Nicole Trope keeps the twists coming in her latest novel. When 3 year old Millie goes missing while her 13 year old stepsister is babysitting, mom Leslie is panicked. There’s no sign of Millie and her stepsister, Shelby, isn’t telling the whole truth. Add a mysterious character named Ruth, who struggles with anxiety and hoarding and you have a thirsty thriller. Don’t miss this one!

The Stepchild by Nicole Trope is one of those psych thrillers that is good on the surface but has a deeper current of something more sinister.
A psych thriller that can manage both a compelling surface story and underlying tension – and do so effectively – is a winner in my book.
On the surface, it is a simple missing child case. Those parts are fairly straightforward and easy to read. Stepsister is babysitting, little sister goes missing, parents panic, police are involved.
But there is much more to it. I don’t want to give anything away (because you really should enjoy it spoiler-free like I did), but everyone has secrets.
Where was Leslie (the mom)? Why wasn’t Randall (the dad) around? And what is Shelby (the stepsister) not telling everyone?
The answers to these questions and many more are revealed gradually. I appreciate that, because it is a tactic that allows the action to continue without giving everything away too soon.
Interspersed between Leslie and Shelby’s points of view is Ruth’s story. Ruth is an odd duck – that is apparent from the very beginning.
But as Ruth tells her story in short bursts, you realize that this is where the undercurrent is. This is the heart of the story – and where the twists really come into play.
All of this takes place (as I mentioned) while Millie (the child) is missing. The author does a fantastic job of weaving everything together, keeping the focus on finding Millie, even as character’s secrets and actions threaten to derail the case.
Honestly, it’s a great juggling act and the author handles it deftly with lots of engagement.
I will admit that I guessed at a pretty big twist, but I’ve made no secret about how I like to challenge myself. I did like how the author resolved everything – everyone’s story is tied up realistically.
I will also say that there should probably be a trigger warning on this book, as it does deal with a pretty serious issue. I really don’t want to say what it is, because that would totally give away big sections of the plot.
You can search other reviews that will most certainly mention specifics. Not here though.
But again, the author handles a very sensitive subject with tact and efficiency, using just enough to get the point across without being heavy handed or preachy.
Now that I think of it, The Stepchild (and who is the stepchild, really?) is about as close to perfect a psych thriller as a reader could hope for.

Blubbering Flibber Giblets! 😳😯🤯

Holy flippin macaroni! I'm just an absolute mess from this novel. My word! I'm suffering major hungover. Ugh my heart! A mothers absolute worst nightmare became reality for Leslie. Leslie just stepped out to go grocery shopping and is on her way home when her step-daughter, twelve year old Shelby calls her panicking that three year old Millie, Leslie's biological daughter, is missing. Shelby was babysitting Millie when she claims she went to the bathroom and Millie must've ran out the front door. Soon the police are called and a search is underway. What could have happened to Millie? Will she be found? Everyone has secrets - Shelby about what really happened, where Leslie really was, & what about her husband, Randall? A dark random text to Leslie lets her know her husband isn't who she thinks. And how does a woman, Ruth - who suffers from agoraphobia & a traumatic past, play into all of this? Could any or all secrets being held, contribute to Millie's disappearance? My word! The revelations all along this entire journey were endless, heartbreaking and some unforeseen! As difficult as the subject matter was at times, it was so sensitively handled. Well done! The ending was incredible!

🔴 Trigger warning: child molestation

Thank you to NetGalley & Bookouture for this ARC.
Release date: March 15, 2022

I give this 4 / 5 snowflakes! ❄️

Wow, what a read! Nicole Trope does it again! A mother goes grocery shopping, is a few minutes late, and receives a hysterical call from her stepdaughter who was at home watching her 3 year old, Millie, who is now missing. This sets up a race for time to find the child, and was the stepdaughter telling the truth? Was the mother being completely honest? Every time I thought I had it figured out, something else would unravel. A well-told story of a mother’s worst nightmare, trying to go back in time to figure out just what happened, and how not everyone is as trustworthy as they seem. So many twists and turns to get to the truth. This book was hard to put down, and kept my attention. It was riveting. If you like mysteries and family dynamics with teenage angst thrown in, you will enjoy this book. Highly recommend!
Thank you to Netgalley, Ms. Trope, and Bookouture for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Stepchild is such a great story which really drew me in with all the lies, twists and turns. It has great characters, a fantastic writing style and is a complete rollercoaster of a ride from start to finish. I highly recommend it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for my ARC.

