Kirsty Whitlock
- Apr 27, 2023
- 8 min read

The Stepfather by Theo Baxter. Review

Book Blurb

She thought she knew who she was marrying. But he’s hiding a deadly secret.

After a painful divorce, Madelyne finds love with George, a successful restaurant owner with a charming veneer. Their marriage seems perfect except for one thing: her daughter Connie has taken a strong dislike to her new husband.

Sixteen and smart, Connie knows something is deeply wrong with her stepfather. His behaviour towards her mother is often manipulative and she suspects he’s cheating. The only person she can turn to is her real father, Damon.

Afflicted by PTSD from his time in Afghanistan and facing financial ruin, Damon has every reason to hate his ex-wife, but he still carries a torch for her and wants to help.

But when Connie hatches a plot to expose George's true nature, she stumbles instead on a truth that's a thousand times more horrifying than anything she could have imagined.

Now Connie and Madelyne are in mortal danger. And Damon is the only one who can save them.

The Stepfather, an emotionally charged, nail-biting thriller that will take your breath away.

BLOG TOUR REVIEW

Review for 'The Stepfather' by Theo Baxter.

Read and reviewed for ZooLoos Book Tours, Inkubator Books and Theo Baxter.

Publication date 13th April 2023

This is the first book I have read by this author.

I was originally drawn to this book by its gorgeous eye catching cover and its intriguing synopsis and title. I must admit I was also biased due to the publisher being Inkubator Books. I have yet to read a book published by Inkubator 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 40 chapters. The chapters are short to medium in length so easy to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!

This book is written in third person perspective with the main protagonists being Damon and Madelyne. 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.

'The Stepfather' discusses some topics that may upset 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 Theo discusses domestic violence and abuse and PTSD.

This book is an extremely well written book by this amazing author which had me hook line and sinker!!! It is so smoothly and beautifully written with vivid descriptions I completely forgot I was even reading a book a few times. The storyline, title and cover really fit the storyline. to create an absolutely addictive storyline that had me hooked from the gripping first chapter to the absolutely shocking ending!!!

Madelyne and Damon were married for 20 years but unfortunately their relationship fell apart when Damon relists back into the army and comes back a different man. They end up having a divorce and Madelyne later marries George who is a successful restaurant owner. In the middle of all of this is Connie who is Madelyne and Damon's teenage daughter. Connie lives with Madelyne and George the majority of time but does get to spend some weekends and holidays with her father Damon. Damon and Connie both dislike and distrust George intensely and Connie thinks he is a creep from the start and wants to spend more time with her father and move ion with him. Madelyne thinks Damon is being jealous and Connie is just upset at Madelyne for leaving her father. Who is right and who is wrong? Is George the loving and caring man who just wants to be a good stepfather to Connie as Madelyne thinks or is he the creep and un-trustable man that Damon and Connie thinks he is? You will just have to pick up your copy to find out!! This book is a fast paced psychological thriller that I devoured in one sitting. It is ram packed with suspense, tension, mystery, family, secrets and everything that you could ask for in a page turner!! Theo's evocative writing skills sucks the reader deep into the storyline from the first page to the last ensuring the reader is feeling, hearing and seeing everything that is going on around them. I was on the edge of my seat and biting my nails on several occasions throughout this book. This book is definitely a rollercoaster ride which starts with the build up to the top of the ride and then once it releases you into the action it is full speed ahead!! This is one of those books that I was glued to and each time I told myself just the one more chapter something would happen to make sure there was no way I could put it down and this happened over and over until I had completely devoured it in several hours! I cant say I was surprised with much of the ending and sadly that did let the book down a bit for me. However, please don't let this put you off!! I have read hundreds of psychological thrillers and crime novels so it is definitely getting harder and harder to surprise me. Sadly, for this reason I would normally deduct a star from a book for not having the shock factor and for falling flat but IU enjoyed the storyline too much to lose a whole star for this so I will just deduct half a star. The good news is that although I wasn't shocked and the ending did fall a bit flat to me I still really enjoyed the book and am looking forward to reading more books by this promising author!! In fact as soon as I have finished writing this up I am off to add his and the rest of his brothers Cole Baxter books to my wish list. I have already read Cole Baxter's 'The Perfect Suitor' and you can tell that they are related as they both have the same fantastic imaginations and writing talents! I can't say more than that as I don't want to spoil it for future readers so if you want to know you'll have to grab yourself a copy!! You won't regret it!!

