Don't Leave Me Alone

by Kyla Sharp

Leah’s husband has secrets. But so does she.

Leah and her husband Ben move to a gorgeous timber cottage in the hills, convinced a change of scenery can fix their marriage. She’ll finally get pregnant. He’ll remain faithful.

But Ben is called back to the city for work.

Leah is devastated, and all alone in a big, old cabin in the middle of nowhere. Then she starts hearing things at night.

Her fears are founded when she finds a threatening note, convinced it’s targeted at her. But she needs to prove to Ben that she’s grounded enough to be a mother, so she keeps her fears a secret.

Leah must figure out who’s taunting her. Alone.

Does it have to do with the chilling history of her house?

Is her husband keeping tabs on her from afar?

What about her creepy hillbilly neighbor? Or the handsome one who owns a winery?

Leah discovers her husband had more secrets than she thought. But also that she can’t keep her own secrets hidden forever, either.

For fans of chilling psychological and domestic thrillers, this page-turner will keep you up until 4 a.m. reading on a wild ride to discover all the surprising twists and turns.

Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Mystery

259 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 3, 2022

About the author

Kyla Sharp writes best-selling psychological thrillers, such as Don’t Leave Me Alone and If We Kill Her. She grew up in Chicago and now lives in Australia.

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Reviews

[Kyla Sharp · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ll admit it: I’m afraid of the dark.

Are you?

I’m not afraid of the dark all the time. But sometimes, I wake up at 3 a.m. from an unsettling dream, and I’m convinced I’ve heard a sound somewhere in my house. I lay in bed, stilling my breath, listening. I can feel my heart pounding against my ribs.

I try to convince myself that I’m hearing things; the odds are, I’m safe, my family is safe. But there are all those true-crime stories, and they happen to someone, don’t they?

When I came across a post in a women’s Facebook group detailing this same middle-of-the-night panic, I was surprised how many others chimed in that they felt it, too. They slept with a light on. Or with their dog. It was worse when their husband was traveling for work. It was worse in a new house. Worse in a big house, or an unfamiliar one.

This common feeling became the inspiration for my new psychological thriller, Don’t Leave Me Alone.

I wanted to take this feeling to its extreme, and so the protagonist is in a cabin in “The Hills,” a fictional, remote, forested area in the US. But it's not just any cabin — it is an old, abandoned hotel with a dark past.

For this cabin, I was inspired by one of my favorite books, the nonfiction The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America, about the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago, and the infamous H.H. Holmes, a conman and perhaps the first modern serial killer.

I won’t say anything more than that, though, so as not to ruin any twists or surprises.

So, I’ll ask again: Are you afraid of the dark?

You might be, after finishing Don’t Leave Me Alone.

[Anne G. Kasaba · Rating 4 out of 5]

Never saw the ending coming which to me is the best part of psychological suspense. Well written with characters that grab you and draw you into the story. Interesting storyline and well plotted mystery.

I received an arc of this book and voluntarily provided a review.

[Billie]

This is a brilliant read.
Wonderful well written plot and story line that had me engaged from the start.
Love the well fleshed out characters and found them believable.
Great suspense and found myself second guessing every thought I had continuously.
Can't wait to read what the author brings out next.
Recommend reading.

I read a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest review.

[Amelia · Rating 1 out of 5]

Full of twists but so confusing
Leah and Ben are a married couple who begin the story by moving out to a remote cabin in the hopes of starting a family. While Ben has to go back into the city to do some work stuff, Leah starts to find menacing notes being left for her around the house. Understandably Leah becomes weary of the house and wonders who could be following her.
I began to start getting into the story, albeit I found it really farfetched, but the last 100 pages or so I just found confusing. Maybe it was the writing style, maybe it was the story I’m not sure but I found myself struggling to understand in what order things were happening.
It had lots of potential but I felt it just fell short of enjoyable, instead of finishing it and being happy I read it, I finished and found myself disappointed I’d spent so long ready it.
I received a free copy of this book, and I am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Jamie Park · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this ridiculous book. I hated every single character so much. It was amazing.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

262 pages long so a good quick read. It has a creepy movie feel about it. I didn't take it too seriously though. Maybe not to be read late a night. The main character Leah is an utterly psycho.

[Yoneidis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leah and Ben move from the city to a house in the woods. After Leah's accident that meant the end of her career as a ballerina, they change places hoping to improve things and mend their marriage along the way.
But Leah is soon left alone in that house because Ben leaves, and strange things start to happen.
I liked it a lot because it has many twists and turns and suspense, and although there may be things that are somewhat more predictable, you will undoubtedly get a few surprises and on more than one occasion it will leave you speechless.

