Goodreads Choice Awards Book Club discussion

Someone inside your house wants you dead, but no one believes you…

Joanne knows how lucky she is. Richard is a wonderful husband, Evie is the most gorgeous baby girl, they live in a beautiful house… Life couldn’t be better.

Until Richard’s twenty-year-old daughter Chloe turns up. Chloe hasn’t spoken to her father since the day he married Joanne two years ago. But Chloe wants to make peace. She’ll even move in for a few weeks to help Joanne with the new baby.

It sounds perfect, but when things happen that make Joanne feel like she’s losing her mind, she begins to wonder: Is Chloe really here to help? Or has Joanne made a terrible mistake by letting her move in?

And is it too late to ask her to leave?

Perfect for fans of Frieda McFadden, Sue Watson and Shalini Boland, Don’t Let Her Stay is a totally addictive psychological thriller with a twist that will shock you!

Vicki and I plan to start this buddy read on 1/21

It looks like the author only has one other published book, so this will be my first read for Nicola Sanders. Here's hoping she's a new author that we both love. Have you read her other book, All the Lies?

I haven't! This will be my first read too! This one came out of no where, for me. It wasn't on my radar at all!! Fingers crossed we love it!

I am planning on reading this one too. A new author for me as well.

YAY! so glad you're joining us!

I will try to join in as well for this one.

Yay! Welcome Jenna!!

Nice to have you join us, Vicki and Jenna. :)

I have just started this! it was a Christmas present from a friend who loved it. It's not my usual thing so not sure how I'm going to like it yet but would love to join the discussion :)

YAY! love to have you here! Since you're reading it now, you can always get your thoughts down - just hide them with the spoiler tag and we'll definitely chat about it when we get reading!

Vicki and I typically update 4 times with our buddy reads - @ roughly 25%, 50%, 75% and then the end - but feel free to update at any points (especially fun twists! lol)

I'm excited to read this one!

I read that book and I loved it

I started this one early because my library audiobook hold came in and I needed an audiobook to listen to. I'm finding it entertaining but a little ridiculous.

I'm on chapter 18 (view spoiler)[ and I just finished the part where Chloe blackmails Joann with the altered photo of her kissing Simon the gardener. As a mother, I'm finding it so hard to believe that Joann is still considering letting Chloe babysit her daughter after all her suspicions and Chloe's behavior. I don't care how mad my husband might get, I'm not letting anyone I don't 100% trust care for my 4 month old baby, especially someone I'm so suspicious of that I'm getting glass tested to make sure she wasn't trying to poison my baby.

I definitely think at this point we are supposed to trust Joann's side of things but I'm wondering if the author is going to flip things a bit later to make us more suspicious of Joann. (hide spoiler)]

So far, it's an easy listen and i'm guessing I will finish it pretty quickly.

ooh I'm so glad you said audio is good! I have both the physical and audio so I think I might try this on audio!

sometimes those ridiculous thrillers are fun! lol!!

Trisha wrote: "ooh I'm so glad you said audio is good! I have both the physical and audio so I think I might try this on audio!

sometimes those ridiculous thrillers are fun! lol!!"

So true! Yes, I definitely recommend the audio for this one!

I'm at 58% (chapter 28) now and really enjoying it.

(view spoiler)[ I feel like the author is hinting pretty hard that Chloe killed her baby sister Sophia and mother so i'm really curious to see if there's a twist at some point that changes the direction this is going. (hide spoiler)]

Through Ch. 10 - 24%

I also have both the audiobook and the ebook, so I'm using both. I have to agree that the audio is really good!

(view spoiler)[OK, Chloe is scaring me! I have a feeling she has a mental health issue or she's just super manipulative. I am worried for Evie especially...the way she held her out the first time like she was contagious, the way she freaked out when feeding her. Something is way off! I'm just hoping she doesn't harm Evie but she's obviously playing games with Joanne. (hide spoiler)]

I started this one too and am listening on audible.
I agree the narrator is very good.

I am also through chapter 10 - 24%

(view spoiler)[ I agree about Chloe. I think she has the 'daddy issues' either from him not being able to help her through her grief of losing her mom or sending her away because he couldn't deal with her.
The whole baby voice thing she does with her dad cracks me up.

Having said that... I don't like books that just gaslight the new mom into thinking she is crazy or has baby brain or whatnot.
It also annoys me when the husband doesn't support the wife or believe her (which I think is going to happen here). He will be compensating for not having his daughter in his life so he is going to not believe the wife.

Also, what is up with the husband and his anger. I think at one point she said he "put his hand through the window". Hello?? Red flag anyone?

Hopefully this one will play out differently, but we will see.
It is definitely engaging and a fast read. (hide spoiler)]

Jenna wrote: "I started this one early because my library audiobook hold came in and I needed an audiobook to listen to. I'm finding it entertaining but a little ridiculous.

I'm on chapter 18 and I just finis..."

Through Ch. 22

I was just going to make those 2 EXACT comments! LOL
(view spoiler)[I am also wondering if maybe Joanne is an unreliable narrator and she's the one who has mental health issues causing her to see things the way she does. WHO that is a mother would leave their baby or child of any age alone with a person they not only don't fully trust but are suspicious of intent to harm? Not buying it!

