This book is amazing. I read it in a morning because I couldn’t put it down. A daughter is missing at the same time the neighbors house is on fire. The story revolves around finding Mia and uncovering many secrets.

This book is told from different viewpoints. I truly love books like this because you see more of the story. I did not see the end coming but thought the ending was very fitting.

This book was a quick read. It starts a little slow but then gets good about 50% through it. I didn't see the twist ending coming. It wasn't my favorite but it wasn't horrible either. I thought it was well written I just didn't care for any of the characters. I think it's a good summer beach read.

This is the first book I have read by Georgina Cross. I wouldn't necessarily say I disliked it but it wasn't one of my favorites. While I was surprised at the "who done it" the book wasn't a typical physiological thriller which would normally have me on the edge of my seat going back and forth with the characters trying to figure out who was good and who was bad. The characters were likable enough for the most part. I would read another one of her books again.

Mia my Step daughter has gone
She was swimming in the back yard
Mia and I haven’t always been that close
But I will never ever hurt her
I had an ARC

In “The Stepdaughter” by Georgina Cross we are immersed into the story of Mia Tanner, who went missing from her backyard swimming pool during a fire at her neighbor’s house. The story is given to us through different views of Mia’s last few days by her stepmom, Vanessa, her neighbor, Julia, and the detective on duties eyes. But something is not adding up and as secrets begin to get uncovered could the fire have been a coincidence or a distraction. Could the person who took Mia have planned the perfect crime?

A really gripping read. I received this book through Net Galley and this is my honest review.

This book really pleasantly surprised me. As it's a debut I didn't know what to expect but I'm so glad I took a chance on it.

The plot constantly had me guessing and I thought it was paced perfectly. I love how we got to see the same events from different viewpoints. I really liked Vanessa's character and disliked Mia, she was a little brat but it was quite fun to read. I loved the chapters from Charlotte's point of view and was a bit sad that she didn't feature in the second half of the book.

I would definitely recommend this and look forward to seeing what the author does next.

Twisty and unpredictable book.Each chapter is told from a different characters perspective ,and kept me guessing.I didn't really take to any of the characters particularly but that was okay.The police woman was reasonably likable but I was suspicious of all the others.That added to the suspense though.Well worth a read.

I love this book!! Lately I’ve been really in to reading mysteries & thrillers, and The Stepdaughter is one of the best I’ve read in a long time. I love the way the author writes from different perspectives, gave away enough details throughout the book while still keeping suspense, & had a surprise ending.

Mia was swimming laps in the backyard pool while her stepmother prepared dinner. Then she was gone, and all eyes were on Vanessa. Why wasn't she watching the thirteen-year-old more closely? How could the girl have vanished without a trace?



I'm a sucker for domestic thrillers that involve parenting and this one had me asking a lot of questions of my own about how much supervision a teenager does or doesn't need. I wanted to like this one, but Vanessa is hiding things from the reader and the first big reveal jarred me right out of the book. How could she not bother to mention THAT?! The plot twists and turns and what I was absolutely sure I saw coming wasn't how things turned out.

A great debut novel by Georgina Cross. A good storyline with plenty of twists to keep me gripped and I actually didn't guess the culprit until the end. Look forward to reading more by this author.

Vanessa gives up her career to marry Tanner and be a stepmother to his daughter, Mia. Everything seems pretty idyllic. Mia is a 13-year-old with the potential of being an Olympic swimmer but things aren't as rosy as it appears. One afternoon Mia just disappears from the family pool and then things start to unravel.

The story is told from different points of view, mostly Vanessa, Mia and Julia. At times in the beginning I had to keep checking who I was reading but that evened out in the end. The characters were well developed and I think I felt the most sorry for Vanessa. It is hard to step in and try to become a family with the specter of a dead wife in the wings. Lots of twists and turns in this one that kept me guessing and it had me going right to the very last page.

I am looking forward to reading more from this author.

I received a complementary copy of this book from Netgalley and Bookouture. These are my thoughts.

This is a captivating read! I loved Vanessa and reading about her connection to the other characters in the book. The pacing was brilliant and helped the ending pack a real punch. Wonderful debut!

