A woman is dead, A baby is missing, an affair is revealed. Two families are in turmoil 

But that is all to come, The Babysitter  starts with the Callum, Siobhan a couple, their daughter Emma and Siobhan's sister Maria.  All have just arrived on holiday in glorious sunny  France from the East of England.  Though their settling in you get glimpses of disquiet inspite of the happy display. The reader is sceptical of this display, knowing that this illusion of togetherness, display of typical family dynamics is glossing over cracks.  Those crack are irretrievably widened shortly with the revelation of infidelity, Caroline's murder (Callum's mistress) and Eve's disappearance, the one year old that Caroline was babysitting the night she was killed.  



several red herrings and a couple of cul de sacs
The Babysitter is a pacey read, short snappy chapters through the point of view  primarily of Siobhan, Caroline and the one of the police detectives.  It is not a complex read but still an intriguing one as the who and why are tantalising. 
And whilst it's clear that it must have been one of the small cast of characters it wasn't immediately obvious who did it. The Babysitter achieved the purpose of the book of revealing  motives in a straightforward albeit satisfying way, showing that all had secrets and therefore reasons to be involved in this crime.  Like me, you may already have guessed part or all the motivation along the way but will still want to read onward to the end to confirm your suspicions.

The Characters
Husband Callum came across as appropriately smug, Way too satisfied with his perceived status: big fish in a small pond, trying to dazzle those around him with his TV exec job. I would be unsurprised if you weren't as  eager as I was for his comeuppance. Very much cake and eat it too persona.  However the author was able to slowly reveal his personality so you weren't immediately repulsed by his egotism.  I pitied more than disliked him for the choices he made as they disclosed his weak character.  

The other woman Caroline was a fully developed character. She seemed utterly real...sadly.  Lonely more than needy, desperate for attention, to be noticed, coupled with the wish eventually of a family of her own.
" I don’t think anyone’s ever been jealous of me in my whole entire life."
Caroline life discloses how lives that appear 'normal' can in reality be isolated.  Her role illustrated that humans yearn for meaningful connections.  On the surface it could appear as if she was covetous, then envious.  Except wanting to be part of a relationship, family, community,  an active welcomed part of a network is a universal desire that most humans experience. That need which can be latent in some and all consuming in others, can drive people to make terrible  choices.


And Siobhan the wife, working hard to keep the family together for the perceived benefits of 'family'.  Her childhood too has played a part how she manages relationship. How she fights for her marriage. Desperately trying to ignore evidence of the affair subjugating her needs and hating having to make this sacrifice. 
Siobhan reveals beneath this family's exterior is a construct that consists of illusions, half truths and things unsaid.

Reading The Babysitter,  we never got to see Callum's point of view and in a way that was a good thing as it reinforced the hollowness of him as a person. He seemed a mixture of needs and affectation. We didn't need to read about his internal justifications to know that the choices he made were always self serving.  

In Summary
The format of the story was perfect as the interweaving of the present, then the past to get to know the personalities s better and the crime itself, really developed the plot and made it more exciting.  All the characters were well casted with flaws and all. The devastation and introspection of the grieving parents of missing Eve evolved deftly. The police investigation appeared plausible though plodding.  The setting of France and England added another dynamic which gave the plot greater depth. Overall a nice mystery that isn't too taxing but a satisfying journey of whodunit and why.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a digital eARC  in return for a candid review 

3 stars - Liked It

The Babysitter is a book I devoured in a day, it had me hooked from the start but I kind of hoped I’d like it as I loved Phoebe Morgan’s last book.
Caroline Harvey is found murdered in her bedroom draped over the cot of a child she was looking after for a friend, but where is the baby??
Siobhan and Callum and their daughter Emma are going on holiday to France to Siobhan’s sisters villa. She hopes to bridge the gap between mother and daughter as Emma has been getting further away from her and seems to prefer her dad and with what Siobhan knows about her husband she does not want this to continue. On the second morning Callum is arrested early in the morning for the murder of Caroline and possibly the baby.
This is a very, very twisty thriller and I loved it, the characters were all believable and the storyline was quite believable which made it even better. I enjoyed seeing things from the police side as well as the families as it gave a greater depth.
I would like to thank Netgalley and HQ for this ARC I Received in exchange for an honest review.