This may be the first book I have read by this amazing author but if all his books have fantastic storyline like this I cannot wait to get stuck into them and I have added all his previous books to my wish list already and look forward to what he comes out with next!! The characters are realistic, strong and each have their own unique personalities. However, I must admit that I actually wasn't a huge fan of half of them!! I would normally deduct a star from a book for this but I don't believe it should lose a whole star so it just loses half a star) On the other hand, I normally wouldn't be able to finish a book if I didn't like the characters but due to me loving the actual storyline so much I still managed to read it and still enjoy it regardless of the character dislike which is very rare for me!! Just because I wasn't a fan of the characters it does not mean that other readers wont click with them but for me I just couldn't, unfortunately. Madelyne was one of the main characters and so help me I don't think I have EVER wanted to slap a fictional character so badly in my life!! i mean OPEN YOUR EYES WOMAN!!!! Regardless of what happened in the storyline, as a Mum myself I will never understand anyone who doesn't listen to their children when it comes to their partners. Instead of taking any of Connie's concerns seriously or trying to work out why she feels like that Madelyne just keeps banging on how wonderful George is and how hard he is trying and blah, Blah, BLAH!!! Seriously woman get a grip!!! On the other hand I really liked Damon who is hard working, devoted to his daughter, hot and just really sweet as well!! OK he is jealous of George but he doesn't bang out about him as much as Madelyne does!! OK sorry Madelyne dissing over just ARGGHHH that woman!! Anyway, yes Damon, he is an amazing father who runs his own gym, loves his old car and sadly suffers with PTSD from his army days which affected his family and is something he regrets deeply. I could not trust and did not like George from the start. there was something about his mannerisms and the way he was so insistent on certain things and the way he dictated how things should be done in his home that made me want to bang his together with M's (see didn't say her name!!). I really liked Connie was was such a mature girl for her age. She is smart, misses her Dad and trusts her instincts. She is also a strong girl who is becoming a woman and it breaks her heart that M refuses to listen to her as well as angers her. Each of the main characters are complex and have a strained relationship with at least one of the other characters and it was intriguing watching how their relationships with each other changed and developed throughout. There are two other characters that I have to give a mention and they are Damon's best friend Jason, Damon's therapist and Detective Edwards. Jason is a fantastic friend to Damon who says it has it is regardless of whether Damon will like it but will also stand by him no matter what he decides. I loved Detective Edwards to made me laugh on several occasions and I absolutely loved his attitude when it came to Mrs. Connors. Regardless of whether you love or hate the characters they all jump out of the pages and play their parts perfectly. I am looking forward to reading more books by Theo and seeing what he comes up with next! I won't go into more details as I don't want to risk giving anything away but Theo really has done an amazing job constructing an addictive and explosive psychological thriller with fantastic and varied characters that you just won't be able to put down!!

Congratulations Theo on an explosive success!!! Welcome to my favourite author club!! Here's to many more successes 🥂!!!

Clear your schedules before picking this up as you will not be able to put it down!!! "

Make sure you read to the very end of the book to read the first chapter of Theo's 'The Widow's Secret' which looks just as addictive as this one and one I'm looking forward to reading myself!

Overall an absolutely page turning, addictive, gripping and explosive must read that will keep you addicted from the very start to the fantastic ending!!!

Genres covered in this novel include Women's Psychological Fiction, Psychological Suspense, Domestic Thriller, Hard-Boiled Mystery, Crime, Domestic Suspense, Thriller & Mystery Adventures, International Mystery & Crime, Suspense Thriller, Thriller, Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Psychological Fiction, Psychological Literary Fiction, Thriller & Suspense Literary Fiction, Women's Psychological Thriller, Domestic Fiction, Crime, Thriller & Mystery Adventures and Mystery amongst others.

I would recommend this book to the fans of the above as well as fans of The Girl on the Train, Behind Closed Doors, fans of Miranda Smith, Sheryl Browne, Sue Watson, K.L. Slater. Nina Manning, Shalini Boland, Lisa Jewell, Ruth Ware, Gillian Flynn and anyone looking for an explosive page turner!!!

327 pages.

This book is just 99p to purchase on kindle, free on kindle unlimited and £10.45 in paperback at time of review via Amazon which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!

Rated 4/5 (I enjoyed it, I loved the storyline but not the ending ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.

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