[Kathy Reed · Rating 3 out of 5]

Leah’s husband Ben bought them a large house in The Hills, a house with as many secrets as Ben and Leah. In the 70’s a serial killer lived there, and his crime spree was infamous, some facts, some urban legend. When Ben gets called back to the city for work, Leah is left there alone. Spooky things start occurring.
Who does Leah need to fear? Who’s the bad guys here?
I really didn’t think this thriller was all that thrilling. I was glad when it was finally over. Three stars

[Brenda Moser · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's so much going on in this story it's hard to break down. I was hooked reading this gripping psychological thriller. The author brings a strong cast of characters and weaves a story full of intrigue and mystery and kept me guessing right to the end and then throws in the incredible twisted ending. It's not often I'm left feeling like "what did I just read?" Well done!!

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book. All opinions in this review are my own and freely given.

[Hannah Faith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very interesting premise. I think if it had focused more on the atmosphere and back story of the hotel I would have enjoyed it more. Set in an old hotel that a serial killer ran, that’s what I feel should have been the focus instead of a domestic thriller.

[Shani Asokan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one really kept me guessing.

Couldn't stand the MC, but I guess that was intentional.

[marjorie birney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thriller!!!

Wow!! Talk about twists and turns, this one has it all.You will want to read every word and after finishing sit and ponder , there is no let up, you'll be guessing throughout every chapter. Will be getting more books from this author.

[Warrior Princess · Rating 3 out of 5]

No spoilers

This was a very well written book. No lagging, no typos, kept me interested.
Now the down side.
I guess I read to many reviews talking about a shocking twist they never saw coming that I actually figured it out.
And there was a bit of repetition in the dialogue.
Other then that great story.
Would have given one more star had I not figured out the end.
I would recommend this book.

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

I cant believe i finished that. It was so frustrating how easily things fell into place, just to fit the story line, but even more frustrating that i kept turning the pages right till the end. So there is that. I just had to see where the author would take it!

Leah moves with her husband to a home in the hills. Ben's idea was to build a better life for them but Leah misreads one piece of paper and things go bad from there. Also uncanny how the house they moved into happens to be a serial killers old haunt. LOL.

[Jessica Peters · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay book

I found the writing to be a bit disjointed. Several times I had to re-read lines because they didn’t make sense the first time. Like the words were in the wrong order. The story line was a little strange. There seemed to be a weak resolution to one of the plot lines. An okay read.

[Robin Frangulescu · Rating 1 out of 5]

Awful Book!

This is an awful Book. Don't read it...I gave up on it after page 50..it is awful awful awful read

[Nancy Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was so disappointed by my last “D” title challenge “The Doll by Daphne du Maurier” that I couldn’t move forward without redeeming myself. Holy cow – talk about redemption. This book is NOT for the faint of heart and probably should NOT be finished up around midnight as I did, because I had nightmares ALL night long.

I’m currently in the process of looking for a vacation cabin for 9 of our family members and when the beginning of this book started with a young couple moving from the big city to a secluded (and I DO mean secluded) cabin in the back country woods, I was intrigued. Well – I was intrigued for about 10 pages, and then I begin to get that prickly feeling on the back of your neck that lets you know this isn’t going to end well.

The chapters rotate back and forth between Leah and Ben and not necessarily in a straight timeline. Leah is (or WAS) a ballerina and a good one too – that is until she fell and tore her ACL, which is like a death sentence to a dancer. Ben is a talented and successful investor. They have both worked hard at their careers, but Leah has hit a low now that her dancing is in the past. She feels lost, void of purpose and direction. She is consumed with the thought that a child will bring her happiness, fulfillment and a reason to put blinders on her dancing career.

They say that for those who try to conceive without success, each monthly dripping of blood is like a nail on a coffin. It only reaffirms your failure and strengthens your belief that you will die childless and hopeless. Ben has arranged to work remotely and by contract so that he can get Leah out of the city. Her feels that a fresh beginning is what they need to start over and with a renewed hope of building a family. He buys a house – sight unseen -- to begin their dream. Ben should have stayed in the city and taken his chances with just Leah’s depression. He doesn’t find the beginning of a dream – he finds the beginning of a nightmare.

I devoured this book quickly – especially since I was homebound with 8” of snow outside my door with a temperature in the sun of 12 degrees. Snow is a beautiful thing - it looks pure, uncompromised and untouched by human hands. But once you stomp around in it and it mixes with the wet earth underneath, it only takes a second for its appearance to change. What was beautiful and breathtaking one second becomes contaminated, defiled and impure the next. So was the life of those residing on “The Hills”. The Hills has few residents and for a good reason. Those that do live there, do so FOR a reason and have a good reason to remain anonymous.

No one is who they seem. Everyone has a secret, and somebody will kill to keep their secrets buried. My main consensus regarding this book, “Don’t Leave Me Alone” with any characters in this story.

[D J Rout · Rating 4 out of 5]

A much more complicated lot than the previous two, which has cost it some economy in the writing, but I was surprised by the ending.

