Home Feed
Home
Search
Search
Add Review, Blurb, Quote
Add
Activity
Activity
Profile
Profile
The Babysitter
The Babysitter: My Summers with a Serial Killer | Jennifer Jordan, Liza Rodman
A chilling true storypart memoir, part crime investigationreminiscent of Ann Rules classic The Stranger Beside Me, about a little girl longing for love and how she found friendship with her charismatic babysitterwho was also a vicious serial killer. Growing up on Cape Cod in the 1960s, Liza Rodman was a lonely little girl. During the summers, while her mother worked days in a local motel and danced most nights in the Provincetown bars, her babysitterthe kind, handsome handyman at the motel where her mother workedtook her and her sister on adventures in his truck. He bought them popsicles and together, they visited his secret garden in the Truro woods. To Liza, he was one of the few kind and understanding adults in her life. Everyone thought he was just a great guy. But there was one thing she didnt know; their babysitter was a serial killer. Some of his victims were buriedin piecesright there, in his garden in the woods. Though Tony Costas gruesome case made screaming headlines in 1969 and beyond, Liza never made the connection between her friendly babysitter and the infamous killer of numerous women, including four in Massachusetts, until decades later. Haunted by nightmares and horrified by what she learned, Liza became obsessed with the case. Now, she and cowriter Jennifer Jordan reveal the chilling and unforgettable true story of a charming but brutal psychopath through the eyes of a young girl who once called him her friend.
Amazon Indiebound Barnes and Noble WorldCat Goodreads LibraryThing
Pick icon
100%
review
Nicki_K
post image
Pickpick

Alternating between the authors memories and narratives which help reveal the full timeline of the serial killer Tony Costa during the late 1960s and beybeyond.This book is a chilling true crime read which is both a memoir and crime investigation, and I was hooked from the start What a read,Liza took us through her friendship with Tony as her babysitter and also through the sadness and upheavals of her childhood in such a poignant and honest way.

4 likes1 stack add
review
eanderson
post image
Panpan

I had high hopes for this book.... but Liza drove me nuts! After awhile her stories about her mom and how she treated her just got to be too much. Almost to the point of whining. Maybe it‘s my mood but this could have been better. Instead it felt like a way for her to complain 🙄. Kind of ruined it for me.

MicheleinPhilly Unstacked! 2y
33 likes1 comment
blurb
Jnb2012
post image

Currently reading and I gotta say this is good. Has anyone else picked this up? #truecrime

blurb
guinsgirlreads
post image

@Avanders thank you for this #AHRS !! I‘ve had my eye on The Babysitter forever and I have not read Dervla McTiernan , and I am so excited to!! Thank you! 🤗💛

Avanders Yay I‘m glad!! 🤗♥️ (… and did I forget to put the chocolate in? 🤭 think peanut butter thoughts!! 😘) 2y
guinsgirlreads @Avanders No, you didn‘t!!! I forgot to post the other picture that I took! 😂 2y
Avanders Oh good! Lol 😂 My Last couple months have been so crazy, I absolutely would not have put it past myself.. but I would‘ve been sad if I‘d left it out! 😮 Glad I didn‘t 😁😘 Happy Halloween!! 🖤🎃🧡🎃💛🎃 2y
guinsgirlreads @Avanders I feel your pain! 😣 Happy Halloween! 🖤💛🤍👻 2y
30 likes4 comments
blurb
aperfectmjk
post image
FantasyChick This is on my list this month too! 3y
Clwojick Ooo looks intriguing 3y
TheSpineView Thanks for playing and happy Tuesday! 3y
aperfectmjk @FantasyChick so far I would say this is a fair mix of nonfiction and fiction. Certainly reads like fiction. 3y
38 likes4 comments
blurb
angel1
post image

A beautiful, relaxing fall day here in SC...perfect for outdoor reading! 🧡🌞🍂
Update~Finished the book...loved the part true crime/part memoir style writing! ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
#fallreading #thebabysitter #memoir #truecrime

review
Chelsea.Poole
post image
Mehso-so

I was a bit disappointed with this part #truecrime part #memoir. Typically this combination is totally my jam, but I wasn‘t as captivated by this as I have been with others in this unique genre. This is told in alternating chapters —Liza about the author‘s childhood in Cape Cod and Tony — about the man who committed gruesome murders and how their lives intersect. Decent, but not incredibly compelling.

blurb
candority
post image

I forgot to post my #AprilWrapUp! 🤦‍♀️ I read 18 books in April and DNF one book. My favourites of the month were The Babysitter and Tender is the Flesh. Somehow I only managed to score two bingos 😂 #AprilStats

