The Babysitter by Sheryl Browne @SherylBrowne @Bookouture #bookreview #thriller

Title: The Babysitter

Author: Sheryl Browne

Publisher: Bookouture

Publication Date: March 8, 2018

Page Count: 362

My rating:  4 stars

About the book:

You trust her with your family. Would you trust her with your life?

Mark and Melissa Cain are thrilled to have found Jade, a babysitter who is brilliant with their young children. Having seen her own house burn to the ground, Jade needs them as much as they need her. Moving Jade into the family home can only be a good thing, can’t it?

As Mark works long hours as a police officer and Melissa struggles with running a business, the family become ever more reliant on their babysitter, who is only too happy to help. And as Melissa begins to slip into depression, it’s Jade who is left picking up the pieces.

But Mark soon notices things aren’t quite as they seem. Things at home feel wrong, and as Mark begins to investigate their seemingly perfect sitter, what he discovers shocks him to his core. He’s met Jade before. And now he suspects he might know what she wants …

Mark is in a race against time to protect his family. But what will he find as he goes back to his family home?

If you loved reading The Girl on the Train, Behind Closed Doors and The Sister, you’ll love the suspense of The Babysitter. This unputdownable read will have you turning the pages until way after dark.You trust her with your family. Would you trust her with your life?

The Babysitter by Sheryl Browne is a psychological thriller but what I think readers need to know going into this one is that it isn’t the type to shock and awe but more to entertain. The story to me was one that was fairly straightforward instead of full of shocking twists and turns but that in no way meant that I didn’t enjoy reading it.

As the book begins we meet the players in here that alternate the point of view in the book. Mark is a police officer who is married to Melissa with whom they have two small children and a happy marriage when we meet them. Jade is a young woman who had just moved into the neighborhood that the couple had really only seen in passing until now.

One night Mark spots that Jade’s house is on fire and being a police officer he feels the pull to help. While Jade and Melissa and the girls watch the first responders fight the fire Mark runs off to save Jade’s cat. When it’s all said and done Jade needs somewhere to go so Melissa invites her inside beginning the psychological warfare that awaits the readers.

With the point of view changing between the trio of key players in the book it immediately becomes obvious that Jade has a dark side and would be the one to watch in the story. Being fairly straightforward what one finds here is just the anticipation of how far the games will go and to what extreme.

To make a sports analogy out of this one I’d say it’s like going to the hockey game and waiting for the inevitable fight to break out, or an auto race and waiting for the big crash. You just know the story is building to an explosion and it’s a matter of getting to that point in the book. Will this be for every reader? Probably not. But for myself I found this one an entertaining trip to the dark side.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Find this book online: 

Goodreads  /   Amazon

About the author: 

Sheryl Browne brings you powerful psychological thriller and contemporary fiction. SheryI’s latest psychological thriller THE BABYSITTER – the first of a three-book deal – comes to you from fabulous BOOKOUTURE. A member of the Crime Writers’ Association and the Romantic Novelists’ Association, and previously writing for award winning Choc Lit, Sheryl has several books published and two short stories in Birmingham City University anthologies, where she completed her MA in Creative Writing.

So why does Sheryl write in two genres? Quoting E. L. Doctorow, Sheryl says: “Writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can only see as far as your headlights…” This she thinks sums up a writer’s journey, you never quite know where you are going until you get there. You might start with an outline, but a strong character will always divert from the plot. If Sheryl’s not sure where a character is going, she simply has to trust him to show her the way. Plus, according to one reviewer, she also has a scary insight into the mind of a psychopath. Please do find out more about Sheryl at sherylbrowne.com or on Facebook and Twitter.