Don't Let Her Stay: Wenn das Böse Einzug hält

by Nicola Sanders, Wolfgang Thon (translator)

Lass sie niemals aus den Augen …

Ich war so aufgeregt. Endlich würde ich meine Stieftochter Chloe aus erster Ehe kennenlernen. Auch Richard war überglücklich, dass seine Tochter wieder in sein Leben treten wollte. "Du wirst sie lieben", hatte er strahlend gesagt. "Sie war nur etwas verwirrt, weil ich wieder geheiratet habe, aber das ist jetzt vorbei." Ich träumte von unserer perfekten kleinen Familie, mit Apfelkuchen auf der Fensterbank und hausgemachter Limonade in großen Karaffen. Davon, dass wir uns über ihre Freunde, ihr Studium, ihr Leben unterhielten. Ich wäre jemand, mit dem sie reden könnte, wenn sie mit ihrer Mutter gesprochen hätte, wäre sie noch am Leben.

Nun, sagen wir, dass die Dinge nicht ganz so gelaufen sind.

Wann immer wir allein sind, macht Chloe deutlich, dass sie mich hasst. Doch vor ihrem Vater mimt sie den perfekten kleinen Engel. Richard sagt, ich gäbe ihr keine Chance, aber er sieht nicht, was ich sehe. Ich traue Chloe nicht.

Ich weiß, dass mit ihr etwas nicht stimmt, und ich werde alles tun, um meine Familie zu schützen.

Bevor es zu spät ist.

Genres: Thriller, Mystery Thriller, Mystery, Audiobook, Fiction, Psychological Thriller, Suspense

308 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 9, 2023

About the author

Nicola Sanders writes psychological thrillers. She lives with her partner on the edge of a forest where she is regularly swooped by magpies.

Reviews

[Angel]

Just started, but I can’t stand Joanne. Why the hell does she let that disrespectful ass bitch talk to her like that??? And in her own home! She needs to kick Chloe’s stupid ass out of her house along with her husband if he disagrees. Her husband Richard is a complete asshole. This is definitely white women’s drama because it would never happen in my house. She even agreed to let that crazy bitch look after her baby. Wtaf? I don’t think I can finish this. The wife is a dumb ass spineless doormat. Instead of beating Chloe‘s ass into the ground, she lets her do whatever the hell she wants.

[Nina (ninjasbooks)]

I’m still sweating after reading this one. A perfect psychological thriller that I didn’t want to end. The characters were consistent in their behavior and personality, and the tension of uncertainty was thick. The last chapters were really thrilling and the twist was brilliant!

[Bailey]

The dog was my favourite character.

[Sydney Books]

Was every character in this book (aside from the dog) completely insufferable? Yes.
Did I still stay up half the night to finish it? Also yes.

[Larissa Cambusano]

3.75 ⭐️ respectfully… what the fuck 🤡

i still don’t know how i feel.

[Brady Lockerby]

0/5 - One of the worst thrillers I’ve read so far this year besides Rock, Paper, Scissors. Every single character was awful besides Oscar the dog. Justice for Oscar. No shocking twist, no interesting plot, insufferable characters, just no.

[Calla Dean]

I don’t think I’ve ever read a book with a more clueless main character.

[angel]

when will i learn to stop trusting booktok recs.

[Joleen (starlightbooktales)]

Honestly the more I think about this book the more I hate it

[Megan Busch]

God that was insufferable. The characters were annoying as all hell and the back and forth of the plot line was too predictable

[M.]

I feel like the story dragged on and after reading so many psychological thrillers by Freida McFadden, I’m just unfazed to any twists. And to be quite frank, the author should have left the twist alone instead of double backing.

I could not stand any of the characters. The mc Joanne had no backbone, and continued to sweep everything under the rug for the sake of not arguing with her husband but miss girl, STAND YOUR GROUND!! Handle that little scrawny stepdaughter b✨tch from hell. And don’t get me started on her whack ass excuse of a husband. Gaslighting her, and always having her think there was something wrong with her, when in fact, he’s known the truth all along. He withheld so many information that could’ve saved his family (himself included). He was the problem just as much as his crazy ass daughter was.

1 star for me.

[Sarah]

Predictable and if I have to listen to that stepdaughter one more time I will lose my mind. When are we going to start writing psychological thrillers about cis het couples where the husband doesn't gaslight the wife and use her past trauma against her? Find an original plot device. What a waste of my time!

