I enjoyed this book and of course it was written by my one of my favorite authors! The story has many twists and turns, making you want to continue reading until the end. I sure didn't expect the ending!
Great book!!

A different type of book for Joanne Fluke, but I enjoyed it. A very well written Mystery/ Thriller. The ending seemed a bit abrupt, but still really good!

This book was written in 1980 and is republished now. So the story reads a bit backdated with cigarettes and payphones. The premise was good with Kathi, daughter of US senate who is standing for elections, lives secretly with her boyfriend and starts going into a trance at inopportune times. Are these old memories? Is she losing her mind? Is the accident in childhood showing its effects now?
The book which should have been an intriguing fast paced suspense with pulling the reader almost into every page, is slow and predictable.
While reading the book, I expected twists and turns and maybe ghosts or mental illness or something which would cause my heart to race. But it ended before any such things could happen.
On the whole it is a mediocre read by today's standards. Maybe it would have been better if the author or publisher could have edited/rewritten some parts.

The Stepchild

by Joanne Fluke

If you are a fan of Joanne Fluke’s Hannah Swensen cooking mysteries, you will be surprised and possibly disappointed by The Stepchild. I know Fluke has a huge following for the Hannah Swensen Mystery Series. I found the one I read too syrupy sweet with the emphasis on the personal lives of flat characters and their recipes.

The Stepchild is a completely different type of book. I would classify it as a psychological thriller. It begins with a prologue that focuses on two dramatic events. Then the scene fast forwards to describe the sudden problems of Kathi Ellison whose father is only a few weeks away from becoming a senator. There is a life changing secret in Kathi’s past that even Kathi does not know about.

Three quarters of the way through the book I almost stopped reading it because of what appears to be a strong paranormal aspect. I am glad I continued on to the end as the story progresses in a different and unexpected direction with surprising implications. The Stepchild is an unsettling read, but a good one.

I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Kensington Books for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 4/5

Category: General Fiction (Adult), Mystery & Thriller

Publication: July 25,2017—Kensington Books

Memorable Lines:

To succeed in political circles he had to give up something, the same as in everything else. In the city you had to give up nature, in a marriage you had to give up privacy, and in politics you had to give up little pieces of yourself, carefully doled out in meetings and speeches, making your life smaller with each passing encounter. It was almost like bleeding, and Doug sometimes wondered what would happen when he was bled dry.

Now that she was awake, sleep eluded her like a fickle lover, tempting her by making her body warm and drowsy, but forcing her eyes to open.

And now, in the late fall, the leaves were swirling in the wind, blowing up against the wooden snow fences, gathering in piles. She could see the woods by the side of the narrow road, the carpet of fallen leaves and the lovely, deep darkness behind the bordering trees.

A fan of Joanna Fluke's Hannah Swenson mysteries and recipes, I was intrigued to learn that Fluke writes other books, still mysteries but more complex. The Stepchild was written in the 1980's, so it is one of Fluke's earlier books. The title doesn't quite fit, but to explain that would give way the ending. Suffice to say the story has some unexpected twists that will leave you wondering and thinking long after finishing the book. The writing is a bit choppy, with the dialogue stilted at times. However, I did get pulled into the story and wanted to see how the story ended. It has some disturbing elements and shows off the darker side of human nature. However, it did make me think, and that is a complement to the author.

An interesting story, well told, until the very end. I found myself quite gripped by this, however then end seemed to come too quickly and seemed rushed, as though it wasn't the natural conclusion.

Kathi Ellison, a college student, is excited to be living with her boyfriend, David, even though she is keeping it from her father who is a candidate for the US Senate – she doesn’t want to jeopardize his campaign and he thinks she is still living in the dorms. Although Kathi is deliriously happy with David, lately, she has been reliving memories that seem to be coming from someone else, a girl named Sheri Walker who was killed in the same accident that Kathi was involved in when she was four years old – the same accident that killed Kathi’s mother. Kathi thinks that she is possessed by this Sheri Walker, and David is trying to convince her to go to a psychiatrist. Kathi’s stepmother is concerned about Kathi, and, besides being under pressure due to the campaign, is worried that Kathi is beginning to remember things she shouldn’t know. Those memories will surely put the campaign at risk as well as damage Kathi.

While many are familiar with, Joanne Fluke as the author of the popular cozy Hannah Swenson series, Fluke has authored several excellent stand-alone thrillers. The Stepchild is one of her best, and will keep readers on the edge of their seats. The book is well-written, the story flows, and the characters are well-developed and believable. Things are not as they seem, and the suspense starts at the beginning of the book and it doesn’t let up until the end. The novel is a bit dark, and the ending is quite unexpected. This is one that is worth reading.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

Kathi and David….Shari and Baver. The lives of two sets of people converge in this taut thriller from Joanne Fluke.

When Kathi, a student at UC Berkley, starts having nightmares in the weeks before election day in her father’s campaign for senate, she thinks it might be the pressure of keeping the fact she’s living with David off-campus coupled with the stress of exams. Boyfriend and psychology student David is very concerned as Kathi’s behavior becomes more erratic and he attempts to help her find her equilibrium.

Shari and brother Baver were orphans separated by Baver’s adoption as a baby, while Shari stayed with her loving foster parents.

When Shari and Kathi were children, they were involved in the same train derailment, and that episode seems to be what links these four people in this drama that will keep you turning the pages as the mystery intensifies to the climactic ending.

