Plot/Synopsis:

Sarah, a mother of six year old Jacob, hires Holly as a babysitter for the summer - what starts out as a perfect arrangement, turns out not to be so much. A bit nervous, Sarah trusts but still keeps a close eye on Holly; and what she ends up seeing, raising questions about who Holly really is and what she’s hiding. The more Sarah watched, the more she learned—until one day, she saw something she couldn’t unsee, something so shocking that all she could do was flee.


Sarah has put everything behind her and is starting over with her husband and son in a new city, but strange things keep happening - she has to wonder: Has her past caught up to her, and worse yet, who’s watching her now?

Wow! If you are looking for a thriller, mystery with twists and turns and edge of your seat reading - look no further. This book was both spooky and intriguing. I was constantly confused and wanting to read more to find out more, I thought I had some stuff figured out but I did not guess the ending.

Told in two different points of view - one present, one past - I found this to help move the story along and it was interesting to see things from two different perspectives. Although I found the main characters to be slightly annoying (Sarah a helicopter parent who overreacts or under reacts to everything) and Holly (who was naive and just plain annoying at times) I did enjoy reading about them, the characters were well written and believable.

I loved that this book took place in two major cities in Canada - as a Canadian, I love when our great country is represented in fiction. The settings were both beautiful and creepy but that made the book all that more interesting to read. This book had so many things going on, family dysfunction and dynamics - secrets, lies and mysteries. Buckle up, you’re in for a thrill ride!

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for the advanced ebook copy ❤️

Watch out for her is another hit by Samantha Bailey, told in tense, short chapters that take readers on a journey of obsession and trust. While Sarah loved living in Vancouver with her husband and six year old son she is thrilled to move to Toronto for Daniel's new job-especially because she can leave nanny Holly behind. Holly, a 22 year old medical student and heiress to a bio-pharmacy company, has always searched for a mother figure and thinks she found it in Holly. Holly and Sarah become close, but Sarah is not one who easily trusts-so she watches Holly and what she eventually finds out she can never forget. This move is supposed to be a new start, neighbors seem friendly (perhaps too friendly) and concerned for the neighborhood. But Sarah discovers hidden cameras in the house they are renting and fears someone is watching them now. In a game of cat and mouse Sarah comes face to face with her past-but is it too late? Told from multiple POVs and alternating timelines, the reader is taken on a very tense thrill ride-you know something is building and the layers add to the unsettled feeling throughout the novel. Bailey has done it again-this is one not to miss!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

Sarah Goldman is a super-anxious mother to a six-year-old son when she hires Holly, a pretty young babysitter, to help her out. It seems like the perfect situation for everyone – Sarah gets the help she needs, and the two women form a close bond with each other, giving Holly the mother figure she so desperately wants. Before long though, the relationship deteriorates into mistrust and then further down the rabbit hole into obsession and voyeurism. When the Goldmans abruptly move away, Sarah thinks they’ll be getting a new start far away from Holly, but trouble seems to have followed them to their new home.

“Watch Out for Her” is a dual timeline, dual point-of-view thriller that grabbed me from the first chapter and kept me turning the pages until I had devoured the entire novel. Holly is the “Then” perspective while Sarah provides the “Now”, with both women being somewhat unreliable narrators. Both characters are complex and masterfully drawn – unlikeable at times, sympathetic and understandable at other times, but always compelling. As a seasoned suspense reader, I was able to guess some of the plot points, but that didn’t detract from the satisfying ending and my enjoyment of this twisty tale!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for providing me an advance copy of this book.

