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Stay Home
LOCKED DOORS DON'T KEEP SECRETS SAFE
LOCK YOUR DOORS
Caitlin has been having an affair for nearly a year when the country enters lock down. Suddenly, seeing her lover, Daniel, without alerting her husband becomes almost impossible. When she does manage to sneak to his home, she finds him lying in a pool of his own blood, dead.
STAY HOME
Ali is a just-about-functioning alcoholic, recently let go, and feeling rather lonely. Each day she goes to her local shop to buy her permitted two bottles of wine, leaving food parcels for neighbours on her way home. While keeping an eye on what they are up to, of course.
STAY SAFE
Caitlin can't tell a soul about what she has discovered for risk of losing her family. Little does she know that Ali has noticed her coming and going, and that she will be drawing her own conclusions.
As Caitlin delves into the life of the man who said he loved her, she finds that maybe she didn't really know him at all. But if she wants to avoid suspicion, she needs to keep digging until they find Daniel's killer. Because the doors may be locked, but everyone's secrets are starting to leak out . . .
Stay Home is a timely story of dark secrets - affairs, addictions, habits and horrors - which are bought to the surface by these unprecedented times we find ourselves in. It explores the dark parts of people's lives, while at the same time leading us on a breath-takingly twisty race to find a killer.
What Netgalley Readers think of Stay Home :
'An exciting thriller that is perfect for current times . . . Highly recommended!'
'A great book. It was a fast read because I couldn't put it down. So many twists and turns you will never see the end coming'
'A murder mystery set during the limitations of a pandemic lockdown is an intriguing idea and Ava Pierce has certainly delivered a book you won't want to put down. The characters, especially Ali, are well described and seem real. The story itself is very visual and would make a wonderful movie. 5 stars'
'The story is thrilling and you are kept turning the pages until the very end. The twists and turns are shocking and the characters interesting. Definitely worth a read'
'Wow, I read it in a couple of hours, lots of twists and turns'
LOCK YOUR DOORS
Caitlin has been having an affair for nearly a year when the country enters lock down. Suddenly, seeing her lover, Daniel, without alerting her husband becomes almost impossible. When she does manage to sneak to his home, she finds him lying in a pool of his own blood, dead.
STAY HOME
Ali is a just-about-functioning alcoholic, recently let go, and feeling rather lonely. Each day she goes to her local shop to buy her permitted two bottles of wine, leaving food parcels for neighbours on her way home. While keeping an eye on what they are up to, of course.
STAY SAFE
Caitlin can't tell a soul about what she has discovered for risk of losing her family. Little does she know that Ali has noticed her coming and going, and that she will be drawing her own conclusions.
As Caitlin delves into the life of the man who said he loved her, she finds that maybe she didn't really know him at all. But if she wants to avoid suspicion, she needs to keep digging until they find Daniel's killer. Because the doors may be locked, but everyone's secrets are starting to leak out . . .
Stay Home is a timely story of dark secrets - affairs, addictions, habits and horrors - which are bought to the surface by these unprecedented times we find ourselves in. It explores the dark parts of people's lives, while at the same time leading us on a breath-takingly twisty race to find a killer.
What Netgalley Readers think of Stay Home :
'An exciting thriller that is perfect for current times . . . Highly recommended!'
'A great book. It was a fast read because I couldn't put it down. So many twists and turns you will never see the end coming'
'A murder mystery set during the limitations of a pandemic lockdown is an intriguing idea and Ava Pierce has certainly delivered a book you won't want to put down. The characters, especially Ali, are well described and seem real. The story itself is very visual and would make a wonderful movie. 5 stars'
'The story is thrilling and you are kept turning the pages until the very end. The twists and turns are shocking and the characters interesting. Definitely worth a read'
'Wow, I read it in a couple of hours, lots of twists and turns'
304 pages, Paperback
First published December 31, 2020
60 people are currently reading
455 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 133 reviews
November 17, 2020
This is the first tale of suspense I’ve read that takes place entirely during the initial COVID lockdown, but I’m sure it won’t be the last.
Caitlin is struggling. Not only has she been in lockdown with her husband and two teenaged twins (who incessantly bicker) for two weeks,but she hasn’t been able to sneak out and her see her lover, Daniel...who lives just down the street. She broke things off with him, but misses him. She finally gets a chance to “go for a run”, (aka go to Daniel’s), but when she turns up at his house, she finds his dead body on the floor.
Ali is struggling. She’s a semi-functioning alcoholic. She lost her teaching job before the lockdown, but isolation makes everything worse. One things she does well is keeping tabs on her neighbors. She’s always watching from her windows, or to and from the corner shop, where she buys her allotted two bottles of wine and some food. She finds it interesting when she sees Caitlin enter, and quickly exit, Daniel’s house.
Initially suspicious of Caitlin when Ali finds out Daniel is dead, events put them in the same room...and they both try to figure out what actually happened to him.
This is a very interesting and quick read...but the flow is off. The first half is very wordy. I know what you’re thinking: “It’s a book, Michael! What do they put in books? WORDS!” Yeah yeah, but it almost seems to be a bit too descriptive in places where it doesn’t need to be...which is mostly the first half. I appreciate that we get so much background on the main characters, but I feel like the descriptive nature would’ve been better suited for the second half...when things seem to pick up steam.
I also think I would’ve enjoyed the suspense to keep building. After Caitlin and Ali join forces, most of it simmers down to zero. Contradicting myself, I love the “friendship” that builds between Caitlin and Ali, and would’ve loved for that to have been explored further. The culprit of the crime almost takes a backseat, and once it’s brought up again, it’s neither surprising...nor twisted.
