I'll Watch Your Baby - by Neena Viel (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

A suffocating and sharp narrative horror novel for fans of Victor LaValle and The Reformatory from "addictive" (Publishers Weekly) horror author Neena Viel, I'll Watch Your Baby is a haunting reimagining of Linda Taylor--known as the original Welfare Queen--pursued, scrutinized, celebrated and vilified, and the impact her image has had for generations.

1974. Lottie Turner is already infamous. Running a wheel of schemes and scams, she's willing to work for what she wants in...creative ways. But no business is more lucrative than desperate families looking to adopt a child--and there's only one way to procure children quickly.

And the only way to take what's owed you is to cross the line no one else is willing to cross.

1994. Bless has finally found the family she deserved. After suffocating slowly with lackluster parents and a non-starter past, she's found the friends that means everything to her. That she'd live and die for. As they make their way across the country, one smash and grab at a time, Bless is used to acting fast and thinking on her feet.

But someone is playing a long game. Someone has unfinished business. Soon Bless is trapped in a web of horrors past and present, where the only escape hatch is a path only she can walk, if she finds the courage to take it.

Review Quotes

Praise for Listen to Your Sister:

"This twisted love letter to family uses humor to look at race, trauma, and parentification." --People Magazine

"Speculative fiction was invented so stories like Listen to Your Sister could be told. What a knockout debut." --Ashley Winstead, author of Midnight is the Darkest Hour and In My Dreams I Hold a Knife

"Gripping and powerful, this is horror at its finest." --Nick Medina, author of Sisters of the Lost Nation

"A brilliant fever-dream of a novel that effortlessly dances between horror, literary, and family saga--sure to appeal to fans of Grady Hendrix, Tananarive Due, Mona Awad, and Stephen King." --Maria Dong, author of Liar, Dreamer, Thief

"Viel faces the dark side of family head on, painting a fever dream of the nightmarish obligations of love." --Maggie Thrash, author of Rainbow Black

"Wonderfully weird and inventive. Viel's tale of siblings' love and struggle in modern America is as affecting as it is thought-provoking." --T.L. Huchu, USA Today bestselling author of The Library of the Dead

"If you're looking for a smart, contemporary take on the classic cabin in the woods horror novel, look no further than Listen To Your Sister." --Erika T. Wurth, author of White Horse

"Equal parts haunting and humane, Listen to Your Sister moves with breathtaking velocity." --Omar El Akkad, bestselling and award-winning author of What Strange Paradise and American War

"Viel brilliantly pulls off both the comic and the terrifying in a skillfully crafted voice that will have you laughing right before it knocks you down with grief." --Claire Jimenez, author of What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez

"[An] addictive supernatural thriller." --Publishers Weekly

"Heartfelt and darkly humorous...Fans of Jordan Peele's films will want to check this out." --Booklist

"Anxiety metamorphoses into terror for a young Black woman fiercely protecting her own... A relentless descent into familial fears made manifest, both haunting and terribly familiar." --Kirkus

"Unique and compelling...a terrifying and immerse supernatural horror story that is clearly underpinned with love." --Library Journal

"Deliciously terrifying and belly laugh-inducing...Viel incorporates well worn genre tropes in new ways and provides plenty of bloodcurdling surprises along the way." --BookPage (Starred review)

About the Author