Kelly_the_Bookish_Sidekick I get a kick out of all the bingo boards that have more than 12 books finished & no bingos (mine included) like we're actively avoiding them. 🤣 A great month for you anyway! 3y
candority @Kelly_the_Bookish_Sidekick Hahah I‘ve been guilty of that in the past too! 😂 3y
82 likes2 comments
review
TheNerdyProfessor
post image
Mehso-so

I had high hopes for this book, and while it was interesting it definitely didn't blow me away. A lot of the story is based on the author's childhood memories - I was a bit skeptical of how many details she was able to remember. The title itself also is a little misleading, as she grew up around Tony but he wasn't her babysitter in a traditional sense. I wish more time had actually been spent on Tony's crimes and court case. Overall ⭐⭐⭐

82 likes1 stack add
review
candority
post image
Pickpick

The Babysitter is part true crime, part memoir about a serial killer named Tony Costa who was active in Cape Cod in the 1960s and a young girl named Liza who knew Tony as her babysitter and friend. These two narratives were weaved together really well and both were equally compelling to me, which can be difficult to do. I thought this was a fascinating, but disturbing, account of a serial killer that I had never heard of before. 4⭐️ #NetGalley

Bookwormjillk Yikes! 3y
candority @Bookwormjillk Yikes indeed! 😬 3y
101 likes5 stack adds2 comments
review
CaitlinByTheBook
post image
Pickpick

Finished this one just in time for virtual book club the other night! It was quite good. A mix of true crime and memoir, done in a way that was especially readable. I really could‘ve kept reading even more. I wasn‘t familiar with this serial killer prior to reading this either. Highly recommend this new release true crime book! 4⭐️

review
TracyReadsBooks
post image
Pickpick

Compulsively readable, horrifying & occasionally heart stopping while simultaneously leaving you marveling at the mundanity of life, the things we don‘t know about people & how chance can sometimes be the difference between life & death, this is a fast, gripping read. If the author‘s powers of recall seem overly detailed on occasion, it‘s ok. An interesting memoir about a dysfunctional family, a peripatetic childhood, & a murderous babysitter.

TheNerdyProfessor I just started this one this morning. FYI to others - several trigger warnings for sexual assault and violence within the first 2-3 chapters. Overall, it feels like fiction which makes it that much more compulsive. 3y
TracyReadsBooks @TheNerdyProfessor Thanks for adding the warnings! And yes, it definitely reads like fiction. You can‘t help but want to know what happens next. 3y
26 likes1 stack add2 comments
blurb
TracyReadsBooks
post image

Going with memoir/true crime to start the weekend‘s reading.

Reagan Oooh that looks good! 3y
25 likes1 stack add1 comment
review
quirkyreader
post image
Pickpick

This was #MountTBRchallenge Number 24. So now I have reached Mt. Blanc.

26 likes2 stack adds
review
ScrappyMags
post image
Pickpick

This is a book that made me mad, sick, and troubled - which is what it should be. I was engrossed in every shocking turn and several moments forgot I was reading non-fiction. I‘m off to go hug my mom...Liza has a pretty awful mom who drags her around working jobs, partying, and leaving her kids w/random people. One of these random people was serial killer Tony Costa. Liza‘s recollection is captured here. Full review on ScrappyMags.com

59 likes1 stack add
review
rather_be_reading
post image
Mehso-so

When I requested this it was the title that sucked me in. Then I read the synopsis and I was like I have to read that! Im very into true crime and I had never heard of Tony Costa aka the Cape Cod Vampire/killer. This was a very interesting perspective for sure.

53 likes1 stack add
quote
rather_be_reading
post image

Book 28

Come-read-with-me You always find the best scary books - can hardly wait to hear your thoughts! 3y
46 likes3 stack adds1 comment
blurb
quirkyreader
post image

#bookmail Thank you @SimonSchuster and Atria books.

19 likes2 stack adds
review
GerardtheBookworm
post image
Pickpick

Part memoir and true crime, author Liza Rodman paints a memory of her babysitter, divorced father Tony Costa. Come to find out, Tony was a serial killer leaving a string bodies in Provincetown during the 60's. As Rodman relives her painful childhood with struggling single mom and the fond recollections with Costa, the book displays a story of family dysfunction and the closeness of evil that surrounds her.

TheNerdyProfessor I really want to read this one! 3y
11 likes1 comment
review
Mirandareads
post image
Pickpick

Wow!!!! I tore through this memoir/true crime book. This is such a bonkers story and a serial killer I had yet to hear about. If you love true crime, this is for you! Many many thanks to Simon & Schuster for the advanced copy. This will definitely be one to pick up when it releases in early March!