There’s some fantastic commentary about living life through lockdown, especially towards the end. It looks like this is the debut novel of Ava Pierce (unless it’s a pseudonym). I think she can be a force to be reckoned with if there are just a few tweaks between character and plot development - to help create an even flow - in the future.
So, since I seem to contradict myself quite a bit throughout this review, let me sum up my thoughts:
A little more thrill
A little more kill
A little more friend
A+ for the lockdown trend
Thank you to Hodder & Stoughton, Ava Pierce, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Caitlin is struggling. Not only has she been in lockdown with her husband and two teenaged twins (who incessantly bicker) for two weeks,but she hasn’t been able to sneak out and her see her lover, Daniel...who lives just down the street. She broke things off with him, but misses him. She finally gets a chance to “go for a run”, (aka go to Daniel’s), but when she turns up at his house, she finds his dead body on the floor.
Ali is struggling. She’s a semi-functioning alcoholic. She lost her teaching job before the lockdown, but isolation makes everything worse. One things she does well is keeping tabs on her neighbors. She’s always watching from her windows, or to and from the corner shop, where she buys her allotted two bottles of wine and some food. She finds it interesting when she sees Caitlin enter, and quickly exit, Daniel’s house.
Initially suspicious of Caitlin when Ali finds out Daniel is dead, events put them in the same room...and they both try to figure out what actually happened to him.
This is a very interesting and quick read...but the flow is off. The first half is very wordy. I know what you’re thinking: “It’s a book, Michael! What do they put in books? WORDS!” Yeah yeah, but it almost seems to be a bit too descriptive in places where it doesn’t need to be...which is mostly the first half. I appreciate that we get so much background on the main characters, but I feel like the descriptive nature would’ve been better suited for the second half...when things seem to pick up steam.
I also think I would’ve enjoyed the suspense to keep building. After Caitlin and Ali join forces, most of it simmers down to zero. Contradicting myself, I love the “friendship” that builds between Caitlin and Ali, and would’ve loved for that to have been explored further. The culprit of the crime almost takes a backseat, and once it’s brought up again, it’s neither surprising...nor twisted.
There’s some fantastic commentary about living life through lockdown, especially towards the end. It looks like this is the debut novel of Ava Pierce (unless it’s a pseudonym). I think she can be a force to be reckoned with if there are just a few tweaks between character and plot development - to help create an even flow - in the future.
So, since I seem to contradict myself quite a bit throughout this review, let me sum up my thoughts:
A little more thrill
A little more kill
A little more friend
A+ for the lockdown trend
Thank you to Hodder & Stoughton, Ava Pierce, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
November 23, 2020
An ENTIRE book filled with virtually nothing but internal dialogue.
There was a whole lot of telling, but not much doing. The endless rambling became tiresome. The two main character's voices were indistinguishable, despite one being an alcoholic. Their eventual friendship seemed forced and not entirely believable. And the conclusion was not only expected, it absolutely fizzled.
This is the third book I've read recently with Covid tie-ins. Honestly, that's becoming tiresome too. I want to escape reality with my books.
Anyway...I won't be recommending this one.
Available December 31, 2020
My sincere appreciation to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for my review copy.
There was a whole lot of telling, but not much doing. The endless rambling became tiresome. The two main character's voices were indistinguishable, despite one being an alcoholic. Their eventual friendship seemed forced and not entirely believable. And the conclusion was not only expected, it absolutely fizzled.
This is the third book I've read recently with Covid tie-ins. Honestly, that's becoming tiresome too. I want to escape reality with my books.
Anyway...I won't be recommending this one.
Available December 31, 2020
My sincere appreciation to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for my review copy.
December 12, 2020
I’d been excited to read this book - the first mystery I’ve seen where the COVID lockdown purports to play a pivotal role. The central premise, too, was a good one: a bored stay-at-home mom having an affair with a younger man during lockdown finds him dead, while a mysterious neighbor watches.
Unfortunately, though, this book didn’t work for me, mostly because of the writing style. I love first-person narration in general, and I get what the author was going for here by trying to develop a claustrophobic feeling by making most of the book happen in the character’s heads as they participate in the lockdown. Unfortunately the result was a kind of stream-of-conscious narration of somewhat repetitive thoughts in two characters’ heads during quarantine. These running thoughts, even with a murder intervening, unfortunately are not very interesting — as perhaps all of us can attest from being alone with our thoughts in this lockdown ourselves. A suspense book needs more action and dialogue than this to be interesting to me.
And it can be done! Even with this premise. One example that comes immediately to mind is the fantastic movie Rear Window, in which Jimmy Stewart becomes embroiled in a murder while trapped in a wheelchair with a broken leg. The movie works for many reasons, and of course there’s still a ton of action and great dialogue despite the fact that Jimmy Stewart can’t stand up.
Unfortunately that didn’t happen here for me, and all the enclosed mental narration became tiring. At times I also had other problems with the author’s writing style. Her characters always seemed to be experiencing a “frisson” of something, and I cringed at a body being described as a “swastika of broken limbs.” Yikes, yikes. Nevertheless, this author has potential, because her ideas are interesting and original. Hopefully a more traditional book with more dialogue and action will allow her to shine.
Thanks to Hodder and Stoughton, the author, and NetGalley for the advance copy!
Unfortunately, though, this book didn’t work for me, mostly because of the writing style. I love first-person narration in general, and I get what the author was going for here by trying to develop a claustrophobic feeling by making most of the book happen in the character’s heads as they participate in the lockdown. Unfortunately the result was a kind of stream-of-conscious narration of somewhat repetitive thoughts in two characters’ heads during quarantine. These running thoughts, even with a murder intervening, unfortunately are not very interesting — as perhaps all of us can attest from being alone with our thoughts in this lockdown ourselves. A suspense book needs more action and dialogue than this to be interesting to me.
