This is one of those books that I held off on reading for a little while because while the premise sounded interesting, the cover makes it seem like just another average mystery. Which after the fact, is not the case at all. This started off solid and kept on throughout the entire story. It's told from two different perspectives by unreliable narrators and while I believed I knew the connection between the two women from the beginning, I couldn't have been more wrong. I was genuinely surprised at the turn of events in this and I loved that the ending was a good chunk of the book rather than a ten page conclusion and wrap up as most books do so often. Four Stars.

Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture for this ARC.

Thankyou for allowing me to read this title ahead of the release date

What a great book, I really enjoyed this one! It kept you guessing and constantly changing my mind on what has happened etc

A great twist at the end also.

Would definitely recommend

I have read many of Casey Kelleher's previous novels and find them really good, with great characters and a pace that I enjoy. So I was super excited to read The Babysitter's Secret.

This book was another of Casey Kelleher's fabulous novels, slightly far-fetched but I guess what novel is not far-fetched to some degree.

Chapter 1 gets straight into the story and we meet Sasha, she is knocking on the front door of a lovely home in the hope to find out more about this, as we get deeper into the novel we come to realise that Sasha's mom has recently passed and gave her a letter explaining some stuff that has caused Sasha to question everything about her life that she thought that she knew. Obviously we have no idea what it is at this point. Anyway, a very smart, harassed woman opens the door and mistakes Sasha for a new nanny and straight away (just like that) Sasha becomes the new live-in nanny to Cecilia's children.

Each new chapter is told through the eyes of Sasha and also Emily - Emily has obviously been in a facility for some sort of mental illness and she is released back to a new flat with carers.

I will not give too much away, but both women in this novel were interesting, This was a great paced thriller with lots of twists and turns, that I did not see coming at all.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publishers and Casey Kelleher for allowing me a cop of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

What the hell have I just read!!!!!!! My heart was in my mouth from the beginning to the end, I didn't know what was going to happen next, I love that in a book. This authors books get better and better. Amazing.

The Babysitters Secret by Casey Kelleher

Everything I thought I knew about my life is a lie. My mother revealed a terrible, dangerous secret in her last letter to me. But, with her death, any chance of knowing the truth has disappeared. I’ll have to do whatever it takes to find out for myself.

Going back to the house where I was born, I find a family living the life I’d always dreamed of. And when Cecelia, the mother, mistakes me for the new nanny, I seize the chance to move in. Maybe, being in the house every day and night, I will remember more, uncover more, about the secret that haunts me…
I love , love , love, books by this author so was excited to read this one.
Full of suspense and lots of twists , the plot left you on the edge of your seat wondering where the story would go next and who would come out on top. Quite scary at times as well !

I am pondering how to word my review on this book. It was not what I expected in any way. The plot was so creepy and it took me ever so long to figure things out. That is a good thing you say right? I continued to be confused for most of the book. The story is extremely on the dark side with issues of mental illness/child abuse.
With that said….this book is definitely an intense and compelling story. Definitely not for the faint of heart. You should be aware you will be reading a very dark psychological thriller.
Many thanks to NetGalley, Bookouture and the author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

The synopsis of this book really intrigued me when I first picked it up. This is a thriller told from two perspectives and throughout you are guessing how they will merge together. That for me was the best part of the book because it was such a twist for me how they ended up being connected.

However, this was just not my favorite thriller I’ve read. Sasha’s POV felt like it was really missing something and then when the plot twist happened, it felt disjointed, random, and like I was missing information. I can’t really dive into that more without spoilers so I won’t go into that further but it really fell flat for me.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Good domestic drama about two women who are deceiving each other as well as themselves. But what about the two children involved? Can they be kept safe, or will the Babysitter be found out?

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC!

[3.5 stars]

What would you do if you invited a secretly dangerous person into your house? What if they were going to take care of your children? The Baby Sitter's Secret explores what happens when trauma meets curiosity. This multi-viewpoint story takes you on a wild ride to figure out who is telling the truth. Would you believe the woman caring for your children or should you trust your gut instinct? You'll find yourself second-guessing your own intuition as well.

I was immediately hooked on this one! However, around 60-70%, it started to fall flat. Around that time I also felt like I was missing essential details...? I looooove an unreliable narrator! And this one is full of them. The entire storyline is wild and I was hoping for an even more outlandish ending. I'm not mad at the way it ended, I was just really hoping for something more. If you are looking for something that will keep you guessing and changing your mind every 10 seconds, check this one out!

You always hear dont judge a book by its cover and I feel like this is one of those examples. Except the title and cover don’t do the epic read at a glance I threw it into a cover and title repeat category but the synopsis was intriguing and I was desperate for a pick me up. Blown. Friggin. Away. Not only are you slightly appalled and frightened from the beginning in the sense that you can’t look away from the terror you just read in the first pages, but that page doesn’t even stop. I even got cocky and decided I knew where this was flipping to but I didn’t care because I was so sucked into the black hole of amazing this book was; BONUS: I was so wrong and I was happily floored by the revelation.

So I don’t want to give too much away because that’s the whole point of enjoying the story right? Diving deep into the heart of the unknown and crazy. You get two POV in this. Sasha, the girl who is trying to figure out what happened in her past and is mistaken to be the new nanny for this woman and her two kids; and Emily who has just been released from a psychiatric ward and is trying to find her new normal in society.


It’s creepy, it’s disturbing af at times, it’s dark and twisted and I inhaled every page. Must read!

