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.
About the Author:
Mark Edwards writes psychological thrillers in which scary things happen to ordinary people.
Mark has sold over 2 million books since his first solo novel, The Magpies, was published in 2013. Since then he has topped the bestseller lists several times. His other novels are Because She Loves Me, Follow You Home, What You Wish For, The Devil’s Work, The Lucky Ones, The Retreat and In Her Shadow. He has also published A Murder of Magpies (a short sequel to The Magpies) and six books co-authored with Louise Voss.
Mark lives in the West Midlands, England, with his wife, their three children, two cats and a golden retriever.
My Review:
I am a huge fan of Mark’s first psychological thriller The Magpies and it’s still one of the only books that gave me the goosebumps and got right under my skin, so when I heard he had a new book out which was just as good (if not better) I immediately downloaded the book and got stuck in.
Mark Edwards has a definite theme in his books – The Magpies was about the neighbours from hell, The Devil’s Work was the job/office co-workers from hell, Follow You Home is an adventure from hell, Because She Loves Me – girlfriend from hell and so on… so it’s no surprise that Here to Stay features something or someone from hell and this time it’s… IN LAWS and boy oh boy these in-laws are not just from hell – they are from another planet (not literally that was What You Wish For).
So let’s Meet The Robinsons – or rather let’s NOT. Poor Elliott, a 38 year old geek (sorry scientist) who lives on his own in a beautiful house with his cat when Gemma comes into his life (actually she saves it) and two months later after a whirlwind romance they are married and living together. So far so good and then Gemma’s parents and younger sister are returning to the UK after living in France for the last few years and have nowhere to stay – good old Elliott sees it as the perfect opportunity to get to know Gemma’s family and offers them a place to stay for a couple of week. What could possibly go wrong? Well if you leave it to Mark Edwards then absolutely EVERYTHING can go wrong!
I’m not going to give away the storyline but it’s safe to say The Robinsons make my in-laws look normal (and if you know my in-laws then you’d realise how f*cked up The Robinsons are!). This is a story you read with dread in your stomach and find yourself turning those pages almost with your eyes closed because you can’t believe how truly awful these people are and your heart breaks for the situation Elliott finds himself in.
Is this as good as the Magpies? I think so! Highly recommended for lovers of twisted psychological thrillers. 5 stars.