I was addicted to this from start to finish Samantha Bailey did an awesome job I love the thriller of it it had you second guessing what was going to happen and just when you thought you had it figured out there was a turn I thought the ending was a perfect ending to tie the book up looking forward to reading more from Samantha Bailey

I have really mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, it creeped me out from start to finish, which doesn’t happen very often with me. It had me on the edge of my seat and actually made me feel anxious while I was reading, and I couldn’t put it down. So, in those respects I was impressed because that’s how a good thriller should make the reader feel. However, there was something about the writing style that just didn’t work for me. It’s hard to put my finger on the exact reason why, but I guess I would say that Samantha is like a raw gemstone. There is sparkle underneath, but it’s clear that there is still some polishing needed to bring it to its full potential. Although I didn’t figure everything out, I could easily see the twists coming., so the ending didn’t shock me, but it was still an enjoyable read. True rating - 3.5 stars.

This book was full of suspense and kept you asking question after question. Right from the beginning, you know there was a falling out of some kind between the two main characters, Sarah and Holly. As the story continues, the individual struggles of each woman to feel loved and accepted really pulls at your heartstrings when looking in the POV of Holly in the past. And then in the POV of Sarah, you realize how isolated and terrifying it is in the aftermath, when things go wrong. This book had me reading way too late into the night, and I loved the huge twist at the end. A solid story by Samantha Bailey and one I will be recommending for sure! 4.5 stars

A giant thanks to NetGalley, Simon & Schuster, and Samantha Bailey for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This has everything I want in a thriller. Twists and turns, multiple POVs and lots of possible endings that make me want to keep reading.

Holly grew up rich and privileged, just finishing up her first year of med school. She already has her life planned out. She will graduate med school and work for her dads pharmaceutical business. In fact, she already is, but more so as someone who is wining and dining the potential investors and not so much in the office. Her step mother arranges for her to babysit for the Goldmans that summer and that’s when everything changes. Holly becomes just a little too invested in what she sees as the perfect family and Sarah, Mrs Goldman, starts to suspect Holly isn’t telling the whole truth.

I loved the multiple POVs so we get to see the before from Hollys eyes and then the now from Sarah’s. I kind of predicted the parts of the ending, but there was one twist that completely took me by surprise.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book caught my attention from the start. I liked how it was dual timelines, and told from different perspectives. All the "now" chapters are told from Sarah's POV and the backstory is from Holly's POV. At the beginning of the book I felt like the chapters were a bit long, but as I kept reading either I got more invested in the book or they became shorter.... probably both, but once I hit the halfway mark I couldn't put this down.

Sarah and her family move, unexectedly, for a new start after there was some drama between the family and their babysitter, Holly. Sarah is a bit paranoid, and always feels like she's being watched... but it turns out she is.

I figured out the twist fairly early on, but that did not take away from the story. I felt for Holly, but for reasons I won't say without spoiling.

I will definitely look out for more from Samantha Bailey. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy.

#watchoutforher by Canadian Author Samantha Bailey is a slow-burn domestic psychological thriller that is a study of trust, obsession and voyeurism. This novel is written in dual timelines and has many twists

I wanted the like this one alot but wasn't my favorite read. I would give it 3.5 stars. I enjoyed Sarah part of the the story. Hollyy just bored me to death. I kinda skimmed through her parts. I loved through plot but not all the characters so much.

I’m definitely in the minority with my 2 star rating but this story fell flat for me and I could not connect with any of the characters. I loved her last book but this one just didn’t do anything for me. DNF at 30%. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early release in exchange for my review.

Watch Out For Her really kept me on my toes!

Sarah, Daniel, and son Jake are moving into a new house, running from the past. Sarah is terrified of a stalker finding her family.

In an alternate timeline, Holly babysits Jake for Holly, but clearly something has gone horribly wrong.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this enjoyable book with an unexpected ending!

Thank you to Simon & Schuster for sending me an early copy of this novel for review. I will try to do it justice. Watch Out for Her is a brilliant mystery novel being released on April 19, 2022 and I consider it a must-read.

The cover and the description drew me in immediately. From the first page I was pulled into the plot and had to know what would happen next. I was happy to find out that for once a suspenseful thriller doesn't involve domestic violence. I think it's a plot-line that's far too common in this genre.

