Stay Home… A phrase we are all familiar with this year.

“Caitlin has been having an affair for nearly a year when the country enters lock down. Suddenly, seeing her lover, Daniel, without alerting her husband becomes almost impossible. When she does manage to sneak to his home, she finds him lying in a pool of his own blood, dead.

STAY HOME

Ali is a just-about-functioning alcoholic, recently let go, and feeling rather lonely. Each day she goes to her local shop to buy her permitted two bottles of wine, leaving food parcels for neighbours on her way home. While keeping an eye on what they are up to, of course.

STAY SAFE

Caitlin can't tell a soul about what she has discovered for risk of losing her family. Little does she know that Ali has noticed her coming and going, and that she will be drawing her own conclusions.
As Caitlin delves into the life of the man who said he loved her, she finds that maybe she didn't really know him at all. But if she wants to avoid suspicion, she needs to keep digging until they find Daniel's killer. Because the doors may be locked, but everyone's secrets are starting to leak out . . .”

I had high expectations for this book after reading the above synopsis. Lies, deceit, infidelity and murder during the Covid pandemic. Sounds good, right?

But it, unfortunately, fell flat for me. I was bored throughout the whole book – the story did not grip me and the characters were just irritating.

What did I like about this book?

- A thriller set in the UK during the Covid pandemic – a murder mystery during a lockdown seems quite thrilling

What didn’t I like about this book?

- The two main characters – a cheating and bored wife and mother, and an alcoholic nosey-neighbour – were just irritating. For me, I need to feel invested in the characters and this book just didn’t do this for me.
- The storyline was slow and I was just forcing myself to finish it - I just wasn't gripped by it whatsoever but felt it could have had potential

Thanks to NetGalley and Hodder & Stroughton for an advance copy of the book in return for an honest review.

Set in England during the (first) peak of the Covid Pandemic, this novel traces the actions of two women, Caitlin and Ali, when a man they are both linked to is found dead. Caitlin, a bored and unhappy housewife, has been having an affair with Daniel and discovered his body when she was hoping for something else. Ali was his alcoholic neighbour who liked to keep an eye on things and seemed to have an unnatural interest in accosting Caitlin about the murder. A couple twists and turns to keep the reader engaged and the repeated message of "Stay Home, Stay Safe" which didn't seem to work out too well for the main characters. Storyline really escalated in the last 50 pages and then seemed to finish a bit unexpectedly. A good read, quite easy to get through.

I struggled with this one for days only to realize I was a only 8% in. Plot seemed interesting about the way it was written made the main character sound like an ungrateful jerk and it made me not care about anything that happened to her.

Set in CoVid England during the lockdown this book is...horrendous. It has no depth of of characters, the storyline is lame and the big twist at the end just isn't there. This book read like somebody thought they were a writer and bored during lockdown, they sadly aren't. It was slow and agonizing to read.

First and foremost, thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Set during the first lockdown in 2020 (haha how naive we all were then and thought this would be over by Christmas), we meet Caitlin and Ali - two strangers who have never met. That is, until Caitlin's lover and Ali's neighbor winds up dead. After Ali intercepts Caitlin during one of her illicit visits to the house, they discover that they must band together to find Daniel's killer. However, all of this is made more complicated by the fact that neither are supposed to leave their house except for essential business.

How long will it be before Daniel's body is discovered? Will the killer be found or will they find Catilin and Ali first?

Stay Home by Ava Pierce is a thriller set in the UK lockdown during the covid 19 pandemic. The description intrigued me but I found when reading it there was not enough storyline for me and the twist at the end wasn't much of a twist for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for my ARC.

Stay Home by Ava Pierce is an interesting book set during lockdown which we are still under in many parts of the UK. I wasn't sure if I was going to like the fact it was set in these circumstances but in the end I did. The lockdown restrictions are very relatable and the twists and turns of the book held my interest until the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for my ARC.

