Melissa Burke is still healing from a toxic marriage and painful divorce. Her top priority is her five-year-old son, Bradley, so she's surprised when she feels an undeniable spark with the charming and enigmatic Dr. Thomas Danver at a dinner party. Despite her instincts, Melissa is drawn in by Thomas’s charisma. But is he really the dedicated pediatrician and devoted father he claims to be? Or is he the man the rumors say he is - a wife killer? STAY AWAY FROM HIM by Andrew DeYoung is a dark, gripping psychological thriller that dives into obsession, manipulation, psychopathy, and chilling deceit.
As Melissa grows closer to Thomas and their children begin spending time together, she starts to notice cracks. His daughters are still healing from their mother’s disappearance and the criminal charges that once threatened their father’s freedom. Their hostility towards Melissa implies they are not quite ready for their father to move on, but Melissa and Thomas continue to see each other, and Melissa chooses to believe in his innocence. Living next door is Amelia, Thomas’s best friend and former lover, a psychiatrist who seems overly invested in his every move. When Melissa receives a threatening letter warning her to stay away, suspicion grows. Is Amelia behind the note? Could it be Melissa’s bitter ex-husband? Or perhaps the host of the “Justice for Rose Danver” social media page, an online crusader who’s made Melissa a target? As Melissa uncovers more unsettling truths about Thomas’s past, and a body is discovered, her hopes for a fresh start spiral into a desperate fight for survival.
STAY AWAY FROM HIM hooks readers from the start with the mystery of a vanished wife and the haunting fallout. Melissa is a vulnerable woman, seduced by a charming man into another potentially dangerous situation. Clever narrative devices like journal entries and therapy session recordings give chilling insight into the missing wife’s final days. Fast-paced and filled with tension, the story moves effortlessly as readers try to untangle the lies from the truth. From ominous foreshadowing, including a legendary coyote, a relentless stalker, and a brutal beating, to a heart-pounding climax deep in the woods, STAY AWAY FROM HIM will keep readers riveted until the final, unforgettable page.
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?
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