The story goes as follows: Sarah and Daniel are a seemingly perfect married couple who need a babysitter for their boy, Jacob. Enter 22-year old Holly. (Are babysitters in suspense novels ever old, uninteresting and unattractive? What would be the fun in that?) Sarah was very brave to let Holly into her home and her family. Holly bonds with Jacob right away and Sarah decides Holly is hired. Now Holly finally has a family that loves her and Sarah's concerns of being a working mom are no more. Unfortunately, her insecurities in other areas are only exacerbated by Holly's appearance in her home.

The plot jumps back and forth from two perspectives: Sarah's and Holly's and also back and forth from past to present however, the story is very clear and easy to follow. We are slowly but masterfully introduced to the central characters and the plot moves at an exciting pace.
Daniel, the hardworking, caring husband and father is suspicious right off the bat. Add in Sarah's neuroses and this is a tense household. Sarah is perpetually worried about her son, about being the perfect, doting mother and wife; never taking any time for herself, never doing something she enjoys.
In fact, every character in this novel was 'shady' to put it lightly. I was suspicious of each one at one point or another. Sometimes I even thought Sarah could have been causing her own drama. And drama was plenty. Sarah is eager to move away from their old life where too much has transpired but it seems you can't really escape your past because hers follows Sarah across Canada.
Sarah and her family have a new home, an apparent fresh start where Sarah finds hidden cameras installed in their new rental, feels the scrutiny of her suspicious neighbours and continued secrecy and heaviness in her relationship with her husband, Daniel.
Holly, however... Holly is an incredibly interesting character and I did not expect her particular storyline. Without spoiling anything, or trying not to at least, Holly is deeply unhappy and insecure. Her wealthy father's approval perpetually out of reach, his company, his legacy the only child he actually cares about. Holly is constantly in search of parental figures, both fatherly and motherly as her mother died in childbirth and her step mother uses and abuses Holly in ways I did not see coming.
Holly's older step sister, Alexis, who is also being cast aside and virtually ignored by their parents is the only person who seems to show Holly any sort of familial love and care. As the story evolves, we come to find out that Holly is a liar, a kleptomaniac and something else that is very hard to explain with spoilers - You'll see!

All in all, this novel was easy to read because it was so enthralling. The time and the pages just flew by! I read the first half in one sitting and the second half only the next day. Watch Out for Her is a great suspenseful novel and I am grateful to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read it before its release date of April 19, 2022.

4.5 stars

Canadian author Samantha Bailey has yet again hit it out of the park with this suspenseful story that kept me guessing right till the end.

Told from 2 POVS and set between Toronto and Vancouver (I love a Canadian setting) it was spaced out over a matter of months that kept me intrigued, reading 'just one more chapter' was my motto for this book.

Holly just wants a family who lovers her for herself and for Sarah she just wants to forget the summer that caused her to move clear across the country and start over. But she can't move on when things start happening. When everyone looks suspicious. When panic sets in.

Watch Out for Her is an addicting read, it was well written and kept me on my toes with its twists and turns. It's a story of searching, relationships and secrets, so many secrets. Though it doesn't release till next month it is available for preorder now and it's one I highly recommend.

My thanks to Simon & Schuster Canada (via Netgalley) for an advanced digital copy in exchange for a honest review.

Watch Out for Her, the story of Sarah, a wife and mother with a young child, who befriends Holly, a twenty-two year old woman and then discovers secrets and lies that threaten the safety of her (Sarah’s) family. The author adroitly explores various types of anxieties and fears - self-doubt, a mother’s fears, fears of not being seen for who we are, the worry of not being good enough, and the fear of losing the essence of who we are and being subsumed by the various roles we have, be it mother, wife, daughter, etc. These are fears that many can relate to and the way in which they were woven throughout the story was really, really well done.

The story is told from both Sarah’s and Holly’s viewpoints which allowed the reader to really get to know both main characters. Sarah’s is effectively written in the first person so that the reader can live/feel her fears and anxieties through her eyes. I was drawn into both Sarah’s and Holly’s journeys. There are so many things that I loved about Watch Out For Her: the writing style was easy to read and engaging, the flow of the story kept the reader turning the pages, the tension and suspense simmered throughout the novel, there was a good twist, lots of red herrings and a very satisfying ending.