I was worried that the first book I read set in the pandemic would be tiring and hackneyed. I needn't have worried after reading Ava Pierce's masterful handling of a topic that could have been so much gloomier.

Rather than describing the plot, as it is succinctly detailed in the description, I’d like to describe how the author handled this very touchy subject.

Instead of the book being "about" the pandemic, she has used the worldwide health crisis (as it was handled in England) as a backdrop to a suspenseful murder mystery. What's worse than trying to hide an affair? Trying to maintain the affair in a lockdown! And what's more suspicious than creeping into a dead man's house? Creeping in during a lockdown!

We are first introduced to Ali, who while pretty much a recluse to begin with, is now an alcoholic recluse, with an inquisitive mind, and even more of a nosey neighbor now that she's forced to stay in. At first, I really disliked this character, and felt her "voice" was all wrong. But as the narrative deepens, you see that she's just a lost soul, really in need of a purpose in life. Caitlin thinks she has lockdown all figured out, creating a faux exercise routine as her excuse to see her lover. And once he's dead, she's got to figure out how to handle her pretend exercise routine, without drawing the suspicion of her family. She needn't have worried, as they get caught up in their own dramas.

Pierce has managed to sprinkle details of the pandemic throughout the book, without it swallowing the story. If you're like me, almost any book or movie with large crowds, people sharing food, or touching each other, gives you pause at the moment. But Stay Home doesn't feel as foreign - or as dystopian - as it would have a year ago. The author reminds us of so many situations that have changed since March, but the scenarios flow smoothly and are so well integrated into the plot, they are seamless.

Beyond that, it's just a darn good story! After Ali's long narrative, the book starts to take off, and things just get worse and worse for poor Caitlin, as she tries to salvage first her marriage, and then her family. You'll think you know what happens next, but you won't be ready for the twists!

I can't wait to see what this author does next!

Thanks to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for an advance reader's copy for review.

This was the first book I have that takes place during the lockdown we are still experiencing. I’m expecting to read several of course as it’s not only current but a great plot devise and can be used used well in psychological/ domestic thrillers. Many of us are all alone and become unreliable narrators in our own lives as we sit at home a and even people in a family bubble feel alone during this mess. Add in the fact that our protagonist is a practicing alcoholic could elevate the internal dialogue and circumstances. Caitlin is a married woman in an affair with a man who ends up dead when all their activities come to a sudden lockdown stop. It’s a great setup. However, the characters internal rantings are too repetitive and I needed more explanation for certain behaviors and reasoning.

Stay Home is a mystery thriller which evolves around London during the 2020 Coronavirus pandemic. It centres around two main characters; Caitlin a mother of two and wife, who has been having an affair with the victim Daniel, and Ali, a just-about-functioning, lonely alcoholic whose main hobby is neighbourhood watch.

When Caitlin discovers Daniel dead one morning when she is supposed to be on her 'daily run' she is reluctant to tell a soul. After all she is breaking the lockdown rules, not to even mention reporting the incident to the police will unlock the truth of her affair and therefore she risks losing her family as a result of her deceptive secret. However, little does Caitlin know she is being watched.

I was really excited to read this book as it was the first mystery I have read which centres around the pandemic we are living through. Although, I was nervous- was it a bit soon? I have to say the bravery of the author did pay off!

Admittedly, I did find the start slow. However, the pace of the storyline started to pick up and before I knew it I was racing through the book, finding it difficult to put down as twists and turns occurred. I have to say I particularly loved the character development of Ali, Ava Pierce led me to really emphasise with her pain, and I enjoyed the growth of Ali and Caitlin’s ‘chalk and cheese’ companionship throughout the novel and how ultimately they were not very different from each other at all.

Without giving any spoilers, I did find the ending a tad predictable. Perhaps I just read too many thrillers and my guessing game has got good? As a result of this, was Stay Home the best thriller I have read? Unfortunately, not. However, that does not undermine how much I enjoyed the journey of the novel and I would give it a solid 3 stars.

