A great book that had me hooked, I loved the short chapters it makes the books so much more interesting, and the ending was just amazing.

A thriller following a group of parents who form a childcare circle, each looking after all their children one night per week. It’s an interesting plot and it seems that everyone has their secrets which certainly fuels the tension. Whilst I did enjoy this book, I did find the middle section seemed to drag on slightly. There were some interesting twists and turns which led me to rate this book 3.5 stars. Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and the author for the chance to review.

I'm really struggling with what to say about this book.
I was really invested in the plot and the characters and wanted to keep reading... however i don't know why as it was such a rubbish plot, and the characters were so dislikable.

The plot certainly isn't original. And the twists and turns were very 'convenient' but it was still a fun read nevertheless.

It's not the best thriller I have read, but it's definitely not the worst!

Now, looking at the reviews on Goodreads so far, I clearly have an unpopular opinion on this book. And I’d be lying if I said it’s a bad book, because it’s not – it’s just that this style of… I call it Cartoonish Netflix Drama… isn’t one I’m too keen on. And I hate being negative, so let’s start with the good bits.

Yes, it was bonkers. No, no characters were recognisable as actual human beings. BUT, after a relatively tedious first third, I could not stop reading ‘just one more chapter…’. I devoured it in only a few days! And the ending – I didn’t see that coming. And I love to be surprised.

But, saying that, well, here goes. I’ve said before, I know thriller books are not meant to be like real life, but I do like them to have at least one toe dipped in reality, or I get overly hung up on the things that make no sense and would never happen. Like the way people speak to each other when they’re not trying to also remind a reader of a character’s name who hasn’t been mentioned in a while.

The five main characters were SO unlikeable and had no redeemable traits. They were just universally rubbish people with no layers to them. The only interesting character was Kim but then some of the things she did made no sense (hard to explain without spoiling, but she sort of went from Fatal Attraction style obsession to ‘ehhh forget about that’ in the blink of an eye.)

The story jumped around so wildly from person to person to time period to this then that and I felt like I had whiplash! Suddenly shocks were being thrown out from all directions in the hope of something sticking.

There was so much that made no sense - why were the kids left at a ‘play centre’ with none of the adults - they were like 6-8 years old! And a primary school would never organise groups of parents to form childminding circles after school! And why was it called The Childminder? It wasn’t actually about a childminder! Just 5 parents looking after each others’ kids - this does not a childminder make.

And the ending – surprising though it was, it just made me feel a bit sad.

It’s certainly a page-turner, just not a big hit with me.

"The Childminder" by Hayley Smith was a fast paced psychological thriller that kept you guessing. This book made you want to keep reading to find out what happened.
A group of people came together to form a child minding circle. This allowed them to have childcare for free. In order to do this they really needed to know who was watching their children. Nina, Rhiannon, and Stacey grew up together and Jarvis and Kim were new to the area. They all made up the circle. Each of them had a deep dark secret, so did they really know each other. As the secrets come out into the light will they continue to trust each other?
Highly recommend this book.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Childminder by Hayley Smith is a revenge-driven thriller full of surprises, completely unexpected turns and a shocking ending!
This story was masterfully woven in a way you would not guess it! It always feels yummy!
This book will present daily challenges and clever solutions around childcare! We've all been there, we all feel the struggle! But how safe is it to trust your kid to someone who you don't know?

One dad and four mothers created a Childcare Circle. The system is simple, each parent has a dedicated day of the week when they will pick from the school their own child plus four other children and will spend a couple of hours with them. Different families, and different social statuses but everyone benefits. One morning they all received an anonymous note stating "I know your darkest secrets". No one is who they pretend they are. Now they are scared! At the same time, they still are ready to go to the side weekend break...

We have a chance to unwrap this story layer by layer and all the dots land on the i's! Stories twist together in a way we would never expect.

I have loved Hayley Smith's writing since I read her first book The Perfect Girlfriend and her second book Such a Loving Coupleand this one didn't disappoint.
In some way, I believe I feel connected to the stories as they are located in Derbyshire or around Derbyshire so when places are mentioned, I can picture where this is happening!

I am so grateful to NetGalley and Bookouture for this copy!