And it can be done! Even with this premise. One example that comes immediately to mind is the fantastic movie Rear Window, in which Jimmy Stewart becomes embroiled in a murder while trapped in a wheelchair with a broken leg. The movie works for many reasons, and of course there’s still a ton of action and great dialogue despite the fact that Jimmy Stewart can’t stand up.
Unfortunately that didn’t happen here for me, and all the enclosed mental narration became tiring. At times I also had other problems with the author’s writing style. Her characters always seemed to be experiencing a “frisson” of something, and I cringed at a body being described as a “swastika of broken limbs.” Yikes, yikes. Nevertheless, this author has potential, because her ideas are interesting and original. Hopefully a more traditional book with more dialogue and action will allow her to shine.
Thanks to Hodder and Stoughton, the author, and NetGalley for the advance copy!
December 10, 2020
I wouldn't call Stay Home a real thriller because except for the one dead person, there is not much 'thrill' going on. Unless you would call the life James and Caitlin are leading a thrill ride that has come to a stop.
Caitlin is the umpteenth woman reaching 40 with a nice husband, two teenage kids and a so-called happy life that I've come across in several books lately. When I read about someone trying to have a career while also trying to be a wonderful mother, a good housewife and a doting wife at the same time, I know something will go wrong. And it does. But not the murder of her lover, but the fact that Caitlin realizes she's is all that, and not herself anymore, is the most 'thrilling' part of the book. What is it that women who still have half their life to live, make forget that they are a person themselves, instead of just trying to be what the husband/children/friends/work mates want them to be?
Ali is the opposite. Ali knows she's nobody's idea of a great personality, a mum, let alone a good friend. When she and Caitlin form a strange bond over the murder of Daniel, she realizes that there is one thing she's good at: be a friend.
I didn't care much for James or the children; a man who's too lazy to get up from behind his computer and make himself a cup of coffee, and two teenagers that have no respect at all for their mother. No wonder Caitlin fell for the charms of Daniel.
This was a fast read and I liked the way we read the story from different viewpoints.
Thanks to Netgalley for this digital review copy.
Caitlin is the umpteenth woman reaching 40 with a nice husband, two teenage kids and a so-called happy life that I've come across in several books lately. When I read about someone trying to have a career while also trying to be a wonderful mother, a good housewife and a doting wife at the same time, I know something will go wrong. And it does. But not the murder of her lover, but the fact that Caitlin realizes she's is all that, and not herself anymore, is the most 'thrilling' part of the book. What is it that women who still have half their life to live, make forget that they are a person themselves, instead of just trying to be what the husband/children/friends/work mates want them to be?
Ali is the opposite. Ali knows she's nobody's idea of a great personality, a mum, let alone a good friend. When she and Caitlin form a strange bond over the murder of Daniel, she realizes that there is one thing she's good at: be a friend.
I didn't care much for James or the children; a man who's too lazy to get up from behind his computer and make himself a cup of coffee, and two teenagers that have no respect at all for their mother. No wonder Caitlin fell for the charms of Daniel.
This was a fast read and I liked the way we read the story from different viewpoints.
Thanks to Netgalley for this digital review copy.
November 26, 2020
I have heard mixed reviews for this book Stay Home by Ava Pierce so I thought I would see what it is all about.
Catlin has been having an affair with David for more than a year when the country goes into Lockdown. So, it’s hard to go and see David. She is fed up being stuck in doors with James and her two bickering kids, so she decides to put her running gear on and saying she is going for a run. Instead she goes to visit David that lives not far down the road only to find him dead.
Not far from David’s house lives Ali who watches and records what goes on in the street and she is also an alcoholic. She wonders what’s happening with the pony tailed woman Catlin and her coming and goings in David’s flat. Catlin leaves the apartment and lets someone else report David’s death as she doesn’t want her husband to find out she was having an affair.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of Stay Home. This story was about murder, adultery, alcoholism, and the current lockdown but it I am afraid this didn’t interest me. This story is all narration and no action, and I couldn’t differentiate between the two characters. None of which were likable. I only realised there were two because of the headings on the chapters. I rarely give a book a low star rating but it’s only 2 for me.
Catlin has been having an affair with David for more than a year when the country goes into Lockdown. So, it’s hard to go and see David. She is fed up being stuck in doors with James and her two bickering kids, so she decides to put her running gear on and saying she is going for a run. Instead she goes to visit David that lives not far down the road only to find him dead.
Not far from David’s house lives Ali who watches and records what goes on in the street and she is also an alcoholic. She wonders what’s happening with the pony tailed woman Catlin and her coming and goings in David’s flat. Catlin leaves the apartment and lets someone else report David’s death as she doesn’t want her husband to find out she was having an affair.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of Stay Home. This story was about murder, adultery, alcoholism, and the current lockdown but it I am afraid this didn’t interest me. This story is all narration and no action, and I couldn’t differentiate between the two characters. None of which were likable. I only realised there were two because of the headings on the chapters. I rarely give a book a low star rating but it’s only 2 for me.
December 24, 2020
Set in CoVid England during the lockdown this book is...horrendous. It has no depth of of characters, the storyline is lame and the big twist at the end just isn't there. This book read like somebody thought they were a writer and bored during lockdown, they sadly aren't. It was slow and agonizing to read.
November 17, 2020
Caitlin a married woman with two children has been unable to visit her lover because of lockdown. When she finally gets the chance to visit him she finds him dead.
This is a slow moving story about adultery, lies and murder that failed to hold my interest.
Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.
This is a slow moving story about adultery, lies and murder that failed to hold my interest.
Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.