Overall, a very current read, relatable and full of twists and turns.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Hodder & Stoughton for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately I had to DNF this one. It has such a promising premise, but I found it hard to read and just, kind of a mess. Im not sure if its partly due to how unrealistic everything about it seemed to me as an American? I didnt understand all the slang either. Overall just not the book for me.

London is in the midst of the COVID-19 lockdown, and Caitlin is stuck at home with her husband and twin teenage children. Trying to navigate this New Normal of Zoom meetings and home-schooling, Caitlin feels overwhelmed and reaches out to the man she is having an affair with. She needs a break from the bickering and the constant demands of her family; she needs to forget herself for a moment and be carefree. So, during the allotted hour for exercise, Caitlin heads over to Daniel’s house.

Caitlin knows she shouldn’t be seeing him for a number of reasons, not least of which is the government mandated “Stay Home” rule that forbids you from intermingling with other households. So, when she finds Daniel’s body lying in a pool of blood in his living room, Caitlin doesn’t know what to do. Calling the police risks exposing her indiscretion to her family as well as her rule-breaking to the authorities. So, instead, Caitlin wipes down the surfaces she has touched and sneaks back out of the flat, hoping to keep the fact that she was ever there a secret. Unfortunately for Caitlin, someone is watching her from across the street, and suddenly she is forced to investigate Daniel’s death herself lest the blame be placed firmly at her own door.

The premise of this book was very interesting – a mystery set during the national lockdown in the UK, where comings and goings were strictly monitored and restricted. Could a murder take place and be solved within the constraints of Zoom calls, one-hour exercise slots and limited social connection? I have read a lot of articles where crime writers have said that the national lockdowns across the world due to the COVID-19 crisis would provide a very unique setting for their mysteries, and I was excited to see what creative and clever mysteries emerged. Unfortunately, this was not one of them.

The mystery of this book was flat and uninteresting. I felt that there was little to no drive in the main character, which led to a plot that only really seemed to get going after about half the book had elapsed. Then, just as quickly as the plot started to move, it stopped. It felt almost as if the author wasn’t familiar with this genre of book: the only discussions about the investigation happened between the two POV characters, and there were essentially no suspects or leads to follow throughout the whole book. This led to a lot of internal agonizing and flashbacks that didn’t do the main plot of the novel any justice. By the end of the book, I felt that nothing had been accomplished other than Caitlin returning to the scene of the crime over and over again to lament what a hard time she was having, which necessitated a ridiculous twist ending that felt forced and shoe-horned into place in a way that was completely unsatisfying.

Domestic thrillers can be fascinating reads when executed properly – books like Big Little Lies or The Girl on the Train come to mind as examples. But in this case, there was little to no plot, and I felt that while the premise of the book was strong, the author didn’t extend themselves and stretch their imagination to make a compelling mystery. Personally, I think that without the fact that this book was set during COVID-19, there is nothing sale-worthy about this book. The characters are flat, and the storyline drags to such an extent that I struggle to believe that an editor wouldn’t pick up on it. Overall, it was a disappointing book that could have been so much better if there had been a bit more effort put into developing the story and fleshing out the characters a bit more.

Thanks to NetGalley UK and Hodder & Stoughton for the ARC in exchange for a review!

I’d been excited to read this book - the first mystery I’ve seen where the COVID lockdown purports to play a pivotal role. The central premise, too, was a good one: a bored stay-at-home mom having an affair with a younger man during lockdown finds him dead, while a mysterious neighbor watches.

Unfortunately, though, this book didn’t work for me, mostly because of the writing style. I love first-person narration in general, and I get what the author was going for here by trying to develop a claustrophobic feeling by making most of the book happen in the character’s heads as they participate in the lockdown. Unfortunately the result was a kind of stream-of-conscious narration of somewhat repetitive thoughts in two characters’ heads during quarantine. These running thoughts, even with a murder intervening, unfortunately are not very interesting — as perhaps all of us can attest from being alone with our thoughts in this lockdown ourselves. A suspense book needs more action and dialogue than this to be interesting to me.