When I say put downable I mean it, This book is fantastic in all ways from beginning to end. The character storylines and the twists and turns till the very end were amazing

My first Hayley Smith novel but definitely not my last. This was a wild and crazy ride. Great characters that kept me flipping pages long past my bedtime. Packed with secrets, lies and family ties. Enjoyed it.
Thank you NetGalley, Hayley Smith and Bookouture for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Wow loved this book i couldnt put it down. I was addicted from the beginning to the end of the book.

thank you for the opportunity to review

What a read. A brilliant heart stopper. Hayley Smith has just become one of my favourite authors, A brilliant page turner which I read over two nights.
Four women and one man whose children all do to the same school have set up a group to look after each others children one day a week. It saves childcare costs and the children all get along. It is a great system. When a weekend away is organised and a note sent to each of them stating they have dark secrets.
This sent chills through me, A book about friendship, relationships and dark secrets with twists and turns that the reader does not see coming.

This was an incredibly riveting psychological thriller and it had all of the makings of a suspenseful and engaging story!

When 5 adults (Jarvis, Nina, Stacey, Kim, and Rhiannon) come together to form a group called the Childcare Circle, they think they are doing themselves all a favor. Saving on the cost of childcare, while each taking one day a week when they watch everyone's kids. It sounds like the perfect setup, yes? Well, it is. . . until it suddenly isn't. As the group prepares to take a quick weekend getaway together, they are all sudden recipients of a threatening and dark letter giving them an ultimatum: Tell your deepest secrets or else. What is supposed to be a fun weekend getaway ends up being a weekend of drama, suspense, murder, and mayhem.

Hayley Smith tells the story from all 5 character's perspectives (plus a riveting plot twist told from a surprise character at the end). I loved how each transition from each characters perspective was smooth and easy to follow along. It also switches timelines often, but it really helps the story flow and play out in a logical way.

Most importantly, the plot twist upon plot twist kept me interesting until the very last page!

Thank you to Bookoture for inviting me to join the enthralling journey through the pages of The Childminder by Haley Smith.

Step into a world where a tight-knit group of parents takes turns caring for each other's children after school. However, the tranquility is shattered when a mysterious note arrives, unveiling a hidden secret. As the narrative unfolds through different perspectives, shocking revelations come to light, each with far-reaching implications.

For those who revel in stories that keep you on the edge of your seat until the final page, this book is a must-read. Brace yourself for a rollercoaster of twists and turns that will leave you guessing at every corner. Get ready for a thrilling ride filled with surprises that will keep you hooked from start to finish!

Join the suspense! #TheChildminder #Bookoture #MysteryNovel #ThrillingRead #Unputdownable #PageTurner #BookLovers #MustRead #SecretsRevealed #BookTour.

My thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Childminder’ written by Hayley Smith in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Kim’s eight-year-old brother Dylan drowned on a beach after being buried in the sand. She’s always blamed one of the three fourteen-year-old girls he’d attached himself to who were there to compete in a dancing contest. It’s taken many years of research for Kim to identify the girls and befriend them, and now she’s going to make the one responsible pay for Dylan’s death.

‘The Childminder’ is an absorbing psychological thriller about the five members of the childcare circle, Stacey, Nina, Rhiannon, Jarvis and Kim, who each care for the five children one day a week. It tells of when Nina organises a weekend’s team-building meeting and Kim uses it as an opportunity to uncover the truth about her brother’s death. This is a well-written thriller that gradually drew me in with its fast-paced action and twisty plot, so involving that I couldn’t stop reading until I’d found out who Kim was going to seek revenge on, and how! It’s a great story that had me holding my breath until I reached the final chapter with its totally unexpected conclusion.

My second book by Hayley Smith and it didn’t disappoint, another solid 5 star read!

Nina, Stacey, Rhiannon, Kim and Jarvis have got their after school childcare working perfectly using their children’s primary schools’ weekly childcare circle. Each parent looks after the five children in the circle for one day a week after school, giving them and the other parents free childcare for the other four days. But when each member of the childcare circle receive sinister anonymous notes stating that their darkest secrets will be aired if they don’t tell each other the truth they have been hiding, things begin to unravel. Initially the notes are ignored as not one member of the childcare care circle wants to admit their truth. However, when a weekend away is planned for the October half term for the children and parents and they all arrive at the seaside house, Nina, Stacey and Rhiannon are shocked to realise that they have been to this exact area before, as teenagers, and it’s a memory that they all have been desperately trying to bury and forget. Someone wants revenge, the secrets out in the open and after the weekend away none of their lives will be the same again.

