No one writes darkness like Joyce Carol Oates. This was stunningly crafted and entirely engrossing. A masterpiece by a master.

I’m a big fan of all things true crime, especially books. This one was very intriguing and I found myself having a hard time putting it down.

This style of prose was not my favorite, I’m not sure what the authors intent was for the protagonist to repeat their inner thoughts repeatedly, over and over. I found it tedious and cumbersome. I did find the sense of place to be almost like its own character with accurate depictions of Detroit.

Joyce Carol Oates is often a hit or a miss for me, and this was definitely a miss. It was incredibly slow and impossible to get invested into the characters or the story.

This beautifully written novel reads like a propulsive thriller. Oates's mastery here is peeling back every layer of the real life serial killings of the Babysitter murderer in southeast Michigan in the 1970s. JCO makes the era come ALIVE in both the settings and the attitudes of the characters. The character of Hannah was most intriguing to me, but how Oates orchestrated the interactions between her, Mikey, and the Babysitter killer is a masterclass in complex plotting and narrative suspense. I absolutely LOVED this novel and it is a masterful addition to JCO's brilliant body of work.

Up there with Stephen King sits Joyce Carol Oates, in my opinion. Always a winner when she has a story and it's always (or usually) bonkers. Such a great writer.

Joyce Carol Oates is phenomenal at exploring the dark sides of humanity and her writing is always excellent.
I’ve read a handful of her books, some of which I’ve absolutely loved and some I found just ok. This fell in the latter category. It felt longer than necessary and at times difficult to get through. I admire her talent, but this one wasn’t a favorite.

Unfortunately this wasn’t for me. I DNF’d at about 60%. I like the writing, but the characters just irked me. This is the first JCO I’ve ever picked up, but I wouldn’t hesitate to try another one. The writing was atmospheric which I loved so I’d be willing to try again.

Oh my beloved Joyce this is way too long and way too messy with your gorgeous fragmented stream-of-consciousness sentences I did not know what was going on nor did I really care. Love JCO though. Gonna go read Zombie.

This was a DNF for me - I am so sorry!

It was a really slow plod in the plot and I couldn't get past the first 50 pages..

My first book by this author, although I know she is very popular. It has hard to get into, and a bit confusing, but boy when I got past that...amazing and creepy! So glad I stuck with it.

This book was amazing! I couldn’t put it down. Absolutely terrifying and thrilling at the same time. One of my favorite books!!

I thought I would like his one from the description but that was not the case. I wanted more from this and it did not deliver.

This book was a pretty challenging read - lots of back and forth between timelines and narrators, a variety of confusing moments that I struggled to understand. I'm not normally one for non modern settings, although trying to be, so maybe the 70s setting was part of what didn't fully work for me. Not a bad book by any means - and I'll read anything Joyce Carol Oates writes - but not one for me, sadly.

Identity crisis? Midlife crisis? Hannah Jarrett has found herself adrift without gravity to pull her in any direction. She is 39 years old, married to a successful business man who no longer seems to feel one way or the other about her, with two young children who seem more dependent on the housekeeper than on her. Hannah tumbles from depression to paranoia to ecstasy without the pretense she is in control.

Joyce Carol Oates books are a must read for me, although I cannot really say why. This story is based around true events in the Detroit area that revolve around murders of young people. There is a creepy factor to the book. A young wife starts having an affair with a “dangerous” man she meets at a society event. But who is he? She thinks she has it figured out, but does she? Even though she knows she may be in trouble, she returns to meeting with him over and over. I cannot say I loved the book, but I found it compelling reading.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

2 stars.

Spoilers ahead. I will not reveal anything big - most of the review vaguely alludes to plot, structure, and characters.

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The book was fine. Solid three stars from the queen of literary gore. This is getting a lower rating from me because I have a problem with Oates writing YET ANOTHER book revolving around very real murders, with very real victims - while lambasting people on twitter over grief and silly things like halloween decorations. It just does not sit right sit right with me that she continues to profit off of actual murder while acting so holier than thou.

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Again, thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Overall, I liked this book! It was a wild ride. I think it was a bit slow and confusing to get into initially... I didn't find myself liking any of the characters (which is okay!) and at times it felt a little repetitive.

I will give Oates credit, her writing is incredible and at times this felt extremely real to me. Overall, it was a bit long and drawn out but I did enjoy it! I would definitely recommend to those who enjoy true crime.

This was too chilling for me and I couldn’t finish it. Joyce Carol Oates is a great writer but this was too disturbing for me.

Once again Joyce Carol Oates has written a compelling story. I thoroughly enjoyed Babysitter. Her main character is interesting. I am fascinated by the choices she makes. It was also eye opening to see how society acted towards different characters based on race and class.