I enjoyed this book...the chapters are short which kept me interested and wanting to read more. Definitely a page turner. Thank you #netgalley for the opportunity to have an ARC

Claudia has spent the last ten years of her life behind bars, sent to prison for the murder of her own daughter and now she is being released.

Claudia is convinced Tilly is still alive.

Someone took her.

Claudia will do whatever it takes to not only prove her innocence but, find who is responsible.

Someone knows where Tilly is. The truth can't be hidden forever.

I could not put this book down! I was hooked by the end of the first chapter and I devoured it!!

A multi pov psychological thriller that packs a mighty punch!

Fast paced, highly engaging and full of twists and turns all over the place! Well written and full of terror and suspense.

It was absolutely wild, I loved it!!

When i first read about this book i was extremely excited as this kind of psychological thriller is right up my street. It started off very strong and gripping, lots of believable characters. Sadly for me it felt quite a long drawn out story and started to lose momentum. The ending was well written and it did keep you guessing the entire way through which was a bonus. This is the first book I have read by this author and i would definitely read another. So overall, not bad.

Thanks to Atlantic Books and NetGalley for allowing me an advanced copy to read in exchange for my open and honest review. As always, my reviews will also be posted on Amazon, Goodreads and Waterstones and interaction on Facebook and instagram where possible.

3.25

The Babysitter follows the story of Claudia, who is on a mission to find out what really happened to her daughter Tilly 10 years ago. One minute, Tilly was with the new babysitter in the living room, and the next minute Tilly and the babysitter were gone. Except nobody believes that Tilly was kidnapped. They think Claudia, with a history of mental health issues, accidentally killed Tilly and is in denial. Ten years later, Claudia is granted parole after finally, but reluctantly, admitting her guilt in Tilly’s disappearance. She moves back into her childhood home, and sets out to find out what really happened to Tilly. As Claudia digs deeper and uncovers unsavoury secrets about the people in her life, she realises how intertwined her and Tilly’s story is with her ex-husband’s new wife, Sara, and their old babysitter, Anna. Will Claudia manage to uncover the truth about her daughter when everyone she knows thinks she’s a killer?

The first half of this book was very good. Curtis tells Claudia’s story from the perspective of Claudia, Sara and Anna – this had the effect of the narrative never being dull as the reader follows the lives of three different women, while simultaneously showing how their stories are all linked. Through this switching of perspectives, Curtis was also able to gradually release little snippets about all the characters to show that all is not what it seems; they are not all as wholesome as they make out, and they all have biases towards or against each other. Curtis leaves it up to the reader to decide what characters are worth trusting and who should be questioned. The pacing of the first half of the book was a good balance of making sure the story kept going while really fleshing out the relationships between all the characters.

The second half of the book fell a little flat for me. Curtis’s tightly weaved story seemed to unravel a little as she tried to show how all the characters tied in and were responsible for the disappearance of Tilly Hartman. I felt that somehow the pacing was rushed, while simultaneously dragging on, and could feel my attention slipping. Unfortunately, because Curtis had done such a good job at keeping who was truly responsible a secret, when it was finally revealed, I felt that the ultimate conclusion felt forced and unbelievable. I also felt like the discovery of who had been terrorising Claudia once she was out of prison seemed strange; it didn’t really make sense to me how three different people managed to break into the house multiple times without leaving a shred of evidence. On the other hand, I thought Curtis handled the grooming storyline very well and showed Claudia’s realisation about her relationship with her ex-husband in a sensitive and gradual way.

Despite its shortcomings at the end, The Babysitter had me hooked almost all the way through this tense book and I found it really impressive how Curtis managed to weave so many sub-plots alongside the main plot while simultaneously fleshing out the dynamic relationships between all the characters.

Claudia is released from prison. Found guilty of the murder of her daughter ten years earlier, though a body has never been found, and always maintaining her innocence, Claudia has decided that the only way to find out who did abduct Tilly is to admit to the crime and get out of jail early so that she can investigate the events herself as the police already think they have done their job.

This was a good start with a really captivating Prologue. Sadly the interest wasn’t maintained, though the plot line was a good. Over long and a little rambling at times with too much back and forth of he said, she said, which stuttered the natural flow. There were also some very questionable procedures, but as with all fiction belief does have to be suspended at times. With a lot of very unlikeable characters it was hard to empathise with any of them!

A decent read which will be much better when the tidied and edited form is available.

Thank you NetGalley.

This book is so hard to put down once you start. It is compelling and disturbing. Claudia turns her back for one minute and her baby is taken. She is released from prision after changing her plea to manslaughter and is determined to find out who took her child. Sara, is married to Claudia's ex-husband and Anna, the babysitter who let Claudia down the night her baby was taken.
There are many secrets and lies, Claudia has many enemies due to her being known as a baby killer but is determined to get to the truth.
It is riveting and Emma Curtis has done a brilliant job of keepng the reader on the edge of their seat. I would highly recommend this book.

