The Babysitter by Emma Curtis
Three women. Three secrets.
Claudia’s life imploded ten years ago when she was convicted of the murder of her child. Now she has done the unthinkable and confessed to manslaughter in order to be granted parole – her only hope of finding out what really happened to Tilly.
Sara is married to Joe, Claudia’s ex-husband, and they have a young child together. She finally has everything she ever wanted, but Claudia’s release threatens the perfect life she has created.
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Anna was the babysitter who let Claudia and Joe down on day their daughter disappeared. Married with a child of her own, Claudia’s reappearance in her quiet cul-de-sac is an unwelcome surprise.
These three women are tied together in more ways than they realise. But only one of them is capable of killing.
My Review
Poor Claudia. We know she didn’t kill eight-month-old Tilly or there would be no premise for this remarkable story. So when she decides to confess to manslaughter in order to get parole and discover the truth about her daughter, I was gobsmacked. I know they say that everyone in prison swears they are innocent, but who says they are guilty when they are not.
However, her confession gets her out, but she is now a pariah. Everyone hates her (apart from her mother who believes in her innocence).
Her ex-husband Joe, who was her teacher when she was 16 and he was in his mid-twenties (they married a few years later after he promised to wait for her), gave up on her rather too quickly. I would hope that my own husband would defend me to the death and not throw me under a bus (figuratively speaking) to protect his own ‘mental health’.
A few years later, and Joe has moved on. He’s now married to Sara and they have a baby girl of their own called Maeve. Sara ‘befriends’ Claudia and says she will help dish the dirt on babysitter at the time, Anna, who is a lot younger than either Sara or Claudia, or at least find out what she remembers.
Anna is now married to Owen and they also have a young toddler Max, the same age as Maeve. When you read Anna’s story you will no doubt gasp as I did, at some of the things she says and does.
I was never quite sure how I would feel if someone who had killed their own child moved in next door. Because we assume Claudia’s innocence, we are sympathetic and feel for her plight and her loneliness. But then her neighbours believe she is guilty, especially after her confession. However, I would never do some of the things they do – you should never take the law into your own hands. That’s what we have a justice system for.
Many thanks to @annecater for inviting me to be part of #RandomThingsTours
About the Author
Emma Curtis was born in Brighton and now lives in London with her husband. After raising two children and working various jobs, her fascination with the darker side of domestic life inspired her to start writing psychological suspense thrillers. She has published five previous titles with Transworld: One Little Mistake, When I Find You, The Night You Left, Keep Her Quiet and Invite Me In.
