Take good care of my baby

A narrow little thriller: MISCHIEF (1950) by Charlotte Armstrong.

In a nutshell:

Mr. and Mrs. Jones are invited to an important dinner and leave their 9-year old daughter Bunny in their hotelroom. With Bunny stays babysitter Nell, whose uncle Eddie - the lift operator - arranged this job for her.
At the same time Jed - a young man, who resides in the same hotel - has a brawl with his girlfriend Lyn and after their seperation he spots Nell in the hotelroom vis-à-vis and looks forward to have a chance to reduce his anger in a more cushy way. He grabs a bottle of ryeand the evening could become really nice - if Nell wasn't mentally disordered and dangerous..

Really exciting - and a quick read - no wonder: ca. 200 pages aren't that much. Charlotte Armstrong foreshadows before she starts describing what really happens - so that an enormous suspense can be established - or not, that depends on your own sensation.. ;")

• Celebration!: Whiskey (Rye) or Cola. A little candy and you are in game..
• For non-readers: 1951 the book was adapted to the screen with my heroine Marilyn Monroe - guess what made me read this book.. The movie was named DON'T BOTHER TO KNOCK - the minor characters were melted down and Nells backround story was changed a bit - but the story is still thrilling. And: Yes, Marilyn Monroe was able to be mean. :") You can read my film review here.
• Schmooze: The German title of the book is SCHLAFE MEIN KINDCHEN (lit.= "Sleep my little child")