I was lucky to receive an advance copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review and opinion. I loved this book! I seriously was unable to put it down and stayed up way late in the night to finish it and see how it would end. It will truly keep you guessing up to the very last sentence. I highly recommend you read this the moment you can get your hands on a copy!

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC for an exchange for an honest review.

Very good book, just started getting into reading thrillers.

Psychopaths are persistent, not letting up until they have achieved their mission and their victims are dead, usually in a horrifying manner. Because at their cores, psychopaths are ruthless killers.

Nick, the prominent character in The Stepson, is a psychopath who wreaks such incredible horror on people he claims to love.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this book. I look forward to more by Jane Renshaw.

I loved this story! It was a fast-paced, exciting thriller and I couldn't put it down. The story is split into two timelines - Maggie's POV and Lulu's. Maggie was Nick's new stepmom in 1997 until she, her new daughter, and Nick's dad all disappeared on the same day. No one knows what happened to them and different people have different theories. Nick has always maintained that Maggie killed his dad and step-sister. In her POV we learn about Nick as a teenager and what happened leading up to the disappearance. Maggie knows Nick is evil, that he would harm her and her new daughter, but no one will believe her. Oh, it was a great read even if Nick was absolutely horrible.

Then we have Lulu's POV and which shows Nick all grown up and wow. Lulu can be a bit...it is like she has blinders on when it comes to Nick. She is a psychotherapist but can't see what is right in front of her. She doesn't think Nick would ever do anything wrong even when he is abusive towards her. Even when he does some pretty messed up things and gets angry and goes way too far for a normal person. But she loves him so...

This was a fun read as everything slowly is revealed and some things didn't happen the way I thought they would. The ending was great and I loved the journey getting there.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book.

3.5 *

The Stepson is a story of love, obsession, fear, mistrust and murder. Alternating between two different timelines and being told from the POVs of Maggie (Nicks stepmother) in 1997 and Lulu (Nicks new wife) in present day 2019. Does Lulu really have it all? The perfect job (ironically) as a psychotherapist, a wealthy loving husband and the perfect house by the river. Or is it all just one big ploy and has she just got married to the biggest gas lighting psychopath that she has ever met?
I found the start of this book to be rather confusing and wasn’t gripped at all, however once it got going, it ended up being quite a fast-paced quick and easy read. There are quite a few twists and turns throughout the book, yet I found them to be somewhat predictable and nothing really took me by surprise. The characters were well developed, and each had their own flaws. However, for me Lulu was so 2 dimensional and her naivety really ending up grating on me. I found the ending of the book to be satisfactory as I feel I was constantly kept waiting on the edge of my seat for this big ‘WOW’ moment that unfortunately for me never came.
Overall, I would still recommend giving this book a read if you enjoy psychological thrillers as it is a generally well written and engaging read and it did hold my interest throughout.

I have enjoyed several of Jane Renshaw’s previous novels and was thrilled to dig into the latest one. Told in two different timelines, both fascinating stories by the way, we are thrown into thr dark teenage life of Nick, an absolutely charming child unless he is alone with his stepmother, Maggie when he becomes a menacing presence towards her and her new baby, Isla, Duncan, his father is blind to Maggie’s fear of Nick, putting it down to Maggie’s own childhood trauma. Ah, wrong. One day, Duncan, Maggie and Isla disappear. . Nick is alone. Meanwhile the other timeline is Nick all grown up, successful, charming and all controlling of his new wife Lulu, who can see no wrong in him, even if he is a little possessive and wants to keep tabs on her, which is reasonable considering his background? Ah, wrong. We know the two timelines will eventually collide and when they do, the climax is astonishing.

DNFed this one half way thru as found it boring and clique. it has a interesting premise while failing to meet my needs as a thriller lover. I think the story could of been better written

‘The Stepson’ was my first Jane Renshaw novel. The characters were well developed and this psychological thriller was quite enjoyable. The book takes place in Scotland and England and therefore there were a few references unfamiliar to me, however Ms Renshaw did a good job keeping the reader engaged. I would recommend this book.

I loved this book. Gripped me from the start.

Was mysterious, scary and dramatic all at once. I could not put it down.

Characters were great and the book was really immersive. I did not know if I was coming or going through most of the book.

A roller coaster of panic buttons that didn't want to be pressed. Loved it from start to finish.

