The Stepdaughter by Georgina Cross

A 13-year-old missing
A fire next door
Police called in
Secrets aplenty

Where is Mia?
What happened to her?
Is someone to blame?
If so, who?

This story is told from multiple viewpoints beginning with Mia in the prologue. With each page a bit more is revealed as the truth slowly is eked out in a way that reveals all. This was not an uplifting happy read for me though I found it well written it left me feeling sad.

What I liked:
* The way the story was written and the plotting
* The twists and turns the story took
* Mia – typical of her age and so undeserving of what happened
* Liked and didn’t like that I had trouble liking Mia’s parents or the parents neighbors – they all left me cold and though I understood them and sympathized a bit with some of them I never warmed to or came to like them.
* Angela: a homicide detective that did not give up. She stayed on the scent to the end and got it right…or nearly so. I can see her in a series of her own
* That everything was tied up nicely at the end of the story
* reading the last page and leaving the characters behind – would not choose any of them to be personal friends…well…except maybe the police and fire department people met in the story and Charlotte – an older woman who was pivotal to the story.

What I did not like:
* Realizing that this could all too easily happen in real life and knowing that such dysfunction and drama occurs more often than we realize.

Did I enjoy this book? Yes and no
Why no? it was darker than I needed to read today
Why yes? It was well written and a great debut novel
Would I read more by this author? I think I would

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC – This is my honest review.

4—5 Stars

Crime & Thriller books are my favourite genre so I was really excited to read this first book by Georgia Cross and this did not disappoint! 

The author tells the story of Mia a 12 year old girl who goes missing while swimming in the pool in her back garden. The story gives accounts from Mia, her StepMum Vanessa, her Dad Tripp, and the family who live next door. I enjoyed this style of writing as everyone’s points of view were shared, along with them suspecting each other. A refreshing change from the point of a Detective. 

Mia is an Olympic swimmer, so to go missing from your pool, with only a swimsuit on is rather strange. Vanessa immediately panics and calls her husband Tripp. A fire also starts at the house next door Vanessa goes out front to look and doesn’t see what happens to Mia. 

Soon the arguments start and people blame others, as the story unfolds we find out there’s a tangled web of secrets between the families, Mia having a few of her own too. On a few occasions I was really confident about the suspect, and then another gripping twist comes, the author cleverly keeps us interested. The ending was so unexpected and tragic. 

I really related to the characters, especially Vanessa, I felt for her being the 2nd Wife and Step Mother, always trying to live up to Tripps Wife and Mia's Mother, doing the best for her family and sacrificing her own needs. 

I’m really looking forward to reading the next few books in the pipeline from Georgina.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for my copy.

This is an exciting debut by this author. Set in an old moneyed neighbourhood in Alabama there is a host of unlikeable characters to enjoy. The stepdaughter Mia is a 13 year old potential swimming olympian adored by her attorney father Tripp. Mia's mother died tragically when she was five and her father is remarried to Vanessa. Vanessa gives up her career to be a stay at home wife and mother to care for Mia which includes ferrying her everywhere for various swim meets and training.

As the story develops it appears everyone has secrets and a trail of destruction ensues.

This is a well written exciting story containing some unexpected twists and some that I did guess. I will be looking out for this author's next work due early next year.

Where to start with this little twisty blighter. Well how about with Tripp the husband who set off my rubbish husband alarm when I discovered he made his new wife live in his first wife’s house and used her as free childcare for his spoilt brat of a daughter. That’s not all either, he’s not quite Norman Bates but he definitely needs to be handed divorce papers.

Then there is Mia the elusive stepdaughter who has gone missing after going out to the pool to practice after school just as the neighbours house catches fire. Are they connected? And if so how?

Told from multiple points of view you will get to know the family and the neighbours. Secrets will start to spill out and lives will be changed.

This is a really fast paced thriller with great characters that captured my attention right from the get go and didn’t let up until all was revealed at the very end. The fact this is a debut makes this even more amazing and I can’t wait to see where the author goes next.

