Stay Away From Him
- Judith D Collins
- Jul 17
- 4 min read
By: Andrew DeYoung
Narrators: Gail Shalan, Aaron Shedlock Sourcebooks
ISBN: 9781728298139
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Publication Date: 07/08/2025
Format: Paperback
My Rating: 5 Stars (ARC)
"A powerful, cautionary thriller."—William Kent Krueger, New York Times bestselling author, for The Day He Never Came Home
On the evening she met exonerated murderer Thomas Danver, Melissa Burke let him help put her five-year-old son to bed before coming back upstairs to enjoy the dinner party. Thomas was so nice, and a pediatrician. She didn't know anything then about his wife's suspicious death...
Relocating with her 5-year-old son to a new city after an ugly divorce, Melissa Burke isn't looking for a new relationship right away—only distance from her ex, and space to rest and heal from the emotional scars of a broken marriage. But an unexpected relationship is exactly what she finds at a friend's dinner party when she meets Thomas Danver, a charming widower who asks for her number at the end of the night. Intrigued, Melissa learns from her neighbors that Thomas is a dedicated father of two girls, one of the most respected pediatricians in the city—and an exonerated murderer.
Thomas's first wife went missing three years ago, presumed dead, and Thomas was eventually cleared of her murder in an investigation that became a local media sensation. But while some still believe he killed his wife, Melissa's friends insist that he was unfairly targeted by the police and couldn't hurt a fly. Attracted to Thomas and also fascinated by the case, Melissa agrees to one date—and finds herself quickly swept into an obsessive, whirlwind romance.
But when Melissa receives a chilling, anonymous threat—or perhaps it's a warning—she begins to question how much she truly knows about the man she's falling in love with. Is he really innocent?
"Had me hooked from the first line. The characters are complex in a way that makes it impossible to tell who to trust."" —Tasha Coryell, author of Love Letters to a Serial Killer
Andrews's Books
THE DAY HE NEVER CAME HOME
STAY AWAY FROM HIM
My Review
Andrew DeYoung dazzled us with his debut, THE DAY HE NEVER CAME HOME (also 5 stars), and returns with another riveting and twisty page-turning domestic suspense, STAY AWAY FROM HIM.
Scandal, romance, and murder in the suburbs.
About...
Melissa Burke and her young son move to a new area, and she meets Thomas Danver, a neighbor, at a party. She thought the doctor was charming, with movie-star looks, but no one had told her he was an accused murderer.
Melissa is a divorcee living in her friend's basement with her young five-year-old son after fleeing from her evil ex-husband. Some may think she is a mysterious, beautiful woman who just moved into the neighborhood.
She had not watched the Twin Cities news three years earlier when Rose Danver went missing, and Thomas became the talk and scandal of the neighborhood.
She is not looking for a relationship but becomes entangled with Thomas, his teen daughters, and his ex (a therapist), another neighbor who seems to have her nose in Thomas's business. The complex dynamics between these characters add layers of intrigue and suspicion to the story.
His wife, Rose, went missing three years earlier and was presumed dead, and he was eventually cleared of her murder. However, some still suspect him.
As Melissa becomes more involved with Thomas, she is convinced he is not a killer. However, when she receives a chilling threat or warning, she starts second-guessing her initial thoughts and becomes increasingly wary of having him around her young son, whom she must protect. This threat or warning becomes a pivotal point in the story, escalating the suspense to new heights.
What happened to Rose? Can she trust Thomas and all those connected to him? Is Thomas a prince charming or a psychopath?
My thoughts...
DeYoung keeps the suspense high with clever transcripts and recordings taken from therapy sessions between Thomas and his therapist, Amelia, which took place over three months following Rose's disappearance.
Throughout the well-written novel, you are unsure of whom to trust. Melissa is very suspicious of Thomas and Amelia as they seem to always be together.
We also hear from Rose's POV, which are journal entries written by Rose Danver that appeared to have been written over six months before her disappearance.
She appeared to think her husband was going to kill her, or was it her mental health? Rose believes it is safer to write them down versus saying them out loud to a therapist.
But things are not as they appear. Can anyone be trusted? Everyone is a SUSPECT.
With its unexpected twists, this story will keep you turning the pages into the wee hours of the morning, eager to uncover the next revelation.
I particularly enjoyed Rose's POV, and the author did an outstanding job with her character.
Psychologically rich, STAY AWAY FROM HIM is compelling, twisty, and dives deep into the complex characters' minds. It's a twisty whodunit mystery that not only keeps you guessing until the end but also offers a fascinating exploration of the character's inner worlds.
Audiobook...
I look forward to listening to the audiobook narrated by my favorite Gail Shalan and Aaron Shedlock.
Recs...
STAY AWAY FROM HIM is for fans of the author's debut and those who enjoy authors, Christina McDonald, Hank Phillippi Ryan, Joshua Moehling, and Carter Wilson.
Thanks to Poisoned Pen Press for providing a gifted, advanced reading copy via NetGalley in exchange for my honest thoughts.
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
Pub Date: July 8, 2025
Praise
"Stay Away From Him had me hooked from the first line. The characters are complex in a way that makes it impossible to tell who to trust."
― Tasha Coryell, author of Love Letters to a Serial Killer
"I couldn't put this book down! Fast-paced and hauntingly tense, this book will linger with you long after the final page."
― Jaima Fixsen, author of The Specimen
"DeYoung masterfully balances narrative tension with razor-sharp insight into the dark corners of the human mind. This is suspense at its most chilling―and most unforgettable."
― Amy Pease, author of Northwoods
About the Author
Andrew DeYoung is the author of The Day He Never Came Home, his first domestic thriller, and The Temps, a speculative novel about the end of the world. He works as an editor at a children’s book publishing company, and he lives with his wife and two children in the Twin Cities area in Minnesota. WEBSITE
