Shelby is 12- that's old enough to watch a 3 year old for an hour, isn't it? That's one question Leslie will have to ask herself over and over then her daughter Millie goes missing while under Shelby's care. Shelby swears she only turned her back for a moment but there's something off about her assertions. And Leslie- she's got a secret too about why she needed her stepdaughter to watch Millie. Told by Shelby, Leslie, and Ruth (how does she fit in?) this is about secrets, lies, and blended families, And what about Millie- no spoilers from me. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

This is the first Nicole Trope book I have read and it won’t be the last! I devoured the book in one day, it’s definitely one to keep you entertained on a long evening

Leslie asks her 13 year old stepdaughter, Shelby to watch her 3 year old half sister Millie while she runs errands only to receive a call while she's gone that Millie is missing. When the police turn up, Shelby’s story starts to unravel. What is she hiding? Then Leslie gest a message saying, ‘Your husband is not who you think he is.’ Could he be lying? Suddenly, her family feel like strangers. Everyone has a secret – even herself. No one knows why Leslie was late coming back from the store, and the guilt she has been feeling ever since. Once the truth comes out, all of the lies exposed, will it be too late to save her daughter?

Nicole Trope is a new to me author and the plot line of this book absolutely intrigued me so I was excited to dive into this story. Unfortunately I didn't feel connected with any of the characters and when the secrets were revealed they left me feeling disappointed. The dynamics between Shelby, her biological parents and step parents were interesting but certain plot lines of the book which were stressed over and over never really developed. I did appreciate the unique plot line and will be checking out other books by this author. A special thank you to Nicole Trope, Bookouture and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.

When Shelby’s three year old step sister goes missing, he family’s lives are thrown into chaos. Leslie believes her step daughter is lying about the circumstances of her disappearance, but can’t get her to disclose what happened. But is the truth about Millie’s disappearance enough to find her and save her family, or is it too little too late?

First, Trope did a phenomenal job capturing the dynamics between ex-wife, daughter, new wife, and family. Unfortunately it’s something that exists. Second, Trope sets the mystery from the beginning, giving the reader enough to make them inhale the story, but keeping the secrets, secret.

I thoroughly and compulsively enjoyed this book. Give this a shot if you like thrillers, especially family based stories.

I’m always a fan of Nicole Trope’s books and this one was no different. She has a knack for creating twists and turns that not only flow with the book but also seem to come out of nowhere! Excellent book as always!

A woman goes grocery shopping, leaving her 12-year-old stepdaughter to babysit her 3-year-old daughter when both girls’ father is out golfing. And then happens what very single mother dreads: the toddler disappears.

The story has three different narrators: Leslie, the worried-sick mother; Shelby, the young teen who’s clearly hiding something; and a mysterious and very troubled Ruth who we fail to connect to the story at first.

It took me a while to grow into the two women. Leslie irked me a little, and while being a mother of 4, I couldn’t connect with her anguish. As for Ruth, whose behavior and vulnerability seemed interesting, the mystery around her link to the kid’s disappearance was a bit too thick for me to really feel for her obvious struggles.

So the beginning felt a little slow for me, but it all changed when the connection was (finally!) revealed. Then the whole thing took on a fast pace and I (finally) could connect to the characters and really like them. In fact, the last ⅔ was so great that I forgot all about the first ⅓. I hadn’t read anything by Nicole Trole before but I’ll give it another shot for sure. Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to discover her.

2.5 stars/ Leslie goes to run some errands leaving her three year old daughter, Millie in the hands of her twelve year old step-daughter, Shelby. Leslie is only gone a few short hours - when Millie goes missing. Did Shelby do something to her little sister?

This book was okay, I liked the story line, but the book itself fell flat for me. I got bored at times, and it also felt extremely repetitive.

4+ stars

Shelby is the step child, the 12 year old daughter of Randall Everly and his first wife of Bianca. She is babysitting her three-year-old stepsister Millie while Randall is playing golf and her stepmother Leslie is shopping. At 1.30 Leslie gets a terrifying call from Shelby to say Millie is gone. The panic rises as they can’t find her anywhere but is Shelby telling the truth about what has happened or covering something up? What’s more this is just the tip of the iceberg as far as suspicions go.