February 15, 2021
This is one of the few books I have read that takes place during the pandemic and calls it out as such. I only hope it ages well so that future readers know what the world situation was during that time. The story centers on Caitlin, who finds the man she was having an affair with dead, and Ali, who watches her neighbors from her window and sees all of this go down. Caitlin and Ali forge an unlikely friendship, based on Caitlin not wanting to get blamed for a murder and Ali just looking for something to do.
I thought the story moved at a pretty fast clip, despite the fact that there is a lot more internal dialogue than there is actual action. I liked Ali better than Caitlin, as I never could figure out why Caitlin was cheating or what she saw in Daniel; it appears she just wanted to take a walk on the wild side. I do wish we would have gotten more information on Daniel- he was an extremely 2-dimensional character.
The end of the book is somewhat predictable but there were still a couple things that surprised me. The ending tied up the book almost too neatly, but I generally appreciate that. This is a quick read and I'd give it 3.5 stars. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I thought the story moved at a pretty fast clip, despite the fact that there is a lot more internal dialogue than there is actual action. I liked Ali better than Caitlin, as I never could figure out why Caitlin was cheating or what she saw in Daniel; it appears she just wanted to take a walk on the wild side. I do wish we would have gotten more information on Daniel- he was an extremely 2-dimensional character.
The end of the book is somewhat predictable but there were still a couple things that surprised me. The ending tied up the book almost too neatly, but I generally appreciate that. This is a quick read and I'd give it 3.5 stars. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
February 13, 2021
Caitlin has been having an affair with Daniel for almost a year. When the country goes into lockdown, spending time together without her husband finding out is almost impossible. But she manages to sneak out ....
When arriving at his home, she finds Daniel lying on the floor, blood surrounding him. He is obviously dead.
She can't report this .... or her husband will discover her secret. What she doesn't know is tht a neighbor, Ali, sees Caitlin running out of Daniel's house.
Afraid of being accused of Daniel's murder. she starts looking for a reason that someone wanted Daniel. What she finds is that maybe she didn't know him as well as she thought. And how long can she keep her secret? Especially when her neighbor jumps to conclusions?
There are so many layers in this novel ... love, angst, lies, secrets, affairs, addictions. It explores the dark parts of people's lives, while at the same time leading us on a breath-takingly twisty race to find a killer. It's well written with characters that stand out in swirl of twists and turns that lead to an unexpected, surprising conclusion.
Many thanks to the author / Hodder & Stoughton / Netgalley for the digital copy of this psychological thriller. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
When arriving at his home, she finds Daniel lying on the floor, blood surrounding him. He is obviously dead.
She can't report this .... or her husband will discover her secret. What she doesn't know is tht a neighbor, Ali, sees Caitlin running out of Daniel's house.
Afraid of being accused of Daniel's murder. she starts looking for a reason that someone wanted Daniel. What she finds is that maybe she didn't know him as well as she thought. And how long can she keep her secret? Especially when her neighbor jumps to conclusions?
There are so many layers in this novel ... love, angst, lies, secrets, affairs, addictions. It explores the dark parts of people's lives, while at the same time leading us on a breath-takingly twisty race to find a killer. It's well written with characters that stand out in swirl of twists and turns that lead to an unexpected, surprising conclusion.
Many thanks to the author / Hodder & Stoughton / Netgalley for the digital copy of this psychological thriller. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
January 9, 2021
Stay home is the first book I have read which is centred around the covid pandemic. The book is centred around the murder of Daniel. Caitlin was having an affair with Daniel and is shocked to discovery his dead body when she manages to leave her house during lockdown to see him. Ally is an alcoholic who likes to watch her neighbours. The two women find their lives intertwined.
This is under the category psychological thriller however this book is neither. Yes there's a dead body yes we don't know who killed him but it really doesn't read like a psychological thriller. I don't mind this if I'm honest however I do like to know what genre I am going into when I start a book.
The story is written in first person from the accounts of both women. I love a good first person story and I enjoyed each womans inner dialogue. I must say that I preferred Ally over Caitlin but that's a personal preference. I found that Ally had a bit more humour than Caitlins. I must say though at times both accounts did become a bit dreary. The novel is almost more about family dynamics and friendship than the murder that almost seems like a back story that I did lose interest in.
All in all I did like this book but I didn't love it. It's not psychological thriller and if that's what you're after then this book isn't for you. I must also say if you are reading to escape lovkdown and covid then once again this book isn't for you. However if you want an easy read set around modern day covid then yeah give this a read. The murderer was predictable and I had guessed within a few pages and the twist at the end fell flat I must say. But like I said I did still enjoy the book and I would recommend for a quick and easy read. Happy to rate 2 stars.
Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the digital advanced copy of this book in exchange for my fair and honest opinion.
This is under the category psychological thriller however this book is neither. Yes there's a dead body yes we don't know who killed him but it really doesn't read like a psychological thriller. I don't mind this if I'm honest however I do like to know what genre I am going into when I start a book.
The story is written in first person from the accounts of both women. I love a good first person story and I enjoyed each womans inner dialogue. I must say that I preferred Ally over Caitlin but that's a personal preference. I found that Ally had a bit more humour than Caitlins. I must say though at times both accounts did become a bit dreary. The novel is almost more about family dynamics and friendship than the murder that almost seems like a back story that I did lose interest in.
All in all I did like this book but I didn't love it. It's not psychological thriller and if that's what you're after then this book isn't for you. I must also say if you are reading to escape lovkdown and covid then once again this book isn't for you. However if you want an easy read set around modern day covid then yeah give this a read. The murderer was predictable and I had guessed within a few pages and the twist at the end fell flat I must say. But like I said I did still enjoy the book and I would recommend for a quick and easy read. Happy to rate 2 stars.
Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the digital advanced copy of this book in exchange for my fair and honest opinion.
August 5, 2024
I listened to this as an audiobook and, as an audiobook, was a solid 4 stars.
Surprisingly, this is the second book I've read that takes place during covid lockdowns and in a place where it was extremely strict.
The plot was good. A rich bored stay home having an affair with a vain, younger f*ck boy that has a nosey neighbor that does nothing but watch everyone obsessed.
You kinda get who did it about a third the way through but was a good little twist. Very quick listen.
Surprisingly, this is the second book I've read that takes place during covid lockdowns and in a place where it was extremely strict.
The plot was good. A rich bored stay home having an affair with a vain, younger f*ck boy that has a nosey neighbor that does nothing but watch everyone obsessed.
You kinda get who did it about a third the way through but was a good little twist. Very quick listen.
November 11, 2021
Annoying characters, very obvious storyline and zero thrill. Disappointing
September 27, 2023
Just because there is a dead body, that doesn't mean the book is a thriller.
I'm glad I listened to the audiobook because the internal dialogue nearly killed me. 🥱
I'm glad I listened to the audiobook because the internal dialogue nearly killed me. 🥱
June 19, 2021
Caitlin is finding it hard to continue her affair now the country had entered lockdown. Finally managing to sneak out, she finds her lover, Daniel, murdered. Who killed Daniel, and why?
This is the first book I've read that's modern with the whole lockdown story involved - and I love it! It felt so real! Such a twisty, intriguing book, with shocks I never saw coming!
This is the first book I've read that's modern with the whole lockdown story involved - and I love it! It felt so real! Such a twisty, intriguing book, with shocks I never saw coming!
August 27, 2022
Full of twists
January 2, 2021
"It was the worst thing anyone could do in the world. And there would be no coming back from it. Footsteps to the door, and a final look over the shoulder. No, perhaps it wasn't the worst thing one could do, no, not at all. A smile devoid of remorse crept across the killer's face."
Caitlin, a 39 year old housewife has been having an affair with the much younger Daniel. By the time the country goes into lockdown due to covid, it has been going on for a year. But even lockdown can't stop her going to see him. Only when she arrives, she finds Daniel dead in his home. Not willing to risk her husband and children finding out, she doesn't report it. Instead, she tries to carry on as normal. But she doesn't realise she was seen, and soon her life starts spiralling.
Unfortunately, I found this book pretty boring. There was so much incessant internal chattering from two of the most mundane characters, but nothing actually really happens. I feel like this shouldn't even be classed as a thriller.
I finished it pretty quickly just so I could move on to my next read.
This one was definitely a miss for me.
Caitlin, a 39 year old housewife has been having an affair with the much younger Daniel. By the time the country goes into lockdown due to covid, it has been going on for a year. But even lockdown can't stop her going to see him. Only when she arrives, she finds Daniel dead in his home. Not willing to risk her husband and children finding out, she doesn't report it. Instead, she tries to carry on as normal. But she doesn't realise she was seen, and soon her life starts spiralling.
Unfortunately, I found this book pretty boring. There was so much incessant internal chattering from two of the most mundane characters, but nothing actually really happens. I feel like this shouldn't even be classed as a thriller.
I finished it pretty quickly just so I could move on to my next read.
This one was definitely a miss for me.
February 9, 2023
Meh. The beginning was really good and I thought it was going to have a big kick off throughout the book but it ended up just being 2 peoples internal monologues saying the same thing over and over again
November 13, 2023
this audiobook kept me company on a drive to and from (and around) manchester. not the best companion if i’m honest but one of the top results when you search “domestic thriller” on youtube. i made a point of picking a thriller so i wouldn’t get bored but there were no thrills in this
April 25, 2021
I enjoyed this and it's certainly very topical !! It's the first book I've read that even mentions the lockdown and I'm sure it won't be the last, though I can imagine I'll make a point of avoiding many of them, as it's bad enough to live through it !! Perhaps in a decade it won't be so bad to look back on, especially as we had such glorious weather last year to compensate.
I did find myself getting more than a little irritated at Caitlin from time to time. Ali is definitely the preferred person in the story for me. I liked James, too, and Mehmet was lovely. I'm pleased I live alone, though, as to be surrounded 24/7 as this family was would drive me to drink !! I like my peace and quiet way too much, which means lockdown in and of itself hasn't been much of a chore for me. I can still walk my dogs, nip to the shop and remain hermit-like in the interim. Luckily, I don't mind my own company.
I'd never known you could get 18000 piece jigsaw-puzzles and what a price they are, not that I'd have the patience for one !!
This isn't without errors......mainly to do with missing commas out, which happens a great deal, especially when she writes the word though.....as in, "I do my best though to rally" or "What really sinks my heart though is that...." then we have, "I feel a cold heartless dry-eyed bitch as suddenly dizzy I skulk....." which managed to lose 3 in one sentence, too. A bit sloppy.
She also wrote this sentence which needed a comma and not a fullstop in the way she writes it, "Once I've wiped down the keypad and front door with my jacket. I make my way to the pavement...." An editor should really have picked these mistakes up.
She wrote stripped and not striped and of moue and not a moue, peculiarly, then wrote deserts not desserts.....
Then a couple of times mid-story the font changes !! I liked the cover but there seem to be a glut of front door front covers around right now. Last year it was a woman wearing a yellow coat, the year before a woman or girl in a red coat and before there a bloke in a hoodie was all the rage. I must say, I avoid them as a rule because if you don't have an original idea for a cover, I don't hold out much hope for anything strange or startling in the story !!
I'd read another by her but wouldn't go to the trouble of pre-ordering.