I absolutely loved every word and every page of this psychological thriller.
The opening reels you in making you wonder what has happened and as you read on you are also thinking, why?, how?, would she?, puzzling over the fragments that are being scattered, trying to find the right pieces to make a coherent whole.
The story is set in Alabama, in a street of historic houses, where wealthy families live and want for nothing, as long as money can buy it.
Mia is 13 years old and an elite swimmer. She lives with her father Tripp Tanner and her stepmother Vanessa. She is lucky enough to have her own backyard pool to train in and it is poolside where the story starts. Very quickly you realise that whilst Mia has many material advantages she doesn't have what she really wants, and that is her biological Mum Susannah.
The whole story is set between two households, where Mia lives, and the next door house belonging to the Campbell family.
I really enjoyed the way we have lots of narrators and that the timeline starts almost at the end of the story and then weaves in and out of the past and the present with chapters entitled 'the day of...' and 'the Saturday before...' etc. By using this device we are treated to the same events but from different perspectives. Each perspective adds a new and interesting layer to the story, pulling the reader in even more until there is no chance of escape. You just have to read to the end! We hear from Mia's Dad, Julie Campbell who lives next door and looks after her dementia ridden mother Charlotte Sinclair. We hear from Vanessa and Detective Angela Blakely. We do not hear from Mia until nearer the end of the story so that what she says is enthralling and shocking.
As I read the book I felt tense, excited, entertained, nervous and puzzled as well as being able to imagine the fear and desperation of not knowing where your daughter is. The endless agonising and waiting. The doubt, the suspicion, the secrets, the pain. Being able to empathise with characters is the mark of a great story which is why The Stepdaughter is such a joy to be lost in.
I always love being the bystander watching the dynamics between people and families. Not only do you think 'What is the truth?' in this particular book, you also have the opportunity to form your own opinions about step parents, what it feels like to love someone you didn't give birth to and the attitudes of others towards you. I am always intrigues by coping strategies too and whether a traumatic experience brings a couple together or tears them apart.
The pages flew by and I can only thank the author for sharing her fiction and creating such a brilliant thriller to read.
No storyline spoilers in this review so for goodness sake get a copy and find out what happens!

Full of twists and turns this suspenseful debut from Georgina Cross will not leave you disappointed in starting off your fall season of reading.

Vanessa struggles in being a stepmother to Mia. Mia is a strong willed 13 year old who is the center of the family's world. Tripp, Mia's father, lost his first wife and married Vanessa within two years of meeting her. Vanessa has given up her career to be the stay at home mom Tripp wants for Mia, At times, the two girls get along quite well, but when Vanessa does not show up to an important event for Mia it becomes clear that their relationship begins to get rocky.

As Mia goes to the family pool to practice laps for a swim meet, Vanessa leaves to see where the black smoke is coming from. The Campbells house next door is burning in flames and Julia is there watching everything she loves be destroyed. When Vanessa returns she finds that Mia is not in the pool, Mia is not in the house and a person's worst nightmare- Mia is missing. After telling her husband Tripp, Det. Angela Blakey is on her case and desperate to find Mia. Vanessa is looked to be the prime suspect as she was the last one to see Mia and her stepmother. The fire and Mia's kidnapping are being handled as a simultaneous event and that the fire was set as a distraction to take Mia.

Told from multiple point of views, your taken through a series of lies and deceit that may play in part of why Mia is missing. What happened in the days leading up to Mia's kidnapping? Who has the motive to take her?

Georgina Cross's suspenseful debut novel did not disappoint. I love when there are different point of views are used to explain events leading up to the climax of the novel. She does a great plot development that leaves your guess till the very end! And believe me I was not expecting the end result!

Thank you to Net Galley, Georgina Cross and Bookouture for reading this suspenseful debut novel.

The Stepdaughter, by Georgina Cross, is an easy read that is full of twists. Thank you Netgalley, Bookouture, and Georgina Cross for allowing me the privilege of reading The Stepdaughter. My feedback is voluntary and expresses my own opinions.

