By: Nicola Sanders
Narrator: Penelope Rawlins
ISBN: 9781666626742
Publisher: Dreamscape Media
Publication Date: 03/07/2023
Format: Audiobook
My Rating: 4 Stars (ARC) 🎧
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. But then 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 with the arrival of her baby sister Evie, Chloe wants to make peace. Richard is delighted, and since Joanne is struggling with the new baby, he suggests Chloe could move in and help.
It sounds like the perfect solution, even if Chloe doesn’t seem to like Joanne very much. But Joanne understands it’s not easy for her, and she's prepared to give her time. But then things happen that make Joanne feel like she’s losing her mind. She misplaces things, misses important appointments, gets dates wrong…
Could Joanne be going mad, just like her own mother? Or is something more sinister happening? 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?
My Review
Nicola Sanders' DON'T LET HER STAY —a wild roller coaster, twisty, wickedly evil cat-and-mouse domestic suspense of gaslighting. Your loyalties change multiple times throughout the novel as you try to determine whom to trust with this cast of unreliable narrators.
Joanne is married to Richard, and they have a happy life and home with a beautiful baby girl, Evie.
That is until the stepdaughter shows up. She is one manipulative, scary, mean character. She is pure evil! Richard's twenty-year-old daughter Chloe. She plays nice as long as her dad is around, but the claws come out the minute he turns his back.
Before her arrival, Joanne had planned to return to work (working from home as a real estate agent) and had been interviewing nannies. She found one she loved and was ready to start. However, when Chloe shows up, Richard says she can be the babysitter since she quit college. NOOOOOO...
Joanne is against it and notices Chloe does not know how to take care of a baby, but Richard is firm and insistent. She is afraid for her to be around her daughter.
Chloe begins gaslighting Joanne, and Joanne is not naive. She does not trust her. She also learns about Chloe's past mental issues, Richard's ex-wife committed suicide (or did she), and Chloe's baby sister died (natural causes or by Chloe).
What is Chloe capable of? Joanne is afraid for their safety. When Richard is away for work and out-of-town trips, Chloe is uncontrollable. However, Richard will not believe his wife thinking she is paranoid and possibly inherited her mother's mental problems.
Joanne even tried to install nanny cams until her husband caught her. Richard was in denial, or was he? As the tension mounts, Chloe says her dad is the problem. Chloe was only trying to protect Joanne and Evie.
So, who is telling the truth, Chloe or Richard?
When you think the book is wrapping up, readers hear from another voice that confirms that everything they thought was true is not— making you second guess everything. Jaw-dropping!
I absolutely loved the last three words: DON'T LET HER STAY!
Wow, this was a gripping, addictive audiobook I listened to in one sitting. It hooks you from page one to the end. The narrator Penelope Rawlins (love her), did an outstanding job, even though I was screaming at Chloe as she got on my nerves!!! That voice! OMG. She acted like a two-year-old spoiled brat.
I liked that Joanne was brilliant until you reached the point when it came down to the culprit, Chloe or Richard. This is gaslighting at its finest. The tension and suspense remained high for an entertaining, dark, twisty psychological thriller.
My first book by the author, and I look forward to reading more! For fans of Authors Emily Shiner, Daniel Hurst, and Freida McFadden.
Thank you to #DreamscapeMedia and #NetGalley for a gifted ALC in exchange for an honest review
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
Pub Date: March 7, 2023
My Rating: 4 Stars (audiobook)
About the Author
Nicola Sanders is the author of two psychological thrillers. She lives with her partner on the edge of a forest and is regularly swooped by magpies.
Her latest novel, Don’t Let Her Stay, is out in February 2023.