Another great read from Hayley Smith which I thoroughly enjoyed! I loved the information at the start saying which child belonged to which parent to help with confusion at the beginning (but pretty soon in I had learned whose child was whose) and I also really enjoyed the way the story was told from the different points of view of each parent. I was fooled by one of the characters at the beginning of the story and actually liked them until things became a little clearer- I am not sure what that means for my trusting dodgy people in real life – but I did understand why they did what they did. There were a few multi facets to the story which all came together very nicely near the end which was very satisfying. Although I guessed the twist, I believe this is more to do with my reading a lot of psychological thrillers than the actual story twist quality, it certsinly didn’t ruin my enjoyment of the book at all.

Ultimately another great read from the talented Hayley Smith which wholeheartedly deserved a 5 star rating. I definitely recommend this for any psychological thriller fans, you won’t be disappointed. I look forward to seeing what she writes next.

Thank you to NetGalley, Hayley Smith and Bookouture for my advanced reading copy. Out 18th September 2024.

This is a fascinating look at four mothers and one man involved in a Childcare Circle where each takes a turn picking up the children from school and keeping them at their house until the other parents get off work. And then they all get the opportunity to stay at a beach house for the weekend and they are delighted to get away and let their kids play in the sand and water. But suddenly each gets an anonymous letter tell them they have "5 days to tell the truth." We get the backstory from each, interspersed with the present as they ruminate on why they've been thrown together and who knows each "truth." It's frightening and ominous as all the pieces come together; secrets are revealed and lives are lost. It's creepy and often dark but I loved every minute of it!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

A primary school has set up a childcare circle, with five parents and five children. Each parent has a day to provide childcare for all the children after school, to free up parents on the other days. A few mothers in this circle appear to have a history with one another. Kim and her daughter Dulcie are the newcomers and the group includes a father and son. They plan a weekend away together and then each parent receives an anonymous and foreboding note about their individual secrets. Everyone is terrified, yet scheming and hiding their pasts. This is an interesting storyline and the quick pacing and good character development make it hard to put down. With thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for this ARC. My opinions are my own.

I was offered a review copy of Hayley Smith's The Childminder. On the cover it said: "You trust them with your child. You shouldn't." It intrigued me, so I read it.
Four mothers and one father start a childcare circle. Each parent takes care of all of the children on a certain day of the week. Quite a good idea! But there is something sinister going on, which becomes apparent when each parent receives an anonymous note demanding that they confess their darkest secret, or else... The letter arrives mere days before they are all going away for the weekend together to get to know each other better...
Although The Childminder is a thriller, I was for the most part amused by it. Yes, it's about murder, a sort of whodunnit, but mostly it's a couple of adults going through events that are so absurd and coincidental that it is in my eyes unbelievable. I just couldn't believe that such things could happen! What bad luck!
I did however enjoy reading this novel. But I don't think it was intended to be funny. I felt that it was intended rather seriously and perhaps could have been! After all, it concerns growing up in foster care, losing a brother at a young age, but also peer pressure and dealing with marital and financial problems. Combining all of those serious issues in just a couple of characters and bringing all the characters' threads together just didn't work out as planned.
Unfortunately I cannot give precise examples, as that would give away all the clues to this murder mystery. So I guess you'd have to experience this one for yourself. Maybe I was not 'thrilled' by The Childminder, I most definitely had a great time reading it!

Wow. This is the 3rd book by Hayley Smith and another 5⭐️ read. This was a bit different than her last 2 books but no less twisty. I love whodunit's and this one was 🤌. You will fly through this book. If you like Freida Mcfadden, you will devour this.
5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A great read full of intrigue and secrets which kept me involved in the storyline with well described characters..

For me personally it was a definite page turner and I can thoroughly recommend, you will not be disappointed.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for this ARC

The Childminder by debut author Hayley Smith, published by Bookouture is a thriller of its finest. Well written, with wonderfully villainous characters, twists that have the reader guessing til the very last page.
Blurb: Each Monday after school, I look after my daughter Coralie and four other kids from her class. We go to the park when it’s sunny, snuggle on the sofa reading books when it rains. Tuesdays to Fridays, the other parents take them. It’s perfect – a circle of free childcare, of fun and friendship for our children. But this morning, we all received an anonymous note. I know your darkest secrets, it says.
None of you are what you seem. How could you have trusted each other with your children?
You have five days to tell the truth. Or there will be consequences.
And soon it becomes terribly the sender isn’t joking. Because one of our group is dead.
Is someone we know responsible? Who will be next?