This was a fast paced thriller with Melissa and her son moving to a new town and meets Thomas who was accused of killing his wife a few years ago. They fall into a fast and furious romance while Melissa questions if it is wise to be in a relationship with him.

The romance in this is nil and they basically meet and fall for each other which as a romance reader, I found no build up and unbelievable.

I enjoyed the different POV through transcripts and diary entries. Lots of red herring along the way to keep you guessing.

Thank you @poisonedpenpress for a copy of the book.

I had the opportunity to read Stay Away from Him by Andrew DeYoung, and it was a fast-paced, twisty thriller that kept me engaged from beginning to end. The story begins with a seemingly ordinary setup—a man and woman meet at a dinner party—but quickly takes a darker turn when it’s revealed that the man once stood trial for the disappearance and presumed murder of his wife.

What unfolds is a gripping tale of manipulation, love bombing, and buried secrets. But it’s not just about one toxic relationship—there’s much more beneath the surface, and the twists kept coming in unexpected ways. I really appreciated how the author framed the story arc, building tension while giving just enough to keep the reader guessing.

It was a quick read with great pacing, and I’m definitely looking forward to reading more from Andrew DeYoung in the future. A solid thriller that delivers both suspense and psychological depth.

This was an interesting thriller that had me wondering who Thomas really was, who killed his wife and had me spiraling in curiosity just like the main character Melissa. The different POVs and little transcripts throughout the book were a really nice added touch that made the story more intriguing. I absolutely love thrillers that are unpredictable and this book did not disappoint. I felt as though every time I thought I solved the case, there was a plot twist that left me scrapping my ideas and targeting someone else. The ending was very unexpected for me and had me on the edge of my seat as the real killer is identified. If you like captivating thrillers, this book is for you!

📖 Stay Away From Him
👩‍💻 Author: Andrew Deyoung
📅 Pub Date: 7/8/25
📚 Pages: 336
🗂️ Genre: Thriller
📝 Publisher: PoisonedPen
Huge thanks to @poisonedpen and @andrewdeyoung for the gifted copy! 💌 #partner
Synopsis:
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. 😳
Review: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Wow, as I sit down to write this my head is still spinning from how crazy this story was 😵‍💫 I thought I had this figured out but boy was I wrong. This story kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time, wondering what was going to happen—is he guilty or is he being set up? I could not flip the pages fast enough. The ending was so good! 👏 I highly recommend this to all thriller lovers!

I was hooked from first chapter. It really drew me in and I had to keep reading immediately to find out what was happening! An intriguing thriller!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc

This is one of those thrillers that has you second-guessing what's really going on the whole time. Is Thomas innocent? Is he guilty? You have to keep reading to find out, especially with the stakes being high for his new partner, Melissa and the children. I liked the style of the writing with the mixing of social media, interviews, and events happening in the present. Fans of domestic thrillers will enjoy this one.

DeYoung has crafted a compelling psychological thriller that sticks with you. Stay Away from Him is perfect for readers who appreciate character-driven suspense and a payoff that justifies the tension build-up. Even with a few pacing bumps, the emotional stakes and memorable twist make this a strong read.

Would I recommend it? Absolutely—just give the slow start a chance. Fans of tight domestic thrillers with an emotional core will find it satisfying.

3.5 stars
I wanted to really like this one. New author to me and shows great promise of adding in a few twists I didn't see coming, but his characters fell flat for me. Melissa was not an enjoyable FMC. While there are many women out there just like her, she just didn't make me want to root for her. She was too gullible, too woe as me, and too hypocritical. She spoke about emotional and physical abuse, but didn't know that she was being gaslit from the beginning. And Thomas was just an overall awful, psychopath. It played out like a Lifetime mad for tv movie ripped out of the headlines, but in a way you knew you should stop watching but couldn't bring yourself to change the channel.
Some interesting concepts, so I would be interested in other stories by Andrew DeYoung in the future.
Thank you Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for this gifted copy in exchange for my honest review.