Tripp was devastated after his wife died and he was left as a widow to care for his young daughter Mia. Not long after her death he meets Vanessa, and they are married two years later. He is a wealthy attorney and comes from a highly respectable family with old money so he and Vanessa know that they will never have any financial worries. The generations of his family were established early in their community, so he has a shining reputation.

Vanessa worked hard to accomplish her status in the workforce, and was somewhat disappointed when Tripp asked her to quit working to take care of Mia until she finished middle school. Mia was so young when her mother died that he doesn’t want her to ever feel scared or alone so Vanessa gives in and agrees to be a stay at home mom. Although she loves Mia as if she was her own child, she struggles with the idea of living in the same house where her mother lived and being compared to her. Does Tripp love Vanessa as much as he did Susannah? Over time she makes changes to the house so that it isn’t still set up as a shrine to his late wife but she makes sure to have her things put in storage so that Mia can have them when she’s older and so that that part of her life is never forgotten. With Tripp working late, long hours, Vanessa is left to be the one to do most of the running around for their family and taking care of everything. When Mia was younger it was easier to learn how to be a parent, but the older she gets the harder it becomes for Vanessa to know the right things to say and do. When she and Tripp first married she was convinced that she could help fix him and Mia, but she’s not so sure anymore. As tensions rise over the years, Mia’s emotions explode when Vanessa accidentally misses a mother daughter tea and overhears Vanessa when she is talking to her best friend on the phone. Other things have slowly mounted over the years that have also left Mia and Vanessa feeling at odds with one another.

Mia is a typical teenager with raging mood swings compounded with grief over missing her mother. She is a highly awarded swimmer though and finds solace in swimming. She admires her swim coach and relishes in his praise, but when rumors start circulating that his behaviors towards the girls on the team are inappropriate, his image and intentions become highly questionable.

While the next door neighbors house is going up in flames, Mia is swimming laps in the pool in her backyard one minute, but is gone the next. As emergency services are called and a search for Mia is underway, Julia, their next door neighbor coms to stay with Vanessa to try to help her.. Although she’s heart broken over the loss of their house, especially since it was built when the community was first established and is irreplaceable, she does her best to try to comfort Vanessa. Julia’s mother, Charlotte lives with her and her husband because of her struggles with dementia, which make it impossible for her to live on her own. At the best of times she is somewhat coherent, but for the most part she is easily confused and unable to make sense of things.

When Vanessa discovers that Mia is gone, she panics and calls Tripp. She’s convinced that Mia didn’t just randomly leave on her own because her dry towel by the pool suggests that she didn’t even dry off when she got out and it in incomprehensible that she would’ve gone anywhere wearing only a wet bathing suit.

When police investigations start to intensify, everyone tells their own version of the truth and the events that led up to Mia’s disappearance, but they also make sure to keep their individual secrets hidden because exposing the complete truth would make it seem more plausible that they had motives to hurt Mia.

Set in Alabama, in a community where everyone knows everyone else, the story is told primarily between the main detective, Vanessa, Julia, and Mia with the timing of the events going back and forth from before and after the day Mia disappeared. Although it was somewhat predictable, it was an easy read, and I especially loved the twist at the end!

Vanessa is stepmother to lovely, confident, thirteen-year-old Mia Tanner, and one afternoon, whilst she is cooking dinner, Mia vanishes from their back garden. Vanessa's husband and Mia's father, Tripp Tanner, can't understand why Vanessa would have let it happen and neither can Detective Angela Blakely. At the same time as Mia's disappearance, the Tanner's neighbour, Julia Campbell's home is in flames. As the detective investigates, questions are asked and search teams are deployed. Is Vanessa the evil stepmother as everyone seems to think?