This is another excellent psychological thriller from the talented Nicole Trope. The story is told from three perspectives, Leslie, Shelby and Ruth and they’re all good. Their different emotions come across very strongly and you feel their pain, guilt and so on. All the characters are good but the standout is Ruth and understanding how she fits in and is integral is fascinating. Her portrayal makes you feel a whole range of emotions. There’s everything from panic, to guilt to damage. There’s so much tension at times you could cut the atmosphere with a knife and much of that surrounds the different and powerful dynamics.

There are hugely destructive and damaging secrets and some of the things we learn are jaw droppers as we discern the depth of wickedness. The deeper you go the more chilling the story becomes as we witness some monstrous behaviour but also the extent of a mother’s love which warms your heart. There are parts where you can scarcely breathe and you applaud two characters bravery. I like how the novel ends which feels very hopeful.

I look forward to reading what Nicole Trope comes up with next .

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Bookouture for that much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book! There weren't really any mind-blowing twists, but it did deal with a lot of heavy topics which really makes you think a lot more than the regular "child is missing" books.

In the first half of the book, I felt like a lot of Leslie's chapters were really repetitive and unnecessary, or could have been way, way shorter. The second half of the book was fast-paced and less repetitive.

Wow! This book exceeded my expectations. I give it a 4.5 star.

I loved the format of the book and how the chapters were broken up with different points of views.

The story starts off with Leslie getting the phone all of a nightmare, her three year old is missing.

So many twists and turns. Just when you think you know who did it, you’re proven wrong again and again. The ending was such a surprise and carefully played out that you really feel for the characters. Heartbreaking and so beautifully written.

I received this copy from the publishers via NetGalley for an honest review.

Five stars all the way! Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read in exchange for an honest review. I was absolutely riveted from beginning to end!

Three-year-old Millie goes missing. Her 12-year-old stepsister Shelby is babysitting.
What is the truth about Millie's disappearance? Who are the suspects? Why?

Her parents are beside themselves, but everyone has secrets to hide.

The truth unfolds slowly and the twists and turns begin.

Loved this book! Highly recommend! Will definitely read more from this author, Nicole Trope!

We have a brilliant book here
I thought it was fantastic
When a child goes missing it is hard to imagine
I had an ARC

Nicole Trope does not disappoint! This book will grab you from page one! 12 year old Shelby is supposed to babysit her 3 year old stepsister, Millie, for an hour while her stepmother goes shopping. Shelby calls her stepmother to say Millie went missing when Shelby left her briefly to go to the bathroom and came back to find the front door open, and Millie was gone. Something isn't adding up, and now Shelby feels guilty. Should she tell her parents what she knows or let them keep searching for a 3 year old that supposedly ran away? You will not want to put this book down! I wanted to climb into the book and find adorable 3 year old, Millie, and also to tell Shelby to confide in her parents about what she knows! This was such a great suspenseful read!!

I love Nicole Trope’s books and this one is another cracker of a novel. When I first started it I was worried that the author had let slip to us readers what had happened and that it would lead to an unexciting story but no, we didn’t know what had happened and although there were only a few options of which character was involved there were still endless possibilities of what had befallen little Millie.
I loved Lesley and Shelby and it was so nice to see a stepmother situation where the child and step parent weren’t constantly at odds with one another. But I think I agree with the author herself that Ruth is the best character in the book. Never has agoraphobia and OCD been so gently dealt with and relayed to the reader in a way that we can all empathise and understand a little of how trauma affects the human psyche.
I read this book in an afternoon and yet again, I’m now really sad that it’s over and I’ve finished it.

Fantastic psychological thriller. This book literally had me on the edge of my seat from the word go. I couldn’t put it down. My heart was racing it was that good. Great plot. Very realistic. This book is very well written

Thank you to the author and to Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this e-book to read and honestly review!

The Stephchild is told from three different character POVs. Two are told in third person, Leslie and her step daughter Shelby’s, while “Ruth’s” POV is told in first person. This actually took me a bit to get used to, but after a few chapters it became normal enough to follow.

