This was a fast paced thriller with multiple plots and timelines. I love thrillers and was excited to begin reading.

Sarah, a 40-ish mother, hires Holly, a 22 year old med student to mind her 6 year old son for the summer. I never really connected with Sarah. There are multiple points of view and plot twists, in my opinion too many, that made me roll my eyes a few times.

I did enjoy reading this book and would try another book by her.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance review copy. (less)

This was a nice, fast paced thriller that kept me intrigued from the first page. I'm coming off a book that I didn't like very much so it was nice to be able to pick up a book that had me excited to read again. I devoured this one fairly quick.

I kind of enjoyed the author’s last book but I couldn’t get into this one at all. The story was ok but I didn’t connect with either timeline. I thought this was going to be a thriller. It was more of a family drama kinda.

Really enjoyed good book! A 22 year old girl from a rich family that don't love her starts babysitting for a family from the country club her family belongs too. She loves the little boy and his family and wants to be part of it but does she has there best intentions at heart? The chapters alternate between the babysitter Holly's perspective and the mother Sarah that she is employed by. This suspenseful book kept me guessing right till the end. I suspected some of the twists but it played out a bit differently then I thought. I wouldn't say its fast paced but I did not want to put it down either!

3 Stars
* * * Spoiler Free
Well, this is a mix of people who feel abandoned, people who are paranoid, and Nanny Cam their babysitter, and then become scared when they, themselves discover their new home is full of cameras They did not install.

This is a dark twisty tale of a family who has to deal with all the secrets they personally have and with the secrets, they have no idea about.

#FirstLine ~ I watch people.

Wow, I loved this book. It was everything I hoped it would be and more. I loved the pacing, the characters and the dialogue. It was such an intense read, which I gobbled up. I loved how original is was. I had a hard time putting it down because I was gripped from that brilliant first line to the very last page!!!

This book was a wild ride! Very dysfunctional family dynamics and you don’t know who to trust throughout the book. Very fast paced and definitely a page turner.

It was set mostly in Vancouver so it was super cool to hear about places I know about (having lived in Vancouver for 10 years) and being able to picture it! Highly recommend.

Sarah and Daniel Goldman have hired Holly Monroe to be their nanny for the summer. Things start of great and she becomes like a member of their family. Then Sarah starts to become suspicious and sees something that causes her to suddenly pack up her family and move to another city. But things start happening in their new house, in their new city... is someone watching them or is Sarah just being paranoid?

This was a great story. It was told in Sarah's point of view in the present and Holly's in the past. I was left wondering after each chapter which of these women is actually going to be the villain. Are either one of them the villain? That's what makes it such a great story, it's not predictable. I would recommend this to anyone that likes a good psychological thriller.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC.

Holly and Sarah tell this dual time line story of a relationship gone wrong. Holly, who has issues with her father in particular, takes a job as the nanny for Sarah's son Jacob. All is well until.....no spoilers but it's bad enough that Sara packs everyone up and moves them across Canada. All is well until....she discovers cameras in her home and other weird things happen. Holly tells what happened before the move and Sarah the aftermath. Neither of these two women are particularly likable but it's an interesting look at various forms of obsession. Know that unlike most thrillers, this has longer chapters and that it's a bit slow in spots. That said, it did keep me guessing. Thank you Simon and Schuster for ARC COPY ❤️

If you love a book that keeps you guessing, this is your next pick! The story line was amazing and so different. Samantha made it hard to know who was good and bad in this story & I changed my mind so many times. It was so fun to read!

WOW! This was my first book by Samantha Bailey and I have already ordered her other one. She is amazing. Watch out for her had me hooked from the very first page and kept my interest until the last. It had twists I did not see coming and I loved every minute of it.

Just an okay domestic thriller for me. I honestly have a hard time connecting with Samantha Bailey's writing. I know so many absolutely love her books but I am just not one of them. If you're looking for a story with unreliable narrators and dual timeline narratives focusing on the phycological well-being of suburban mothers, this could be the book for you. I wasn't in love with the narrator and that maybe played a part in my overall feelings about this story. The best part was the plot about struggling to trust the people who watch your children. Overall, just an okay story for me - a little bit underwhelming with no real wow factor. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my advance review copy!

