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 @
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@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!

Melissa thinks she has won the prize. That she has hooked the best catch in Thomas. However, this book for me encompassed the old saying, "Be careful who you trust." Filled with dark secrets, manipulation, and suspense, I loved everything about this book. It had just what I look for in a psychological thriller read. The characters were also interesting and kept my attention. The author did a fantastic job with bouncing back and forth from past to present day. Those transitions were smooth and easy to follow. Let me just say, I could not put this book down!!

Thank you NetGalley, Andrew DeYoung, and Poisoned Pen Press for eArc.

Woweee! This was a five-star read for me and it came right when I was in a bit of a thriller reading slump, so the timing couldn’t have been better. I’m shouting this one from the rooftops!

I was completely invested in the characters and every twist of their tangled, messy drama. There were definitely a lot of complicated dynamics and secrets woven throughout the plot, but it never felt confusing or overwhelming. In fact, it was all so cleanly written and expertly executed that I found myself flying through the pages.

There was a little bit of spice sprinkled in, which I appreciated. It added just enough tension without taking over the whole storyline. That said, if I had one tiny gripe, it would be that the romance felt a little rushed and unrealistic. I still enjoyed it, but I did wish it had a bit more development.

What really made this book such a blast for me was the fact that the “killer” could have been anyone right up until the very end. Every single character had sketchy motives and secrets of their own, and I loved trying to piece it all together. The complicated relationships between them only added to the suspense and made the story even more gripping.

This was the perfect kind of thriller for me. When I tell people I love mystery thrillers, this is exactly what I mean. Highly recommend!

A massive THANK YOU to #NetGalley and #PoisonedPenPress and of course, #AndrewDeYoung for the chance to read this one early in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this fast paced thriller that is so easy to binge read! We have Melissa, recently divorced and new to town, quickly wrapped up in a whirlwind romance with Thomas, a doctor who some believe (and some don't believe) murdered his ex-wife. Thomas gave me the ick REAL QUICK with his love bombing. I just wanted to shake Melissa and be like "girl, NO!" However, I really liked the structure of this book with the ex-wife's journal entries and recordings from Thomas' therapy sessions interspersed throughout. Kept me on my toes trying to figure out who the killer was, and definitely had me going, "Oh it's this person. No wait, it's this person. No wait..." Definitely worth checking out!

Stay Away From Him is a mystery/thriller about a supposedly wrongly accused husband, a divorcee looking for a better life, and an unsolved murder that creates a town conspiracy group full of reasons why the husband really is the killer.

Melissa the FMC, fresh from a messy and very expensive divorce, is immediately enamored by and cautious of, Thomas the MMC, who pursues her immediately upon meeting her. When her friends reveal that Thomas had been the main suspect in his wife's case, the body had never been found, and the case was thrown out after some additional information came to light, Melissa is a little hesitant to go on a date. Thomas texts her quickly after their meeting, asking for a date, and Melissa decides to give it a try, despite the red flags. After Melissa is tagged in an online Facebook group without her consent, she gets pulled into a crazy murder mystery/conspiracy of who really killed Rose Danver.

This story really kept me on my toes! I loved how the chapters take you back and forth from the current view of the story, to transcripts between Thomas and his therapist, to Rose's (the murdered wife) diary. The way the author does a slow reveal of the information from the transcripts and diaries, has you constantly second guessing who you think may have actually murdered Rose. I changed my mind multiple times throughout the story of who I thought was the true murderer. I never would have guessed who the actual killer was either, and the lead up to the reveal is done so well!

Thomas, to me is just a walking red flag, I am not sure why a recently divorced woman who finally got away from a horrible relationship would dive head first into a new one, brand new to town, with a little boy to think of. Granted, Melissa was cautious at first, and having been neglected so long in her marriage, having someone who finally saw her, and wanted her, made it hard for her to take things slow as she had intended. Thomas expertly hooks Melissa, just as he did with Rose, with Melissa none the wiser to his true self.

You have to read this story to learn who the true murderer is!


Thank you to Netgalley, Poisoned Pen Press, and the author for a copy of this book!

So I think I’ve read too many thrillers because I’ve been in a slump with finding one that wows me. I couldn’t get past the rashness of the FMC. Her recklessness really turned me off from the get go and overall took away any realistic quality of the story. I’m all for an all-in romance, but not with an accused murderer. Come on Melissa, get it together girlfriend. Other than that, the story flow and easy-to-read quality of the writing made it a page turning thriller that was a quick read you could bring on vacay or to the beach.

I was hooked from the start with this twisty romance-meets-thriller! Melissa is just trying to start over with her son after a messy divorce, definitely not looking for love, until she meets Thomas, a handsome widower and local pediatrician… who also happens to be an accused (but cleared) murder suspect. The chemistry is instant, but the mystery around his past creeps in fast. I loved the slow unraveling of truth and the tension that builds as Melissa starts to wonder if she really knows the man she’s falling for.

This Domestic Thriller exceed my expectations! It was so unpredictable! One moment you think the killer is this person, and then something else gets revealed to make you think its the other. And then more is revealed and you back to step one. It was honestly so much fun. I was captured from the beginning. The characters are really complex. Everyone has their own secrets, making it hard for the reader to figure out who they can trust. The writing is amazing! There were moments I felt I was right there with Melissa, and other times I was screaming at her to open her eyes. I also absolutely loved the transcripts and journal entries. It adds so much to the story and atmosphere. Everything that was reveled in the end had me so shocked! I was literally on the edge of my seat.