[benedicta]

4.5⭐️ I have never been gaslighted this much by a thriller 😮‍💨

"Chloe is a great kid!"

sir, she's 21 and a fucking psychopath 😭 what??

[LV]

I have no idea why this book has high ratings. Every single one of the characters is unlikeable (except Evie and Oscar, the dog). This whole book was tooooo narrative and descriptive at times. Something like “Paula asks me if I I’ve read the email. I check my inbox and see the email. I open it. Then I read it”

Okay so maybe not exactly like that. But…you get it. This is by far, the worst thriller book I’ve read. 96% of the book, you don’t even get anywhere. Then it just…ends. I don’t feel bad for anyone at all.

EDIT (as of 7/19/24) it’s not the worst thriller I’ve read. I think that goes to Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz. And even that, I stopped at 10% or so.

[Kay]

This was twisty and gripping. Aww, I thought I had it!

Joanne is married to Richard and they have a 4-month-old baby girl, Evie. They live in a gorgeous 5-bedroom country home in a quiet village near Chertsey. Richard has an adult daughter Chloe with his late wife but is estranged when he remarried. Chloe has a change of heart and wants to be part of her half-sister's life and decides she wants to move in.

Grab your popcorn! Don't Let Her Stay is an engaging and fast-paced psych thriller. I really enjoy the story which at first seemed pretty tame, but I had a lot of fun with this family dynamic. I feel that someone will have to constantly look over their shoulder. Who can you really trust?

I listened to this terrific audiobook narrated by Penelope Rawlins. I enjoyed her voice and glad I have two more books read by her on my shelf.

Thank you Dreamscape Media and Netgalley for this ALC.

[Rhonda 🌒🌕🌘 🐈‍⬛]

5/5 🌟

This was one of those books that keeps you guessing until the end! I mean Holy crow!! Unbelievable.

There are 2 murders, 2 suspects and potentially two more possible victims. The question is which one is actually unhinged? The father, Richard, or his daughter, Chloe, from his first marriage?

It’s all very confusing for Joanne, the second wife, with their new 3 month old daughter Evie. Joanne is now scared for her and her daughters life. Chloe has already spent time in a mental institution but was that a cover up or out of necessity?

Read the book. It was worth the read! The way the ending was done you truly wonder which one is the guilty party until the very end when a visit is paid to Evie’s paternal grandmother.

[Kait McCaffrey]

I’m genuinely offended by how bad the writing was.

[Brittany’sBoundByBloodBooks]

Home is where the heart is, or where the horror begins. Nicola Sanders’ Don’t Let Her Stay proves that sometimes, opening your door to family isn’t the safest choice.



Joanne seemingly has it all: a loving husband, Richard; a beautiful baby, Evie; and a picture perfect life in the English countryside. But when Richard’s estranged daughter, Chloe, suddenly reappears and asks to move in, things take a sinister turn. Chloe plays the role of the perfect daughter in front of her father, but behind closed doors, Joanne starts to question her sanity. Is Chloe really trying to make amends, or is something far more twisted at play?

Sanders masterfully creates an atmosphere of mental tug of war, where every scene feels like something is lurking just beneath the surface. Joanne’s unreliable narration, due to her past struggles and postpartum state, keeps the reader guessing. Can we trust what she sees? Or is she losing her grip on reality?

The novel is a rollercoaster ride in every sense, one minute you think you’ve got it all figured out, and the next, the floor drops beneath you. And just when you think you’ve reached the final twist, Sanders does it again. The ending? Let’s just say my jaw was on the floor.

If you love a thriller that keeps you second guessing until the very last sentence, Don’t Let Her Stay is an absolute must read. Fans of Frieda McFadden and Shalini Boland will eat this one up, just be warned, it might mess with your head.

🎢🎢🎢🎢🎢-five out of five rollercoasters because this book is a nonstop thrill ride until the very last sentence.

[Elizabeth]

There’s no way these are legit reviews.

[moretomary]

Might just yeet myself off a cliff because this book triggered me so bad…but in the best way possible. I was stressed the entire time reading it and that’s exactly how I want to feel when I’m reading a thriller.

[Heather Adores Books]

3.75⭐
Genre ~ domestic thriller
Publication date ~ February 9, 2023
Est page Count ~ 288
Audio length ~ 8 hours 25 minutes
Narrator ~ Penelope Rawlins
POV ~ single 1st
Featuring ~ age gap (19 years), gaslighting

Joanne & Richard are married with a new baby. Richard has a 20 year old daughter from a previous marriage, Chloe, who comes and stays with them while taking a break from school. Chloe is a nightmare and really acting like a pill to her new step-mom. But she's the perfect princess when daddy is around.

