Blog tour: Stay

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Welcome to the blog tour for Stay by Jane Bailey!

More about the book…

I simply slung my rucksack on my shoulder and climbed into the car - and into the life - of perfect strangers.

It was meant to be Caitlin's perfect summer, but betrayed by her best friend and her boyfriend, she finds herself hitchhiking home alone, heartbroken, and penniless.

When a smiling family pulls up on the roadside to help her on her way, she's relieved - they seem so friendly, safe. And when they offer her a warm bed in their isolated house for the night, she's grateful not to have to travel back alone in the dark. In any case, she's in no rush to get home, where a grave secret is lying in wait to blow her family apart.

One night soon turns into two, and then three. The increasingly spellbinding couple wants her to stay, and why shouldn't she? Their children need a tutor, and the longer she can avoid home, the better. But then an older member of the household warns her to leave immediately. And when her phone suddenly goes missing, when she realises that this perfect family is a perfect lie, it might not be so easy for her to leave...

More about the author…

Jane Bailey was born and brought up in Gloucestershire, where she now lives.

She has written seven novels, including Lark Song, What Was Rescued and Tommy Glover's Sketch of Heaven, and has been shortlisted for the Dillons Fiction prize and the RNA award.

She has edited four anthologies of work by young people as Writer-in-Residence for Cheltenham Festivals, First Story and Gloucestershire Hospitals Education Service.

My impressions…

I must admit that, at first, I struggled to get into this novel. It took me some time to warm up to Caitlin as I found her immature and self-centred. As I progressed with the story, however, I got more and more curious as to what the mystery surrounding the family who took her in might be. I also started to be invested in what would happen to the children in Caitlin’s care and, ultimately, in what lay in store for Caitlin herself. To be fair, in hindsight I think that the author portrayed quite well the mistakes and delusions that a 19-year-old is prone to! The tension definitely ramps up in the second half of the book, which is also when I wasn’t sure who was to be trusted. At one point I didn’t trust anyone at all! So, a slow start for me, but I’m happy I got to read this psychological thriller.

Three words to describe it. Tense. Creepy. Twisty.

Do I like the cover? Yes, it’s one of the first things that attracted me to the book.

Have I read any other books by the same author? No, not yet.

 

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