Azia Tobin finds herself looking over her shoulder as she reads a tense new thriller

The fifth novel from Richard and Judy Book Club winning author Lucy Clarke You Let Me In is a chilling psychological thriller.

It explores themes of home, sanctuary and privacy within the modern age of Facebook stalking and AirBnB.

On the cover is the endorsement from former Oxfordshire suspense writer Clare Mackintosh: “The very definition of a page-turner.” So you know you’re going to be in for a tense and compelling read.

This story follows young, successful writer Elle as she struggles with the pressures of upholding her success – challenging the idea that once you’ve got a wine cellar in your home your problems are over.

She has written an international bestseller and lives in her dream house on a clifftop in Cornwall.

But all is not as perfect as it first appears: separated from her husband, she has spent a lot of her earnings remodelling her home.

She is struggling to finish her second book, so she rents the house out while she takes off for a writers’ retreat.

Things don’t feel the same once she gets home.

There’s a new coldness: a shift in the atmosphere... the prickling feeling that someone is watching her every move from the shadows.

But is it just paranoia?

Her friends seem to think so but every threat seems personal to Elle, as if someone has discovered the secrets that keep her awake at night.

As the fear closes in, Elle’s own home becomes a prison.

Someone is unlocking her past and she’s given them the key

Clarke sensitively juxtaposes the warm clutter of family life and motherhood with the isolation and vulnerability of living alone.

Interwoven with a dark mystery of obsession, this subtle horror plays on that uncanny feeling that, even in the security of your own home, one might not be alone.

It forces us, the readers, to question for ourselves: who do we let in?

At the beginning of the novel, the protagonist fell slightly flat. However, as the story progressed, I was firmly on her side.

With constant reference to the coastal landscape, Clarke draws on her own experiences living and growing up on the southern coast of England to create an immersive sense of place throughout the novel.

One can almost feel the chilly sea breeze whipping through the pages which adds to the stripped back, icy tone of the story.

A slow burner but a page turner nonetheless, this tense and eerie book will have you looking over your shoulder and double checking the locks.

You Let Me In by Lucy Clarke, HarperCollins, £12.99 hardback