This was a great thriller, well written with so many twists and turns that I didn't see coming.
The characters were really well thought through and had a real depth.
I loved this style of writing and really struggled to put it down!

Thank you to NetGalley and HQ for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

When Siobhan’s husband is arrested for a murder during their family holiday in France her world comes crumbling down. She thought his days of having affairs were behind them, but the murder he is accused of is a girl he had recently been seeing. 

Their 16 year old daughter, Emma, is distraught. She had a close bond with her dad; much closer than with her mum which Siobhan envies. 

There is also a baby missing, taken from the murdered girl’s flat. She had been babysitting for a friend.

I enjoyed the way the story was told by many of the characters involved in the murder and kidnap, covering the period leading up to the event and also since the event. 

Kept me guessing until the final reveal!

As soon as I saw the title and cover of “The Babysitter” by Phoebe Morgan I knew that I would have to read it, and would love it! I certainly did.
A fantastic psychological thriller that kept me riveted for a few days. The characters were written really well. I was suspicious of all of them throughout the book! 
The chapters are short, yet jam packed with equal amounts of suspicion and drama.
Highly recommended. 5 stars from me.

Another great book by Phoebe Morgan. I loved the character driven chapters, telling the story from each character's point of view. A story full of twists and turns, just when I thought I knew whodunit, Phoebe's storytelling pushes you in the direction of someone different. Towards the end I thought I knew the way the story was going to end but Phoebe surprised me with a massive twist. Not your usual murder story as there's a missing baby thrown into the mix - hence the title. Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy.

Siobhan Dillon is enjoying a family holiday at her sister’s villa in France when the police arrive and arrest her husband, Callum, on suspicion of the murder of Caroline Harvey. But that’s not all. Caroline was babysitting her friend’s one year old that night, and the baby has disappeared without trace. Who murdered Caroline and where is the baby?

I really enjoyed this page-turning and twisty whodunnit! From the outset I was desperate to find out what had happened to baby Eve and my heart was in my mouth for most of the book as the police investigation progressed. That it wasn’t at all clear whether or not she was going to be found alive was particularly heartbreaking. I was just willing there to be a positive outcome and it definitely kept me desperate to read more and more.

Phoebe Morgan is a master of creating an intricately woven and perfectly paced plot. The tension in this books ramps up to almost unbearable proportions towards the end, and I sped through the final 100 pages as I just needed to find out what was going to happen. I have to say I mostly guessed the ending (which I’m very proud of!) but not until the last quarter of the book and it didn’t in any way affect my enjoyment.

Something I often struggle with is unlikeable characters, and The Babysitter is full of them. If I’m honest I didn’t much care who killed Caroline or whether Callum was sent to prison, whether wrongfully or not! But a missing baby is every mother’s worst nightmare and my emotional investment in baby Eve’s plight is what largely made the book for me.

A solid, well-written and compelling thriller, The Babysitter is published by HQ and is available to buy now. With thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for my gifted eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is quite a dark book (no complaints from me), where you dont really warm to any of the characters, but this makes the story even more enjoyable as you don't quite trust the facade shown.

I read this book more or less none stop, as I just had to know what had really happened the night the babysitter was murdered and the baby in her care disappeared. 

I've not read any of Phoebe's books before, but will be definitely be rectifying that!

This is the first Phoebe Morgan book I’ve read. I have to admit, that the start of the book didn’t quite grip me. I persevered and then about a quarter of the way in, I became gripped. 

The Babysitter tells a story from different angles. Caroline is murdered in her home and the little girl she is babysitting is missing. 
We read Caroline’s view, her lover Callum, his wife Siobhan and the police investigating the murder. 
I particularly enjoyed the police transcripts, and the Twitter feeds thrown in too which made it seem true to the modern day and how the media reacts to crimes. 

A great read although I was disappointed in the way the book ended. But I will definitely read more of Phoebe’s work in the future. 

Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read the book in exchange for an honest review.

The Babysitter by Phoebe Morgan

Caroline Harvey is murdered in her home in Suffolk. She had been babysitting for her friend but, when her body is found, the baby is not. A frantic search for baby Eve begins, obsessing the media and the public, driving on the police. Caroline herself is almost forgotten. But a couple of days later, police arrive at a luxurious villa in France and arrest Callum Dillon for murder. He had been on holiday with his wife Siobhan and their daughter Emma, visiting Siobhan’s sister Maria. And now he is escorted back to England in handcuffs, leaving his bewildered family to scramble back home after him. Siobhan’s life is torn apart as she tries to understand her husband’s connection to Caroline. Who was Caroline? Why would anyone want to murder her? And where is Eve? The world watches.

I absolutely loved Phoebe Morgan’s The Girl Next Door and I couldn’t wait to read The Babysitter, and it was every bit as good. Once more we’re given the treat of a stand alone psychological thriller, which tells a good story involving people you want to read about.

I love the structure of The Babysitter. The novel moves between the present and the past and focuses on Siobhan Dillon and the murdered woman, Caroline, whose life we watch in its final days leading to that fateful night. There’s a poignancy in getting to know a woman while being only too aware that her hours are limited. Siobhan is especially interesting as we try and discover just how much she knows about Caroline and her husband. She has to deal with the fallout of her husband’s arrest as it tears her family apart. It’s hard not to empathise with this woman facing such a crisis.

There are two other central figures to the novel – the innocent baby, Eve, and the not so innocent, philandering and vain husband, Callum. But just because he’s unfaithful, does that make him a killer? That’s the quandary faced by the detectives on the case who also have chapters devoted to them and their investigations. There are so many questions to be answered and this, along with the really appealing structure and the fantastic writing of such a fine author, helps to make The Babysitter a stand out thriller.

I doubt there’s a psychological thriller out there that doesn’t proclaim that you won’t see the twist coming. In the case of The Babysitter the claim is true. It’s extremely hard to put down, it kept me guessing and it’s very well-written to boot!

I would like to thank the author, the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of this book, it drew me in from the beginning and kept me gripped until the end. It was cleverly written and each time I thought I had worked it out I discovered I was wrong. Definitely recommend this book.

It's really fitting to find myself posting my review of The Babysitter on the hottest day of the year, as the book is an absolute scorcher.  The dead body of Caroline Harvey is found when she was babysitting for old friends, and the baby Eve is nowhere to be found.  Hundreds of miles away Siobhan Dillon is trying to enjoy a family holiday despite being aware of her husband's latest mistress - Caroline, when the French police come to the villa and arrest Callum for her murder.  Siobhan and the rest of the family are shocked, Callum had been acting strange on the plane over, but is he really capable of murder?

As soon as I started the first few chapters of this book, I was totally engrossed.  Each chapter keeps you wanting more.  The Babysitter is an intense and engaging character drama.; It’s hard to look away, like watching a car crash, as you turn the pages waiting to find out the truth who murdered Caroline and why did they take baby Eve?

Superbly plotted with enough red-herrings to ensure that the reader is never quite sure what really happened. A myriad of surrounding cast were great characters, multi-dimensional and full of depth.  I kept changing my mind over who to trust and who not to as the author led me along numerous wrong turns.

The pace is a brisk one, one where the tension never lets up.  What starts seemingly as an innocuous family drama, soon into something that is dark, chilling and quite intoxicating.  A creepy read with a cleverly woven plot that tells of lies, secrets and will leave the reader gasping at the final reveal. I can't wait to read more from Phoebe Morgan.

Believe it or not, this is my first book by Phoebe Morgan, though I have had The Doll House on my radar for a while. I'm delighted to have rectified this and I thoroughly enjoyed The Babysitter, an engrossing tale of mystery, duplicity and suspense.