3.5 stars!

Everyone wants someone to call family, right? The thing is, when you pick your family, they kind of need to pick you back, no? You can't force someone to be your family ... or can you?

I would peg this more as a mystery than a thriller. While I guessed where this plot was headed with the first 20% - I was still hooked and ready to watch it unfold. Dual POV with a dual timeline, you know I am here for this!

Sarah, anxiety ridden housewife , and really facing some control issues. Holly, a young daughter willing to do .... anything for her father and his company. When their paths cross and Holly becomes their babysitter... it turns into a 'who is watching who'?

Thank you so much to Simon & Schuster Canada, Samantha M. Bailey and NetGalley for the gifted eARC.

A most excellent read. Lots of plot twists and turns. Loved it. I didn't figure it out till the reveal. Kept me page turning till the end.

Watch Out for Her is a story told by two characters alternating chapters. Sarah’s story is in the present. Her husband Daniel accepted a new job at a consulting firm in Toronto and they are renting a house at 227 Lilac Lane. Daniel worked extremely long hours in Vancouver and they hope this change will be a good change, Holly’s story is in the past. Her mother passed away when Holly was born and her father remarried. She is very close to her step-sister Alexis but the step-mother Lizette, is evil according to Holly. Holly took her step-mother’s bracelet. Her parents ask her to leave, and she ends up staying at Sarah’s house and eventually asked to be Jacob’s babysitter. The reader soon finds every character has something not likable about them except Jacob.. For me, it was hard to stay focused on the story throughout the middle of the book I thought the climax was good, but there were a lot of missing parts leading up to it. I wanted to care more for the characters. My thanks to Simon and Schuster and NetGalley for an ARC of this book. The opinions in this review are my own.

Watch Out for Her is full of creepiness and questionable characters. All of them—Sarah, the mom, Daniel, the dad, and Holly, the babysitter—have secrets they are keeping from the others and everyone is suspicious of everybody else and wonders what they might be up to. Honestly, I didn't really like any of them either and was suspicious of them myself.

But you know what? That suspicion and creepiness is what kept me turning the pages. I just had to figure out who was behind it all and what their motives were. Everyone was suspect, even the friendly neighbors in their new neighborhood.

The exciting ending had me on the edge of my seat and I was able to finally take a breath when I got to the end. Watch Out for Her is an exciting thriller that you must read, just be prepared to not know who to like or which person is the good guy and who you need to watch.

I started this with the thought that I would read a few pages and then set it aside until I had more time. I never expected this book to hook me from the beginning making it impossible for me to set it aside.

While this is written from Sarah’s and Holly’s point of view, it also jumps from present day to the past. These jumps are clearly defined and do not cause any confusion. They did, however, cause me to become anxious for the two timelines to meet. I needed to know what had happened in the past. Where did these women currently stand and how was this all going to end?

This has some twists and turns, one I sort of suspected but was nonetheless thrilled with when it was revealed. For me, this was all about the tension that was present throughout the story. One character is super paranoid, which made me paranoid as well, while the other had a thread of darkness that surfaced off and on.

The ending was nothing as I expected, giving me a huge twist! With an epilogue that wrapped everything up that might have still been in question, I finished this ready for more by this author.

Samantha Bailey hits it out of the park again with her second psychological suspense novel, Watch Out For Her. Told in the present from the point of view of Sarah, the protective mother of six-year-old Jacob and in the past by Holly, the college-age nanny she hires, this suspenseful novel hits all the right notes as we bounce around, trying to figure out who to believe, who to trust, and who might be betraying who. Add in Sarah’s husband, who is clearly hiding something, Holly’s step-sister Alexis who clearly has boundary issues, an over-sharing neighbor who may or may not be trustworthy, and Holly’s father, who is using her in unscrupulous ways, and you’ve got one heck of a story that will keep you turning pages, forcing you to think about what demons drive people and how we’ll all seeking love, attention, and safety in our own family and in our own neighborhoods and the lengths some people will go to in getting what they want.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review.

I don't know if I'm in thriller burnout, or if I'm just getting more jaded, but I haven't found many suspense novels lately that really "wow" or surprise me. So many whiny paranoid women, so much gaslighting, and so much suspension of disbelief needed. This novel had all three and I'm just over it.