In this exciting début, the reader meets Vanessa, following an intriguing prologue which immediately drew me into the story. The characterisation by Georgina Cross was excellent and all of the cast were well created and developed, each having a meaningful part to play. Vanessa, particularly, was well portrayed in this enthralling tale of family drama, secrets and lies. I also enjoyed the parts of the story that included Vanessa's best friend, Janie who was one of the more congenial people. Told from multiple viewpoints, the author's tension-building was spot-on as I found myself frequently changing my opinion on the culprit's identity. The plot was well thought-out and I enjoyed the progression to the big reveal which eventually caught me unawares. The Stepdaughter was a thoroughly entertaining psychological thriller and a first-class début that I have no hesitation in recommending. It will be interesting to see what Georgina Cross has in store next!

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Bookouture via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

Step daughter! A position a new wife cringes because she is entering in the footsteps of the first wife. An instant family can can work out or not.
It seemed to work in the relationship between Mia, Vanessa and Tripp but one night all this chatters Mia goes missing.
The neighbours house the Campbell’s house goes up in flames. And, everyone goes mad in search for Mia.
Five days later, the body of Mia is found in the forest an autopsy says drowned a mystery.
The killer ended up a total surprised!
Thank you! Netgalley, Bookouture and Georgina Cross for this arc in exchange of an honest review.

Mia, 13, lives with her father, Tripp Tanner, a wealthy attorney, and Vanessa, her stepmother. Mia’s mother died of a brain tumor when she was 5. It has been difficult for her but Tripp has been a supportive father. Now, he and Vanessa have married. She had a fabulous career as a financial planner and loved her job. Tripp has convinced her to be a stay-at-home Mom to Mia who is very involved with swimming and has competitions nearly every weekend. Vanessa has done all she can to get close to Mia and show her love for her. But, lately, Mia has been moody and has never forgiven Vanessa for accidentally missing a mother daughter tea at school. She had simply gotten the times mixed up.

One day after school, while Mia is swimming in their backyard pool, Vanessa hears fire engines and runs to the front of the house to find their neighbor’s home going up in flames. Frightened, she runs back to Mia only to find that she has gone missing. Terrified, Vanessa wonders if she could have been kidnapped. Tripp and the neighbors all join in a search for her.

The story goes back and forth in time where we witness Mia’s moodiness which Vanessa attributes to missing her mother. The neighbors, Julia and Thomas, whose house burned have been close friends and Vanessa sometimes cares for Julia’s mother, Charlotte, who is slowly sinking into dementia.

This was a great thriller that keeps the reader waiting until nearly the last page to solve this mystery. A good story which makes me truly feel for stepmothers out there. While there is the occasional bad one, I’m sure that most really love and cherish their stepchildren.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Mia is missing. Vanessa just stepped away for a few minutes to look at Julia’s burning house next door. Where has she gone? Who could have taken her? Vanessa struggles to understand the recent change in her stepdaughter, Mia’s behavior. The police are looking at everyone, but especially Vanessa because she was the last person to see Mia.

The story unfolds by switching between before and after Mia’s disappearance. The point of view flits between Mia, Vanessa, Julia and Julia’s mother, Charlotte Sinclair. At first blush, this would not likely work and be confusing. However, the author seamlessly connects the musings and experiences of the characters to unveil the facts in a way that makes the reader want more.

The question of the book is summed up when Vanessa states: ‘“I don’t understand,” she says. “She was right here – right here. I was only gone for a few minutes. She’s taken care of herself plenty of times before. She’s always made the right decisions.”

Everyone who has ever had a child to care for can understand this dilemma. That makes the questions of what happened all the more intriguing. The author does a wonderful job of stringing the reader along to the very end. Then, she brings everything together nicely.


I received an ARC from Bookouture through NetGalley. This in no way affects my opinion or rating of this book. I am voluntarily submitting this review and am under no obligation to do so.

I’ve been on a lucky streak of suspenseful thrillers lately. This one absolutely fits the definition of a page-turner. I read it one sitting. The story is told in alternating chapters between multiple characters. It never got confusing. Nobody is immune to hiding information from other characters. In fact, the power of secrets and how damaging they can really be is the message that comes across loud and clear in this book. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and would definitely recommend it for a quick, engrossing read. For a detailed review, please visit Fireflies and Free Kicks. Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for a digital ARC of the book.

