Watch Out for Her

I was hesitant to read this book because I'm not a huge fan of domestic thrillers. At first, I was not enjoying it much. I found the characters to be frustratingly obsessive and unlikeable. As the book went on, the plot intensified and became a bit more engaging. In the end, it is a solid 3 stars for me.

The book is told in dual timelines. In the present, Sara Goldman, her husband, and her son are moving into a new home in a new city. It immediately becomes clear that they have run away from something in their previous city, and they are on edge, especially Sarah. She finds hidden cameras in the new home and feels like she is being watched. Her husband does not seem as concerned about these things, making the reader believe that maybe Sarah is paranoid. Then, the timeline switches to a few months before when the Goldmans hired a new babysitter for their son. Holly Munroe seems like a perfect babysitter at first, but Sarah begins to suspect that there are secrets Holly is concealing.

The chapters alternate timelines and character point of view. They are told from Sarah's and Holly's perspectives, so the reader gets some insight into both of their feelings and motivations. The plot is well constructed to keep the reader in suspense as to what is really going on and who is responsible for the things that are happening to the Goldman's in the present timeline.

I would have enjoyed the book more if at least one of the characters had been likeable. I struggled to feel sympathy for anyone. I also am not a fan of domestic thrillers as previously stated, so the fault may not be entirely in the book. It is just not to my tastes.

Overall, I found the book to be okay. I am not likely to want to reread it, but I would recommend it to fans of domestic thrillers with dual timelines and suspicious characters.

Samantha Bailey hits it out of the park again with her second psychological suspense novel, Watch Out For Her. Told in the present from the point of view of Sarah, the protective mother of six-year-old Jacob and in the past by Holly, the college-age nanny she hires, this suspenseful novel hits all the right notes as we bounce around, trying to figure out who to believe, who to trust, and who might be betraying who. Add in Sarah's husband, who is clearly hiding something, Holly's step-sister Alexis who clearly has boundary issues, an over-sharing neighbor who may or may not be trustworthy, and Holly's father, who is using her in unscrupulous ways, and you've got one heck of a story that will keep you turning pages, forcing you to think about what demons drive people and how we'll all seeking love, attention, and safety in our own family and in our own neighborhoods and the lengths some people will go to in getting what they want.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review.