became very bored. The characters were all interesting. I found them likeable, even Emma's character. I enjoyed the love interest between Jamie and Cooper. I enjoyed the little parental spats between Jamie and her daughter's friend's mother, Laura, who happened to be Cooper's ex-wife. The air of mystery within the story was interesting... For a while...

What I didn't enjoy about this book:
While this author has a great writing style and believable characters and storylines... She took wayyyyy too long to get to the point. All of the little side stories started to become distracting and boring. Honestly, I would have preferred to hear more from the "babysitter killer" and their POV rather than all of the little side stories. To me, adding all of those little tidbits was just "book fluff" and very unnecessary for the story. Towards the end, I just started skipping through all of the fluff and Cooper trying so desperately to piece together the cold case of Emma's and how it related to the new "babysitter" scare just so I could find out who tried to kill Emma. While I was close to figuring out who the killer was, I was off just a bit. I cannot say that I will be 100% recommending this book to others, just because I grew bored with it.

Thank you to the publisher, NetGalley and the author for a chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I feel very fortunate to have received an ARC of this title to review. I knew nothing about it before I requested it other than that it was by Nancy Bush, who’s become one of my favorite authors. This title does not disappoint. Approximately 98% of my “reading” is currently done through audiobooks. This was well worth sacrificing being able to multitask and do something else at the same time. The book transitions between the events of 20 years ago, when high school senior Emma is attacked while babysitting, having taken over so her younger sister, Jamie, can go to a party, and current day, which finds Jamie moving back home with her own daughter to take care of Emma after their mother dies. Suddenly, the events of the past seem to be being repeated. Cooper Haynes, now a detective in the town he grew up in, is determined to finally figure out what happened all those years ago at the same time he investigates the new crimes. He and Jamie work together, growing closer as they attempt to figure out what really happened at the Ryerson house 20 years ago. No spoilers here but I can honestly say that I was kept guessing until the very end. Each little bit of new info that they uncovered just raised more questions. I stayed up waaay too late reading this because I just couldn’t put it down. A great read if you like to be kept guessing and there’s a fantastic twist at the very end that I definitely didn’t see coming! Highly recommended.

I loved this book and could not put it down. I read it is one day. Lots of twists and turns and a killer ending. I did not guess who the killer was and I usually do. Highly recommended

After her Mother dies Jamie returns home to care for her sister who was brain damaged in an attack 20years ago. Her sisters attacker has never been found. Now another babysitter is attacked. Are the cases related? This was an edge of your seat suspense novel with so many twists and turns I thought I would get whiplash. I had to keep turning the pages to see what happened next. I didn’t guess any part of the story, altho looking back there were hints. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.