Some people can't help serving as mirrors of other people's failings and fears, and babysitter Theresa Santiago plays just that role vis-à-vis her WASPy employers in this tautly paced thriller. Although the title suggests the story is about Santiago, Diamond (The Trophy Wife) actually paints a vivid family portrait of political superstar Gordon Acton, his pedigreed wife and the couple's two bright and photogenic children. Acton is campaigning for a Massachusetts congressional seat, and it looks like he'll win. With his political profile in mind, he asks his wife, Ellie, to hire a Hispanic mother's helper. Ellie does so, but reluctantly, believing that the young woman will be ostracized by the mostly white population of Cape Cod where the family plans to spend the summer. Ellie hires the babysitter despite her misgivings, and Theresa turns out to be the perfect helper—aiding Ellie with her doctoral thesis and winning over the children and even many of the snobbish and racist members of the Actons' club. Yet from the start it's clear that Theresa isn't exactly what she says she is. It's hard to know what is fact and what is fiction, especially when the Actons begin to suspect that their babysitter may be blackmailing them. Diamond has built her thriller around issues of race and class, and she asks: If the rich use the poor, is it so bad when the opposite happens? The political point-making is a bit heavy-handed at times, but that's a minor complaint when weighed against Diamond's thoughtful exposition and careful plotting. (July)
FYI:Diamond is the pseudonym of "a critically acclaimed mystery and thriller writer."