I did find myself getting more than a little irritated at Caitlin from time to time. Ali is definitely the preferred person in the story for me. I liked James, too, and Mehmet was lovely. I'm pleased I live alone, though, as to be surrounded 24/7 as this family was would drive me to drink !! I like my peace and quiet way too much, which means lockdown in and of itself hasn't been much of a chore for me. I can still walk my dogs, nip to the shop and remain hermit-like in the interim. Luckily, I don't mind my own company.
I'd never known you could get 18000 piece jigsaw-puzzles and what a price they are, not that I'd have the patience for one !!
This isn't without errors......mainly to do with missing commas out, which happens a great deal, especially when she writes the word though.....as in, "I do my best though to rally" or "What really sinks my heart though is that...." then we have, "I feel a cold heartless dry-eyed bitch as suddenly dizzy I skulk....." which managed to lose 3 in one sentence, too. A bit sloppy.
She also wrote this sentence which needed a comma and not a fullstop in the way she writes it, "Once I've wiped down the keypad and front door with my jacket. I make my way to the pavement...." An editor should really have picked these mistakes up.
She wrote stripped and not striped and of moue and not a moue, peculiarly, then wrote deserts not desserts.....
Then a couple of times mid-story the font changes !! I liked the cover but there seem to be a glut of front door front covers around right now. Last year it was a woman wearing a yellow coat, the year before a woman or girl in a red coat and before there a bloke in a hoodie was all the rage. I must say, I avoid them as a rule because if you don't have an original idea for a cover, I don't hold out much hope for anything strange or startling in the story !!
I'd read another by her but wouldn't go to the trouble of pre-ordering.
May 6, 2024
Author: Ava Pierce
Page Count: 292 Pages
Published Date: 31st December 2020
Genre: Mystery
Rating: ⭐⭐
Synopsis:
LOCKED DOORS DON'T KEEP SECRETS SAFE, LOCK YOUR DOORS. Caitlin has been having an affair for over a year when the country enters lock down. Suddenly, seeing her lover, Daniel, without alerting her husband becomes almost impossible. When she does manage to sneak to his home, she finds him lying in a pool of his own blood, dead. STAY HOME. Ali is a just-about-functioning alcoholic, recently laid off, and feeling rather lonely. Each day she goes to her local shop to buy her permitted two bottles of wine, leaving food parcels for neighbors on her way home. While keeping an eye on what they are up to, of course.STAY SAFE.Caitlin can't tell a soul about what she has discovered for the risk of losing her family. Little does she know that Ali has noticed her coming and going and that she will be drawing her own conclusions. As Caitlin delves into the life of the man who said he loved her, she finds that maybe she didn't really know him at all. But if she wants to avoid suspicion, she needs to keep digging until they find Daniel's killer. Because the doors may be locked, but everyone's secrets are starting to leak out. Stay Home is a timely story of dark secrets - affairs, addictions, habits and horrors - which are bought to the surface by these unprecedented times we find ourselves in. It explores the dark parts of people's lives, while at the same time leading us on a breath-takingly twisty race to find a killer.
My Thoughts:
This book wasn't what I thought it would be, it was something a little different although I knew it spoke about Covid and Lockdown I wasn't expecting the book to be a mystery. For the main part of the story I didn't really understand what the book was really about. I have rated this book 2 out of 5 stars as this book just wasn't for me.
Page Count: 292 Pages
Published Date: 31st December 2020
Genre: Mystery
Rating: ⭐⭐
Synopsis:
LOCKED DOORS DON'T KEEP SECRETS SAFE, LOCK YOUR DOORS. Caitlin has been having an affair for over a year when the country enters lock down. Suddenly, seeing her lover, Daniel, without alerting her husband becomes almost impossible. When she does manage to sneak to his home, she finds him lying in a pool of his own blood, dead. STAY HOME. Ali is a just-about-functioning alcoholic, recently laid off, and feeling rather lonely. Each day she goes to her local shop to buy her permitted two bottles of wine, leaving food parcels for neighbors on her way home. While keeping an eye on what they are up to, of course.STAY SAFE.Caitlin can't tell a soul about what she has discovered for the risk of losing her family. Little does she know that Ali has noticed her coming and going and that she will be drawing her own conclusions. As Caitlin delves into the life of the man who said he loved her, she finds that maybe she didn't really know him at all. But if she wants to avoid suspicion, she needs to keep digging until they find Daniel's killer. Because the doors may be locked, but everyone's secrets are starting to leak out. Stay Home is a timely story of dark secrets - affairs, addictions, habits and horrors - which are bought to the surface by these unprecedented times we find ourselves in. It explores the dark parts of people's lives, while at the same time leading us on a breath-takingly twisty race to find a killer.
My Thoughts:
This book wasn't what I thought it would be, it was something a little different although I knew it spoke about Covid and Lockdown I wasn't expecting the book to be a mystery. For the main part of the story I didn't really understand what the book was really about. I have rated this book 2 out of 5 stars as this book just wasn't for me.
January 10, 2021
Ava Pierce's Stay Home is the first book I've read that is intentionally set during the COVID-19 lockdown. Masks, social distancing, stay-at-home orders, and a murder make for a fun read.
Caitlin, her husband James, and her 15 year old twins are at their wits end during lockdown. Also, Caitlin is having a spicy affair with Daniel down the road, but the lockdown forces Caitlin to take up "running" just so she can get out of her house and down to Daniel's house ... until she walks into his home and finds him murdered.
Caitlin soon meets Ali, who lives across the street from Daniel and spends her days spying on Daniel and the rest of the neighborhood, only Ali has a bit of a drinking problem. I was worried that this was going to be an AJ Finn The Woman In The Window situation, but I was so pleasantly surprised that Ali in no way reflects the unreliable narrator I remember from Finn's recent book. Instead, Ali and Caitlin eventually overcome their mutual distrust, and they form a wonderful friendship that is the highlight of the book.