I was really interested in the synopsis of this book and was expecting a fast- medium paced family suspense/ thriller novel, but by halfway through a lot of the information felt repetitive and there wasn’t much really going on. It’s like we knew there WAS something going on, but we weren’t really getting any closer to finding out.

There were a few twists in the middle to end of the book, some I predicted and some I didn’t see coming from a mile away. I really enjoyed how everything came together, though nothing really WOWed me, or was overly memorable.

This is a solid read if you enjoy books with: multiple POVs, family drama, and missing child investigations!

The story is quite good and the ending was unexpected. However, the writing style is so obsessively detailed and due to many points of view for my taste neither character was enough developed to care about. Due to the detail, the story dragged on too much that I started skipping paragraphs just to get to the point. Thus my experience of the book ended up being very superficial and less satisfactory.

I would have skipped the teenager's point of view and more developed other two.

Thanks to Netgally for the free copy in exchange of an honest review.

This was hands-down one of the best books I have read in the 'missing kid' trope in recent times; intense and unputdownable.

Leslie and Randall are distraught when they learn that their three-year old daughter, Millie, is missing. What's worse, they know that Shelby, Randall's twelve-year old daughter from his first marriage, who was babysitting Millie at the time, is in someway responsible and is lying to them. As the search for Millie continues, secrets are uncovered and it begins to feel like no one can be trusted. Amidst all these lies, time is running out for Millie.

Intriguing is too tame a word for this brilliantly executed narrative. With deftly placed red herrings, the first half has the reader looking in all the wrong directions for the supposed kidnapper and for all the wrong reasons. As the second half unravels, along with the perp's identity, it also becomes evident that this story is about so much more than just a missing kid - about feuding couples and how it affects the children involved, how betrayal at the hands of those who are meant to protect leads to lifelong insecurity and trust issues, and about the sickening evil that is gaslighting.

Each character in the plot is worth mentioning, even the secondary ones, for the fantastic way they have been portrayed. While Shelby initially came across as a spoilt and selfish kid, as the story progressed, she showed fortitude beyond her age. Leslie's agony over her missing daughter is palpable, but even more harrowing was Ruth's trauma - her POV made for an uncomfortable yet compelling read.

Overall, an addictive, gripping storyline that turned out to be even more fascinating than what I had imagined. Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for providing a digital copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

The Stepchild happens to be a girl of 12, a girl who's parents have divorced and both remarried.

Shelby is left to watch her little 3 year old Millie while her stepmother, Leslie goes to the store.

While Leslie is out, Millie is goes missing. Shelby knows what has happened but cannot bring herself to tell the truth. Now every minute the Millie is missing is a minute closer to finding out something awful has happened to her. Leslie and Randall hold a press conference in hopes someone comes forward with information as to where Millie might be....

Ruth sees the news and knows the man the camera is capturing. A man who has changed his name yet that face is unforgettable.... A man who did unspeakable things to her when she was a child. She knows what she has to do but can she do it? Can she leave her routine and the safety she has so delicately constructed for herself and do what needs to be done for that missing little girl?

I honestly didn't think this book was going to be a brilliant as it was. I was hoping for a solid 3.5 star read and found a 5 star! I was gripped from the very beginning. It was intense! I could fear Leslie's fear. I could feel the guilt she was feeling. Leslie experiences the very worst fear any parent can have and you see her internal monologue.. Wondering if she looks guilty. That she doesn't look sad enough and people can see that. She feels rage at her stepchild for lying about what happened and yet can see something is very wrong with the girl.

I think the author captured the complexity of blended families and how each persons roles can change in a snap. No one is blameless yet no one is really to blame. The twists were fantastic and kept me guessing. I was never sure what was going to happen next! I read it in one sitting. I had to.

The author took every mothers worst nightmare and painted a canvas in every color of the despair. If you love psychological thrillers, this is the book for you

5 stars!! Wish I had the option to give it more!!

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, Bookouture and by #NetGalley. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

Awesome psychological thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat. You won’t want to put it down.