Wow! What a wild ride! I chewed through it, sometimes holding my breath waiting for the next thing to be revealed. With a hairpin turn at about 2/3 of the way through, it sets you on a whole new path with all kinds of discoveries. Highly readable and totally unputdownable!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC!

I received an arc copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for my honest opinion of it.
12 year old Shelby is at home watching her stepsister, Millie when she calls her stepmom, Leslie, hysterical that Millie is missing. And then the ride begins! I read this book in a day. It was that good. It is told in different parts by Shelby, Leslie and a woman named Ruth. Such an awesome book and the last page???? Amazing!!!!

This book is just another shinning example of how Nicole Trope has shot up as the top thriller writer of her generation. This book like all of her others grabbed me from the very first page and never let go. What I liked the most was how this book started right in the middle of the problem and the mystery. Page one a child is missing and we as the reader get to try to figure out what really happened the same time as Leslie does. The story is all about our main character, Leslie, who gets a call from her stepdaughter Shelby that something terrible has happened and her daughter, Millie, is missing. Three different perspectives are told in this novel which I usually don't like however I found it much more interesting this way and it gave the reader more backstory on why things went down the way they did. When Leslie gets the call about her daughter being missing she starts to panic, however is her stepdaughter Shelby being completely honest about what happened? And if she is hiding something how much does she really know? I loved this book because every time I thought I knew what was going to happen I was thrown an ever bigger curveball. The characters in this book were amazing, they all had so many problems going on and such big secrets in relation to the missing
Millie that as a reader helped you connect everything that was happening. Not only did the secrets make for a fun read to try to connect the story but it also made for a super interesting read that never let you go. I'm so glad that I got the chance to read this book. Great read for everyone who loves thrillers and for someone looking to have a new favourite author for life. The ending of this book was great yet again I never saw it coming and it shook me as a reader!

Another great book by Nicole Trope. Who is a really great author. Who is able to write a really compelling story, full of twist and turns, gripping and compelling. A really great read.

Very interesting

Could not put it down once I started. Wanted to find out what happened to little Millie, since apparently nobody seemed to be as trustworthy as they claimed to be. I voluntarily reviewed an advanced review copy received via NetGalley.

I was excited to read this book by a new-to-me author and I was not disappointed! This is an intriguing read with a gripping tale that kept me on the edge of my seat anxiously turning the pages to see what happens next. A mother's worst nightmare coming true - Leslie makes a quick trip to the grocery store and leaves her 3 year old daughter Millie with her stepdaughter, Shelby, only to be frantically called home because Millie has gone missing. Shelby doesn't seem to be completely forthcoming with the events that lead up to her finding Millie missing and suspicions are aroused. But Shelby is not the only one hiding things. Leslie's only trip wasn't to the grocery store, she made a stop before heading there. Another player Ruth, also figures into this equation, but how? This is a thrilling and emotionally charged story I guarantee you won't be able to put down. I was hooked right from the start till the very end and was on the edge of my seat the whole time. With clever twists and turns throughout, it kept me guessing till the end. A well-written, addictive story that just blew me away! I will definitely be looking for more of this author's work in the future!

I received a complimentary copy from Netgalley and am voluntarily leaving my review.

The Stepchild by Nicole Trope was a very cleverly written throughout. This is about parent's absolute worst nightmare when their daughter or son goes missing.............This became reality for Leslie and Randell.
Leslie has only popped out for a hour to get some groceries and left her twelve year old step daughter Shelby to look after her three year old biological daughter Millie.

All innocent! Nothing will happen?! She will be back before anyone knows!!! I only need to get a few bits.

OMG........Leslie's mobile phone rings, Shelby is on the other end panicking and tells her that Millie is missing! She only went to the bathroom and Millie must of opened the front door and ran out!!!! Breathe.............

Leslie's husband, Randall is called, is out playing golf. The Police are also called and a big search is on to look for Millie.

Where is Millie?

Why did she run away?

What isn't Shelby not tell us? What is she hiding?

Secrets.......They all come out in the end and this book will have you on the edge of your chair and if you start to read this late at night! You will not want to put this book down!!!

Do they find Millie?

Is she ok?

WoW..........

This book is a roller coaster ride and contains sensitive issues - child abuse.

This is definitely one of my favourite books of this year so far and I highly recommend this book and all of Nicole's books they have all been an excellent reads

Big Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and the author Nicole Trope for my ARC of The Stepchild in exchange for an honest review

★★★★★ 4.5 stars (rounded up)

I am excited to be taking part in the #BooksOnTour #BlogTour for Nicole Trope's heart-wrenching domestic thriller drama THE STEP CHILD.

