Babysitter

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.