Watch Out for Her
A Novel
Table of Contents
About The Book
Wherever you go…
she’ll be watching.
Sarah Goldman, mother to six-year-old Jacob, is relieved to move across the country. She has a lot she wants to leave behind, especially Holly Monroe, the pretty twenty-two-year-old babysitter she and her husband, Daniel, hired to take care of their young son last summer. It started out as a perfect arrangement—Sarah had a childminder her son adored, and Holly found the mother figure she’d always wanted. But Sarah’s never been one to trust very easily, so she kept a close eye on Holly, maybe too close at times. What she saw raised some questions, not only about who Holly really was but what she was hiding. The more Sarah watched, the more she learned—until one day, she saw something she couldn’t unsee, something so shocking that all she could do was flee.
Sarah has put it all behind her and is starting over in a different city with her husband and son. They’ve settled into a friendly suburb where the neighbors, a tight clique of good citizens, are always on the lookout for danger. But when Sarah finds hidden cameras in her new home, she has to wonder: Has her past caught up to her, and worse yet, who’s watching her now?
A spine-tingling, page-turning novel from USA TODAY and #1 national bestselling author Samantha M. Bailey, Watch Out for Her is psychological suspense at its very best—a chilling look at trust, voyeurism, and obsession in the modern age, and how far we will go to watch out for those we love.
About The Author
Samantha M. Bailey is the author of Woman on the Edge, a USA TODAY and #1 national bestseller; her second novel, Watch Out for Her, was an instant #1 national bestseller. Her books have sold in eleven countries to date. Samantha is a journalist and freelance editor; her writing has appeared in NOW Magazine, The Village Post, The Thrill Begins, and The Crime Hub, among other publications. She lives in Toronto, where she can usually be found tapping away at her computer or curled up on her couch with a book. Connect with her on Twitter and Instagram @SBaileyBooks and on her website at SamanthaMBailey.com.
About The Readers
Why We Love It
“Watch Out for Her is about mothers and daughters in search of the thing they need most—love. It’s also about women whose instincts to keep watch over their loved ones begins innocently enough, but over time, they find themselves slowly cross an invisible line. Once they’ve gone too far, there’s no way to go back to the domestic lives they had before. This book is compulsively readable, the kind of novel that gets passed from friend to sister to mother to book club buddy with the best kind of caution for a thriller: ‘Read it. Because you won’t be able to put it down.’”
—Nita P., VP, Editorial Director, on Watch Out for Her
Product Details
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster (April 26, 2022)
- Runtime: 10 hours and 9 minutes
- ISBN13: 9781982198619
Raves and Reviews
“Yet again, one of our most beloved thriller writers brings us a story with the heart of a family drama and the pulse of an edge-of-your-seat spine-chiller. Filled with foreboding from the very first page, this one will keep you up all night—and have you checking the locks!”
— MARISSA STAPLEY, New York Times bestselling author of Reese’s Book Club Pick Lucky
“Shows that Bailey is no one-book-wonder. It’s as tightly plotted and skillfully written as her first, with a great backstory to carry it off. . . . Bailey builds the suspense here with excellent pacing and clues that drop at exactly the right time. This is a great book to take on that summer holiday or the cottage weekend when all you have to do is chill, eat, and read.”
— The Globe and Mail
“Bailey is a strong writer who keeps the reader turning pages . . . A cautionary tale about the fine line between diligence and obsession and the dangers of doing the wrong things for what we believe are the right reasons.”
— Toronto Star
“A cleverly written, twisty, and brilliantly creepy thriller. With compelling characters intertwined with obsession, lies, simmering menace, and secrets at its heart, this is a page-turner which drew me in and kept me hooked. A real must-read!”
— KAREN HAMILTON, internationally bestselling author of The Perfect Girlfriend
“A tense and claustrophobic thriller in which Bailey makes you question whether the heart of a family is a place of safety or danger. Paranoia, obsession, and secrets ensure a twisty read.”
— GILLY MACMILLAN, New York Times bestselling author of What She Knew
“Creepy, surprising, and relentlessly tense, Watch Out for Her is so much more than a thriller; it’s an unflinching exploration of the roles we allow women to fill. With dark secrets and cliffhangers galore, this thrill ride will keep you up long past your bedtime. I couldn’t put it down.”
— ANDREA BARTZ, New York Times bestselling author of Reese’s Book Club Pick We Were Never Here
“The ragged psychological tension in Watch Out for Her echoes the tone of Bailey’s earlier bestselling novel, Woman on the Edge. . . . Despite touching on heavy, complex problems such as maternal anxiety, marital secrets, addiction, and searing family rifts, Bailey weaves her story smoothly between Sarah’s past in Vancouver and her new life in the suburbs of Toronto, where she and her family have moved for a new start. . . . Bailey writes with a light touch of Alfred Hitchcock.”
— Winnipeg Free Press
“A hair-raising, suspenseful page-turner [that] will have one watching their back wherever they go, but what really gets to the novel’s heart is the unexpected and chilling ending. . . . The narrative is so well written and joined together it flows effortlessly.”
— The New York Journal of Books
“Samantha M. Bailey’s latest thriller is as propulsive as her sizzling debut. Two troubled women enter into a complex relationship that could shatter not only their lives, but the lives of everyone they touch. A page-turner in the most literal sense of the word, I could not put this book down until the final shocking twist.”
