Sasha heads to her old family home to find answers about her past but is mistaken for a nanny. The owner of the house invites her in and leaves her in charge of her children while she heads off to work. But Sasha begins to remember the past as well as facing problems in the present…
The Babysitter’s Secret is a psychological thriller set in the UK.
The book is written mainly from two perspectives: Sasha in the third person and Emily in the first person (and then later from Cecelia’s third person as well). Sasha is pretending to be from a babysitter agency and inserts herself into Cecelia’s family so she can move into the house and search for answers about her own past. Meanwhile Emily has been released from a psychiatric unit and is trying to live independently. She constantly hears a child screaming and thinks that her carers are trying to get her locked up again.
There are some serious issues dealt with in this book. Cecelia’s mum guilt at the beginning is so easy to relate to as a working mother myself. Emily’s mental health struggles are very emotive and don’t make for comfortable reading but felt very authentic. Sasha’s past trauma has severe implications for her own mental health as she has flashbacks.
I had a few theories about how the two main characters relate to each other, and one of them was correct. As the midway point approached I was pretty certain of how things would link together but the author couldn’t resist a twist even in the final chapter.
The Babysitter’s Secret is a tense and emotional psychological thriller.
Everything I thought I knew about my life is a lie. My mother revealed a terrible, dangerous secret in her last letter to me. But, with her death, any chance of knowing the truth has disappeared. I’ll have to do whatever it takes to find out for myself.
Going back to the house where I was born, I find a family living the life I’d always dreamed of. And when Cecelia, the mother, mistakes me for the new nanny, I seize the chance to move in. Maybe, being in the house every day and night, I will remember more, uncover more, about the secret that haunts me…
But this family is not the happy one it appears from the outside. Cecelia is angry, unpredictable, unstable. She is not the mother these children deserve. They are scared of her, and rightly so.
As my memories start to crystalize, I am ever more determined to shelter them from harm. Because history has a horrible way of repeating itself, and I’ll do everything I can to protect these children. But how long can I stay here, undetected, pretending to be someone I’m not? And if the children end up in danger, what will I have to do to save them…?
With twists no reader will EVER see coming, this incredibly gripping psychological thriller is perfect for fans of The Housemaid, The Widow and The Housewarming.
Author Bio
Casey Kelleher was born in Cuckfield, West Sussex, and she grew up as an avid reader.
Whilst working as a beauty therapist and bringing up their three children together with my husband, she penned her debut novel Rotten to the Core. Its success meant that Casey could give up her day job and concentrate on writing full time.
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