Gloucester author Janet Ruth Young will read from her novel The Babysitter Murders at The Bookstore of Gloucester, 61 Main Street, on Thursday, October 20, at 7 p.m.
The Babysitter Murders, published in July by Simon & Schuster, is a book for everyone who’s had a thought they’re afraid to say out loud. Seventeen-year-old Dani Solomon adores Alex, the little boy she babysits. But one day, Dani has a vision of harming Alex—an image so gruesome she can’t get it out of her mind. Dani becomes convinced that she may try to kill Alex. She confesses the thoughts to keep him safe, setting off a media frenzy that makes "Dani Death" the target of an extremist vigilante group. Soon, everyone in town will have an opinion on Dani’s character, and those closest to her will have to choose loyalty or betrayal.
In a starred review, Publishers Weekly called the book a "provocative exploration of a community’s response to the mere possibility of a horrific crime" and "a realistic and disturbing look at our cultural response to mental illness."
Young has set the story in the fictional North Shore town of Hawthorne, Massachusetts. Cape Ann readers will spot variations on familiar places and events including a popular ice cream restaurant called Icey’s, a forest called Havenswood with a landmark known as Shark’s Jaw, a scandal that brings an unwanted media circus to town, and a slew of anonymous commentators who stir up trouble on the website of the town’s newspaper, The Hawthorne Beacon-Times.
For more information contact the bookstore at 978 281-1548 or go to janetruthyoung.com
Good Morning Gloucester 