Here’s the thing…I’ve resisted the idea of audiobooks for a long time. Not because I don’t believe it’s the same as reading—any method of cramming good words into brainmeat is okay by me—but because the one time I tried it several years ago, I failed miserably. Maybe it was the book I chose, maybe my frame of mind at the time, but I just couldn’t keep the story in my head. Still, I always told myself I should try again.

Then last week I had a roadtrip, and I decided to dip my toe in the audiobook waters again. I did a quick search and found the perfect thing, a book only available on audio by one of my favorite authors—The Babysitter Lives by Stephen Graham Jones.

Such a good choice!

Charlotte is a babysitter, a great one (except for one near-disaster she tries not to think about), with what should be an easy gig—babysitting six-year-old twins for new clients. Feed them, put them to bed, and spend the evening studying for the SAT test the next day.

The house has other plans.

Yes, this is a haunted house novel, but unlike any I have read before. Jones starts with the idea of other realities, funny places in the words of the twins, and goes buck-fucking-wild. Once the madness begins he never lets up on the gas, ratcheting up the tension, throwing in so many twists and turns it will make you dizzy, but never losing the thread of the story. Jones is never less than a compelling storyteller, and he’s operating at peak efficiency here. There are Inception-level layers and intricacies to The Babysitter Lives, so many balls being juggled, but Jones doesn’t drop a single one. I should also mention that this novel is deeply creepy, with scenes that have stayed with me.

Charlotte is a wonderful character—brave and resourceful in the face of overwhelming terror, tender and protective of the twins, and of her girlfriend Murphy when she shows up unexpectedly. She never gives up hope, even when things seem hopeless.

Isabella Star LaBlanc, the narrator of the book, has her hands full with this Chinese puzzle box/Russian nesting doll of a story, and she knocks it out of the park. She imbues Charlotte with every bit of intelligence and emotion that Jones gives her on the page. It’s a remarkable performance.

Give The Babysitter Lives a listen, and be both frightened and entertained. Myself, I’m looking forward to my next roadtrip, and my next audiobook.