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Title details for Babysitter by Joyce Carol Oates - Available

Babysitter

A Novel

by Joyce Carol Oates
Cassandra Campbell
Audiobook
1 of 3 copies available
Borrow Listen to a sample Listen to a sample
1 of 3 copies available
From one of America’s most renowned storytellers—the bestselling author of Blonde—comes a novel about love and deceit, and lust and redemption, against a backdrop of shocking murders in the affluent suburbs of Detroit.
"Hannah’s unreliable, elliptical narrative is seductive and compelling, like following someone into a fever dream ... [Oates] is in no hurry to trigger the action, dropping tiny morsels of foreshadowing to keep us on our toes." —The New York Times Book Review
“Unsettling, mysterious, deft, sinister, eerily plausible.” —Margaret Atwood, best-selling author of The Handmaid's Tale and The Testaments, via Twitter
In the waning days of the turbulent 1970s, in the wake of unsolved child-killings that have shocked Detroit, the lives of several residents are drawn together with tragic consequences.
There is Hannah, wife of a prominent local businessman, who has begun an affair with a darkly charismatic stranger whose identity remains elusive; Mikey, a canny street hustler who finds himself on a chilling mission to rectify injustice; and the serial killer known as Babysitter, an enigmatic and terrifying figure at the periphery of elite Detroit. As Babysitter continues his rampage of abductions and killings, these individuals intersect with one another in startling and unexpected ways.
Suspenseful, brilliantly orchestrated, and engrossing, Babysitter is a starkly narrated exploration of the riskiness of pursuing alternate lives, calling into question how far we are willing to go to protect those whom we cherish most. In its scathing indictment of corrupt politics, unexamined racism, and the enabling of sexual predation in America, Babysitter is a thrilling work of contemporary fiction.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    August 23, 2022

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9780593627891
      • File size: 500020 KB
      • Duration: 17:21:42

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      June 13, 2022
      In this polished yet soulless story from Oates (Extenuating Circumstances: Stories of Crime and Suspense), three people with varying agendas converge during the late 1970s as Detroit is racked by unsolved child murders. Bored, lonely suburban housewife Hannah Jarrett, emotionally closed off from her wealthy businessman husband and their two young children, is drawn into an abusive, humiliating affair with a man calling himself Y.K., a smarmy stranger she meets at a society fundraiser who no one can remember inviting. Y.K. also has a manipulative hold on Mikey Kushel, a victim of childhood abuse, and Mikey’s menial errands for Y.K. become increasingly strange and violent. Meanwhile, a serial killer of children called Babysitter at first stalks only Detroit’s inner city, until he widens his reach to the suburbs, shattering Hannah’s family’s sense of safety. Exquisite prose compensates only in part for characters with grating personalities who come across as mere shadows as they each careen along a collision course to disaster. This one’s only for Oates diehards. Agent: Warren Frazier, John Hawkins & Assoc.

    • Library Journal

      June 10, 2024

      Prolific best-selling author Joyce Carol Oates's latest is a beautifully written mystery and horror story, but its focus on rape, murder, child abuse, and police brutality make it a challenging listen. Hannah Jarett, an attractive, privileged woman in her 30s, feels trapped in her luxurious lifestyle. She begins a disastrous affair with a random stranger she meets at a fundraiser. Hannah falls in love and is sure he loves her, too, but then she discovers that he is a predator who seeks out rich, unhappy women. Meanwhile, the newspaper is reporting that a serial killer dubbed Babysitter because he brutally murders children between the ages of 10 and 14, is loose in the community. Serving as the primary narrator, Cassandra Campbell skillfully puts listeners inside Hannah's head, precisely describing her increasingly panicked thoughts. Supporting narrators Kirby Heyborne and Max Meyers provide believable voices for Hannah's whining children and a charming, accented voice for Hannah's unsettling paramour. VERDICT Fans of the author and of twisted suspense will not be able to stop listening to this tense and horrifying mystery.--Ilka Gordon

      Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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