The Step Daughter, the debut novel by Georgia Cross, is a mystery about 13-year old Mia. While swimming in the pool outside of her house, Mia goes missing at the same time the neighbor’s house catches on fire. Vanessa, the step-mother who was watching Mia at the time she disappeared, frantically looks for her. How could Vanessa let that happen?

The story is told from multiple points of view and is centered around finding Mia. There was a realism in the step-mother/step-daughter relationship between Mia and Vanessa. The author did a good job at letting the reader feel the turmoil between them and Vanessa’s insecurities about being a replacement wife. Although Vanessa was a really well developed character, Mia did not feel like a 13-year old girl to me because of her dialogue.



I honestly think I missed something when it came to this book. There are a lot of positive reviews for it. The characters and the books plot pulled me in at the very beginning of the book but then it slowed down considerably until the half way mark. The first half of the book seemed a little too repetitive to me. Then the second half of the book just snowballed into action. With all that said, the book had an amazing ending.

A fast paced, edge of your seat type of thriller. WOW! I immensely enjoyed thi book! Full of twists, turns and enough secrets to make a politician blush! Really well written as well

I read this ARC for an honest review
All thoughts and opinions are mine

This is a debut novel and what a debut it is!!
I was totally engrossed from page one
I liked the way it was written from different points of view while trying to work out who dunnit throughout all the twists and turns

This is a tense, packed novel what I thoroughly enjoyed.

BTW - did not expect the final twist - Fabulous !!!

Thank you to NetGalley, Georgina Cross and Bookouture for this ARC.

This was a fantastic debut thriller that sucks you in from the very beginning and doesn't let go until the very end. Told from multiple POVs, you try to figure out what happens to Mia and are taken on so many twists along the way. I loved how the tension built throughout the story, and I really liked reading Charlotte's POV. The ending was a complete shock, but worth the suspense. Loved it!

First, I want to thank Georgina Cross, Bookouture, and NetGalley for providing me with this book so I can bring you this review.

You must put Georgina Cross’s latest book The Stepdaughter on your TBR list! Out of all the 147 books I have read and reviewed this is on my top 10 favorite list. It was so suspenseful, thrilling, at times creepy and shocking that Georgina had me glued to my Kindle as you could not put it down.

The mastermind who did the cover of the book is a genius!! It totally captured the essence of the book. It was one of the hooks that got me interested in reading it.

Georgina is a fantastic storyteller and has a true gift in this genre. Her storylines were dramatic, intense, creepy in a weird way, shocking, and the deeper you got into the story the more your mind was blown.

I loved how Georgina went back into the past and we learned more how Tripps first wife passed. We also learned How he met his present wife.

My heart strings were pulled on the fact that Mia lost her Mom at a young age. What saddened me more was how she passed. Suffering from Migraines I always am in fear of that happening to me.

A good read about family, secrets and lies. There is a good build up of suspense and some interesting characters.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

This is a debut novel?! Wow!! This suspenseful thriller had me intrigued from the very beginning and kept me guessing until the last page (really, the very last page)!

The cast of characters is small but detailed enough that I was able to understand their connections pretty early on and really immense myself in the mystery without getting distracted by them.

This book does a great job of covering some tricky relationships, including: a stepmom with her stepdaughter, a wife to her widower husband (often feeling as if she’s in his deceased wife’s shadow), an affair between 2 married individuals, and an aging grandmother whose memory is questioned by those around her.

My only point of criticism is that at some points throughout the book, I wasn’t clearly able to tell where the characters were from one part of a scene to another (i.e. I would imagine them being inside of the house but the next sentence would reference that they were outside in the yard) and what exactly was going on, but this was rare.

I will say, I did not see the largest twist coming, for a while (I had an inkling at a certain point though) and I did not see the final twist coming at all!

Overall, a really good book, and I look forward to Georgina Cross’s future publications!

A wonderful debut by Georgina Cross! I enjoyed the twists and turns of this book. The plot was thick and the character building was enjoyable. Overall, a good read and I look forward to future books by this author.