Stay Away From Him
by: Andrew DeYoung
Poisoned Pen Press
7/8/2025

Melissa Burke relocates to a new city with her 5-year-old son after a nasty divorce. Then she meets pediatrician Thomas Danver at a dinner party and the two hit it off immediately. The charming widower & dedicated father of two girls seems too good to be true. Then she discovers he is an exonerated murderer. He was accused of killing his wife, who went missing three years ago, & is presumed dead. Thomas was eventually cleared of her murder in an investigation that became a local media sensation, but there are plenty of people who still believe that he is guilty. Melissa agrees to one date, and is soon head-over-heels in love with him. 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?

This book just did not work for me. From the very first chapter, Thomas skeeved me out. I could tell he was love bombing her, and I don't know why she couldn't see it, or why she wasn't more cautious, especially fresh off of a bad marriage. He was too slick, said all the right things, just acted a little TOO perfect. I wanted to like this book, and I appreciate the fact that there were some twists at the end to try to confuse the reader into who killed Thomas's ex-wife, but, overall this was a solid 3 out of 5.

This was a book I read in a 24-hour period. From the very first sentence, “No one bothered telling Melissa that Thomas Danver was an accused murderer,” I was pulled in and couldn’t put this book down. Melissa connects with Thomas at a dinner party, and right away their eyes meet, they flirt, and then they sit down at the dinner table together. When he introduces his full name to her without any reaction, he is aware that she doesn’t know who he is. You see, Thomas has been accused of the death of his wife, but all of his friends believe he is innocent. He’s a good husband, father of two, and a great pediatrician. The people outside of their friend group believe he is at fault, but with no real evidence, he was never convicted. While talking, she finds out he is a widow. It’s not until after everyone is gone that she finds out there is more to his story than he revealed, and she is warned to stay away.

This book had me going. We get the point of view from Thomas’s wife through several diary entries left behind, we hear from his best friend, Amelia, with whom he also had a relationship before he met his wife, and we get Thomas’s side. Who is telling the truth? Who is hiding secrets? There are twists! There was a jaw dropping moment for me. There are a few other characters involved as well, like the so-called best friend of the wife, a private detective, and Thomas’s two daughters. Even though there are several characters, this book is very easy to follow, with great visuals described throughout. Towards the end when we find out the truth, the visuals are downright eerie!!
Stay Away From Him is a perfect read for fans of Freida McFadden, and this is a great book to add to your summerween reading list when you’re in the mood for something spooky but not too scary leading up to the fall season.

📚: Stay Away from Him by Andrew DeYoung
⭐️: 3.5/5 (rounding up on #goodreads)

Melissa's recently divorced, relocated with her young son, Bradley, to a new town to escape a toxic ex-husband. She meets Thomas at a dinner party. Charming, charismatic, and caring to kids, she falls hard -- and fast. The truth behind Thomas is more complex than Melissa guesses though, with his wife missing, presumed dead, for the past 3 years. As if that isn't too much to handle at the onset of a relationship, the threats start coming quickly -- "stay away from him or you'll die."

This book had me hooked from the get so. A great back and forth of different narration formats kept me intrigued, and while the plot came together as I somewhat predicted, the exact who kept me predicting back and forth between a cast of characters until the end.

Big thanks to Poisoned Pen Press via @netgalley for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. Stay Away from Him is out today, 7/8!

Overall I enjoyed this book. The first quarter of the book starts as a slow burn and then the pace just keeps gaining speed until the very end. I had my suspicions of the twist from early on, but I liked unraveling the mystery to confirm if my suspicions were correct! DeYoung had me second guessing my amateur true crime skills throughout the story. The author also did a good job at writing characters that you wanted to dive into the book and interact with. I wanted to shake Melissa and yell at her to wise up numerous times, but in the most loving way. This domestic thriller was cool too because I enjoyed not only reading the story, but also getting to read Roses diary and the recorded therapy sessions of Thomas Danver. I love when authors add those different timelines or POVs to create a more well rounded and layered story.

