Q&A: Andrew DeYoung, Author of ‘Stay Away From Him’

We chat with author Andrew DeYoung about Stay Away From Him, which dials up the tension in a picture-perfect neighborhood in this unputdownable, must-read summer thriller and cautionary tale of letting strangers, and their hidden pasts, into your life…no matter how handsome and charming they may be.

On the evening she met exonerated murderer Thomas Danver, Melissa Burke let him help put her five-year-old son to bed before coming back upstairs to enjoy the dinner party. Thomas was so nice, and a pediatrician. She didn’t know anything then about his wife’s suspicious death…

Hi, Andrew! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?

Of course! I’m a mystery and thriller writer living in Minnesota, where I also set most of my books. It’s a beautiful place full of lakes and parks and walking trails and famously “Minnesota nice” people but I’ve looked around and decided that this is an ideal setting to imagine murder and mayhem happening.

I’ve got an amazing wife and two kids who like me and seem to think I’m pretty normal in spite of all this. Oh and a very demanding family feline named June Carter Cat.

When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?

My love for stories came early when I learned to read and got obsessed with books. From there it was a pretty natural jump to wanting to make books. But I didn’t really get my feet under me with writing and storytelling until my late twenties, when I finally established a writing practiced and figured out that I was capable of writing a whole novel. There was no turning back after that!

Quick lightning round! Tell us:

• The first book you ever remember reading: Henry Huggins, by Beverly Cleary
• The one that made you want to become an author: Probably IT by Stephen King. I read a lot of Stephen King when I was first starting to nurture my dreams of becoming a writer.
• The one that you can’t stop thinking about: In the Woods by Tana French

Your latest novel, Stay Away from Him, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?

Twisty, juicy, propulsive, shocking, unhinged

What can readers expect?

A dangerous romance that becomes a cold-case whodunit, where readers will suspect everyone at some point in the story, revise their theory about what really happened a dozen times, and hopefully still be surprised at the end!

Where did the inspiration for Stay Away from Him come from?

In part, I wanted to explore the inherent risks that come with dating someone new, especially a second-chance relationship after a prior marriage, which can be especially emotionally vulnerable. I’ve heard so many stories from single and divorced friends about how weird it can be out there, and I wanted to explore that with a murder-mystery gloss.

I also was watching a lot of thriller movies from the 80s and 90s while I was writing this—stuff like Fatal Attraction, The Hand that Rocks the Cradle, or Sleeping With the Enemy, deliciously unhinged stories about people who let people into their lives where they probably shouldn’t have. I’m sure my movie watching informed my attempt to write the perfect popcorn thriller.

Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?

I especially enjoyed adding a multimedia element to this book with journal entries by the murdered wife, and transcripts of recorded therapy sessions between the possible killer and his therapist. Those transcripts, in particular, were so fun for me to write, because I had therapist and patient playing those sort of cat-and-mouse game. It almost felt like I was writing a play or a movie script. I’m really excited to hear how this part turns out in the audio book!

Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?

The biggest challenge in writing any mystery/thriller is just figuring out the plot. Specifically, crafting a plot that has enough twists and turns to keep the reader interested and turning pages, doling out reveals in a way that points in different directions at different points in the book, and saving that last piece of the puzzle in a way that both makes sense and feels like a big final twist that they didn’t see coming. It involved lots of brainstorming, lots of post-it notes, lots of outlines. At once point I even wrote three parallel outlines for what the main character thought was happening, what was really happening, and what happened in the past. It’s a lot to juggle!

What’s next for you?

I’m currently writing what I hope will be my next book, a mystery/thriller about a man investigating the long-ago murder of his wife, with his teenage daughter’s help, after a recent missing-persons case turns up a surprising connection to the old investigation, and hints that there may have been more to the tragedy than anyone originally thought. Along the way, father and daughter end up having to confront their unexamined grief and unfinished business between the two of them. I’m almost done writing it!

Lastly, what books have you enjoyed reading this year? Are there any you’re looking forward to picking up?

I’ve read so many great books recently. Attica Locke’s Guide Me Home was a great end to her Highway 59 series. Tasha Coryell’s Matchmaking for Psychopaths is so fun, and out soon. Allen Eskens’ The Quiet Librarian was an amazing mystery rooted in the Bosnian war that I loved. And Sara Sligar’s Vantage Point scared the heck out of me with what can be done with deepfake technology. That’s just scratching the surface! There are so many great books out there right now!

Oh, and I’m looking forward to grabbing Lisa Jewell’s Don’t Let Him In. A reader pointed out my book and hers could make a good “title as warning about a man” double-feature.

Will you be picking up Stay Away from Him? Tell us in the comments below!