I highly recommend this book to anyone, it's so good.
thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Psycholigical suspense around a mother and a young college student both independently struggling identity issues who's paths cross. Manipulation, lies/deceit, altered perceptions, twists and turns make this story hard to put down. Intense and well developed story.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for the copy of Watch Out For Her. This book was so good! I loved the writing style because there were no unnecessary descriptions or scenes. The way the book kept jumping back and forth from past to present took me a little time to get used to because they were so different and some of them were really short. Because of this, I was frustrated that halfway through the book I wasn’t clear about anything and was pretty confused! What I DID know is that Holly was both unlikable and sympathetic. Her life made the things she thought and did understandable. I wasn't a big fan of Sarah or Daniel. They were both flawed but neither were very sympathetic characters.
The story finally began to take shape and it started to get intriguing and hard to know who to trust, but Sarah’s suspicions might have been over the top in some cases. There were so many layers, some of the different stories kind of got lost for me. I’m not sure if so much going on made the book better or not.
If you’re looking for a multi-layered story with good but not loveable characters, you will love this book.

A young nanny who wants to be a “part of the family” …. A mom who is secretly photographing the nanny … a dad who is out at odd times “golfing “ and “ at the club “ …. What could go wrong ?

✔️ so many thrillers are so predictable and you can at least guess as to generally where the story is headed - this one, I honestly had no clue most of the time where the story was headed and the ending definitely wasn’t one I saw coming
✔️ I really liked Holly’s character - she was so disturbed and yet trying to hard to be loved and accepted - but how far would she go ?
🔘 not so much Sarah - she kind of irritated me - I’m not a big fan of woe is me type of characters 😂

“𝙸 𝚜𝚎𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞.“

This is the first book I’ve read written by Samantha M. Bailey and, boy, am I glad that I did! This fast-paced, concise, and highly engaging read was one that I will be thinking about for quite a while. Told through two separate, first person POVs, we hear from Sarah in present day and Holly months before. Both women feel unseen, invisible in their own lives.
 
“𝙻𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚗𝚘 𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚜𝚑𝚎 𝚍𝚘𝚎𝚜, 𝚜𝚑𝚎 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚎𝚜 𝚗𝚘 𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚔, 𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚟𝚎𝚜 𝚗𝚘 𝚒𝚖𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚊𝚝 𝚊𝚕𝚕.“

Through slow building and twisted suspense, Bailey tackles the female identity, motherhood, and power in sexuality. What happens when we resort to using sex as a tool; a weapon?

“𝚂𝚎𝚡 𝚒𝚜 𝚘𝚋𝚕𝚒𝚐𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚙𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚛. 𝙸𝚝‘𝚜 𝚊 𝚠𝚊𝚢 𝚝𝚘 𝚐𝚎𝚝 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚜𝚑𝚎 𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚍𝚜.“

Although this read was an incredibly interesting and suspenseful thriller, with the most shocking final reveal that I did not see coming at all, what really drew me in was its achingly real subject matter. I identified with both protagonists here, through my many roles as former young woman, former young mother, and now mother of a young woman. My heart broke for all that was lost and for all that could have been.

“𝙰𝚕𝚕 𝚜𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚊 𝚏𝚊𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚢 𝚝𝚘 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚊𝚌𝚌𝚎𝚙𝚝 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚠𝚑𝚘 𝚜𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚜.“

This was a great read and I look forward to reading Bailey’s first novel, 𝘞𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘥𝘨𝘦.

Thanks to NetGalley & Simon & Schuster Canada for the eARC.

Good psycho thriller with unexpected death/killer at end of story. Set in Canada a couple hire a babysitter for their young son and she becomes very involved with the family. Husband, wife, and babysitter each are hiding secrets from one another. Story is told from Sarah, the wife and mom, and from the babysitters perspective. Written well that you want to keep reading!