Highly recommended. 5 stars from me.

The Stepson by Jane Renshaw is the second book I have read and I really enjoyed it. It was an excellent read. I found this book full of twists and turns throughout. I was hooked within the first few pages. Then, I could not put this book down until I had finished it. So glad I had nothing booked for that day!

I can highly recommend this gripping psychological thriller.. 5 star read.

Big thank you to the author Jane Renshaw, Inkubator Books and Netgalley in return for giving an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book is told from two perspectives past and present. It was a fast-paced well-written book. Tense and gripping. A recommended read.

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

The Stepson is a gripping page-turner told from two POVs - Maggie (in 1997) who is Nicks stepmother and who is being targeted by Nick due to his obsessive relationship with his father, and Lulu (present day 2019) who is Nicks wife and only been married to him for several months.
Nick is a psychopath and causes pain and suffering to everyone around him, except those he deems as loving.
This was a gripping, fast paced and nail biting read that I couldn't pull away from. Nick would scare the pants off me! My heart really went out to both women, past and present, especially Maggie. I absolutely loved the twists at the end of the book especially the very last one!
Definitely a book you don't want to miss out on!

The Stepson by Jane Renshaw.
Psychotherapist Lulu is sure she’s the luckiest woman alive. She has a wonderful job and is married to the love of her life, Nick - who also happens to be ridiculously handsome and fabulously wealthy.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book.  Great story and characters apart from Nick. I really didn't like him. 5*.

Absolutely loved this book , was hooked right from the beginning. The tension was kept going throughout the book . Loved the ending too . Would highly recommend this book . Definitely 5 star from me

This was an ok read for me. Not too long rear in a day. Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review

The Stepson, by Jane Renshaw, is a fast paced psychological thriller that keeps you guessing and second guessing throughout the book. The main characters were fairly well fleshed out and interesting though I wasn't a fan of the "step son's" wife, Lulu. She was just very foolish and wilfully put other people in danger. Overall, the book is very well written and kept me engaged the whole way through.

If you get easily creeped out and uncomfortable of reading about psychopathic behaviors, then this book is DEFINITELY not for you🤦‍♀️
Now let's talk about the technicalities of the book, the very first chapter wasn't one to get you feel hooked immediately, you have to keep going for a little bit for the picture to be clear, the transition between the narrators from the past to the present was a little bit poorly written.
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The characters weren't ones you feel attached to, all of them were kind of flawed and did have major complexes so it was a little bit hard to actually care.
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The best side about the book was the way the author wrote the details of the abuse the characters were dealing with, it felt so infuriating and compressing reading the details of what was going on.
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The ending was satisfactory, although not that strong, the book wasn't actually one of the author's best books .
* I received an ARC of this book in exchange of an honest review via netgalley and the publisher*

This book was fast paced and I finished it in less than a day. That being said, it also required me to suspend my disbelief throughout. The story is told from 2 POVs- Maggie, who is afraid of her teenaged stepson Nick in 1997; and Lulu, who is now married to Nick in 2019.

The story moves along quickly and I liked the back and forth between timeframes and perspectives. Nick himself was well characterized and his actions were often chilling. I had a really hard time with Lulu, who seemed ridiculously naive and not necessarily smart enough to be good at her job (which is important to the overall story). I liked Maggie, though some of her storyline was a bit over the top.

The ending of the book was satisfying but I can’t say that anything was that big of a surprise to me. I was hoping for a killer twist at some point but did not feel that it happened. Despite that, the book held my interest the entire way through. I’d give it 3.5 stars. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Stepson is a twisted story being told in the past and the present. Nick believes his step-mother is responsible when his father and half-sister Isla are missing. There is no evidence that they are dead, but he believes they are dead and tells everyone that Maggie is responsible.

In the present, LuLu is married to Nick and will try to help him resolve these issues, but deep dark secrets will be revealed putting everyone in danger. There are many twists and turns and the truth is not at all what everyone believes it to be.

This book was difficult to read. LuLu is a therapist but she is empathetically involved with her patients which I find hard to digest. Nick is obsessed with LuLu and the past in a bizarre fashion. There just was too much over the top behavior on all sides.

I was hooked from the first few pages of this book. I was able to guess must of the twists but the way they were written into the story left you wanting more. The ending was not what I was expecting and that's always great in my opinion. Highly recommend reading