3 1/2 ⭐️‘s

Everyone in a small village has a secret. Some much bigger than others. While this book was a good read, things came to light quite slowly. Several things should have been found much sooner in the course of the investigation, but did keep the reader guessing longer. Twists and turns along the way kept the pages turning until all is finally revealed.

Elise Buckley knows her husband is having an affair, but feels she needs to stay with him for the sake of her daughter even as Andrew continues to emotionally and physically abuse her. Elise’s daughter Niamh knows much more about what’s going on between her parents and with her best friend, Hollie, than she admits. When Hollie goes missing, DS Nicki May is asked to investigate, while also looking into a porn ring operating in the same area. Will all the secrets come out before more lives are lost?

This book is both a murder mystery and a psychological thriller and is told from three points of view - Elise, her daughter Niamh, and DS Nicki May. This approach works for the story and it never causes any confusion or interferes with the flow of the story. Nicki is my favorite character in the book for her intelligence and her compassion. I also like Elise even when she makes the wrong decisions for the right reasons. I found it hard to relate to Niamh who keeps important secrets for way too long. Elise’s husband Andrew is so vile it’s hard to read some parts of the book.

The book is fast-paced and kept my interest through to the very end. I found some of it to be predictable and I was able to guess some of the big “twists”. However, I am still rating “The Stepdaughter” 4 stars because I remained intrigued even when some of the big reveals weren’t surprising to me. I’ve read other books by this author and am always excited to read her new releases.

I received this book from NetGalley, through the courtesy of Kensington. The book was provided to me in exchange for an honest review.

The Stepdaughter is about a village rocked by the death of a young woman, and a mother who wants to protect her daughter at all costs. This book was a page turner! i could not predict anything that happened. There are so many small stories going on that connect. i highly recommend reading this book.

Not my typical read, but it’s a good book and held my interest throughout. I would read more by this author and recommend to others.

This book was quick to catch my interest, and draw me in. I got to know the main character Elise and her daughter Niamh very quickly. The story flows well, but I was puzzled as to the title...spoiler! The tittle kind of gives the plot twist away, and made me guess what had happened before the end. All in all, it was an interesting read, would recommend

Told in multiple POVs, The Stepdaughter has what I will call a slow build. Set in a small town, there are many dark secrets that a detective must uncover to get to the truth - or in this case, several truths. I will say that the very last truth was a shocker. I did wonder for most of the book, how the title applied, but it all came together at the end. I would read more by this author although the first half was slow, the second half where all the pieces came together made for a good read.
Thank you, #Netgalley for this read.

This book had an interesting plot but not enough of thrilling twists and turns. The ending was interesting though

The Stepdaughter by Debbie Howells is a stand-alone psychological thriller, published by Kensington books.
The story is told in a dual pov, the rare mother - daughter pov.
Elise is a wife and mother, part of a flight crew, and utterly miserable in her marriage. Her husband masterfully manipulates everything and everybody around her and himself.
Her teenage daughter is already through a lot and she and her mother have the scars to prove it.
Put a third main player into the mix and now it gets more interesting.
I started reading and was pretty quick into the storyline. It flows at just the right pace and I liked to connect with the characters. I liked the twists and turns the story took and I loved being in suspense from start til the unexpected end.
A great read, 4 stars.

This was a quick, light, entertaining read. I loved the descriptions of the small village setting where everyone knows each other’s business, but dark secrets abound nonetheless. This was plot-driven primarily and I did not find that the characters had a lot of depth. However, the unexpected twist at the end makes up for this.

Many thanks to Netgalley, Kensington and Debbie Howells for my complimentary e-copy ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

A mystery thriller with well developed characters, well written. The story line is engrossing, the plot thought out. Very enjoyable book.

Debbie Howells has written a superb read with The Stepdaughter. Well worth the time and a true page turner!

This is a difficult review to write because I REALLY wanted to enjoy The Stepdaughter but I just didn’t. I felt that it was predictable and the things that were meant to drop my jaw just felt awkwardly revealed. The title is misleading and doesn’t really apply to the plot of the book other than the fact that the girl who goes missing has a stepmother who we barely meet.

Thank you to Kensington Books and NetGalley for allowing me the privilege of reading this book in advance.

Lies, murder, betrayal...three things I really enjoyed about this book. It gives me that mind-blowing, gripping feels. Organized plot, no excessive narration, characters are well developed.

This is a cross between a domestic noir, police procedural and murder mystery. In a small English town similar to the one I grew up in the fifties. Elise, her husband Andrew, and their daughter Niamh move here in the hope that there can be a fresh start for them after Andrews numerous affairs. Not happening. Elise should have just moved there and left Andrew as he is a cold, calculating self centered doctor who thinks of no one but himself. I digress.
The mystery build when a friend of Niamh is found murdered and Elise believes her daughter knows more than she is letting on. The first half, focusing on their awful, abusive marriage was difficult to read and the second half, once the murder took center stage was quite thrilling and unexpected.

4 Stars

Spousal abuse is a difficult subject to read and write about. (The murder victim in this book should have been the protagonist's psychotic, abusive husband.) The author did a great job slowly unfurling the clues to the mystery of whodunnit in their small village. Many thanks to Kensington Publishing and NetGalley for providing an ARC to read and review.

I really thought I will love this book when I started it... It doesn't feel like a 5th novel but rather as first, to be honest. In my opinion, a thriller should be absolutely gripping from the very first page, starting with introducing "the mystery" if not in the first, at least in the first three chapters. Here, everything was going so slow. It was the opposite of a breathtaking fast paced amazingness. I will try Debbie Howells other novels though. Maybe this one was a fluck.
This book was graciously provided to me for a review by Kensington Books.

“The Stepdaughter”—Debbie Howells [4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️] This was my first read by this author and it did not disappoint! This suspenseful thriller combined the elements of a small town village and its drama, domestic abuse, complex relationships, an illegal crime ring, and a murder needing to be solved. Elise Buckley lives in the little English village of Abingworth with her husband Andrew and teenage daughter Niamh. Elise has stuck around in her marriage all of these years, despite his countless affairs and continuous emotional and physical abuse, to maintain the facade of a happy home life to protect her daughter. One day, the body of Niamh’s best friend Hollie is found, and the entire village is shocked how something like this could happen to this young girl with her whole life ahead of her. As the investigation of her murder begins, Elise begins to realize that her daughter Niamh knows a lot more information that she’s letting onto, and Elise is learning about the many relationships and secrets that surround her. This was a fast-paced read, and the very end definitely threw me through a loop, but I’m not going to reveal anymore. This book was definitely worth checking out 👍🏼*Thank you to @netgalley and @kensingtonbooks for providing me a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review* 📚

This was a remarkable thriller that I had a great time reading. The way the writer depicted the characters will strike a chord with many of the readers, and the story will draw everybody in. Highly recommend this novel.

Oh dang. This one definitely threw me for a loop.!! Y’all it is a must read. The characters are phenomenal as well as the story line.