I’ve wanted to read this story for over a year, but unfortunately, the audiobook wasn't available in the UK and after reading this I can imagine it’s an absolute banger as well. When Titan Books announced that they would be releasing physical copies, I was so bloody excited! I’m pretty sure SGJ never misses and this was one hell of a creepy story, Each page you think surely things can’t get any worse? Yep, they do. We got creepy children, haunted house, weird timelines also doppelgängers. You get to a point and you ask yourself “What is even real anymore?”. If you are looking for a happy ending then I suggest you find another book but it is the perfect Halloween story!

Thank you to Titan Books for my ARC.

This is my third book by Jones, and I fear that he isn’t an author for me. I found this rushed, confusing and all over the place. The lack of chapters made this a drag to read and I didn’t care for the characters or what they were going through. Unfortunately this felt more like a chore to read than anything!

What on earth was that.
The synopsis in no way prepares you for The Babysitter Lives. It starts out well, with a campy 90s horror vibe- think original Halloween, but takes a weird yet interesting turn into something entirely different. I was still on board, pleasantly surprised even, but around the halfway point the book becomes a complete mess.

Timelines and places blend together, logic goes out the window and whilst SGJ might well know what he's envisioning, he certainly can't write it in a way that makes any kind of sense.

I found myself ping ponging between losing interest entirely and focusing harder to try and understand what he was trying to do here. Eventually I've landed on this- the plot is absolutely ridiculous but not in a fun way.
There are some good surprises and some gross (therefore also good) surprises but overall I was irritated rather than entertained.

We don't need 10 pages on how to open a door.

This was such a unique take on haunted houses! I wasn’t expecting it to be a haunted house book at all, I thought it would be more of a slasher.

The whole thing took place over the course of a few hours in one setting. I thought that would get boring, but it didn’t, there were parts that were so tense. The second half felt more nonsensical but, as SGJ said in the acknowledgements, everything in the house was used as a device for the plot. It being so nonsensical and making me confused added to the horror because I felt how Charlotte would have felt.

I reread the last few pages multiple times and I’m still not sure how it ended, it reminded me a little of Beetlejuice and Bojack Horseman (specifically the episode Downer Ending). Everything was unfolding layer after layer, you weren’t sure what layer you were on, how deep you were in it and when or if you were ever getting out.

Out of all the books he’s written, I think this one would make the best film. It was kinda written like one, it played out in my head very easily.

The Babysitter Lives is a horror novel set in one house over one night of babysitting, as a girl about to take her SATs has to use her cunning to keep her twin charges safe from the house and the echoes of horrors that happened in it some years ago. Charlotte is a high school senior who wants to be spending time with her girlfriend Murphy, but instead is babysitting the night before Halloween, and the night before her SATs. Her goal is to get the kids in bed and then study before her mother picks her up, ensuring there's no repeat of her recent babysitting job in which Charlotte, distracted by Murphy visiting, didn't notice the child sleepwalking out of the house. However, in this new house, there's more to contend with, and the house isn't going to give her an easy night.

Having enjoyed many of Stephen Graham Jones' other horror books, I was excited for this one. Unlike some of his other books which feature more complex settings and timelines, this one is self-contained like a horror film, running without chapter breaks and being set in one house over one night. I liked this kind of 'locked building' approach and what it meant for the story, as it gave the space to make everything in the house relevant (as is discussed in the author's note at the end of the book). I also liked how this one does something that I've seen from other horror writers like Grady Hendrix and uses the title to suggest it is a different horror subgenre than it is (you might think slasher from the title, but this is a haunted house book).

I've seen other people describe this one as similar to Point Horror, maybe in a negative way, but for me that was a selling point, as someone who was a big fan of Point Horror back in the day. However, I'd say that whilst the premise and other elements of the plot make it like Point Horror, it feels like a more complicated Point Horror book too, due to not being confined to a teen audience. Some of the action near the end gets a bit repetitive, but I liked the classic 'what is the real ending' type fakeouts that conclude the book and the idea that you must pay a price to escape a haunted house.

Teenager Charlotte is the go to babysitter for the neighbourhood. Reliable, honest, trustworthy and dedicated, she is in demand. When a well to do local couple want a rare night out, their neighbours, the Lopez family, are only too happy to recommend Charlotte.

After a good going through of the rules and regulations, Mr and Mrs Wilbanks head off, leaving Charlotte in charge of their darlings Desi and Ronald, six year old twins. Warned by Mrs Wilbanks that the twins like to play jokes, Charlotte has no idea what she is letting herself in for.

The first half of this book was excellent, totally engaging and so spooky. Sadly, halfway through it became very muddled and repetitive, going nowhere. Being a big fan of horror stories, especially the weird and unexpected, I persevered to the end but it was a struggle.

Great character style, really good plot, just so repetitive that it all became odd rather than horror.

Admire this author very much, just missed the mark for me on this one, sorry 😞.

2.5* for the first 50%, rounded up.

Thank you NetGalley and Titan Books.

Listen. I'll be the first to admit that horror isn't a genre I normally ever go for. However I've heard great things about SGJ and this had diverse elements (indigineous and queer) and so I wanted to give it a go.

I think this probably wasn't the best place to start. First of the structure had its downfalls. I do understand why there were no chapter breaks, this takes place over the course of one night and therefore feels like one continuous story. It just meant there was a lot of information and I didn't really feel like I was digesting what was going on a lot of the time. The horror elements actually didn't scare me at all and I just struggled to connect to the story. I think as well since this is a short book, it didn't delve deeply into those diverse elements I mentioned in a way I would have liked.

I'll definitely seek out more of the authors work, just this one wasn't for me.

This book was really addictive and hard to put down to begin with. It felt like it had such promise but the middle was stretched out and very repetitive. Charlotte was a great character and there were some scary moments! It really reminded me of the Point Horror books I used to read as a teenager.

Graham Jones is clearly a very talented writer but this is the second book I've read of his where I just felt completely lost by the end and not in a good way. I've heard this is a really good audiobook so maybe I just picked the wrong format.

I love a horror novel about a creepy house and I flew through this one. Stephen Graham Jones writing reminds me of old school horror and I love it this was terrifying. This goes here there and everywhere and there were times I struggled to keep up and I had no idea where this was going or how it would end. There was a part in this involving a lizard that made me feel sick. This had so many twists and turns that I couldn't put this down if I tried. I highly recommend.