I enjoyed this book! There weren't really any mind-blowing twists, but it did deal with a lot of heavy topics which really makes you think a lot more than the regular "child is missing" books.

In the first half of the book, I felt like a lot of Leslie's chapters were really repetitive and unnecessary, or could have been way, way shorter. The second half of the book was fast-paced and less repetitive. ( )

The Stepchild by Nicole Trope is a very highly recommended novel of domestic psychological suspense.

Leslie has Shelby, her 12-year-old stepdaughter, babysitting Millie, her three-year-old daughter, while Leslie runs errands. As she's leaving the grocery store, Shelby calls her and tells her that Millie is gone, missing; she ran away while Shelby was upstairs using the bathroom. Leslie rushes home and calls her husband Randall. They are all frantically searching for Millie. The police are called. Bianca, Shelby's mother and Randall's ex shows up, and then her new husband Trevor. It's every parents nightmare - a young child is missing and can't be found.

The Stepchild is told through the point-of view of Leslie, Shelby, and Ruth. Ruth suffers from agoraphobia, OCD, and a traumatic experience in the past. Her connection to the search for Millie is not discovered immediately but when it is slowly disclosed it will send your mind scrambling to find the clues and follow them. However, you will also know that Shelby is not telling the whole truth of what happened, which also will have you looking for clues in what she says. Leslie is frantic but she also didn't disclose every errand she was doing that day. Everyone has some secret, but Trope is very careful to disclose information slowly while providing plenty of misdirection.

Characters are depicted realistically and almost all of them will elicit sympathy. Some will evoke suspicion or doubt as new secrets are revealed and new clues exposed. You will not like all the characters, and your opinions will change several times as events unfold. Trope also handles the twists perfectly.

While I knew I would enjoy The Stepchild, I didn't realize how much I would enjoy it. The writing is clever and adroit. It is skillfully, tightly plotted and well-paced, which all serves to keep you reading just one more chapter as fast as possible. Almost every chapter ends with a cliffhanger or open question or foreshadowing which really works in this narrative to keep you guessing and frantically reading. The secret Shelby is holding and the cause of Ruth's pain is heartbreaking, but handled expertly and with great compassion. There was one element that was a bit unbelievable, but this is still an excellent novel.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Bookouture via NetGalley.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2022/03/the-stepchild.html
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4585897782 ( )

Another great psychological thriller by Nicole Trope.

Three-year-old Millie disappears one morning while her mother is out shopping and her sister Shelby has been left home to babysit. Shelby, who is twelve, insists she only went upstairs for a second to use the bathroom. Her mother, Leslie, insists she was only supposed to be out for an hour. Both stories have inconsistencies.

I really loved the way this book examined the relationships in blended families, for good and bad. Leslie is married to Randall, Shelby’s dad. When Shelby’s parents were still married, they struggled financially. Now Randall’s software company is worth millions. Could this have been a factor to whomever took Millie? Shelby’s mother Bianca is remarried to Trevor, and there’s tension in that relationship, too. There’s also the matter of Ruth, a local woman who has a story to tell of her own.

I thought the book did a really good job of balancing really interesting character perspectives and keeping the pacing flowing. I liked how I felt like there were just the right number of characters and it didn’t get bogged down with too much to try to keep track of, but kept things nice and tight and told a clean story. This had some twists I wasn’t expecting!

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary ARC copy of this book from Bookouture and NetGalley for review purposes.
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