Nicole Trope is hands down one of my favourite go-to authors that I will pick up without even reading the description. Nothing she writes is a disappointment. And there is no such thing as a bad Nicole Trope book. Every thing she has written (that I've read so far) has been emotional, heart-wrenching and yet thrilling at the same time. You cannot help but be moved by her stories...and at some point, usually the end, I find myself teary and emotional by the beautiful tale she has woven. It's almost like she has a genre all of her own, a niche she has carved out for herself. She's a little contemporary, a little family drama and a little domestic thriller all rolled into one. But whatever she is, Nicole Trope is a master at her craft.

First up, let's meet the main cast of characters around whom this tale is told:

Shelby - the stepdaughter.

Millie - Shelby's 3 year old half sister.

Leslie - Shelby's stepmother and Millie's mother.

Randall - Shelby and Millie's father, husband to Leslie.

Bianca - Shelby's mother and Randall's ex-wife.

Trevor - Shelby's stepfather, married to Bianca.

Ruth - a thirty-something recluse, a hoarder with severe OCD and agoraphobia unrelated to the family although their lives will collide over the course of the next twenty four hours.

It's the phone call every mother dreads. Leslie has popped to the grocery store leaving her 3 year old daughter Millie in the care of her stepdaughter Shelby for what she had promised would be no more than an hour. Leslie is guiltily aware that she has been longer than that so when the phone rings, Shelby's name flashing up on the display, she answers with her apologies for being so long. But she is cut off by Shelby's tearful cries.

"She's gone. Millie's gone!"

Leslie rushes home berating herself with overwhelming guilt that she had left the girls for longer than anticipated. Despite being twelve years old, Leslie and Randall had decided that Shelby was old enough to look after her younger sister. Millie adored her older sister, jumping up and down in excitement the moment Shelby arrived from her mum's to spend the weekend with them. And begrudgingly, Shelby actually loved Millie just as much, although sometimes she just wanted to hang out with her bestie rather than babysit a 3 year old.

And today, she'd had plans with her friend Kiera to go the shops and hang out when Leslie dropped her request on her. "I'll only be an hour - tops," Leslie promised. But she wasn't; she was longer than that and now Millie was missing. And it was all her fault. She was only upstairs for a second; Millie must have opened the door and wandered off. But as Leslie calls the police, Shelby is terrified. Can she keep the truth hidden?

Soon the police are gathered at the Everleigh home, questioning the family and searching the surrounding area. Surely Millie couldn't have gotten far; she was only three after all. Alerts are issued over TV and radio as reporters gather outside the house, waiting for an opportunity to snap a photo or talk to the family whilst inside, Randall and Leslie's world falls apart. They are sure Shelby knows more than she is letting on. She claims that she went upstairs to the bathroom, when there is a perfectly good one downstairs, and that Millie must have opened the door and thus disappeared. Is that what really happened? Or is Shelby hiding something? Added to her worries, Leslie begins receiving messages claiming her husband is not who she thinks he is. What exactly Randall hiding?

And then there is Ruth. Thirty-something though older than her years, Ruth is agoraphobic with severe OCD and a secret she has never told anyone. But now she has another secret...and from her house filled with her collections, her safe place, she sees the news about a missing 3 year girl and flies into a panic. In an attempt to keep another innocent, she makes a terrible mistake. What should she do? It's all gone wrong...everything is wrong.

You may think you know what is going on but don't be too sure. There are plenty of secrets and no one is immune to them as bit by bit they each begin to unravel. There remains an element of mystery throughout as the reader is left wondering whether Millie is even alive or if something sinister has happened. And just when you think the truth is just around the corner, the story takes another turn leaving you scratching your head once again.

I love the three narratives through which the story unfolds - Leslie, Shelby and Ruth. Each woman has their own pieces of the puzzle to contribute as slowly we are given another snippet, another glimpse, another piece as the bigger picture is gradually revealed. The connection between the women is bittersweet and heartbreaking as the significance of THE STEP CHILD becomes clearer as the truth is uncovered. There is intrigue, misdirection, heartache and misconception throughout what is essentially a horrible ordeal for all involved - some in more ways than one.

A truly enjoyable read, THE STEP CHILD is another excellent offering by Aussie author Nicole Trope that is tense, heart-pounding and compelling from start to finish. The reasonably short chapters keep things moving at a steady pace throughout. Even the difficult subject matter was handled with expertise and sensitivity. Your heart will break for those whose lives it affected.

But the pièce de résistance is the ending. The Epilogue unfolds through four narratives but it is the final one that offers the quintessential coup de grâce. And that is why Nicole Trope is a master of her craft.

I would like to thank #NicoleTrope, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheStepChild in exchange for an honest review.

This review appears on my blog at https://stinathebookaholic.blogspot.com/.

An excellent book by Nicole Trope! The story starts right at the beginning with Millie, a sweet and loving 3-year-old going missing. I was hooked right at the start, desperate to know what happened while the mother, Leslie, was out running errands and how her stepdaughter, Shelby, would just let Millie run away. As the story progresses, so many truths are revealed, and you realize that nothing is as it seems. The ending was so well put together and the very last POV in the epilogue really drove it home. I’m rating this book as 4.5 stars, which rounds up to 5 on goodreads!

A big thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture, and Nicole Trope for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Leslie Everleigh was on her way home from the store when her phone rang. The screams and sobs terrified Leslie as she listened to her stepdaughter Shelby, telling her little Millie was gone. She was only three, how could she be gone? Shelby was twelve and her dad, and Leslie’s husband Randall, had decided she was old enough for short babysitting. But as Leslie berated herself, feeling the guilt overwhelming her, Shelby was also terrified. She knew the police were coming – could she keep the truth hidden from them as well?

As the police gathered around, questioning while sending the force out searching, the incident was put on the radio, the TV. The reporters gathered around and when an Amber Alert was raised, Shelby knew the worst had happened. Leslie knew she’d never see her beautiful daughter again…

Ruth was shut in her house, keeping herself calm in her normal way and wondering what she should do. When she saw the media report on the television, she was sent into panic. What should she do? Wrong, wrong – it was all wrong.

The Step Child is another excellent psychological thriller by Aussie author Nicole Trope, and I thoroughly enjoyed it! Tense, heart pounding, breathtaking – the words kept flying by as I took them in. So much intrigue, misconception, misdirection – the heartache of your child missing, and the frustration of not being able to do anything, of letting others do it for you. An exceptional read, The Step Child is one I highly recommend.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

The Stepchild by Nicole Trope


While out shopping Leslie gets a call from Shelby, her step daughter, saying that three-year-old Millie, Leslie’s daughter, has ran away while she was babysitting her and she cannot find her anywhere. Leslie calls her husband Randall and rushes home. The police are called and they start searching for Millie but she is no where to be found. As each member of the family are forced to sit in their living room and wait for the police to find Millie, each one of them are hiding something but once they reveal their secret would that help find Millie?

This book is written from three points of view; Leslie, Shelby and Ruth who has been so hurt and damaged in the past she is too afraid to face a world that can hurt her once again.
I loved The Stepchild; this is another one of Nicola Trope psychological thrillers that kept me on the edge of my seat. I loved the book and the storyline and I loved the ending.

I would like to thank Net Galley and Bookouture for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Another great read by Nicole Trope! This hooked me from the beginning and just never let go. Great tension and excitement that was perfectly delivered. And I loved the characters.
I highly recommend this book.
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book

Leslie leaves Millie, her three-year-old with her stepdaughter Shelby, to run some errands. Everyone’s life is changed when Millie goes missing. Shelby is questioned and it is clear that she is not telling the truth. It turns out she is not the only one. The story is told from three POVs; Shelby, Leslie and Ruth. I thought the three POVs worked really well and each character brought a different emotional arc to the story. This was well written fast paced thriller. Look for this Mar 15/22. Thanks to NetGalley and @Bookouture for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

You are thrown into every mother’s worst nightmare from the very first pages. I was engrossed in the story straight away.
Told from multiple perspectives, you are kept in the dark on how the story really unravels by switching from person to person. This works brilliantly to build a whole and comprehensive picture, but also to really let that tension build.
I felt so much compassion for the characters, they were so well written, you really were onside and willing the outcome to be good.
Without giving too much away, the details of the characters, the carefully constructed personalities and traits really help to build that terror. Three-year-old Millie is either in the hands of a seriously disturbed or truly evil character. It really has you on the edge of your seat and I found this impossible to put down as a result.
I look forward to hearing more from this author, it was a tense and harrowing read, I really enjoyed it.

The phone call that is every parents worst nightmare.
Your child is missing!
12 year old Shelby is left in charge of 3 year old Millie while her mother goes to the store.
Then comes the call.
Told in multiple points of view.
Lots of secrets.
Characters you love or love to hate.
I felt Leslie's panic and fear as she waited for her daughter to be found.
I felt Shelby's anxiety, fear and regret.
A really good book.

Many thanks to netgalley and Bookouture for the arc