The Introverted Bookworm

Title: Don’t Let Her Stay

Author: Nicola Sanders

Genre: Mystery/ Domestic Thriller

Joanne is a lonely, isolated new mother, living in a luxurious country home in a tranquil village near Chertsey. A former estate agent, she is finding it difficult to adapt to caring for her four-month-old baby girl, Evie, as a fulltime mother, whilst her successful and handsome husband, Richard, is at work all day.

When a mysterious handwritten letter arrives one morning, announcing the arrival of Richard’s estranged twenty-one-year-old daughter, Chloe, Joanne’s uneventful life suddenly takes a turn for the worse.

I was immediately drawn into Joanne’s story, told from her perspective. She is a likeable character: friendly, warm, and inclined to see the best in everyone (even those who turn out to be untrustworthy). It is easy to sympathise with her, and as a reader, I felt that her loneliness and vulnerability shone through in the text, which made me root for her from the very beginning of the book. The author is very skilled in creating a guileless central heroine, who just wants to get along with everyone – especially Chloe, who, unfortunately, does not feel the same way about her new stepmother.

Chloe’s evil-minded, masterful manipulations are what drives the plot onwards. I was flabbergasted (and quite outraged) at her tricks, nastiness, and general ability to rankle Joanne in her own home. The dynamic between these two made addictive and compelling reading. Meanwhile, Joanne’s husband, Richard, seems unable to take her side, insisting that Joanne is imagining things and losing her mind.

Don’t Let Her Stay is an addictive book. The atmosphere of suspicion and distrust left me guessing right until the very end. I would highly recommend this book to those who love a taut, tense thriller, with unforgettable characters.

You can buy Don’t Let Her Stay from Amazon.