The tension is super high in this domestic/psychological thriller. We've got some unreliable narration happening here and it was hard to know who to believe. I was kept engaged and couldn't wait until we got back to the prologue scene. The ending was quite an interesting one.
I'd be interested in reading more from this author in the future.

Narration notes:
She did a fine job for Joanne, but meh with her Chloe voice.

*Thanks to Nicola Sanders, Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the audio copy. I am voluntarily leaving my honest review*

Follow me here ➡ Blog ~ Facebook

[Bailee]

3.75 ⭐️
Did this book just gaslight me for 300+ pages???

[Courtney ✩]

★3 stars

YESSS I know, this book had me so engrossed for 85% of it that I forgot to even log the darn thing. I love me a thriller, or any book really, that has me losing all sense of time in how much it keeps me immersed. Quick chapters, a fast-paced plot, high levels of suspense?? Yes please! 😱

So if that’s the case, why the 3 stars, Courtney??? Make it make sense!! 🤔

How sad that the last 15% of the book or so had it tumbling so far downhill. I do not lie when I said every aspect of this book had my blood boiling at astronomical levels. Between the naive, idiotic Joanne, to the devious, lying step daughter Chloe, to the gaslight king himself Richard (Joanne’s husband and Chloe’s biological father), I wanted to shake every single one of them so hard for their words and actions! Joanne would fall into every trap Chloe laid, and with Richard calling her crazy and mentally unstable constantly, she couldn’t have formulated a strategic response if she tried 😤

The ending conflict felt a bit drawn out and ridiculously unbelievable/cliche that my eyes tired out from all their rolling. My 3 stars are for the buildup and the buildup alone! BUT. I would say I’d recommend for anyone wanting a v quick, heart-pounding thriller!




* ゜・。。・゜゜・。。・゜*
Pre-review:
Was so into this one I forgot to log it 😅 Here I am at 85% LOL WHOOPS better late than never 🤷🏻‍♀️

[Laura]

WHAT IN THE ACTUAL FUCKERY








Stop scrolling if you don’t want a minor spoiler










Seriously stop














Okay I warned you
















I’m saying it now















THEY BOTH WERE CRAZY LIKE PSYCHOPATHS

[Alexa L]

This is one of the worst books I’ve ever read. The writing was terrible and every character minus the dog was insufferable. So you’re telling me this grown man allowed someone he knew to be a murderer spend time with his wife and child and then gaslit his wife about it at every turn? Ok bestie.

[Lindsay Nixon]

DNF at 30%

I couldn’t get into this and found the characters extremely annoying and cartoonish. The stepdaughter is college-aged and acts like a bratty child—she doesn’t like her new step mother and works to pit her father against his new wife; she also talks like a “baby” saying “she’s such a meanie to me daddy boohoo” yet when daddy isn’t looking, she turns on a dime and says hateful things to her “step mom” in an adult voice. It’s cartoonish. Also you’re in you’re 20s grow up.

The wife, though, I can’t pity because she’s another one of these spineless doormats. I also loathe the husband, or any man who immediately sides with his estranged adult child and not his wife.

Plus it was just so boring. I don’t want to read about pettiness and family dysfunction

No thanks all around.

Thank you netgalley for my ARC

[Tonya]

Don’t Let Her Stay checks all the boxes of an edge of your seat psychological thriller. This fast paced, character driven thriller was addictive and had me reading every chance I got. Just when I thought the plot was going down a certain path, it twisted and went in a completely unexpected direction. The jaw dropping conclusion I never saw coming and was the prefect ending to this twisty tale. If you’re looking for a tension building, nail biter with a creepy element that you can’t put down, this is exactly the book for you. This is the first book I’ve read by Nicola Sanders, but definitely will not be the last. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Thank you BookSirens for my ARC.

[Maram]

The dog was the only reasonable person in this book. All the characters are insufferable, and the gaslighting was crazy, but it was just too much at the end, like what we "think" is the ending was better than the actual ending we got, in my opinion.

So this follows Joanne, who is a married woman and has a baby, and one day her stepdaughter comes to stay with them for awhile, and that's the first time she will meet her, and then things will go downhill from there. My problem with Joanne is that she's in her thirties and she is letting a kid bully her in her house, like hello??💀 AND HER HUSBAND OMG that man is an ass and knowing what I know now, he is literally the dumbest person ever. The ending was gripping even though it was stupid. 

[mors]

This book made me question my own sanity.