Here to Stay

Elliot Foster is a lonely orphan living in a beautiful, upper middle-class London neighborhood. He is a successful philanthropic scientist, and is passionate about teaching underprivileged children. During an open garden event, he meets an attractive young vet assistant, Gemma Robinson. Soon afterwards, they marry. Everything appears idyllic until Elliot's lazy, poor white-trash in-laws move in. Initially, they promised to only remain for two weeks. Now they are refusing to leave; it seems they are there to stay forever. Meanwhile, deadly tragedies befall Elliot's neighbors and friends. When he digs into the past of the Robinson family, he discovers a trail of corpses. Elliot must find a way to exterminate these human pests before he becomes the next one to die. Mark Edwards's "Here to Stay" is a rare treat that was offered to me from Amazon Prime's First Reads program. I thoroughly enjoyed reading my first mystery from this best-selling British author. In fact, many of my friends at work subscribe to Amazon Prime; they are learning about the First Reads program through me whenever I rave about one of its proffered novels, such as "Here to Stay." I found it extremely suspenseful, and violent. I kept telling everyone, "It has a high body count. I love a high body count!" I learned something very valuable from reading this novel: Never allow someone, especially your in-laws, to move in; they may never want to leave, especially if your house is large, attractive, and immaculate. They will keep making excuses as to why they can't leave. I learned there are actual creatures of the Wild Kingdom that will force another creature out of its home in order to take it over. Certain species of insects and birds will do this. For example, European Cuckoos, known as brood parasites, will brazenly barge into another bird's nest, lay their eggs, and force the other bird to incubate them. Incidentally, Elliott lives at 26 Cuckoo Lane. Jeff and Lizzy Robinson bring their mentally ill daughter, Chloe, into Elliott's house. He is having to clothe, feed, and shelter her as though she is his own daughter. Also, an elderly neighbor, George Whiteley, refers to the Robinsons as Knotweeds. The Japanese knotweed, much like the kudzu vine, is a fast-growing, suffocating weed that is difficult to kill. Once it gets a hold on your garden, it can produce extensive damage. Thanks to the Robinsons, Elliot's home and garden are toast. While reading "Here to Stay," I kept thinking of the Robinson family in Irwin Allen's popular television soap opera, "Lost in Space." I also thought of the Robinson family of Walt Disney's classic 1960 film, "Swiss Family Robinson." How could I not think of Daniel Defoe's classic novel, "Robinson Crusoe," which inspired the aforementioned cinematography. For me, the name Robinson has always been synonymous with good Christian families who love and protect each other as well as those around them. Not true with Jeff and Lizzie Robinson. They are the in-laws from hell and they will kill everyone around them, including each other, in order to get what they want, which is a life of luxury without having to work for it. Extremely evil, this Robinson family is the most dysfunctional family I've encountered in literary fiction, except maybe for that cannibalistic, inbred family in Jake Ketchum's classic horror novel, "Off Season." "Here to Stay" is an extremely clever and suspenseful novel. The corpses, which are evenly spaced throughout the plot, keep it fast-paced. There is some gore, but I wouldn't call it graphic. There is also a tremendous amount of symbolism and double entendres. Lizzie's crude humor shocked me; she referred to her daughter, Gemma, as "Not-so-precious Gem." "Here to Stay" reminded me of my beloved slasher flicks of the eighties. Hence, some of the novel is predictable; however, it does have a major twist at the end, which I never saw coming. It also has an open ending, but not one that justifies a sequel. Though "Here to Stay" isn't replete with complex medical and police procedurals, it taught me how easy it is for in-laws to spread filthy lies that can destroy your career and how difficult it is to rid them from your life. Most importantly, having read his latest novel, I've learned why Gary Edwards is a best-selling author who is definitely here to stay.

Elliot Foster and Gemma Robinson meet, fall in love, and marry, all within the space of two months. Within days of settling into their new life, Gemma announces that her parents, and sister Chloe, are returning to the UK from France, and asks whether they can stay for two weeks while they arrange somewhere to live. Elliot readily agrees, eager to get to know his wife's family. But right from the onset, Elliot’s In-Laws – Jeff and Lizzy Robinson – are rude, obnoxious, loud, and untidy. Elliot begins to regret his decision to invite them to stay. Pretty soon they are invading every aspect of Elliot's life. He asks them to leave, but they refuse. And then the situation gets a whole lot worse. Claustrophobic, voyeuristic, unsettling, and chilling – the notion of houseguests from Hell who at first are a nuisance but quickly morph into unstable and dangerous sent my stress levels through the roof. Elliot is gullible and should have known better, and the phrase, ‘marry in haste, repent at leisure' has never been more applicable here, but he’s kind-hearted, loyal, and generous, and you can't help but feel sympathetic towards his plight. I found it ironic that some of the tactics Elliot employed in an attempt to get rid of his in-laws would have worked twenty years ago but backfired spectacularly in this digital age. There are twists and turns aplenty, jump scares, and chapter cliffhangers culminating in a stunning, jaw-dropping conclusion. The main narrator is Elliot in the present with occasional flashbacks to ‘France' in Jeff's POV. This one wasn't as memorable for me as The Retreat and Follow You Home, as I prefer Mark Edwards’ gothic-style mysteries with supernatural undertones, but Here to Stay was still enormously entertaining, and Edward’s remains an auto-buy author for me.

The story-line is original and the reader's attention is held from the first pages. I found though that the main characters lacked personality and, once the plot is in place, the story doesn't really evolve and just becomes a sequence of events, all pretty similar. The reader can easily guess the twist at the end which spoils this book for me.

This is basically one of the most common nightmares and Mr Edwards is bathing in it : he is overdoing it , as usual , but as it works for itself not too much

The story shows how an unsuspecting house owner, after a recent marriage, can be lured into accepting scheming in-laws into his home with no practical recourse under the law to remove them. There is a lot of blood shed and suspense with a very unusual ending.

BEWARE POSSIBLE SPOILER I loved this book.... I’ve read the magpie books... having had the neighbours from hell for 3 years I sympathised... i have also experienced nightmare In-laws ... my husband was an only child so his mother was fiercely protective and when he eventually (at 25 ) told her he was leaving home (to live with me), I became the devil incarnate in her eyes... so this book really resonated with me on some level.... I’m glad to say, after 24 years together, we now exchange pleasant civilities ... but now having my only son leave home to live with his girlfriend I wish I could go back and hug her, because I now feel the same ache and sense of abandonment that she must have felt.... anyway back to the book!!... it was brilliant I read It in one sitting not being able to put it down, I had to know what Elliot was going to do... I never completely trusted Gemma.. but thought it was great how the writing threw you back and forth never knowing is she in on it or isn’t she arrgghh... but the little twist at the end I honestly did not see that coming and was completely thrown I think I read the last chapter with my mouth hanging open and my thumb picked to death..repeating to myself OMG NO FREAKIN WAY. I have to admit I like a happy ending and was a bit gutted about Gemma...but you can’t have it all... and my pet hate is romance and thriller in one so this was great!!... Also the scene that played in my head when she (i won’t say who) picked Charlie up and held him in her arms terrified me, I kept reaching over to give my cat a little chuck under the chin or a nose boop ... so well written i have every single character plain as day in my head.. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good read that keeps you on the edge of your seat... and a brilliant ending leaving it up to the reader to decide who wins!!

I finished this book in two days, actually in 8 hrs approx. That is how interesting n gripping it was. A must read.