Book Description
The Stepchild: A completely gripping psychological thriller full of twists by Nicole Trope
Three-year-old Millie Everleigh disappears on a crisp winter’s day, and nothing is as it seems… It’s the phone call every mother dreads. I’m climbing into the car after a trip to the grocery store. As the engine starts, my phone rings. It’s my stepdaughter, Shelby, who is babysitting my three-year-old little girl Millie. ‘I only went upstairs for a second,’ she says through her sobs. ‘She’s gone.’ I race home to find my blue-eyed baby girl missing, and my heart ripped out of my chest. When the police turn up, Shelby’s story starts to unravel. What is she hiding? Then I get a message saying, ‘Your husband is not who you think he is.’ Could he be lying? Suddenly, my family feel like strangers. Everyone has a secret – even me. No one knows why I was late coming back from the store, and the guilt I’ve been feeling ever since… Once the truth comes out, all of our lies exposed, will it be too late to save my precious child? A pulse-pounding psychological thriller about family secrets, shocking pasts and the lies we tell ourselves in order to survive. Perfect for fans of Lisa Jewell, Liane Moriarty and The Wife Between Us.
BLOG TOUR REVIEW
Review for 'The Stepchild ' by Nicole Trope.
Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Nicole Trope, Bookouture publishers and Bookouture anonymous
Publication date 15th March 2022.
This is the fourth book I have read by this author. I have previously read 'The Girl Who Never Came Home', 'The Mother's Fault' or 'The Family Across The Street' which I also recommend anyone read.
I was originally drawn to this book by its eye catching cover and its intriguing synopsis and title. The synopsis stated that this book is 'Perfect for fans of Lisa Jewell, Liane Moriarty and The Wife Between Us.' I am a huge fan of Lisa Jewell so am looking forward to seeing if this lives up to this statement. I am also a huge fan of Nicole and if this is half as good as 'The Girl Who Never Came Home', 'The Mother's Fault' or 'The Family Across The Street' it is sure to be a page turning read. I must admit I was also biased due to the publisher being Bookouture. I have yet to read a book published by Bookouture that I haven't enjoyed. Hopefully this won't be the first... Watch this space! (Written before I started reading the book).
This novel consists of a prologue, 48 chapters, an epilogue and 3 extra chapters. The chapters are short in length so possible to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!
This book is based in Sydney, Australia 🇦🇺.
This book is written in a mix of third and first person perspective and the protagonists are Leslie, Shelby and Ruth. The benefits of books written in first person perspective are as long as they are well written it makes you feel that you are being spoken to by the protagonist and it can create more of a bond between yourselves and them. If there are several protagonists you also get to see more of what is going on. The benefits of third person perspective with multiple protagonists are that it let's you see the bigger picture of what's going on and you get to know more characters more, what they are thinking and what they are doing. It feels like you get to see the whole picture and not miss out in anything. To have the benefit of both first and third person perspective ensures you don't miss out on anything.
'The Stepchild' discusses some topics that may trigger some readers or may not be suitable for others. I like to point this out ahead of time in my reviews so you can judge if this book is for you or not. In this book Nicole discusses/includes sexual assault on a child.
OMG!!! SHUT THE FRONT DOOR!!! WHAT HAVE I JUST READ!?!?!? Nicole Trope you are a writing legend!!!
This book is fantastically written with vivid descriptions that absolutely grip the readers attention and puts them right in the middle of it all feeling the hairs raise on their arms and feeling their heart pounding with Leslie's. This title, cover and synopsis suited it perfectly along with the cover and synopsis.
