This Author is really great. I really loved this book. This tale was highly engrossing and highly recommendable!!

Wow! That was surprising. Some things I had guessed, but others came as a complete surprise. A sweet romance. Teenage angst. New mysteries and old. Families!

Hold on to your britches! A suspenseful "whodunnit" that will keep you guessing until the end.

It begins with a simple babysitting gig in which Jaime begged her sister Emma to swap places. Not a big deal until Emma is savagely stabbed and psychologically ruined. Who could have done such a horrible act? The lead suspects were initially a group of senior high school boys that pranked Emma. Those boys were later exonerated and the case went cold.

Twenty years later, psychologically damaged Emma still has psychotic episodes from the past trauma. Some of those episodes may give clues as to who the perpetrator may be -- especially since now another attack has occurred in the same house in which it originally took place twenty years ago.

A masterful "whodunnit" mystery with an unexpected and surprising ending. 4.5 stars rounded up.

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington Books/Zebra for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

The premise of this novel intrigued me. and the book did not disappoint. It sucked me in from the first page. I tore through this book in a few days. I recommend for anyone looking for a slightly different thriller with an 80's horror movie feel

Jamie Whelan, a sophomore in River Glen, Oregon, wants desperately to go a party where her crush will be at, but she has to babysit the Ryerson twins that night. On top of that, there is a Babysitter Stalker out there rumor to kill babysitters. Jamie convinced her older sister Emma, to take over the babysitting gig so she can go to the party. Once she gets there, her crush isn't nowhere to be found and then the party gets broken up by the police, Jamie has no choice but to go home. She is later woken up in the middle of the night, with bad news that her sister Emma has been attacked at the home where she was babysitting at. They don't find out who or the why of the attacked, and Jamie's mother partially blames Jamie for Emma getting attacked. Emma survives and is never the same, her mind forever a child. First chance Jaime gets she takes off and elopes.
Twenty years later Jaime with her teenage daughter have returned to River Glen after the death of Jamie's mother. She really doesn't want to return because she does not want to take responsibility of caring for Emma.
As she settles in her new life, a sense of deja vu overwhelms her. Another babysitter is attacked, in almost the same way as Emma. Has Jamie coming home make it happen? Old secrets come out and no one is ready.

Holy crap this was a page turner. This book is definitely an edge of your seat thriller that kept you guessing until the end. I absolutely could not put this book down. The plot was complexed and riveting. The characters jumped off the page and you could feel the tension of the story in your bones. I very rarely give five stars In my reviews but this novel could rate no less. A must read for all those that love thrillers.

You know the babysitter murder stories. Everyone knows them.
In River Glen, Oregon, the stories might be true. 20 years ago, 3 babysitters were attacked in 3 separate incidents and though they may not actually be connected, that doesn't make what happen to Emma any less tragic.
Jamie was hired to babysit on Friday night. Then, the cute boy she had a crush on mentioned a party. Luckily for Jamie, her older sister Emma has agreed to switch places halfway through so that Jamie can catch her crush at the party.
Emma was attacked and left with considerable trauma to her brain. Jamie feels guilty and never new whether that attack should have been hers or not. She loves her sister, but she couldn't stay in Oregon.
Called back to Oregon by the death of her mother, Jamie and her daughter move back to take over the care of Emma.
Then, it starts again. A babysitter is attacked. It feels personal to Jamie, who has both a teenage daughter, and "Babysitter Stalker" victim in her care. Can Jamie find out exactly what happened 20 years ago and the connection to her return and the start of the attacks again before it happens again?
It had a good premise, but "the Babysitter" was just meh for me. I cared enough to finish it, but it didn't leave me feeling like I needed to spread the word about it to all my friends looking for new books to check out. It felt forced in some aspects It didn't feel like a thriller and the reveal fell flat.
2/5
*I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my review.

Jamie persuaded her sister Emma to take over for her as a babysitter so that she could go to a party - and Emma ended up attacked, left for dead, and ultimately cognitively impaired. Jamie's mother always blamed her for what happened. She's died and now Jamie, who carries a lot of guilt, has moved home, with her daughter Harley, to care for Emma, who can't care for herself. Then, pow- there's another crime similar to the one which hurt these women. Yes this is a slasher/thriller but its also a story about mothers and daughters (great interaction between Jamie and Harley) and the bond between sisters. Bush has written it from several perspectives, which amps up the suspense. Thanks to netgalley for the ARc. A fast paced read with good twists.

An excellent thriller full of interesting characters. They mystery surrounding the past is complex and the pacing makes the reveal all the more shocking. I loved the relationship between Cooper and Jamie. It wasn't the focus of the story but it was a nice addition. I have to say I never saw the ending coming. This author has a knack for writing gripping storylines that flow perfectly to keep you turning pages.

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

Wow what a ride this book was!! I'll be honest, at the start of the book I wasn't too sure if I would continue reading it but then when Jamie and her daughter go back to her home town I really got pulled in to the story!

This book reminded me so much of the slasher films I used to watch in my teen years and it was absolutely fantastic!

The Babysitter is a well written and really solid romantic suspense novel, it's just how I like them heavy on the suspense with a nice underlining romance. River Glen is a messy messy suburban town outside of Portland filled with tons of drama which made it the perfect place for a suspense thriller. The book is written from the perspectives of three characters Jamie who is returning home to help with her emotionally stunted sister Emma, whom never recovered from a brutal attack nearly 20 years ago, Harley, Jamie's daughter who is trying her best to fit into her new HS and Cooper a former HS crush from years past. The book deals nicely with some small town social issues like toxic masculinity, prescription drug doctors as well as the burdens of coping with an cognitively disabled family member. But for the most part Ms. Bush keeps the reader on their toes by staying focused Emma's cold case as well as catching killer on the loose in River Glen, yet she still adeptly manages to convey the claustrophobia and drama of everyday life in a suburban town, all the while building a solid romantic relationship between Copper and Jamie. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, it was a page turner up until the very end.