And it can be done! Even with this premise. One example that comes immediately to mind is the fantastic movie Rear Window, in which Jimmy Stewart becomes embroiled in a murder while trapped in a wheelchair with a broken leg. The movie works for many reasons, and of course there’s still a ton of action and great dialogue despite the fact that Jimmy Stewart can’t stand up.

Unfortunately that didn’t happen here for me, and all the enclosed mental narration became tiring. At times I also had other problems with the author’s writing style. Her characters always seemed to be experiencing a “frisson” of something, and I cringed at a body being described as a “swastika of broken limbs.” Yikes, yikes. Nevertheless, this author has potential, because her ideas are interesting and original. Hopefully a more traditional book with more dialogue and action will allow her to shine.

Thanks to Hodder and Stoughton, the author, and NetGalley for the advance copy!

This book is very current which makes it seem all the more real and creepy. I loved it, very dark, twisty and compelling

I wouldn't call Stay Home a real thriller because except for the one dead person, there is not much 'thrill' going on. Unless you would call the life James and Caitlin are leading a thrill ride that has come to a stop.
Caitlin is the umpteenth woman reaching 40 with a nice husband, two teenage kids and a so-called happy life that I've come across in several books lately. When I read about someone trying to have a career while also trying to be a wonderful mother, a good housewife and a doting wife at the same time, I know something will go wrong. And it does. But not the murder of her lover, but the fact that Caitlin realizes she's is all that, and not herself anymore, is the most 'thrilling' part of the book. What is it that women who still have half their life to live, make forget that they are a person themselves, instead of just trying to be what the husband/children/friends/work mates want them to be?
Ali is the opposite. Ali knows she's nobody's idea of a great personality, a mum, let alone a good friend. When she and Caitlin form a strange bond over the murder of Daniel, she realizes that there is one thing she's good at: be a friend.
I didn't care much for James or the children; a man who's too lazy to get up from behind his computer and make himself a cup of coffee, and two teenagers that have no respect at all for their mother. No wonder Caitlin fell for the charms of Daniel.
This was a fast read and I liked the way we read the story from different viewpoints.

Thanks to Netgalley for this digital review copy.

This book was not my jam. It was just ok. I had a hard time finishing. I was excited about it but it wasn’t too good. I haven’t read anything from this author yet so I thought I would try her out. Thank you NetGalley for giving me this copy of this book.

Very interesting tale that takes place during a lockdown. A woman having an affair finds her lover's dead body and the neighbor sees all. Lots of twists.

The country goes into lockdown but Eva can’t live without her side piece. This story explores the affairs addictions habits and horrors of a neighborhood on lockdown. Watch out or you could be the next to die

This book was a bit far fetched for me and although my choice to choose a book on lockdown think didnt realise how sick of it and Covid we all are and reading about it in a book as well as living it was too much,shame really as was well written justthe wrong thing at the wrong time

Set during lockdown, the main characters are Caitlyn, wife , mother and lover of Daniel who is a single man living nearby. The other narrator in this book is Ali, an alcoholic ex teacher who spends her days observing the world from her bay window. Her view includes Daniel's home. As the story begins, Daniel's murdered body is discovered by both Ali and Caitlyn (separately). They meet, decide together to work out what happened and the story mostly focusses on their investigation and blossoming relationship.
As a reader, you do eventually become aware of what happened leading up to the killing. The resolution is interesting and has consequences for most of the characters in the book. The book is quite slow, but did not drag too much but the plot speeds up towards the end. Not a bad book and reflects the strange times of lockdown 2020
Thank you to Net Galley for the ARC in exchange foran honest review . 3,5 stars for me