This novel is about two women: Holly has just finished her first year of med school and is slated to work for her family's mega-pharmaceutical company after she becomes a doctor. Her dad and stepmom expect some shady actions from Holly in order to pull in investors. They arrange for her to babysit for the wealthy family of Daniel, Sarah, and their active 6-year-old son Jacob. In this family, Holly sees everything she wishes her life would include. Something happens (we find out later what it is) and Sarah, Daniel and Jacob move from Vancouver to Toronto. Sarah finds cameras in their house, and is afraid that Holly, who has gone off the grid, might have followed them there. The book is told from Holly's perspective in the past in Vancouver, and Sarah's perspective in the present in Toronto.

I saw where this was going from a mile away. I didn't like any of the characters, I felt like they were all self-serving and paranoid, and no one TALKED TO EACH OTHER, they just preferred to imagine things and presume the worst (or what they thought was the worst). Sarah was alternately frantic and distrustful about stupid things and obliviously naïve and trusting about other things that a normal person would be suspicious about and question.

There are many positive reviews for this book, so don't let my negativity sway you if it sounds interesting, you might just like it better than I did.

Spine-tingling. Chilling. Top-level thriller!

The talented bestselling Canadian author Samantha M. Bailey wowed us with her debut, WOMAN ON THE EDGE; however, her sophomore psychological thriller takes it to another level.

Brilliantly crafted, WATCH OUT FOR HER is a highly suspenseful, sinister, and twisty game of secrets, obsession, and voyeurism that will have you second-guessing every character from the first page to the last. An ending you will not see coming.

Told from two POVs, Sarah and Holly (BEFORE and NOW), two women enter into a complex and twisted relationship that will change their lives.

Who's Zoomin' Who?

Meet Sarah Goldman, mother of Jacob (6 yr old) and husband, Daniel. Sarah had befriended her young twenty-something babysitter, Holly. Everything was idyllic until it wasn't. Holly looks up to Sarah and will do anything to protect this family. A family she has always wanted, unlike her own.

As a reader, we do not know until much later in the novel, what actually went down. We know the Goldman's are moving from Vancouver to Toronto to escape with Daniel's new consulting job. A new start. Something happened and they are leaving their babysitter, Holly behind.

Upon arrival at their new home, Sarah is watchful, untrusting, and almost paranoid. She locates hidden cameras in the house. Then there is the next-door neighbor. In their old house, Sarah had cameras. She was also a photographer and you could find her photographing late at night through windows.

So have the tables turned? They had left Holly behind, but could she have followed them. Who is watching now?

WOW! Off the charts EPIC! WATCH OUT FOR HER is highly creative and impressive. Samantha M. Bailey CRUSHED IT! I read this in one sitting over Valentine's weekend.

Propulsive, claustrophobic, and mind-bending.

At the heart of this addictive well-written thriller is love. How far do we go for love and acceptance? Filled with emotion, intrigue, intensity, and the secrets we keep from our loved ones and ourselves. SO MANY SECRETS. Every character in the novel has secrets.

What I enjoyed about WATCH OUT FOR HER was how the author keeps you guessing as to the why, how, who, and where? From the mysterious characters to the twisty plot. It has it all! Holly's family was totally weird, yet you want to learn more. I really liked her character. What was Daniel hiding? Your loyalties change throughout the novel. You suspect everyone, and the last twist was utterly explosive! There are so many moving parts and the author does an excellent job of keeping you in suspense.

I love the front cover and the creepy tree branches in the background of each chapter. I am enjoying these new thrillers about watching and moving to new neighborhoods to often find they are even a worse nightmare when the home is supposed to be a safe haven. If you enjoyed A Perfect Stranger by Shalini Boland, and Carter Wilson's The New Neighbor, WATCH OUT FOR HER is for you!

Check out my #AuthorElevatorSeries Interview where we go behind the scenes of the book and this powerhouse author.

I was honored and grateful to be included in the acknowledgments with all these fine bloggers in the book community. Many thanks. 🙏

A very special thank you to @SimonSchusterCA and @NetGalley for a gifted early ARC. A pleasure to read and review.

@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 5/5 Stars
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Pub Date: April 26, 2022