Andrew DeYoung’s sophomore thriller, Stay Away from Him, opens with a dinner party that feels like a trap waiting to spring. Melissa Burke, a newly divorced mother seeking distance from her toxic ex-husband, meets the charming Dr. Thomas Danver—a widowed pediatrician whose wife disappeared three years earlier under mysterious circumstances. What follows is a meticulously crafted psychological thriller that challenges every assumption about guilt, innocence, and the masks we wear to hide our true selves.
DeYoung, who previously explored domestic suspense in The Day He Never Came Home, demonstrates remarkable growth as a storyteller. Where his debut focused on a missing father’s impact on a family, this sophomore effort delves deeper into the psychological complexities of modern relationships, particularly the dangerous allure of damaged men who present themselves as saviors.
The Architecture of Suspense
The novel’s structure mirrors its central theme of hidden truths. DeYoung employs multiple narrative perspectives—Melissa’s present-day investigation, Rose’s journal entries from before her death, and transcripts of Thomas’s therapy sessions. This fragmented approach creates a puzzle that readers must piece together, much like Melissa herself as she uncovers the truth about the man she’s falling for.
The pacing is deliberately methodical in the opening chapters, allowing DeYoung to establish the suffocating atmosphere of Lake Julia, Minnesota—a picturesque suburb where secrets fester beneath manicured lawns. As Melissa becomes increasingly entangled with Thomas and his two daughters, the tension escalates with surgical precision. Each revelation feels both shocking and inevitable, a testament to DeYoung’s careful plotting.
Character Study: The Anatomy of Deception
Melissa Burke emerges as a complex protagonist whose desperation for stability makes her vulnerable to manipulation. DeYoung crafts her with remarkable nuance—she’s neither naive victim nor fierce heroine, but a realistically flawed woman whose past trauma with her abusive ex-husband Carter clouds her judgment. Her internal conflict between intuition and desire drives much of the narrative tension.
Thomas Danver initially appears to be the perfect romantic interest: successful, charming, devoted to his children. DeYoung’s portrayal is masterful in its restraint—he never overplays Thomas’s menace, instead allowing subtle inconsistencies to accumulate until the reader shares Melissa’s growing unease. The revelation that Thomas isn’t the killer but rather an enabler who covered up his daughter’s crimes adds layers of moral complexity that elevate the novel beyond simple domestic thriller territory.
The true masterstroke is twelve-year-old Kendall Danver, whose portrayal as a child psychopath is both chilling and tragically believable. DeYoung avoids sensationalizing her condition, instead presenting a disturbing portrait of a family’s dysfunction when one member lacks fundamental empathy. The dynamic between Kendall and her sister Rhiannon—who has spent years protecting others from her sister’s violence—adds emotional weight to the horror.
The Psychology Behind the Thrills
What distinguishes Stay Away from Him from typical domestic thrillers is its unflinching examination of psychological manipulation and family trauma. The therapy session transcripts between Thomas and Amelia Harkness provide crucial insight into Thomas’s mindset—his need for validation, his ability to rationalize covering up murder, and his underlying narcissistic tendencies that mirror, in diluted form, his daughter’s psychopathy.
DeYoung’s exploration of how families protect dangerous members resonates with uncomfortable truth. Thomas’s justifications for hiding Kendall’s crimes—protecting his family, maintaining their reputation, preserving his career—reflect the moral compromises ordinary people make when faced with extraordinary circumstances. The author doesn’t excuse these choices but presents them with enough complexity to feel authentically human.
Atmospheric Excellence and Setting
The Minnesota setting becomes almost a character itself, with the seemingly idyllic Lake Julia community serving as the perfect backdrop for hidden darkness. DeYoung’s descriptions of the wooded areas, lake properties, and suburban neighborhoods create an atmosphere of isolation despite the populated setting. The contrast between the community’s surface perfection and the violence simmering beneath reflects the novel’s central themes.
The author particularly excels in his depiction of domestic spaces—Thomas’s house feels simultaneously welcoming and menacing, while Melissa’s basement apartment reflects her precarious emotional state. These environmental details enhance the psychological realism without overwhelming the narrative.
