As someone deeply tuned into emotional undercurrents and behavioural red flags, Don’t Let Her Stay was a chilling, thrilling ride that hooked me and questioned everyone until the very last line.

From the opening pages, Nicola Sanders crafts an unsettling atmosphere that even as a reader, you’re unsure whether to trust your instincts. The protagonist, Joanne, welcomes her husband Richard’s daughter, Chloe, into their remote countryside home. But things go downhill fast. And I don’t just mean household tension—I’m talking psychological warfare, manipulation, and a gnawing uncertainty about what’s real and what’s imagined.

As someone who studies behaviour and often works with families struggling to trust their perceptions, I found Joanne’s descent into self-doubt chillingly relatable. The gaslighting, the blurred lines between truth and delusion, and the sheer unpredictability of Chloe’s behaviour all mirror the psychological patterns I’ve seen in toxic dynamics—whether in counselling or in families trying to manage change.

Highlights:

• Unpredictable & Unputdownable: I started this book one evening and found myself sneaking in chapters during tea, between client sessions, and even while waiting for my son’s dance session to end. The suspense was expertly maintained, and the twists kept me guessing.
• Character-driven tension: The beauty of this book is in its tightly woven cast. There are very few characters, but each one is so sharply etched that you feel every shift in loyalty, every stab of doubt.
• Relatable Psychological Themes: I appreciated how the story plays with perception, trauma, and emotional isolation. It also taps into a very real maternal fear—of someone threatening your home, your sanity, your child, and your safety.

What didn’t quite land:

There were moments where the plot became a tad repetitive, especially in the middle. As someone trained to notice behavioural cycles, I started anticipating Chloe’s actions—yet the final twist still shocked me. I had suspicions, but Nicola Sanders still managed to deliver a finale that made me say out loud, “Wait, what?!”

As a parent of a neurodiverse child:

I couldn’t help but view the story through that lens. The portrayal of emotional manipulation and trauma made me reflect on how crucial it is to teach children emotional literacy, how to name feelings, set boundaries, and recognize when something feels wrong, even if it looks right on the outside. It also reminded me how often women—mothers, stepmothers, caregivers—are gaslighted or dismissed when they sense something is off.

Verdict:

Don’t Let Her Stay is worthwhile if you enjoy psychological thrillers with unreliable narrators, emotionally loaded scenes, and gasp-worthy twists. It’s not just a page-turner; it’s a psychological puzzle that’ll have you questioning everyone—including yourself.