Don't Stand So Close

Oct 10, 2024 11:23 PM

Author:Luana Lewis,Julia Barrie

A lingering, compulsive debut novel that will keep you tightly in its grip.

What would you do if a young girl knocked on your door and asked for your help?

If it was snowing and she was freezing cold, but you were afraid and alone?

What would you do if you let her in, but couldn’t make her leave?

What if she told you terrible lies about someone you love, but the truth was even worse?

Traumatized by her final case as a psychologist, Stella only feels truly safe hidden away in the isolated house she shares with her husband, Max.

Then Blue appears in the middle of a snow-storm, begging to be let in. As secrets and lies gradually seep out of the young girl, Stella’s tightly controlled world begins to unravel . . .

Reviews

A frighteningly tense debut novel. The skin-crawling intimacy sets this thriller apart. The tension is almost suffocating, with a palpable feeling of dread leaping off every page. A searing debut...and not to be missed.

—— Daily Mail

A beautiful read, brimming with intrigue and suspense… It’s an incredibly accomplished debut, a real heart-racing chiller, and I genuinely didn't want it to end!

—— Samantha Hayes, author of Until You're Mine

This is a wonderfully tense story, full of characters who may or may not be telling the truth. Compellingly, creepy - not one to read while home alone.

—— Glamour

A stunning debut psychological thriller.

—— Sun

A tense, claustrophobic, and deeply unsettling novel about the damage a disturbed teenager threatens to wreak on one woman’s life.

—— Penny Hancock, author of Tideline, a Richard & Judy selection

An assured debut novel that will have you turning the pages to discover the truth.

—— Paula Daly, author of Just What Kind of Mother Are You?

Don’t Stand So Close is a heady cocktail . . . Obsession, repression and delusion twist their tentacles throughout Luana Lewis’s riveting and remarkable debut.

—— Elizabeth Forbes, author of Nearest Thing to Crazy

An unflinching account of emotional damage and how hard it can be to uncover the truth

—— My Weekly

A thrilling read

—— Joseph Fiennes , Express

A very dark book but a magnificent read

—— Kirsty Wark

An intricate and sinister thriller, in which the truth is slowly and subtly revealed

—— Ruth Hunter, BookTime , The Bookseller, September Booksellers' Choice

Words to describe this wonderful thriller could be: gripping, sinister, realistic and very scary, as well as irresistible, compulsive and unputdownable... A perfect read on a dark evening,

—— DulwichBooksReview

A gripping thriller... Will leave even the most hardened of horror fans looking over their shoulders and checking that the door is locked!

—— Yattar Yattar

Complex, ingenious and thrilling

—— CultureFly

a sinister and suspenseful read

—— Jan Gardner , Boston Globe

ghastly, riveting tale.

—— Entertainment Weekly

Highly unsettling

—— Daily Telegraph

A tantalising mystery

—— Sunday Telegraph

Captures sinister atmosphere brilliantly

—— Spectator

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