Trash or Treasure Thursday

The Babysitter by Daniel Ransom

Acquired at: The Salvation Army Thrift Store
Cost: $1.00

I hate to admit it, but the cover of this book is what drew me to it. I know you should never judge a book by its cover, but sometimes I do. On the cover a creepy-looking babysitter stands with two children. It reminds me of R.L. Stine's Babysitter series, which I loved when I was younger.

Then I noticed the blurb from Dean Koontz on the cover.

"Ransom's writing is strong, fast and sleek as a bullet. He's one of the best." - Dean R. Koontz

Intrigued, I opened the cover and saw the dedication.

From one crazed Irishman to another - This is for Richard Laymon.

Anyone who likes Richard Laymon is okay in my book. At this point, I definitely wanted the book. Well it was only $1.00, so why not? The description on the back of the book sounded promising too.

The Babysitter is about Jody, a woman who returns to her hometown to take care of her drug addict daughter and her granddaughter. Jody's granddaughter has been acting out lately, as have many children in the town. The children have one thing in common: they've been babysat by the same young woman. Maybe it has something to do with the horror Jody witnessed when she was 13.

I was drawn in from the beginning. There's action right from the start. What Jody sees (I don't want to give anything away) is like something out of a B horror flick and made me keep reading to see the connection.

It's only 214 pages long, so the plot moves along quickly. I read it in one sitting. I actually wish it was longer because I was enjoying it so much. The ending felt a little rushed. All of a sudden the end came out of nowhere. The end was kind of a letdown. I felt it didn't really do the book justice.

The characters were realistic and interesting. I could relate to Jody, especially the part where she was 13, thinking about the boy she had a crush on.

I even laughed a few times while reading. I think it would have been better if it was a few chapters longer. But I was still throughly entertained with The Babysitter. So, I would give it a 4, making it a treasure.

Rating: 4/5