This book has got to be the most heart racing books I've read I a long time, of not ever!!! It had be hook, line and sinker from the first page and I could not put it down!!! Every time I said one more chapter it ended on a cliffhanger and I just had to know what was going on!!! If you are going to read this then clear your day because it is truly unputdownable. I started this this morning and finished it at 2am reading it in one sitting and although I'm knackered today it was 1000000% worth it!!! I loved that you got to see everything that was going on from Leslie, Shelby and Ruth who were all in the centre of it all. There were several red herrings as to what had actually happened but I never did guess right. When I found out I was completely shocked which is a huge achievement as Ive read so many books so it is harder and harder to shock me so another HUGE congratulations Nicole!!! It really does make you think how life can change so quickly and different decisions can change a life. It also makes you think how looks can be deceiving. This book discusses some heartbreaking subjects such as child abuse so please be aware of this before you pick it up. Nicole has written about an absolutely dreadful topic and weaved it perfectly into a heart stopping, page turning novel and by doing this hopefully it will help others discover the signs or step forward and speak about any abuse they have suffered. My heart was in my throat and I was on the edge of my seat throughout reading this. I was completely invested in the storyline and it will stay with me for a long time. This book would make a fantastic movie.
I really liked Leslie, Ruth and Shelby from the start and became completely invested in them all. All the characters were realistic, well developed and had strong characteristics and personalities. My heart really went out to each of the main characters for different reasons. Leslie is a mother and stepmother of two young girls and what she went through is a mother's worse nightmare. She didn't only have the hell of a missing child but was also doubting everyone around her at the same time. Shelby is a young girl whose parents have seperated and both have different partners. Shelby was with Millie at the time and holds so much guilt for such a young child. She also suffered tremendously with nobody to speak to and also feeling let down and deceived by the one person who should have been there for her. I absolutely adored Ruth and she is a character who will be remembered for a long time. Ruth went through so much herself as a young girl and it has destroyed her life. I loved her personality and it was intriguing to see how she dealt with her stress. Each of these amazing people came together perfectly to make this heart stopping book.
I did absolutely NOT expect that humongous bombshell at all. What an absolute twist!!! I can hand on my heart say that I cannot remember when I was so gobsmacked by a book twist but Nicole you have done just that!!! This book is rammed with suspense and tension and will keep you biting your nails, on the edge of your seat with your heart pounding while your flipping the pages because you just cant stop!!
If you read one book on your life, make sure it is this!!!! I would love to see this turned into a movie and Nicole I really hope you are working on your next psychological thriller at this moment because this book will go far!!! A HUGE CONGRATULATIONS on what promises to be a MASSIVE success!!!
Overall an absolutely heart racing, nail biting, unputdownable psychological thriller with a bomb shell you will not see coming!!!
Genres covered in this novel include Thriller, Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Coming-Of-Age story, Mystery, Psychological Fiction, Suspense, Noir Fiction, Crime Fiction and Domestic Fiction amongst others.
I would recommend this book to the fans of the above as well as fans of Lisa Jewell, 'The Wife Between Us', anyone who has read any of Nicole's previous books AND YOU, YOUR FRIENDS, YOUR FAMILY AND JUST EVERYONE!!! .
276 pages.
This book is just 99p to purchase on kindle via Amazon (at time of review) which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!
Rated 5 /5 (I LOVED it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.
Feel free to add me on Goodreads or follow me on my website or Facebook for more reviews
@NicoleTrope @Bookouture @Bookworm1986 @bookworm86
About the author
Nicole Trope went to university to study Law but realised the error of her ways when she did very badly on her first law essay because-as her professor pointed out- 'It's not meant to be a story.' She studied teaching instead and used her holidays to work on her writing career and complete a Masters' degree in Children's Literature.
The idea for her first published novel, The Boy under the Table, was so scary that it took a year for her to find the courage to write the emotional story. She went on to publish a further five novels in Australia before joining Bookouture in 2019. She is a USA Today and Amazon bestseller in the USA, UK, AUS and CAN.
She lives in Sydney with her husband and three children.
Author social media
Facebook: @NicoleTrope
Twitter: @nicoletrope
Buy links:
Amazon: https://geni.us/B09NNXBRYTsocial
Apple: http://ow.ly/Y64b50Hc3af
Kobo: http://ow.ly/eWLZ50Hc3aj
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