I was particularly fascinated by this book as I have a stepdaughter or two. My heart ached for Vanessa, she was on a hiding to nowhere. Loving your own teenagers is hard, loving a stepchild when they patently don't love you in return is emotionally exhausting. The fact that Tripp, (weird name for us in the UK), was such an arrogant pig and did NOT have Vanessa's back was completely believable. (You should join my stepparent's support group). I raced through this story and finished it within 3 days. I thought it was clever, taut and full of emotional abuse. The fact that this abuse was underhand and insidious was totally credible. Although I didn't warm to any of the characters, (except maybe the detective), I felt for Vanessa. The ending was totally appropriate and managed to find yet another twist to throw into the pot.

This book is centered around the disappearance of the 13 year old stepdaughter while the stepmother is in charge.

It grabbed my attention from the beginning and I never saw all the twists that came at me in the end.

A great book.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

Oh what a tangled mess a neighbourhood can be! There are secrets and lies (often by omission) aplenty in this excellent debut from Georgina Cross.

Julia and Thomas Sinclair live next door to Tripp Tanner and his second wife Vanessa and Tripp's daughter from his first marriage, Mia. Julia was close friends with Mia's mum but does her best to welcome Vanessa into the neighbourhood despite her reservations that Tripp is rushing into bringing a new woman into the family home. Everything appears to be going well until the day that Mia, a champion swimmer in her age group, goes missing from the pool in their back garden. Incredibly, Julia's home is engulfed in flames in virtually the same instant. Surely a kidnapper would never go to such extremes merely to cause a diversion to their actions? This is the situation the local police and fire departments are faced with solving - and the pressure's on to find Mia.

I really enjoyed reading about the inner thoughts of the different characters in this book - it's hard to believe it is the author's first publication. Tripp is career driven and expects everyone to fall in with his plans at the drop of a hat - something I was surprised Vanessa was willing to do when she was such a career woman herself before she met him. The torment Vanessa experiences is explored too, as she tries to get the balance right between doing what was best for the family but without trying to take Mia's mum's place. I couldn't quite work out Julia and Thomas and their family though as very little is said about their children - I couldn't get a grip on how the friendship group worked between the two families. I liked that the story focused on the families rather than the officials investigating as we get in most crime novels. The rumours which threatened to lead the enquiry astray are typical of most communities when news like this breaks and the way the leading officer put the clues together was well-presented, the light bulb moment coming across as much a shock to the reader as to the officer herself. A plot very well executed in my opinion.

I feel this is a very strong first novel and yet another author on my watch list - my poor shelves/kindle!!

Vanessa is trying her best with her stepdaughter, Mia, but she knows she cannot replace her mother and sometimes she feels like nothing she does is good enough. One afternoon when Mia is in Vanessa’s care, she goes missing from the family home. But why? Did she run away? Was she taken? And who is going to believe Vanessa.
I thoroughly enjoyed this thriller. There were some interesting twists which I did not see coming and I love it when they sneak up on you like that.

This is the first book I have read by Georgina Cross and I was hooked from the first page! I absolutely loved how fast paced this was, with so many twists and turns! I cannot wait for this book to come out and recommend it! Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced copy.

Oh my word what a fabulous read this was. I was gripped from the very first page. It’s a book full of twists and turns and I loved it.

4.5 stars

I enjoyed this thriller immensely. It was gripping, fast-paced, and filled with twists and turns. Thirteen-year-old Mia Tanner went missing from her backyard swimming pool during a house fire next door. Her stepmother, Vanessa, who was the last person to have seen her, seems to be a devoted mother, however, her story just isn't adding up. Is she telling the truth, or is this a classic story of an evil stepmother?

The Stepdaughter is an excellent debut novel by author Georgina Cross. The characters and the plot pulled me into the story from the very beginning and kept me hooked until the final page. Told from multiple POVs, this is a story of how lies and secrets can come back to haunt you and the lengths that some will go to to protect their reputation. I thought the author did a fantastic job of building the tension and making the reader second guess who the culprit actually is. I enjoyed seeing the mystery unravel and was quite pleased with myself as I did manage to guess the big twist.
All in all, this was an addictive and well-plotted thriller, with great writing, believable characters, and a mystery that will keep you on your toes. This is my first book by Georgina Cross and it definitely won't be my last.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Great read!! Easy to get into and told mainly from the point of view of Mia’s stepmother Vanessa and their next door neighbour Julia - I loved the way the red herrings were lined up and then knocked down - had Mia ran away? Had Vanessa killed her, had Tripp killed her, had someone kidnapped her? My mind went into some dark places - did Tripp kill his first wife? Had Mia been acting up to push her away because she knew he killed her.... at one point I was barking up so many wrong trees! Outstanding writing and it kept me hooked right until the last twist on the last page!