Many thanks to Net Galley and Atlantic Books for an ARC of this book in exchange for a review.
A dark twisty thriller. Written in short chapters which keeps the reader reading, just one more chapter.
There are 3 woman, Claudia, Anna and Sara.. Then there is Joe, who plays a huge role in the story..
Claudia, is Joe’s first wife, she has just been released from prison after 9 years, she was found guilty of murdering their daughter, 8 month old Tilly. No body was ever found. Claudia had pleaded ‘not guilty’ sticking by her story that Tilly was taken, she has only changed her plea to get early release, her agenda being, to find out who took Tilly.
Joe is remarried to Sarah and they now have a baby daughter. Sara is worried that Claudia will cause trouble and derail the perfect life she has created for Joe, herself and their daughter.
Anna is the babysitter who cancelled on the night that Tilly was taken, she too is now married with a baby son, Anna has befriended both Sara and Claudia.
The 3 woman’s lives become entangled as Claudia chips away at finding the truth, things aren’t made easy for her being back in her old neighbourhood but not everyone is against her.
The story is well plotted and full of suspense, lots of twists, not a happy ending but well concluded,
My first book by this author and would definitely read more.

The Babysitter’s premise is set up for intrigue: Claudia’s daughter is snatched out of her hands on a stormy night, never to be found again. Claudia spends the next several years in prison and is released when she changed her plea in order to find out what really happened to Tilly. Caught up in this are her husband’s new wife, Sara, old babysitter, Anna, and her ex-husband Joe. Coupled with than are a lot of noisy and nosy neighbours who also are connected to Claudia’s previous life, so the suspicion from the start is quote high and open.

Any story about a missing child is heart breaking, and that is the drawcard for this book. However it seemed to spend too much time fluffing around and probably could have had a few chapters merged into each other for the same effect. There were moments that just didn’t seem plausible, like the fact that Joe kept connecting with Claudia even though he believed she killed their child. And Greg the reporter seemed to be such a nice person, so “altruistic” after all the years of slandering Claudia – why? The more and more the past was opened up about Joe’s relationships and connections to other young women and school girls made my stomach curdle, and I think more of that emotional trauma could have been explored here and unpacked as part of the search for answers for all of the women in this book.

I did find this book to be a rather slow long read to start with ,told through the three main characters ,none of whom were particularly likeable. This is a story full of many secrets and lies and grooming .Baby Tilly disappears and her Mother Claudia is sent to prison for her murder ,even though no body was found .After 10 years Claudia is released as she has admitted to the murder .This is a ploy to get out of prison as Claudia is out to find who really did take her baby .People have moved on her ex husband Joe has remarried and had another baby .I thought the real villain of the piece was Joe who was a very undesirable character cleverly hidden .Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC .

This was not what I was expecting at all be I loved the different turn it took.
The story starts when Claudia is released from prison after 10 years for the murder of her baby daughter Tilly. She has only been released because she has admitted guilt and knowing that she will be recalled to prison if she changes her story she has to find out what happened to Tilly without anyone finding out. The story is narrated by Claudia, Sarah (the woman now married to Claudia’s ex, Joe) and Anna (the woman who was meant to be babysitting Tilly on the night she went missing). A good psychological thriller/mystery. I enjoyed the different narratives and finding out what actually happened to Tilly.

Such careful construction held within this thriller. Three women, devastating consequences, a race to the final page.

Great book! I absolutely loved it. I couldn't put it down. Very well written. I have reccomended it to my friends.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. I enjoy reading this authors books and although this was good it was not great. Good storyline but seemed to drag on a bit.

This book starts as a fast paced thriller but develops into a darker novel with the involvement of grooming, gaslighting, and narcissism.
The only likeable character in this book is Greg, no one else seems to have any particular redeeming qualities and Joe made me cringe from the first meeting. The women from Claudia to Anna to Kate and of course Sara are all whiney and Joe seems to make all these women lose their minds and become literally pathetic. I found as time went on this was a little unbelievable as it was every woman taken in by him!
I did enjoy this novel, no happy ending but well written and easy to digest.

Great twisty thriller to keep you on the edge of your seat!

I really enjoyed this story and the surprises in store. Recommend.

A little far fetched in places but it was racy to read with some interesting twists. Who was the killer and I did not really care as the storyline dragged on somewhat. It was a well written storyline. Thanks to Net Galley for an ARC.

Firstly thank you to NetGalley and the author for an ARC of this book. Brilliant thriller with short snappy chapters that capture your attention and make you want to read “just one more”

The story circles around three women Claudia, Anna and Sara and the death of 8 month old Tilly ten years ago. Claudia is joes first wife and has spent 9 years in jail for killing their daughter Tilly but there has never been a body found. Anna is the babysitter who cancelled on the night Tilly was assumably killed and Sara is the second wife to joe who has a daughter with him named Maeve.

A dark, sad thriller of betrayal, grooming and narcissism, this is a book you will find difficult to put down.

I have mixed feelings about this book. Three women, three secrets. Ten years ago, Claudia was convicted for the murder of her child. Now she’s confessed to manslaughter to gain parole. Her mission is to find out what really happened to her daughter. Sara is married to Joe, Claudia’s ex-husband. they have a child together but Claudia’s release threatens Sara’s perfect life. Anna was the babysitter who let Claudia down when her child went missing abs Claudia’s reappearance is an unwelcome surprise. From the premise I was eager to read this book and to be fair it had a strong start. However I felt the pace quickly slowed and could have been wrapped up much quicker. Thank you to NetGalley, Atlantic Books and the author for the chance to review.

A very involving read that keeps you guessing to the end. Not very lovable characters in the story who are amazingly selfcentered.

Two and a half stars from me, upgraded to three because it was very well written. I enjoyed the first part of the book but then it just got too silly. I know you have to suspend belief sometimes, but this plot was too far over the top. Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the arc but it isn't a book that I'll be recommending. Sorry.