Emily Ruth Verona

I love a good thriller and then one that throws back to 80's/90's horror flicks is always a solid. I think that this book is a fun quick read. It throws in all these elements to distract you from the real issue at hand constantly. We have this layer of break-in's that have been happening in the area... nobody is hurt but things are taken and people are often home at the time. And now we have Amy babysitting perhaps her easiest clients super late at night. A night in which so much goes wrong. The book starts off minutes after midnight with a dead body...we have no idea who just some subtle clues as to who it might be. After this the book shifts around in the timeline on events from the day. We also have a focus on Amy like 6 years ago and a babysitter that she had.

The book has these shifts and they aren't really in any cohesive order... we go from six hours before to an hour before and then back to five hours before. I felt like I was getting whiplash on occassion. We get Amy the babysitter's perspective and also Ben one of the children she is babysitting. I honestly don't know that both perspectives were really necessary. A lot of the Ben perspective is used to showcase how he is this nervous child and that the kids have a darkish past. Only one event in the entire story proves crucial to have Ben's perspective and it's like a three second moment. I also thought the story could have done without the Amy's childhood perspective.

I did enjoy that the focus was on these subtle moments. You knew the outcome... someone was murdered... but you really had to pay attention to catch all the important moments and realize just when something was going to prove pivotal. I also loved all the throwbacks to the slasher flicks. However, I don't know that they were super important other than to show us that Amy uses them as a coping mechanism for her anxiety. Overall, I think it's a fun thriller but I didn't feel like it was super life changing. I also didn't like that it became pretty clear things weren't going to be as they seemed. I don't know I just wish it had been a little bit more.… (meer)