Where the Novel Stumbles
Despite its considerable strengths, Stay Away from Him occasionally suffers from pacing issues in its middle section. The Facebook group storyline featuring Kelli Walker, while necessary for plot development, sometimes feels contrived—particularly Kelli’s convenient appearance at crucial moments. Additionally, some of the therapy session revelations border on exposition, though the format makes this somewhat forgivable.
The novel’s treatment of Derek Gordon, the disgraced detective, occasionally veers into caricature. While his obsession with proving Thomas’s guilt serves the plot, his character lacks the psychological depth that DeYoung brings to his primary characters. His ultimate fate feels more like plot convenience than organic storytelling.
Technical Craft and Writing Style
DeYoung’s prose has matured significantly since his debut. His writing style is crisp and purposeful, with dialogue that feels authentic to each character’s background and psychological state. The author demonstrates particular skill in writing from Melissa’s perspective, capturing her internal conflict between maternal protectiveness and romantic longing.
The multiple narrative formats—journal entries, therapy transcripts, and traditional third-person narration—could have felt gimmicky in lesser hands, but DeYoung integrates them seamlessly. Each format serves a specific purpose in revealing character motivation and advancing the plot.
Themes That Resonate
Beyond its function as a thriller, the novel grapples with contemporary issues around domestic violence, child psychology, and the lengths parents will go to protect their children. The portrayal of Melissa’s relationship with her abusive ex-husband Carter feels particularly relevant, especially as she struggles to distinguish between past trauma and present danger.
The book also explores the seductive nature of seemingly perfect men who position themselves as rescuers. Thomas’s appeal to Melissa isn’t just physical attraction—it’s his promise of stability and protection that makes her overlook warning signs. This dynamic reflects broader cultural patterns around women’s vulnerability to charming manipulators.
The Climactic Revelation
The final act, where Kendall’s true nature is fully revealed, delivers genuine horror without sensationalism. The confrontation at the lake house feels inevitable yet surprising, with DeYoung maintaining tension even as readers piece together the truth. The resolution, while satisfying, doesn’t tie up loose ends too neatly—the psychological damage inflicted on all characters will clearly extend beyond the novel’s conclusion.
Literary Merit and Genre Placement
Stay Away from Him succeeds both as commercial thriller and as a serious exploration of family dysfunction. DeYoung demonstrates that domestic suspense can tackle weighty psychological themes without sacrificing entertainment value. The novel earns comparison to works by Gillian Flynn and Ruth Ware, though DeYoung’s voice remains distinctly his own.
The book’s examination of how ordinary people become complicit in extraordinary evil places it in conversation with literary thrillers that explore moral ambiguity. Thomas’s character, in particular, represents the banality of evil—his crimes stem not from sadistic pleasure but from cowardice and self-preservation.
Final Assessment
Stay Away from Him confirms Andrew DeYoung as a significant voice in contemporary domestic thriller fiction. While not without minor flaws, the novel succeeds brilliantly in its primary aims: creating genuine psychological suspense while exploring the complex dynamics of family loyalty and moral compromise. The book’s unflinching portrayal of a child psychopath and her enabler father offers readers both visceral thrills and substantive character study.
DeYoung has crafted a thriller that respects its readers’ intelligence while delivering the emotional payoffs the genre demands. For fans of psychological suspense who appreciate nuanced character development alongside their plot twists, Stay Away from Him represents one of the year’s most accomplished entries in the domestic thriller category.
Similar Reading Recommendations
Readers who appreciate DeYoung’s blend of psychological insight and domestic suspense should consider:
- Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn – For its unflinching portrayal of family dysfunction and psychological damage
- The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides – For its exploration of trauma and therapeutic relationships
- In My Dreams I Hold a Knife by Ashley Winstead – For its examination of how past violence haunts present relationships
- The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn – For its unreliable narrator and themes of domestic isolation
- The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware – For its atmospheric setting and questions about children’s capacity for evil
- Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng – For its exploration of family secrets in suburban settings
DeYoung’s Stay Away from Him stands as compelling evidence that the domestic thriller genre continues to evolve, offering readers sophisticated psychological portraits wrapped in page-turning suspense. It’s a novel that will linger in readers’ minds long after the final page, raising uncomfortable questions about the families we think we know and the lengths we’ll go to protect those we love.
