Here to Stay by Mark Edwards

"Mark Edwards always delivers! Taut, gripping, scary and original - a fabulous read!"--Robert Bryndza, #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author
A beautiful home. A loving wife. And in-laws to die for.
Gemma Robinson comes into Elliot's life like a whirlwind, and they marry and settle into his home. When she asks him if her parents can come to stay for a couple of weeks, he is keen to oblige - he just doesn't quite know what he's signing up for.
The Robinsons arrive with Gemma's sister, Chloe, a mysterious young woman who refuses to speak or leave her room. Elliot starts to suspect that the Robinsons are hiding a dark secret. And then there are the scars on his wife's body that she won't talk about . . .
As Elliot's in-laws become more comfortable in his home, encroaching on all aspects of his life, it becomes clear that they have no intention of moving out. To protect Gemma, and their marriage, Elliot delves into the Robinsons' past. But is he prepared for the truth?
From the two million copy bestselling author comes a tale about the chilling consequences of welcoming strangers into your home.

Here to Stay is another example of why Mark Edwards is one of the most prolific mystery writers of our time. Any writer that wants to learn the art of the twist should spend time reading his novels.

Well, I thought that my husband had the worst in-laws possible but maybe I was wrong! Here to Stay is a cautionary tale about never letting your in-laws come to stay. They’ll get their feet under the table, all cosy and relaxed, and the next thing you’ll know they’ll be looking at furniture in Ikea and redecorating your sitting room. Just the thought of it brought chills down my spine. Here to Stay is a title that hides behind a game of cat and mouse, and whose will is stronger. I was enraptured to find out who’d win this game of push and shove.

Elliot is a bachelor. He has an extremely comfortable life living in an affluent area. He’s worked hard to achieve his goals. His parents died in a freak hot air balloon accident, and he misses them terribly. They instilled strong values in Elliot, and he tries to live by them. He restored his beautiful home by hand – sanding down the floors and painting the walls, he’s put his heart and soul into making it a home. He feels as though something is missing though – someone to share it all with.

When Gemma walks into his life after opening his gardens up to the public he can’t quite believe how much he wants her to stay talking to him and how much she loves his home. He doesn’t wish to put words to love at first sight but it’s pretty close for him. During their meeting he gets stung by a bee and goes into anaphylactic shock, Gemma rushes him to the hospital and their fate as a couple is sealed.

As a man of science, it was crazy how quickly Elliot seemed to discard logic and reason, they got married in a matter of weeks, but they barely knew each other. Upon arriving back in the UK Gemma informs Elliot that her parents are coming back to the UK after staying in France. The initial timeframe of their stay is a couple of weeks, but it appears they don’t want to leave at all.

You instantly feel the dread creeping from the pages when the in-laws arrive. They are sneaky and deceitful, and the truth is a word that they aren’t very familiar with. Nothing is simple in this book – relationships, past memories, and the games that people play. It leaves Elliot as the central player trying to work out why his in-laws won’t leave. It would’ve been intriguing for him to put his put down more and insist that this was his home and they’d be leaving by hook or by crook.

The writing is bloody sharp, and I found myself not wanting to put it down for anything. Elliot begins to crack as events take a deadly turn. Everything grows darker and scarier.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

His novels include What You Wish For, Because She Loves Me, Follow You Home, The Devil’s Work, The Lucky Ones, The Retreat, In Her Shadow, Here To Stay and The House Guest. He has also published two short sequels to The Magpies, A Murder of Magpies and Last of The Magpies, and six books co-authored with Louise Voss.

Many of his books have been translated into foreign languages including French, German, Italian, Spanish, Estonian, Thai, Lithuanian, Czech, Hungarian, Turkish and Russian. In 2019 Mark won The Cat and Mouse Award for Most Elusive Villain at the Dead Good Reader Awards for Last of the Magpies.

Mark Edwards