Literary Leftover Book Review: Don't Let Her Stay by Nicola Sanders

Book review of a psychological thriller: “An unputdownable psychological thriller with a breathtaking twist” as the cover reads and I wholeheartedly agree. This novel does a fantastic job of making you doubt each character and your judgement of them.

Gaslighting, dealing with a step child, and sleep deprivation of a new mom make this psychological thriller a must read. Author Nicola Sanders brings struggles of a modern family to the edge of suspense and thrills.

Don’t Let Her Stay by Nicola Sanders

Literary Leftovers are book reviews and recommendations that do not contain recipes, but are books that I highly recommend.

Don’t Let Her Stay

by Nicola Sanders

Outline and Tone:

The trope used in this psychological thriller is ‘who is telling the truth.’ Main character, Joanne, is stuck between a rock and a hard place. Even though she has been married to Richard for 2 years, Joanne is meeting his 20 year old estranged daughter, Chloe for the first time. Relationships in step-families can be extraordinarily difficult. Oftentimes, a step-parent has to tiptoe around any criticism of a step-child. Of course in the parent’s eyes, their child is wonderful and may not see the child’s faults.

Joanne is doing a lot of tiptoeing. She is trying to be respectful and keep the peace, even as she is being treated more and more disrespectfully by the husband she loves and the step-daughter she wants to get to know. The reader has to search for clues to see what is really happening. Is Joanne’s instinct correct that she is being gaslighted or is her postpartum brain having trouble remembering events correctly.

I love a novel with an unreliable narrator, I love it even more when the narrator doesn’t know who to trust. This novel would make for a superior book club book. I am dying to discuss the ending and you will too!

Point of View:

The story is told in first person point of view from main character Joanne’s experiences.

The author: Nicola Sanders

Nicola Sanders writes psychological thrillers. Her website tells readers that she lives in Australia with her family. Readers can find updates of her latest novels on her webpage and on Facebook. Her latest latest novel, Don’t Believe Her was released in 2024. Don’t Let Her Stay was released in 2023 and is a Goodreads Choice Award as well as a Nominee for Readers’ Favorite Mystery & Thriller of 2023.

What is not to like?:

Set in England, there are cultural differences. It seems to me that baby Evie sleeps or spends time in her crib often. I’m not sure if this is for the benefit of the plot or if this is a cultural difference.

The verdict:

Having the story told in first person so the reader does not know what any other character is thinking or doing makes for great suspense. This is a novel you must pick up!

Book Statistics:

Don’t Let Her Stay

by Nicola Sanders

Rating: 4.5/5 Stars
Genres: Psychological Thriller, Mystery
Setting: England
Pages: 290 pages
Format: Kindle, Paperback, Audio Book, CDs
Get Your Copy at: Amazon
Published by: Independently published (February 6, 2023)
Information Sources: Amazon, Goodreads, and Author’s website

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