Surprises keep coming as Caitlin and Ali join forces, initially to find out what happened to Daniel, but ultimately to support each other through several surprises that are thrown at them during the course of the story.
Thank you to NetGalley, author Ava Pierce, and publisher Hodder & Stoughton for an advanced copy of Stay Home in exchange for my honest review.
Caitlin, her husband James, and her 15 year old twins are at their wits end during lockdown. Also, Caitlin is having a spicy affair with Daniel down the road, but the lockdown forces Caitlin to take up "running" just so she can get out of her house and down to Daniel's house ... until she walks into his home and finds him murdered.
Caitlin soon meets Ali, who lives across the street from Daniel and spends her days spying on Daniel and the rest of the neighborhood, only Ali has a bit of a drinking problem. I was worried that this was going to be an AJ Finn The Woman In The Window situation, but I was so pleasantly surprised that Ali in no way reflects the unreliable narrator I remember from Finn's recent book. Instead, Ali and Caitlin eventually overcome their mutual distrust, and they form a wonderful friendship that is the highlight of the book.
Surprises keep coming as Caitlin and Ali join forces, initially to find out what happened to Daniel, but ultimately to support each other through several surprises that are thrown at them during the course of the story.
Thank you to NetGalley, author Ava Pierce, and publisher Hodder & Stoughton for an advanced copy of Stay Home in exchange for my honest review.
January 4, 2021
Caitlin is having an affair. She is hiding it from her husband and children and when the country goes into lockdown because of Covid, she is unable to see Daniel, her lover. On the day she decides to go over to his house, she finds him in his apartment, dead. Little does she know that she has been seen and everything she has is about to go up in flames.
Ali lives across from Daniel and is a bit of a snoop. She has been watching Caitlin and knows about the affair. She has a pretty big drinking problem and as she is sneaking into Daniel's she also finds him dead and remembers seeing Caitlin leave and figures she must have done it. When the two confront eachother, they realize there is more to Daniel than what they ever could have imagined.
I really liked the plot of this story and it could have been really good. The issue was the inner dialoge for me. There was so much of it. Also, the POV's didn't make sense at times (you would have to read it to understand though). There was a lot of potential here, but unfortuantely the execution was a bit lacking. Thanks to Netgalley, Hodder and Stoughton and the author for an early copy.
Ali lives across from Daniel and is a bit of a snoop. She has been watching Caitlin and knows about the affair. She has a pretty big drinking problem and as she is sneaking into Daniel's she also finds him dead and remembers seeing Caitlin leave and figures she must have done it. When the two confront eachother, they realize there is more to Daniel than what they ever could have imagined.
I really liked the plot of this story and it could have been really good. The issue was the inner dialoge for me. There was so much of it. Also, the POV's didn't make sense at times (you would have to read it to understand though). There was a lot of potential here, but unfortuantely the execution was a bit lacking. Thanks to Netgalley, Hodder and Stoughton and the author for an early copy.
April 25, 2024
Narrator was great as both female characters.
This story takes place at the beginning of the pandemic in the UK. Caitlyn is a married woman with twin fifteen-year-olds. She's having an affair.
Ali is the nosy neighbor who is also a drunk. She watches everything that's going on.
Caitlyn is missing her boyfriend. She hasn't seen him since lockdown started. She uses her one- hour-a-day -leave -the-home -to-exercise to go see him. She finds him dead.
Ali sneaks over to the dead guy's house. She's being nosy. They end up meeting and decide to figure out who did it. It ends up being a big cover-up, due to the police being overworked and understaffed by the pandemic and not investigating to the fullest. It works in their favor when they discover someone near and dear to them is the murderer.
As an aside, it was amazing to me how many times these women broke the lockdown rules. That didn't happen in my neck of the woods. Perhaps if it did, the lockdowns would have ended more quickly.
This story takes place at the beginning of the pandemic in the UK. Caitlyn is a married woman with twin fifteen-year-olds. She's having an affair.
Ali is the nosy neighbor who is also a drunk. She watches everything that's going on.
Caitlyn is missing her boyfriend. She hasn't seen him since lockdown started. She uses her one- hour-a-day -leave -the-home -to-exercise to go see him. She finds him dead.
Ali sneaks over to the dead guy's house. She's being nosy. They end up meeting and decide to figure out who did it. It ends up being a big cover-up, due to the police being overworked and understaffed by the pandemic and not investigating to the fullest. It works in their favor when they discover someone near and dear to them is the murderer.
As an aside, it was amazing to me how many times these women broke the lockdown rules. That didn't happen in my neck of the woods. Perhaps if it did, the lockdowns would have ended more quickly.
January 10, 2021
This book piqued my interest as it revolved around the initial lockdown due to Covid-19. I also like thrillers so thought this would be interesting.
Sadly I did not finish it, I found the dialect too slow and bordering boring. We have Caitlin who has a family but also has been having an affair and the lockdown hits. She manages to find a way to get out of the house (exercising) to visit her lover only to find him dead.
You then have the woman who lives across the road from the lover Ali, she drinks far too much and seems like a nosy neighbour, she knows the comings and goings of everyone but Caitlin's lover has gained her interest, she can see through his windows. She is a bit weird if I'm being honest. Who does that?
I ended it shortly after 25% in as I struggled to engage. I may get the audiobook at a later date.
Sadly I did not finish it, I found the dialect too slow and bordering boring. We have Caitlin who has a family but also has been having an affair and the lockdown hits. She manages to find a way to get out of the house (exercising) to visit her lover only to find him dead.