I read this book in less than two days. In River Glen Oregon high school sophomore Jaime wants to go to a party after being invited by a classmate. She asks her sister Emma to take over but what happens next proves that not everything always goes according to plan. Emma is left scarred cognitively and physically and in her mothers care. Jaime leaves River Glen and begins a new life but upon her mothers death returns x
With her teenage daughter to take care of Emma. Then after twenty years another babysitter is attacked what follows is a story full of twists and turns that will have you guessing until the very end. Just when you think you e got it figured out it goes somewhere else. Loved it and didn’t want to put it down

I read this ARC for an honest review
All thoughts and opinions are mine


This was a great read
Couldn't put this down. Lots of twists and turns and did not see the ending coming at all
Loved the character development, the style of writing and the story

Highly recommended

This was a decent read, though it dragged in spots and felt long overall. It centers primarily on Jamie, who as a teenager, convinced her older and more popular sister Emma to take a babysitting job for her so she could go to a party; low and behold, Emma is attacked that night and suffers life-long mental incapacity after. Jamie feels guilty and escapes her small town as soon as she can, only to return 20 years later, teenage daughter in tow, to take care of Emma after their mother's death.

On the good side, there was suspense in this story and I just could not figure out who the villain was. There were so many different angles it could have gone between the old cases and the new case, and with the various folks that were involved with Emma in some way, that it was really hard to figure out. I started to get an idea that there was something weird about a set of characters, and one of them ended up being the culprit, but there was a true element of surprise there. I also really liked Emma and found her to be charming, as well as Jamie's daughter, Harley. Jamie herself wasn't unlikable, per se, but I didn't really connect with her.

On the negative side, as I mentioned, the book definitely dragged at parts and I think it could have been edited down further for a faster read. There were also a ton of characters to keep straight between all of the couples and their kids and their parents and their affairs..... hard to get that deep into characterization when there are that many people. I also could have done without the romance between Jamie and Cooper, but it didn't take up that much of the book. Lastly, there was a ton of stuff in the book around the boys playing football and how important football was to the town, but I felt that this piece was never really tied off into anything.

Overall, I liked the book and particularly liked how hard it was to figure out a couple of the twists. It wasn't the perfect read but I'enjoyed it.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of The Babysitter by Nancy Bush that I read and reviewed.
This was book was about Jamie and Emma two sisters who changed a babysitting job a tragedy took place that changed both their lives forever. Jamie asked Emma to take over half way through the night so she could go to a party and with a lot of pleading and the older and more popular sister agreed to change places with her younger sister and finish the night baby sitting for a pair of twins instead of attending the party herself. Well, it was a switch they both regretted because Emma was stabbed in the back by an intruder and she would remain childlike for the rest of her life and Jamie would alway blame herself for what happened to her sister and the fact the person that harmed her sister was never caught. Now, years later Jamie has retuned home after her mother’s death to take care of her sister, with her own daughter and she would like to try to find out what happened to Emma that night, especially now that more people are getting stabbed in the same way.
This book was full of action from the start. It also had a lot of suspects for who hurt Emma and who was stabbing the victims. I could not make up my mind who was committing the crimes and when the truth came out it blew my mind. Bush definitely kept me guessing with this book.
The Babysitter gets four out of five stars from me because it did drag in some spots.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own." I loved this book. Jaime and her older sister Emma switched places babysitting so Jaime could attend a high school party but unfortunately Emma is attacked and left a shell of the person she once was. Their mother passes away and Jaime is brought home with her high school daughter Harley to take care of Emma who is still stuck as an adolescent. Moving back to her hometown, things don't seem right and soon enough another babysitter is attacked!!! This book, oh the book keeps the reader guessing and rooting for some of the characters. Great thrilling read!

I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I could very easily see this book as a teen type slasher movie. In fact that is kind of how I saw it as I was reading. The main viewpoint is Jamie's, the younger sister of Emma who was attacked 20 years ago while babysitting, by a guy wearing a ski mask. She survived but had brain damage and so gets fits and has flashes about "His Eyes!"

As if that is not creepy enough, the attacks seem to have started back up again when Jamie returns home after her mother dies. Cooper, the crush that Jamie had back in highschool is willing to rekindle the spark as well as try to finally solve Emma's attack, since the case was never solved. He has another stake in the matter since his stepdaughter is one of the victims of the most recent attacks.

I did like the little sections from the viewpoint of the attacker. That added to the creepy factor though it made my mind go every which way trying to figure who it was. I had my suspicions but I was totally wrong, as usual. I am not that great at guessing killers/attackers.

This was a pretty good book and I enjoyed it.

Enjoyable with a twist at the end I wasn’t expecting. Some parts were slow moving but overall a good read.

Thank you #netgalley and #kensington #zebra for the eARC.

Jamie gets Emma to switch with her babysitting the Ryerson's kids so she can go to a party. Emma gets stabbed and left for dead. She never fully recovers and the case is never solved. Guilt ridden, Jamie flees her small hometown as soon as she can.
Jamie returns home to take care of Emma 18 years later when their mother dies and a similar attack happens. Is there a connection to what happened when they were teens?
The story is told from different perspectives with some bouncing from past to present. The pacing was a bit slow in spots and it could have used more editing to make it tighter but it was a fun read.

This is such a cleverly written book. It kept me guessing up until the very end and that hardly ever happens. I was immersed in wonderful writing, varied and very interesting characters. Time flew while I was reading this book. I enjoyed it very much! I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley.