This was a book with a good plot but unfortunately it is not written well. The characters lacked depth and were very unrelatable. It was very disappointing overall.

The plot is great and intriguing. Is Nick really a victim or is he the killer? I loved the premise and would have given a five-star rating. However, I struggled a lot with the writing style. The long run-on sentences put me off from the very start. I didn't feel any kind of connection with/sympathy for any characters too.

A Lucky Woman…?
Lulu, a psychotherapist, thinks she’s quite possibly the luckiest woman in the world. She has everything she has ever desired. Or so she thinks. When husband Nick begins behaving oddly a plethora of secrets may just well emerge. Engaging and enjoyable suspense with a solid mystery at heart, a credible cast and a satisfying denouement.

I found the premise of this book so intriguing and although it took me a while to get into I am so glad I stuck with it because I was gripped. The writing is good, with well developed characters and a storyline that is unpredictable and punchy. I enjoyed it.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle by Inkubator Books and #NetGalley for my honest opinion. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

I had a hard time getting into this one. The premise was interesting but the characters, at times the writing, was bland and repetitive.

Thank you Netgalley and Author Jane Renshaw for this ARC.

I struggled with this book. The story was interesting, gripping--is Nick, a son husband, a murderer?--but the characters and the writing were not good. The writing was weak and so repetitive. The characters were bland and unlikeable.

What a great book! Thank you! After coming across a few poorly written ones, this was like a breath of fresh air. The plot is intriguing and kept me on my toes. It was not clear until the end how it will turn out and without spoiling it, I just want to say that although I might have nothing in common with Maggie, I was rooting so badly for Maggie to be alive. I even liked Lulu despite her shortcomings. Nick could have turned either way and each time I thought I have figured out, a new piece of information was introduced and the book kept me guessing.

For me, the writing was so well done as if I were there experiencing each turn in the book. I was getting happy and angry and frustrated along with or at the characters. Although it is written in a third person, it felt like a first from several points of views. I cannot wait to read another book by this author. Thanks Netgalley for introducing me to this writer and for a free copy in exchange of an honest review.

The Stepson has a lot going for it, but there are a few things that almost derailed it for me.
Let’s start with the good.
I like how the author crafted the story. There are unreliable narrators, which makes it difficult to know who is telling the truth at any given time.
There are two timelines and each of them has a main narrator, although other characters chime in as well.
Maggie (in the past) is unreliable due to her personal history. Lulu (in the present) is similar. Although with Lulu, the reader gets that information more from Lulu’s own perceptions of herself than from actual occurrences.
And then there is Nick.
He is the center point of the entire novel, both past and present. Is he a victim? Is a brilliant sociopath? The reader is never quite sure.
The author does a good job, especially in the “past” scenes of sowing a seed of doubt. Is Maggie overreactive, or is Nick really creepy?
As events come to a head in both the past and the present, Nick’s character becomes much clearer, and all questions are answered.
I also think that the ending is very satisfying. Definitely one of the best ones I have read recently.
Now to the bad.
It feels more like a first novel. I have read and liked stories from this author before (Watch Over Me, No Place Like Home, The Child Who Never Was). Unless this is a re-write/re-edit of an earlier novel, I know that is not the case.
But the writing is not sharp, and there are several areas that need editing. At times, the writing is very elementary – verging on lazy.
For example, there is excessive use of “wee” as an adjective (wee bastard, wee coffee shop, wee smile). At one point, I started counting the usage and gave up when I passed 100 after a few chapters.
I get that it is common usage, and is used to establish character, but this is excessive by any measure. And it is frankly annoying.
All of that being said, if a reader can get past the writing and focus on the story itself, they will find that The Stepson is a decent psych thriller with a satisfying ending.

Super good mystery! All the right ingredients for a superb read - crazy characters, many different possible explanations and theories. I’m sorry, but that dumb wife, ugh! Do you really think you know someone that well after a couple months? The ending was absolutely perfect.

This definitely my type of book. Ticked all my boxes. A really clever plot and A fantastic psychological thriller. Once I started reading I could not put this book down. Sat on the edge of my seat and tapping my kindle like a demented wood pecker. Packed with tension and suspense with an explosive ending and the reader is given a taster of her new book. Can't wait to read more, a very happy reader.
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in return for giving an honest review.

I enjoyed The Stepson. It was a great thriller with plenty of tension, twists and turns and it had an ending that I did not see coming.

Thank you to NetGalley and Inkubator Books for my ARC.

In a whirlwind romance in a foreign country, Lulu falls for the handsome, charming Nick. Within six months, they are married and he watches over her, overprotective due to the trauma of his youth. When Nick was sixteen, his dad, stepmom, and half sister disappeared one night…or were they murdered? Nick discovered their absence when he arrived home after spending the day with a friend and the house was dark. None of his family members have been heard from since and no bodies have been found.

Lulu is a practicing psychologist who works with patients move past the trauma of their past. Unethically, Lulu decides to help Nick process what happened to his family and the impact it still has on him to this day. They travel back to his childhood home where his family disappeared from to try to use a treatment to help him. Met by his disapproving aunt, Lulu sets out to learn more about what happened to her husband and his family. When the aunt up and vanishes herself, Lulu starts trying to piece together the psyche of the man she married and why horrible things keep happening to him and those in his life.

Told in two timelines, Lulu’s and Nick’s stepmother, you follow the path of who Nick really is and what made him into the man that Lulu married. Did Nick kill his family? Did he have anything to do with his mother’s death? Did his stepmom orchestrate the whole scheme and a Nick is innocent? What really happened to Nick’s aunt when she vanished.

As I think of the characters in this novel, I will say that I admired how Maggie evolved in the story. I did find the character of Lulu about as appealing as a weak chin on a man if that makes sense. I did see the character of Duncan, Nick’s father, in a similar light as that of Lulu. Easy to follow and pieced together in a way that keeps you from putting down the story, this was a quick read and if you are looking for a thriller to read, I would recommend checking this one out. 3.5⭐️

#netgalley #arc #thestepson #inkubatorbooks #janerenshaw

Really good thriller about two newlywed couples in two different times. Duncan is married to Maggie, a young woman with a troubled past. Nick us married to LuLu, a therapist. Their histories are intertwined and the reader learns about their twisty relationships until the final page is turned with an “Oh my gosh, I did not see all of that coming.” Thank you Netgalley and Inkubator Books for allowing me to be an early reader in exchange for my review.

Good book! This book has suspense, intrigue, and many twists and turns! And a twisty who done it! There was a lot going on, A few times I was a little lost on what was going on lol but I think I figured it out?! It was definitely a good book and well worth reading! I will definitely recommend reading this book! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

Thank you Netgalley and Inkubator Books for the eARC.
Wow, this was one neck of a breathtaking thriller, very hard to put down.
It goes back and forth between 1997 and 2019/20 featuring 2 females: Maggie, feisty (and my favorite character) and Lulu, an empathetic therapist (there were times I got mad at her) who both have Nick in their lives. Lulu is head over heals with her new husband Nick and Maggie is Nick's stepmother. Nick's father dearly loves Nick ... but does Nick deserve his love?
This is a very twisty tale, my heart was in my mouth a lot of the time, especially from the 2nd half of the book and onwards. The ending had me going 'hurray', so I can honestly say I loved this rollercoaster of a book. What is it about Scotland that gives us so many excellent authors?!
Highly recommended!