You then have the woman who lives across the road from the lover Ali, she drinks far too much and seems like a nosy neighbour, she knows the comings and goings of everyone but Caitlin's lover has gained her interest, she can see through his windows. She is a bit weird if I'm being honest. Who does that?
I ended it shortly after 25% in as I struggled to engage. I may get the audiobook at a later date.
January 26, 2024
Oh boy... Where do I even start? I wanted to give it 2 stars, I really did but decided to downgrade it to 1 because it doesn't deserve 2, compared to other books I would rate that way.
NO SPOILER REVIEW:
The protagonist, Caitlin, is cheating on her husband with a hunk called Daniel. When COVID hits the UK and the entire country goes into lockdown, it becomes impossible for her to see him, so she uses running as an excuse to go over to his house until one day she doesn't find him - at least not alive. Dead. She finds him dead on the floor of his living room.
There is also the neighbour, Ali, a functioning alcoholic, former teacher, who owns a cat named Pushkin and loves to sit by the window and observe her neighbours. Of course, she spies mainly on Daniel. She discovers his body as well and that's where the plot really takes off.
The beginning is boring. I listened to the audiobook and it took 2 hours to get to the first interesting thing. Until then, it was just character building and not even good character building in my opinion.
It's a slow burn for sure. The author tries to build some suspense but fails because what is supposed to be a plot twist is too predictable and one of the narrators that we are supposed to think knows everything isn't so omniscient after all. If done properly, the former could have made for an interesting plot device but it just didn't. She just conveniently missed everything that was relevant.
This book made me hate every single character that shows up, after a while, except for the cat.
At one point, I literally had to open Goodreads to check if I may have mistakenly,m thought this was a thriller when in fact it is not. Nope. It's categorized as thriller but it's just bleh.
SPOILERS AHEAD
Final grade: 1/5
NO SPOILER REVIEW:
The protagonist, Caitlin, is cheating on her husband with a hunk called Daniel. When COVID hits the UK and the entire country goes into lockdown, it becomes impossible for her to see him, so she uses running as an excuse to go over to his house until one day she doesn't find him - at least not alive. Dead. She finds him dead on the floor of his living room.
There is also the neighbour, Ali, a functioning alcoholic, former teacher, who owns a cat named Pushkin and loves to sit by the window and observe her neighbours. Of course, she spies mainly on Daniel. She discovers his body as well and that's where the plot really takes off.
The beginning is boring. I listened to the audiobook and it took 2 hours to get to the first interesting thing. Until then, it was just character building and not even good character building in my opinion.
It's a slow burn for sure. The author tries to build some suspense but fails because what is supposed to be a plot twist is too predictable and one of the narrators that we are supposed to think knows everything isn't so omniscient after all. If done properly, the former could have made for an interesting plot device but it just didn't. She just conveniently missed everything that was relevant.
This book made me hate every single character that shows up, after a while, except for the cat.
At one point, I literally had to open Goodreads to check if I may have mistakenly,m thought this was a thriller when in fact it is not. Nope. It's categorized as thriller but it's just bleh.
SPOILERS AHEAD
Final grade: 1/5
November 13, 2020
Caitlin has been having an affair for almost a year when the country goes into lockdown. It becomes harder to see her lover Daniel, but one day she manages to sneak out to see him... only to find him dead. Meanwhile, Ali spends her lonely days drinking alcohol and watching her neighbours. Caitlin tries to keep the discovery of Daniel's dead body a secret, not realising that Ali has seen everything. It soon becomes a rush to discover the truth about who killed Daniel, before Caitlin gets the blame. She begins to find out things she didn't know about Daniel, and indeed many secrets about everyone start to come out during the lockdown...
A great book for the current situation with the virus and lockdowns. The story is thrilling and you are kept turning the pages until the very end. The twists and turns are shocking and the characters interesting. Definitely worth a read.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of the book in return for my honest feedback.
A great book for the current situation with the virus and lockdowns. The story is thrilling and you are kept turning the pages until the very end. The twists and turns are shocking and the characters interesting. Definitely worth a read.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of the book in return for my honest feedback.
March 19, 2021
I quite enjoyed this. I think it's got a bit of a bad rep due to us living in the actual pandemic but if you take yourself out of it for a moment it's more enjoyable.
Lost the final star as the ending was quite predictable.
Lost the final star as the ending was quite predictable.
November 27, 2023
Unfortunately predictable but a pleasant read.
January 4, 2024
2.5 stars. Clever writing but un compelling story. Nothing too scandalous or jaw dropping twists. I did. suspected the killer correctly but it was underwhelming.
June 4, 2021
Oh wow. I knew it was coming but I’ve just read my first pandemic book! Now this seems its either a love it or hate it book. Maybe it was published too soon after Covid 19? Who knows. I am on the side of love. I absolutely loved this. Think covid 19 lockdown but with a murder, affairs and one nosey neighbour.
This kept me hooked and I devoured the majority of this book in one day. Gripping. Thrilling. Fast paced. Page turner. There’s a lot to this story. An unlikely friendship and death. I would never have guessed the outcome at all. Its a jaw dropping, clever outcome. Maybe non of this would have happened if people just stayed home huh?
Highly recommend. Will remember this story for a long time and I suppose there will be more pandemic books to come in the future but this was my first. A well deserved four stars. Brilliantly written.
This kept me hooked and I devoured the majority of this book in one day. Gripping. Thrilling. Fast paced. Page turner. There’s a lot to this story. An unlikely friendship and death. I would never have guessed the outcome at all. Its a jaw dropping, clever outcome. Maybe non of this would have happened if people just stayed home huh?
Highly recommend. Will remember this story for a long time and I suppose there will be more pandemic books to come in the future but this was my first. A well deserved four stars. Brilliantly written.
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