Wow - I did not see this coming at all and I was really paying attention to clues. Interesting to have the wife’s journal entries and husband’s therapy sessions embedded in the novel as it really contributed to the reader’s sense of uncertainty re: who the murderer was.

B O O K R E V I E W

STAY AWAY FROM HIM by Andrew DeYoung

“No one bothered telling Melissa that Thomas Danver was an accused murderer.”

Melissa has recently got out of a messy marriage and is on her own with her son Bradley. She lives in a basement apartment in Minnesota at her friends’ home. Melissa is finally feeling safer and she has her focus on Bradley. Bradley needs structure and stability after leaving his controlling father who never has left Bradley feeling comfortable in his presence.

The friends Melissa is staying with have thrown a party. She comes in contact with a gorgeous man in which conversation starts,frosted cocktails are doled out, and an instant connection has taken hold between them both.

As Melissa and Thomas continue to see each other, strengthening their bond, unsettling information presents itself to Melissa. Melissa is not sure what to believe since Thomas is nothing short of wonderful with her son Bradley, his own daughters, herself, and those around him. She is at a time in her life where she needs space, but Thomas is everything she dreams a partner would and should be. Should she trust what lies deep in her heart or those that are trying to warn her? Can she rely on the opinion of those that claim Thomas is a wonderful man?

Stay Away From Him grabbed a hold of me from the first first line and wouldn’t let go. I was instantly hooked and needed to see for myself who Thomas Danver was and what made him tick. This novel was fast paced and thoroughly enjoyed! What a read! If you are looking for an immersive well written book for this summer, LOOK NO FURTHER!

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for providing me with an ARC to read in exchange for an honest review. This book is out for publication today, July 8th. Please check out this worthy read!

#domesticthriller #summerreading #andrewdeyoung #netgalley #poisonedpenpress #bookstagram #bookrecommendations

I love a book that keeps me guessing and Stay Away From Him was one of those. The deep dive in into the psychopath's psyche was worth the read and the diary of the victim was also a nice touch. There were some aspects that were a bit exasperating (like tagging someone on FB without their permission), but the end result was well worth it.

Fun, twisty mystery/thriller! Four stars from me. I loved the back and forth with the missing wife’s journal. I had a hard time putting it down!

Stay Away From Him is a fast-paced, nail bitting, edge of your seat thriller where the killer has evaded us all!!!


Melissa Burke is dealing with a divorce, looking for a job, taking care of her son, and relocating to a new area. She meets a nice man at a party, Thomas, and he begins to persuade her hard. She finds out from her friends that he was a suspect in the disappearance of his wife.
Melissa was a very strong and empathetic character, and I really enjoyed her. She has been through a lot with her ex-husband, and she still fights hard for her and her son. Though she is hesitant to open herself to love again, she still manages to have a good time with Thomas until things turn for the worse. Once you find out who the killer is, you realize that everyone around failed to catch the killer.

Thank you, Netgalley, and Poisoned Pen Press for this thrilling ARC. All opinions are entirely my own.

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, where she meets Thomas Danver, a widowed 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 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 of the neighborhood and a scandal.

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.

blog review posted @
JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
Pub Date: July 8, 2025
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Thank you NetGalley, Poisoned Pen Press and the author for the arc!

Although I could see where this one was going pretty early on … that didn’t take away from its binge worthy status & I was still surprised by a few good twists!

The pace is fast with a great format … I loved going back & forth from the present to the missing wife’s diary entries to the therapist’s transcripts! Kept things suspenseful! Also, every character plays their part perfectly! However, sometimes I just wanted to yell at Melissa (FMC) because what the heck is she thinking? Is love really THAT blind? YIKES!

This story is a solid & very entertaining popcorn thriller that kept me hooked to the very end! I think most thriller enthusiasts will enjoy it!

Well this was a fun ride! I don’t think I would have found myself in the situation Melissa did. She trusted too easily!