Title: Stay close
Actors: Cush Jumbo, Richard Armitage and more
Director: Daniel O’hara, Lindy Heymann
Writers: Harlan Coben, Daniel Brocklehurst and more
Genre: Thriller, Crime, Mystery
My Rating: 8/10
Watch the first season of Stay Close now on Netflix
Stay close
Megan hasn’t always been Megan. She is now almost married to Dave and they have three teenage kids together. But there was a time she had a different name and she was living a different life. Cassie is her dead name and she used to be a stripper. Not something she wants to share with her almost-husband. But then things are happening in the small town they are living in. Her old stalker (Stewart Green) from her stripping days is back and at the same time, two guys went missing during Carnaval, which is exactly 17 years after Stewart Green went missing. Megan is not trying to figure out if Stewart is back and if she and her family are in danger. She does not want to call the police for help, so she starts looking for an old friend that will help her to fix this. And can keep Megan all this a secret from her husband and her kids?
Review
A few years ago I read a book by Harlan Coben, I am not even sure which one it was but I remember I loved it. I also remember I told myself I would read more books by him. Well, that is something that never happened and I am not sure why. I think mostly because I prefer romance books. Otherwise, I have no idea. But then I saw this show was coming to Netflix. Before I started to watch it, I had no idea it was based on one of Harlan’s books. Luckily, they mentioned it right away. I think it was my sign to read more of Harlan’s books.
I liked the whole story. The first season has 8 episodes, but I couldn’t stop watching. I had to force myself and do something else instead of binge-watching this show. But that is a good sign and it means that this show was really good. I am happy I decided to watch this because I was not even sure if I wanted to watch it. But I started to watch it anyway because I was bored and I was taking a break on the last day of the year.
I liked to watch these kinds of shows or read these kinds of books where you can try to guess who the killer is. I like that. I am not saying I am an expert at it, because I am not. But this time I was right about who the killer was. I think I realized it around episode 3, I think. Over the years, I watched a few shows like this one and now I kind of know how to find out who the killer is.
But I liked everything about this show. Even though I am not a big fan when people are trying to figure things out for themselves without calling the police. But then again, if they would call the police it would have been very boring. You know it is a stupid idea to find out for yourself who the killer is because it is dangerous. But it is also the exciting part of thrillers. I think have a love/hate thing with thrillers.
The characters were all right, I liked some better than others. I thought that Megan, Dave and the oldest daughter Kayleigh were acting dumb and weird sometimes. Especially because they have rules in their household and one of the rules is, to be honest, all the time. I think Megan came up with that rule, so it was a bit dumb that she was the one who broke it first by lying where she was all the time. Her oldest daughter suspects something and is trying to find out what her mother is hiding from everyone but along the way she makes stupid mistakes too. And she also lies about it. Only the two youngest kids in the family were ‘normal’ and not lying. They went from the perfect family who told each other the truth to a family who was keeping a lot of terrible secrets from each other. So if they would make a second season, I kind of see that this family would break up, just because of all of the lying and I can tell Dave and Megan don’t trust each other anymore. Even though they were married at the end.
Will be there a second season? Maybe no? They solved the case and the killer is now in jail. But I also had the feeling that this isn’t over yet. Because Dave was acting weird and he did something bad too. So it would not be a surprise if they would make a second season but I would be fine if they wouldn’t renew it. They solved the case and that was the most important thing to me. And sometimes you should not make a second season. Sometimes making a second season is the worst mistake writers can make. I’ve seen a lot of shows with a great first season but with a terrible and boring second season.
This show is a must-see for everyone who loves Harlan Coben’s books and for those who love thrillers. This was the perfect show to watch on a rainy day. I was hooked from the very first scene and it was the kind of show that I could not stop watching. It was a great choice to watch it and I am happy I did. I can recommend this show to everyone unless you don’t like murder/thrillers and blood. Okay, I don’t like blood either, I just looked away.