The book is narrated from multiple viewpoints, across two timescales. Caroline Harvey is a lonely young woman who has been asked by her friend Jenny Grant to babysit her daughter Eve, so that Jenny and husband Rick can visit his ill and elderly mother. Siobhan Dillon, her husband Callum, daughter Emma, and sister Maria are travelling to southern France for a relaxing break, staying at Maria's lovely, luxurious holiday villa. But when Caroline is found having been stabbed, with no sign of baby Eve, the police go knocking on Maria's door in France, looking for Callum. So where is Eve and what exactly took place that terrible evening?

Phoebe Morgan has a very appealing style of writing and the characters she created though not remotely likeable, were very believable, giving me a great sense of apprehensiveness and foreboding. I liked the fluidity between past and present and I found The Babysitter very readable, the various unfolding of events and revelations making this book very gripping. The story-line was absolutely fantastic and the suspense was kept at a maximum level as was the pacing. In this tense tale of betrayal, wrongdoing, jealousy and revenge, Phoebe Morgan wrapped everything up very neatly in with a great big bow in a thrilling, though not totally unexpected ending which was rather satisfying.

This was an absolute pleasure to read and even if the plot had been less stimulating I would have devoured these pages with equal gusto and enthusiasm. I’ll certainly be looking out for more from Phoebe Morgan!

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request, from HQ via NetGalley and this review is my unbiased opinion. Thank you also to Pigeonhole and Phoebe Morgan for the opportunity to read this book!

I love a book filled with secrets and The Babysitter is absolutely bursting at the seams with them.  There's a murder, a missing child and more secrets than you can shake a stick at, making this such a gripping and addictive book that you won't want to put down for a second.  I even felt like I didn't want to blink in case I missed something.

Ipswich is left reeling when Caroline Harvey is found dead in her apartment with no sign of her friend's baby who she was looking after.  The parents of the missing child give local TV executive Callum Dillon's name to the police and he becomes their prime suspect.  Callum is on holiday in France with his family when the police turn up to arrest him and take him back to Ipswich for questioning.  Everything points to Callum murdering Caroline then calmly jetting off on holiday, but why did he do it and what happened to the baby?

With flashbacks to before the murder and present day, The Babysitter sets a blistering pace that ensures the reader will be turning the pages as fast as possible until all of its dark and delicious secrets are revealed.  There are some amazing heart-stopping moments that left me breathless and gasping with shock but my eyes insisted on greedily devouring every single word without giving me the chance to pause.

I love the mixed media that Phoebe Morgan has included in her story; the police interview transcripts and tweets really give an extra dimension to the story making it feel very realistic.  Weirdly, I wasn't that keen on the characters but I think that's kind of the point: Callum is completely detestable and Siobhan just likes to bury her head in the sand to avoid problems with her husband and daughter.  Caroline's story is perhaps the saddest one I have ever read and I was surprised how empathetic I felt towards her.

The Babysitter is incredibly gripping and addictive with such a clever jaw-dropping plot that you won't be able to put it down once you pick it up.  Make sure you clear your schedule and find a nice quiet place to read as you won't want to be disturbed once you start The Babysitter.

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

Well in lockdown times, every day can feel like a Saturday, so having mixed up my days here's yesterday's review, today!

And what a way to end the month, yet another pacey tale of secrets, lies and disfunctional relationships. Started it on the sun lounger, finished it deep in the night in bed, hard to put down.

A fast read with short chapters telling the story from multiple perspectives, which worked really well. The police interview techniques were really quite uncomfortable & clever.

 I  guessed the murderer, but having said that still hadn't worked out the extra twists in this very enjoyable novel.

I just couldn't put this one down! My attention was held throughout this psychological thriller. In no time at all I had devoured the lies, secrets and twists this book provides, and I loved it.

Having never read anything before from Phoebe Morgan I wasn't sure about the writing style. However, I shall be looking at more from this author.

Great characters, brilliant plot and although a small cast of suspects, I was still kept guessing and the book remained unpredictable.

Highly recommended!

On the hottest day of the year, Caroline Harvey is found dead in Suffolk. Her body is left draped over a cot – but the baby she was looking after is missing.  
Hundreds of miles away, Siobhan Dillon is on a luxurious family holiday in France when her husband, Callum, is arrested by French police on suspicion of murder.
As Siobhan’s perfect family is torn apart by the media in the nation’s frantic search for the missing baby, she desperately tries to piece together how Callum knew Caroline.
What happened that night? Was Caroline as innocent as she seemed – or was she hiding a secret of her own?