I very much enjoyed this one, and would highly recommend!

Andrew Deyoung’s Stay Away from Him is a masterclass in psychological suspense—dark, unsettling, and brimming with twists that refuse to let the reader settle. From the very first page, the novel cultivates a creeping sense of dread, made all the more effective by its cast of deeply unnerving characters and the constant feeling that nothing is quite what it seems.

What makes this thriller stand out is Deyoung’s ability to keep readers off balance. Just when you think you’ve figured it out, the narrative pivots sharply, revealing deeper layers of manipulation, danger, and deception. The tension is expertly sustained, and each chapter seems to invite more suspicion, making it nearly impossible to put the book down.

The writing is sharp, atmospheric, and cleverly plotted. Deyoung leans into the psychological aspects of fear, using character behavior and subtle shifts in tone to create a slow-burn intensity that culminates in a finale both shocking and satisfying.

Stay Away from Him is the kind of thriller that stays with you long after the last page—disturbing, tightly written, and deeply compelling. Andrew Deyoung proves he’s a name to watch in the genre.

A fast paced and surprising domestic thriller that is so easy to binge read. Certainly caught me off guard a few times which is a good thing.
The writing flows smoothly and at a brisk pace, keeping me on the edge of my seat as I tried to piece together the puzzle at every twist and turn. If you’re a fan of thrillers that keep you guessing with a cast of intriguing characters and believable scenarios that only come together at the end, then this is your perfect summer read. It’s the kind of book you can binge-read in one sitting, thanks to its captivating twists and turns.

I'm not going to lie. This started off a little cheesy to me with the romance that escalated astonomically in a record-breaking time of twenty-four hours. It almost turned me away, but there was something that kept me reading. It wasn't the protagonist that absolutely did not put her child first. Nor was it her love interest, a man accused of murdering his wife and has the most cliché dialogue and personality imaginable. It was the fast pace, the compelling mystery of the missing wife that I needed to know the truth of, and the easy yet addictive writing style. That said, I am glad I stuck with it. This took a turn that I wasn't expecting even the least bit. It left me shocked and almost impressed with this author's ability to take the cheesy and turn it into something dark and unpredictable. The journal entries and the therapy sessions were placed perfectly and kept the story strong and intriguing. Three and a half stars.

Thank you, Netgalley, and Poisoned Pen Press for this ARC.

First thank you to all involved for allowing me to ARC this story. I truly loved the variety of writing pov/styles in this book. It really added to the whole story. In what could have taken readers out it totally pulled me in. I am a fan of thriller novels and this one was definitely worth a read. Thank you again and I look forward to reading more.

Stay Away From Him is a smart, unsettling thriller that pulls you into a web of deception, obsession, and psychological tension. Andrew DeYoung crafts a story that plays with perception in a way that keeps you questioning what’s real, who’s trustworthy, and what might be hiding behind even the most ordinary door.

The pacing hooked me right away, with early tension that steadily builds as the layers of the characters and their motivations are revealed. DeYoung does a great job creating a chilling atmosphere without relying on over-the-top scares. It’s more about the slow, creeping dread—the feeling that something is just slightly off—and that really worked for me.

The characters are complex and imperfect, which made them feel real. I especially appreciated the subtle exploration of relationships and control, and how easily boundaries can shift when you aren’t paying attention. Some of the twists I saw coming, but there were still moments that genuinely surprised me. I would have loved a bit more depth in certain character arcs, but overall, it was an engaging read that I couldn’t put down.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the opportunity to read and review this gripping novel.

"No one bothered telling Melissa that Thomas Danver was an accused murderer. Not until she'd already spent a whole evening flirting with him."

After leaving a bad marriage, Melissa has taken her five-year-old son to the Twin Cities to start fresh. What she doesn't expect is for a new charming man to enter her life so quickly, let alone one who was accused of killing his wife three years ago. She's ready to cast all suspicion aside until she receives a threatening note.

STAY AWAY FROM HIM by Andrew DeYoung is a fast-paced domestic thriller that will have you flipping pages.

The present timeline is intercut with therapist transcripts and journal entries from three years prior, which added a really nice dimension to the story and helped break up the monotony of Melissa and Thomas' budding relationship (more on this later lol)

DeYoung pulled me into this story right away and threw in a few nuggets of intrigue along the way, which kept me reading and wanting answers.

However, the whole Melissa and Thomas of it all was laughable and made it hard for me to truly love this book once we hit the 25% mark. It felt very unrealistic to have a woman who just left a very toxic relationship (with her toddler son in tow) to all of a sudden fall in love with a convicted murderer 24 hours after meeting him - this was just the tip of the iceberg for me.

I struggled to really engage with the story with that as a backdrop, but it was a very quick read regardless and seems to be a hit with a lot of other early readers, so do with that what you will!

Thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the early copy for review - out July 8!

Thank you to NetGalley for early access of this book in exchange for an honest review,

This book just was not it for me from the start. The main male character gave off major narcissistic, love bombing vibes and that was a major trigger for me. Even when I pushed through the excruciating beginning- it took everything for me to finish and the ending was a HUGE NO for me.