Thank you Bookouture and netgalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

I struggled at the beginning if the book as it flitted between 2 characters but once I clocked I couldn't out it down. There was such a twist that I didn't pick up on at all. Really enjoyed it and definitely recommend

The Babysitter’s Secret
By Casey Kelleher
Pub Date: May 24, 2023
Bookouture
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
Dark, twisted read. Compelling and thrilling read.
4 stars

Absolutely loved this book. Perfect for any true crime junkie who just needs a little fiction suspense in their lives. Kept me guessing until the very end

I enjoyed The Babysitter’s Secret, the latest psych thriller from Casey Kelleher. It was well-plotted and contained enough action to keep it interesting – and to keep me guessing.
Part of that is the way it’s written. The story is told from different points of view. A majority of the book goes back and forth between Emily and Sasha, with Cecelia adding her perspective in later chapters.
It all works well for a holistic view of events – even as it is unclear exactly how Emily and Sasha’s stories relate to each other.
When that connection starts to become apparent, the plot really thickens (as they say).
The author leaves tantalizing clues along the way, some fairly obvious, and some are blink-and-you’ll- miss-it (only to be reminded later on when a truth is revealed).
I will say that I didn’t guess most of the secrets. One big one I figured out fairly early on, but I wasn’t sure how the author would use it in the plot.
And let’s talk about that twisty, turny plot. The author definitely keeps the reader guessing. There are enough parallels between past and present stories to keep the reader off-balance, never quite sure what is reality and what is imagined.
Because there is an element of trauma in the characters’ actions. Yes, that’s plural. How each one handles it is more alike than you will initially believe.
And just when you think that you understand everyone’s motivations, the author still saves a couple of big twists right for the very end. As I’ve mentioned before, I like to try to “outguess” the author.
In this case, I have notes that range from “Called it!” to “Maybe not…” to “Oh, whoa!” to “Nope, wrong.” I do love an author who can take me through that range.
The Babysitter’s Secret does take a bit of time to really get going, but the early chapters are vital to what comes later. So, stick with it and you’ll find that Casey Kelleher has written one heckuva psych thriller!

For more reviews like this, please visit Fireflies and Free Kicks.

Absolutely loved this book, kept me gripped.
Took me a while to figure out how the 2 story lines were connected but once it clicked it made sense. And loved the twists used to tie it all to an end.
Very well written. Would definitely recommend this book.

I finished this book in under 12 hours, so that kind of says how much I loved it. I literally could not put it down!! This was so cleverly written and pieced together and the twists were shocking. This is definitely a book that will keep you guessing until the very end and questioning constantly who you can trust. Also the ending is guaranteed to shock you! I can’t wait to read more by this author because this was a fantastic thriller.
Thank you so much to Netgalley and Bookouture for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Okay, truth be told, I was VERY skeptical when I started reading this one because I hate the drunk, or high, or just overall hot mess female MC trope with a burning passion. For whatever reason, I find it to be annoying more then anything else, and while this book did have aspects of that, it wasn't a prominent theme throughout the book, and I was SO happy about that. As I continued to read, I realized why she wrote Emily the way she did and it ended up making much more sense later in the book. I was actually really bothered by how paranoid Emily was, but I realized why later, and this turned out to be an incredibly effective plot device (and, she utilized it VERY well).

Speaking of later in the book, the first 30% or so of the book felt a bit slow to me, but once I got past the 50% mark and more pieces started falling into place, I could not stop reading. I had some guesses about what was going to happen, but I didn't predict one of the main twists until right to just before the reveal.

My only other complaint (and, it's fairly minor) is that there was a part of the ending that didn't sit super well with me (I'll spare you details and spoilers). Ultimately, it's more of a stylistic choice in my opinion, but it did leave me feeling a little unsatisfied. Overall, you could totally argue that it was minor, and I would agree, just not the MOST "perfect" ending to me. Absolutely worth the read!

**This review will be posted on my bookstagram @leannaslittlelibrary on the publish date (5/25)
Thank you for letting me read!

🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯

Right when I thought I knew what was going to happen, I was thrown for a WHOLE loop. I will be back to edit this review when I've composed my thoughts, but for now, another 5 star must read from Casey!

It’s 2023 and no one but no one would leave their kids with a stranger without checking their references or at the very least ringing the agency to check on the person who has turned up without any! Or asking for ID to match the name etc that the agency had given
Unfortunately I could not get past this and found myself not as focused as should have been on the rest of the book

The Babysitter's Secret follows two different storylines which (obviously) eventually converge towards the ending to reveal the twist.

Emily commited a heinous crime as a result of postpartum psychosis. She now suffers auditory hallucinations of a girl crying and is worried one of her carers, Louise, is somehow manipulating her so that she goes back to the mental facility she was sent to. Meanwhile, her other carer, Charlotte, is the complete opposite and makes Emily feel like she finally has someone she can trust.

Sasha has just found out she was adopted, after her mother's death. She visits her childhood home hoping she will learn something about it. As she arrives, the new owner, Cecilia, mistakes her for her nanny's temporary replacement. Sasha takes the opportunity and ends up being a nanny to Cecilia's children, discovering Cecilia's life may not be as perfect as it seems.

To say I loved this book is an understatement. The twist is very clever. I thought I knew what it was going to be and got it right, to a degre, and then the real twist happened! Wow

goodreads.com/booksireadandliked
Disclosure: I would like to thank the publisher and author for my advanced review copy of the book. This is my honest review