This is a brilliant read.
Wonderful well written plot and story line that had me engaged from the start.
Love the well fleshed out characters and found them believeable.
Great suspense and found myself second guessing every thought I had continuousluy.
Can't wait to read what the author brings out next.
Recommend reading.

I was provided an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher.  This is my own honest voluntary review.

I have been a fan of Phoebe's work for a fair while now.  In fact I have been a fan of hers, ever since I had the good fortune to pick up a copy of her first book.  Since then I have read and loved each and every book that she has released to date.  I read the synopsis for 'The Babysitter' and it certainly sounded like another amazing read from Phoebe.  I started reading as soon I managed to get my hands on a copy of the book.  Oh wowzers, 'The Babysitter' was another amazing book and I enjoyed every single minute of it, but more about that in a bit.
I have to be honest and say that I didn't really take to any of the characters.  I just got the impression that each character wasn't exactly being truthful and each seemed to be hiding something.  That could just be my suspicious and paranoid nature.  Not taking to the characters isn't necessarily such a bad thing though because it meant that I didn't favour one over the other and I could remain impartial.
It didn't take me long at all to get into 'The Babysitter'.  In fact as soon as I started to read that was it.  I found it increasingly difficult to put the book to one side for any length of time.  To say that I became addicted to this book is a huge understatement.  I felt as if the book had developed a hold over me and it was a hold that I wasn't willing to break.  My Kindle wasn't exactly glued to my hand but it might as well have been because it travelled everywhere with me.  I just had to know who was hiding what and why.  The pages turned over at a fast pace and I seemed to charge through the story.  'The Babysitter' had me gripped throughout and I was on the edge of my seat throughout the story.
'The Babysitter' is extremely well written but then I think that to be true of all of Phoebe's books.  She has a way of grabbing your attention from the start and then she keeps that attention until you have closed the back cover of the book.  For me, the story was perfectly paced.  The story started with a bang, hit the ground running and maintained a fairly fast pace throughout.  I loved the ease with which Phoebe can weave twists and turns into the story.  I didn't see the majority of the twists and turns coming and on occasion I was left feeling as though I had been slapped across the face with a wet fish.  I really did feel as though I was part of the story myself and that's thanks to Phoebe's fantastic storytelling.
In short, I thoroughly enjoyed reading 'The Babysitter' and I would recommend this book to other readers.  I will definitely be reading more of Phoebe's work in the future.  The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 5* out of 5*.

This story swaps between each character over the chapters and I loved how after each one is made you want more. I really enjoyed the police interview sections and how they can really make anyone look guilty. The chapters were short and made it easier to read and really get into the story. At one point I suspected every character of Caroline’s murder, the question was where was baby Eve?
I’m very keen to pick up more by this author now after reading this brilliant book.

When will men ever learn to keep it in their pants? No good will ever come of it but for Callum it makes him a murder suspect.

This book starts with the Dillon family on holiday in France. Siobhan, Callum and daughter Emma staying with Maria the sister in law and the police turning up early in the morning to arrest Callum. I have to say I pretty much thought he deserved it as the man was a big fat douchebag but was he capable of murder?

Switching narrators and timelines, we learn Caroline, who Callum had been having an affair with, is found murdered in Ipswich and the baby she was looking after is missing. Making this not just a classic whodunnit but giving you an extra mystery to solve. Great for all you armchair detectives out there. You will have a list of suspects and it will change frequently. I really liked the inclusion of the media picking apart the family like a starving man at an all you can eat buffet.

Adding to this you also get occasional insights into the police investigation and some Scooby Doo clues to help you try and figure it out. I didn’t but I’m notoriously bad and would make a terrible detective. But how rubbish would it be if you figured it out all the time! This has a good pace throughout and characters that are realistic in that some you will like and some you won’t.

Plenty of twists and turns and very clever writing ensures you won’t figure it out until the very end.