— ROBYN HARDING, bestselling author of The Perfect Family
“An irresistible story about what happens when we take our obsessions too far. Propulsive, electrifying, and sinister, I could not tear myself away from the narrators, two women each hiding dark secrets from their families. Bailey’s assured prose delivers as enthralling a tale as her stellar debut.”
— STEPHANIE WROBEL, bestselling author of This Might Hurt and Darling Rose Gold
“Addictive and relentlessly twisty. . . . Nobody else writes a propulsive, family-centered mystery quite like this: Bailey is queen of the domestic thriller for a reason. Watch Out for Her masterfully deals with the shifting power of obsession, and the secrets we keep from our loved ones . . . and ourselves.”
— LAURIE ELIZABETH FLYNN, bestselling author of The Girls Are All So Nice Here
“A compulsive and chilling exploration of trust, obsession, and voyeurism, Samantha M. Bailey knocks it out of the park with this intricately plotted domestic thriller. With dark secrets and surprising twists, this one’s sure to be a new favorite!”
— CHRISTINA McDONALD, USA Today bestselling author of Do No Harm
“Wow! Relentlessly tense and incredibly twisty—Watch Out for Her proves the amazing Samantha M. Bailey is the queen of family suspense. With authentic emotion and complex and heartbreaking relationships, Bailey shows her brilliance in revealing the destructive power of love and the intensity of the need to belong. I flew through the cinematic pages, riveted and completely immersed in this propulsive and original thriller. Everyone will be talking about this—do not miss it!”
— HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN, USA Today bestselling author of Her Perfect Life
“Samantha M. Bailey turns our most visceral fears into an artform in Watch Out for Her—a fierce and terrifying tour-de-force that puts unseen eyes on the back of your neck from page one. Through rich and palpably unsettling prose, Bailey delivers a relentlessly tense and inescapably honest thriller that scared the hell out of me as only she can. Read this book.”
— P.J. VERNON, author of Bath Haus and When You Find Me
“I’d planned on reading a chapter or two but ended up devouring Watch Out for Her in a day. Compulsive, propelling, and unputdownable, this twisted thriller is as enthralling as it is surprising. A fantastic read that’s sure to be a huge hit!”
— HANNAH MARY McKINNON, bestselling author of You Will Remember Me
“An addictive read from start to finish, Samantha M. Bailey’s talent and skill are on full display in this well-crafted domestic thriller. Watch Out for Her will have you second-guessing everyone you meet and rooting for characters you don’t trust—and there is nothing more fun than that. Absolutely riveting.”
— JENNIFER HILLIER, bestselling author of Little Secrets and the award-winning Jar of Hearts
“This insanely addictive, utterly propulsive, and unbelievably tense thriller will consume you. With intoxicating, scalpel-sharp prose and gasp-worthy twists, Bailey has crafted a fresh and deeply unsettling take on obsession and voyeurism. Reading Watch Out for Her is like pulling a pin from a hand grenade and waiting for it to detonate. This is destined to become the most talked about, explosive thriller of the year."
— MAY COBB, author of The Hunting Wives
“Sometimes the best literary escape for an exhausted mom is a novel that sucks you in from page one and makes you want to read and read. . . . You will stay up way past your bedtime.”
— The Globe and Mail
“Bailey’s newest creepy thriller set in Toronto and Vancouver already has us looking over our shoulders. . . . Exploring themes of motherhood and paranoia, this psychological thriller is bound to be a gripping page turner.”
— She Does the City
“A deep dive into a world of secrets, where no one is who you think they are, and everyone has something to hide. Bailey’s deft hand at ratcheting tension makes this an exquisite read. It will suck you in and you’ll love every moment of it!”
— AMINA AKHTAR, author of Kismet and #FashionVictim
“[A] spine-chilling thriller . . . Expertly crafted, Bailey’s psychological suspense novel will hold you captive from the very first page.”
— Daily Hive
“A tense, acerbic psychological thriller. . . . Smart, suspenseful, and full of shocking twists. It is intricately plotted—Bailey reveals just enough to create frenzy and momentum. Her characters are well-developed and propel the expertly paced story. . . . Bailey is a master at manipulating her reader. With short and punchy chapters, she cleverly delivers on so many levels. . . . A must read!”
— Style Canada
“Bailey gives suspense fans another gripping and satisfying page-turner. . . . Just about each chapter ends on a cliff-hanging note that will have you hungry to keep going, making this an exciting book to devour. Expect to lose sleep. . . . Chilling and unpredictable.”
— She Does the City
“Tense from the opening chapter, this thriller will have you glued to the pages as you discover that the lies we weave are usually deeper than face value. With a cast of unreliable narrators, this suspenseful tale will have you doubting who to trust until the very last chapter. An early favorite of 2022, Watch Out For Her is sure to be among the best psychological thrillers of the year.”
— JAIME LYNN HENDRICKS, internationally bestselling author of Finding Tessa and It Could Be Anyone
“A tense, character-driven thriller . . . An anxiety-riddled ride with a menacing undertone that keeps readers guessing.”
— Mystery & Suspense Magazine
Resources and Downloads
High Resolution Images
- Book Cover Image (jpg): Watch Out for Her Unabridged Audio Download 9781982198619
- Author Photo (jpg): Samantha M. Bailey Dahlia Katz Photography(0.1 MB)
Any use of an author photo must include its respective photo credit
