The Babysitter

by Diana Diamond

When a well-respected Congressional candidate, Gordon Acton has a drunken tryst with the attractive, young minority woman he hires as a babysitter during their summer on Cape Cod, and his wife Ellie is accused of plagiarism on her dissertation, the couple works out a deadly plan that backfires horribly on them. 20,000 first printing.

Genres: Suspense, Fiction, Mystery

313 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2001

Reviews

[Bren fall in love with the sea. · Rating 2 out of 5]

"I'm no good at this. I hate politics," she said, while rearranging her breasts.
"What are you talking about? You're a natural".

"A natural what? What has three breasts?"

The Babysitter by Diana Diamond


I seem to strike out when reading Political thrillers. The reason I chose this book is because of the Politics entwined with mystery. Since I am a political junkie and also love a good mystery this seemed like the book for me.

But it wasn't that great.

Gordon is a powerful Politician and Ellie is his wife. Theresa is is beautiful baby sitter they hire.


I knew, from the description of the book, that mayhem and murder would come to fruition in this book. That is pretty much known. I had no issues with the plot. But I did have issues with the characters.

Nobody was written in depth. I could not really say I knew these characters. They seemed very stereo typical of what you would think they would be like.

The jerk of a politician. The easily frazzled wife. The lovely but quiet Baby Sitter. Who of coarse has an affair with said senator.

But I never felt like I knew who any of them were. Theresa, the baby sitter bothered me most. She was such a cardboard character. Beyond having sex with the hubby and being sweet and smiling..who was she? I did not really find out.

The scheme the power couple dream up is crazy and I did not feel suspense. At the end of the day, I have read far worse and this is one I read to the end. But I really did not get lost in it and that seems to be happening to me with Political Mysteries so perhaps I will leave that genre alone for awhile.

[Leah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I gave it two stars because it got better towards the end, but I had a really hard time getting into the book because I hated the characters. Rich white people problems that they created themselves. The writing style is technically correct but not very engaging. I only finished it because it was the only paper book that I had and I had no wifi connection to download something else to my kindle. I am curious who Diana Diamond is though, since it is the pen name of another author. Mary Higgins Clark maybe? It is definitely a formulaic author such as that.

Overall, okay if you have no other choices and the storyline is pretty different, but not exactly my cup of tea.

[Jaclyndaly83 · Rating 1 out of 5]

Bleh! Do not recommend. No more random shelf pulls, will be sticking with recommended books from now on.

[Mark Zinck · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn't put this down!

[Becky · Rating 1 out of 5]

very predictable...easy to figure out....had it as a beach/pool book last summer, not worth the time to even read at the pool

[Marcel · Rating 1 out of 5]

Plot is very predictable and the writing is high school level at best. A waste of time for anyone with too much to read already.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story has a lot of twist and turns so you're never sure. I was turning pages as fast as I could to keep reading. Gordon and Ellie Acton have it all so when Gordon suggest hiring an underprivileged young woman to watch the kids over the summer his wife agrees. Gordon is running for a congressional seat and hopes this young woman will help his career. But they soon learn they could be wrong when Theresa appears to be wise beyond her years and she has a one night stand with a drunken Gordon. Can Gordon save his marriage and career before Theresa ruins it all.

[Yuliya · Rating 2 out of 5]

Много слабо повествование, но въпреки това ми беше интересна. Дразнеше ме повторението на отделни абзаци по няколко пъти в рамките на поредни страници. Около самото убийство започна силно да прозира истината, за която до този момент не беше даден и намек. Краят беше предвидим, но все пак може да се каже, че ми допадна.

[Molly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book and it totally surprised me with the ending. You have to think one way while the author is totally taking it somewhere else. I’ll definitely look for another one of her books.

[Dorothy Adkins · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a book that I had to really force myself to continue reading. I love suspense novels, but I failed to see a lot of suspense I’m this book until closer to the end. I was hoping the ending would redeem this book, but it really didn’t.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thought this book was predictable but it did have a few twist and turns in the plot towards the end that made the book better as it went along.

[Mlserna]

Pretty good-I couldn't predict the plot.
That is my new measure.

[Isabel Casler · Rating 1 out of 5]

Major flop. It was extremely strung out. The plot had a lot of potential, but it ended up being pretty boring.

[Yvonne deSousa · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Babysitter was definitely an engaging read. And I literally could not put it down during the last 75 pages. I only gave it three stars however as the first half was predictable and because I was offended by the stereotypes the author used throughout. It's as if she never heard of a strong, talented, Hispanic person. And I don't know what Cape Cod she was talking about but it clearly was not the one I have lived on my whole life...If you can get by those two issues, it is a fun read..

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

No me gusta. Paranoid, high powered couple takes their frustrations out on babysitter... Interesting character of the babysitter Theresa- seems one minute conniving, and the next innocent.....

Predictable ending.... quite boring. once again, too many details.

[Colleen · Rating 2 out of 5]

The “babysitter” appears to be setting out to blackmail a wealthy congressional candidate and his wife, so the husband plots to kill her as his only escape. The book was just OK. I might recommend it to someone who just wanted a very light read with a bit of suspense.

[Cindy Hartley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little slow and seemingly predicable, but don't give up....exciting, surprise ending.

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good mystery story similar to some movies you may have seen on Lifetime. I enjoyed the book. Had a good surprise ending. I own other books by this author and look forward to reading them.

[Mom Taxi Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was pretty predictible. It was a good read but would have been better with a little more suspense.

[Viktoriya · Rating 2 out of 5]

Why did I get a feeling that I read this book before? Oh, yeah..Because I did. Different author, but same old plot. Boring.

[Mklinthicum · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely Lifetime movie worthy!

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very preditable story. Would make a nice lifetime movie.

[The Reading Cove Book Club ❦ · Rating 2 out of 5]

TBR Potluck Challenge

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good book! Suspenseful and one of those books I couldn't put down.

[Nancy Kennedy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not a book you want to read at night, especially if you have a husband and/or children. Scummy politics, rich people in the Hamptons, "innocent" victims. The book stays with you.

[Deanna Hunt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once again Dianna Diamond is Queen of Suspense.

[Iris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Holds one's interest very well

[Amy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not as good as I had hoped. You could see the ending as soon as you got past the first few chapters. A flop.

[Janelle · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a recommendation from a library patron. Wish I could say I recommend it.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read - kept my interest and didn't figure out who the villain was until the end. I think the ending was kind of cheesy tho.