Leah and Ben move to their new house in the hills outide New York City. Leah is left alone when here husband returns to the city for work and then is never seen again. IN the meantime, mysterious, creepy things begin to happen to Leah. An old man, claiming to be their neighbour, comes visiting, women's screams are heard in the night, and there is a part of the house where, Ben has said, Leah may not go...

Ms Sharp has used the unreliable narrator as a device to set up a complicated mystery plot, but the 'A' story is consistent enough that this doesn't become irritating, and by the end it doesn't feel like she's cheated the reader. The 'B' story, about the unfaithful husband of the narrator, is all over the place and you have to switch gears rapidly in order to realise where you are, and more importantly, when<.i> it is. It probably could've been dispensed with, but there's a bit of revealing going on that makes the ending a bit more poignant. And tenser, too.

A few clues are given that don't pay off—for example, the red splashes of blood at one of the murder scenes—and there's a hefty infodump around page 116 that, had I seen this in manuscript, I'd've advised the author to delete, but overall, a pretty impressive effort.

[Bev · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leah and Ben are going to start a new chapter in their lives in a cabin in The Hills. Ben bought it as a surprise for Leah so they can get away from all the pressure of living in the city and work so they could concentrate on starting a family. But even before they are done unpacking Ben is called into work for 'awhile'. This leaves Leah in the cabin all alone which is something she doesn't like. No cell phone coverage, and the house is bigger than they really need, and Ben told her to stay out of part of it...it needs work done on it. But Leah's not a 'outdoorsy' type person and her mind starts to get the best of her which isn't good. Plus, she is still recovering from a knee injury. What is up with the strange neighbor and his dogs? This story is about people hiding secrets from each other and the history of the Cabin. I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Michelle Caplinger Dalton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick read

The beginning of the book kept me from wanting to put the book down. I didn’t see the twist at the end coming. I only gave it 3 stars because I felt there were parts of the story that felt untold. What did Dave have against the winery? Was there more than one injured ballerina? Or were both things done to Vanessa. I thought the hotel was going to play a bigger piece in the story but at the end it felt forgotten. Overall I enjoyed the book but it left me with questions.

[Mary Cadahia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was unputdownable, I found the characters flawed and unlikable but the story works well like that, it kept you engaged and thinking through the whole story and you get wrapped up in alternatively suspecting several things at once. Leah and Ben maybe unlikable but the combination of their personality traits work and the ending was a great surprise. If you haven't read this book, stop missing out and get it

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don't Leave Me Alone is told between the viewpoints of Leah and Ben, a couple with secrets and a troubled marriage trying to start over in a remote cabin in The Hills. Both characters are pretty unlikeable but I felt myself rooting for each of them at different points in the story. This book is full of so many twists and turns that I couldn't believe how it ended. I would definitely recommend this book and author to anyone who loves a good thriller that keeps you guessing.

[Deborah Carlton · Rating 2 out of 5]

Don’t Leave Me Alone by Kyla Sharp

This book is about a dancer and her husband who leave the bright lights of the big city for a quieter life in a rural, wooded area. The house they buy turns out to have quite a lurid history. The husband soon returns to the city for work obligations leaving his wife alone in the house. She soon discovers things about the history of the house which scare her. This could have been a good book had the writing been more fluid and less repetitive.

[Lori Foelsch]

Fell apart at the end

This book held my interest at first but then became unbelievable. The end didn't make sense, first her shattering g her knee but then doing all these things as if that didn't happen. And a positive pregnancy test a day after she slept with someone. Too unbelievable!

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whew❣️White-knuckle read❣️

Would have been an excellent read if it hadn't been SPOILED for me by the author's abuse of Almighty GOD's Name. This is blasphemy and is NEVER acceptable. Minus 1 *

I'm looking forward to reading future stories - without Blasphemy, please

[Ashley Rainwater · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story!

Started and finished in one day. This story kept me on the edge of my seat with all the suspense and twists and turns. You won’t be sorry you read this book. Checking out more from this author now!

[Jessica Welch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! It is not often a book takes me by surprise so strongly the way this one did. I did not see that ending coming. The characters were for the most part unlikable but at the same time I couldn't help but feel for each of them at one point or another and that total wtf moment is worth it. After all, that is the whole point of a psychological thriller, right? I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Sophie Bristow Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Don’t Leave Me Alone” by Kyla Sharp is a very cleverly written psychological thriller. The reader thinks they know what is happening but believe me - you really don’t!
Who is telling the truth? Who can be trusted?
A great read, I look forward to reading more from this author.

[Asal · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought it was more to this dark side of book and not just a woman having infertile problem and kill her own husband!!... And what about matheo, l thought he would come out of corner any time and caught her while she was busy killing dave

[Jena · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bleh