What about that picture in Chloe's room that she didn't want Joanne to tell her dad about? Why not? Makes no sense. I suspect that might not be her. Maybe she had a baby? But now she's telling her dad that he needs to tell Joanne about her mother, so what has he been hiding? (hide spoiler)]

Vicki Willis wrote: "I started this one too and am listening on audible.
I agree the narrator is very good.

I am also through chapter 10 - 24%

I agree about Chloe. I think she has the 'daddy issues' either from hi..."

I have to agree with your comments as well...(view spoiler)[Richard is not supportive and if his wife is healthy and her sides of each story are true, then he must know something about his daughter so why isn't HE protecting both of "his girls"? He is definitely over-compensating! (hide spoiler)]

And now my granddaughter just texted me and is bringing her big clumsy adorable big puppy to play with my adorable 6 pound Havanese puppy. lol It will be their second puppy play date. :)

Vicki Willis wrote: "I started this one too and am listening on audible.
I agree the narrator is very good.

I am also through chapter 10 - 24%

I agree about Chloe. I think she has the 'daddy issues' either from hi..."

I totally agree, Vicki! (view spoiler)[ For once, it would be great for a mystery/thriller writer to write a husband that is actually supportive and believe his wife! One of my main issues early on was the husband's reactions to his wife which is why i'm very suspicious the author is going to make Joanne unreliable. If they had a trusting relationship before Chloe arrived, it's very unrealistic that the husband would respond the way he does. (hide spoiler)]

Vicki wrote: "Vicki Willis wrote: "I started this one too and am listening on audible.
I agree the narrator is very good.

I am also through chapter 10 - 24%

I agree about Chloe. I think she has the 'daddy i..."

Awe, puppy play party!

A nice three hour visit while her 60 pound puppy and my 6 pound puppy played. lol

Through Ch. 33 75%

(view spoiler)[I have no idea what to believe anymore, but I'm so curious to know the truth of everything. The possibility that Chloe might've killed her mother and her baby sister is frightening! If I were Jo, I'd be out of there...unless she has the mental health issues.

And what is up with her calling about the will? I have a feeling the twist coming up (I assume) will be unexpected! I am wondering if Richard might be the one who killed his wife and baby because he's a bit over the top and has lots of red flags! (hide spoiler)]

Finished

(view spoiler)[I kept wavering between Chloe and Richard. For some reason when Chloe and Joanne were hiding from Richard and he was suddenly calling one of the women a psycho bitch and saying he didn't tell her, I started thinking maybe it was Chloe and not Richard only because I felt like it was too obvious or the author was trying too hard to make it obvious that it was Richard. But I thought she did a darn good job of keeping me guessing! I love it. (hide spoiler)]

I'm done
I did audio.
I'm so glad everyone else enjoyed it (or is enjoying it)

I did not like this one so I didn't post as I read because I didn't have anything constructive to say 😕😬

Oh no, i’m sorry you didn’t like it, Trisha.

End of ch. 33
75%

I hope
(view spoiler)[ this one is going somewhere and that there will be a twist.
Chloe is annoying. Richard if annoying. Joanna (it's just Joann) is annoying.
Did Chloe kill her mom and the baby?
Did Richard?
Is a big twist coming?
Chloe and Roxanne becoming such fast friends and the fact that Roxanne didnt seem very friendly at the beginning - was that a clue to something?
Also the fact that Jo and Richard can throw away so much money without a care (all the birthday party business) - just because someone could afford it doesnt mean they wont be irritated.
< /spoiler> (hide spoiler)]

Vicki, I like your questions in post 26. :) I'm finished so I know all the answers. Can't wait to see what you think and how you rate it. Usually Trisha and I are either the same or 1 point difference, typically with her rating it lower. Once in awhile we're totally different in our rating, and this is one of those times. I hope you like it!

Just finished (view spoiler)[ and I'm rolling my eyes a bit at the ending. Once Chloe pointed the finger at Richard, I was pretty convinced it was going to be her in the end because of the prologue and knowing someone was trying to get away from a woman. Overall I thought it was entertaining but I think the author sacrificed a plausible ending in order to keep us guessing with such a small cast of characters. I really wish the author wrote Richard's character with a little more subtlety so that the ending made a little more sense. You really have to suspend your disbelief when he goes from "Joann, youre crazy! There's nothing wrong with my daughter" to stalking his daughter with a shotgun calling her a psycho b**** in the same day. Why didn't he call the police? What even was his plan?

I gave it 3 stars for being entertaining. (hide spoiler)]

Vicki wrote: "Vicki, I like your questions in post 26. :) I'm finished so I know all the answers. Can't wait to see what you think and how you rate it. Usually Trisha and I are either the same or 1 point differe..."

What did you end up rating it, Vicki?

Jenn, I went with 5 stars. I was heading for 4 stars until the ending. Lol

I finished too.

Giving it 3 stars bc it was a fast read.
But


(view spoiler)[ still don't like the type of character.the husband was. It is too tired of a plotline for me. (hide spoiler)]
I also agree with Jenna in msg 28.

Fun group to read with though!