The Stepchild is a suspense novel by Joanne Fluke. Kathi Ellison is a student at University of California in Berkley and is secretly living with her boyfriend, David. She has yet to tell her parents because she knows they will not approve. Plus, it would not look good if word got out during her father’s U.S. Senate campaign. Kathi has recently started experiencing severe migraines and strange dreams. Then she starts going into trances where her voice and handwriting change. When Kathi comes out of the trance, she remembers nothing about it. Memories start coming to Kathi, but they do not belong to her. Kathi is remembering the childhood of a little girl named Sherri Walker. What is happening to her? Kathi is afraid to tell anyone even her boyfriend. David has noticed her strange behavior, but he cannot get Kathi to confide in him (or seek professional help). Who is Sherri Walker and what happened to her? Kathi starts having nightmares. Things are spiraling out of control. Kathi needs to figure out what is happening to her. But will she like the answers when she finds them?

The Stepchild was easy to read and has a good pace (I am trying to start with the positive attributes). I discovered after I started reading The Stepchild, that is not a newly written novel (the publisher should be disclosed that it is a republished novel). It is easy to tell by the number of cigarettes people smoke, Kathi living with a man was not appropriate and the availability of payphones (I have not seen a payphone in years). The author (or editor) should have updated the book. I thought the story was predictable. I knew how the story would play out after reading the prologue. My rating for The Stepchild 2 out of 5 stars. The ending felt incomplete, abrupt and unsatisfying (and strange). One item (a big one) was never addressed (regarding David and Kathi). I kept hoping for a good twist, a ghost, or that Kathi had a mental illness (schizophrenia). The story is supposed to be scary, but it does not come through (I was bored). I do want to mention that there are intimate relations between Kathi and David are vividly described. The Stepchild was just not the right story for me.

This book was originally published in 1980 and you can tell by the amount of smoking and the lack of technology. I am a big Joanne Fluke fan because of her Hannah Swenson baking cozy's but I've never liked her psychology thrillers near as much. The story line is very good but I didn't like the big gap between Kathi as a little girl and then jumping to college.

Very fast paced and very intriguing. I enjoyed how it kept me hooked and it was an original story. Nowadays so many books read the same. Highly recommend

Joanne Fluke is a wonderful author... I love her "Hannah" Minnesota recipe mysteries so this one had me intrigued when I learned of it. A wonderful mystery infused with Ms. Fluke's unique style. I loved it. Hoping for more!

Kathi Ellison is a college student who while trying to start her own life still is living in the shadow of her parents. Kathi’s father is up for election as candidate for the U.S. Senate so while Kathi has moved in with her boyfriend she’s still hiding that fact so as not to interfere with her father’s campaign or earn her father and step mother’s disapproval.

Shortly after moving in though Kathi begins to have nightmares and these horrible headaches that seem to make her black out completely. When Kathi was a child she was in an accident that killed her mother after which she had nightmares but as an adult now she thought it was all behind her. Now she’s seeing things that she just can’t explain and needs to find the answers to what is haunting her.

The Stepchild by Joanne Fluke was originally published back in 1980 and is now being republished by Kensington books. Knowing that the story is over thirty years old I was paying attention while reading to see how dated it may of been. When finished I think it’s held up fairly well to be read today as a new book. While there aren’t mentions of many of today’s electronics and things it didn’t take away from the story held within.

The one thing that held me back again with this read from giving it a higher rating is the fact that it seemed that really early on in the book I knew what was coming from the story. At the beginning it opens with the accident happening and then jumps into Kathi as an adult starting to be haunted again and just from the few opening pages I guessed the reveal at the end. However that being said I still found myself enjoying the book and the author’s writing style so I would definitely try more of her work in the future.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

A simple and approachable writing style; there's nothing "cozy" about this new mystery from Joanene Fluke. The Stepchild was a haunting read that kept me thinking about it long after I'd finished the final page. Reminiscent of an old Agatha Chritie novel, this modern day gothic romance was devilishly delightful.

,.........................................................rubbish - sorry

Joanne Fluke is probably best known for her Hannah Swensen Mysteries which is a 20+ book series and many titles have been made into Hallmark Movies. However she has also written many standalone novels that show she can cross the boundary from quaint Hallmark Mystery types into those kind of stories that will make your skin crawl and keep you up at night.

The Stepchild was originally published back in 1980 before modern technology which is evident in her story but I’ve also noticed in even her current books she has a tendency to write her stories and/or characters in a way that has something of an anti-tech bent to them. Makes me wonder if Fluke herself doesn’t like cell phones, internet, computers, etc.

Beyond it being hard for a millennial to connect with there is a decent edge of psychological suspense that will hold the interest especially as the terror ramps up for the main character. It’s fairly fast paced and intriguing so it’s not hard to blow through.

I like Fluke even when I get irritated with the anti-tech bent in her books and some of the clichés because they’re always easy to read and interesting so you get a break from the stress of the world. I have yet to read anything by her I wouldn’t recommend.

I have read several books by Joanne Fluke. However, this one was different then her Hannah Swanson series. It is more of a stand alone. I was interested in reading this when I saw that it was available.

Kathi is a college student and the daughter of a candidate for the U.S. Senate. If her father is elected, her life could change. However, it is not the future that is giving her problems. She has been having nightmares about her past. A past that she can only vaguely remember. It is a past that her step mother would rather that she not remember. Why?

I liked the book however, the story line was a little darker than usual for this author. I look forward to more in the future. I received a copy through Netgalley. The review is completely done on my own.

I received a free electronic copy of this novel from Netgalley, Joanne Fluke, and Kensington in exchange for an honest review. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me.

The Stepchild is an interesting book, a fast read with an unusual ending. The title is a bit misleading, but this is a story told well and enjoyable. This is a novel I am comfortable recommending to family and friends.

I absolutely hated the ending of this book. Could not believe that this author wrote this. Her other series are very good and I always have customers looking for her older titles. I am still upset with the ending of this book 2 days after I read it

A psychological suspense originally released in 1980 when technology didn't exist as it does today. Not updated, it is still a very intriguing plot that pulls you into the terror Kathi Ellison is experiencing.