Elizabeth is Joe’s foster mother, but she loves him like her own. The five-year-old, who adores superheroes and watching the birds outside, is the child she has dreamed of. As she looks into the garden, where he was playing just moments ago, her heart feels like it has been ripped from her chest.



She was meant to save Joe from his birth mother who almost harmed his chances at life. The woman who has been trying to desperately get him back.



She was meant to protect Joe from her husband. The man who, right now, lies to the police, saying he was making breakfast when Joe disappeared. Who squeezes her shoulder, ordering her to be quiet.



She was meant to look after Joe. They are just footsteps from the ocean, and little Joe can’t swim.



Then Joe’s tiny blue sandal is found in the water. If the worst has happened – the unimaginable – Elizabeth will never forgive herself. Because what if the secret she has been keeping for years, the guilt eating her alive, has somehow hurt her little boy?



It’s time to tell the truth – even if it means losing the child who is her whole world. Even if it could be the death of her.

Love this author, she has a great gift for characterisation - nuanced, interesting, believable people but created with a slight of touch.

Nicole Trope's book The Foster Family is a domestic thriller with an interesting plot. As a fan of Nicole Trope, I have enjoyed several of the author's books.

Synopsis:
Elizabeth is five-year-old Joe's foster mom. She loves him as if he is her own son and hopes to adopt him soon. When Joe is discovered missing, Elizabeth is devastated. They are staying in a rented vacation home near the beach and Joe can't swim. There are dark secrets, lies and deception being hidden by Elizabeth and her husband. Will the truth come out?

The Foster Family has a complex plot with many characters. Keeping up with all the timeline changes is a bit challenging. Once you are acquainted with the multiple characters, the book flows quickly. While I can't say this is my favorite of the author's work, there are some satisfying plot twists. Nicole Trope is a very talented writer and I look forward to reading more from her.

The Foster Family by Nicole Trope is available on September 21st.

Thank you, NetGalley and Bookouture for sharing this e-book with me. I appreciate your kindness.

Family dynamics...intrigue...a hint of mystery...maybe a little more mystery...loving...caring...this book was sent to me by Netgalley for review. Thanks to the publisher for the electronic copy. This is a talented author who has written a difficult to put down book...thinking...wondering...realizing...don't miss this story.

Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and Nicole Trope for letting me read “The Foster Family” in exchange for an honest review!

That was an interesting read! Definitely has it pros and cons, but as far as being a story, it was a good one!

The beginning leaves us already puzzled, when a man finds a young girl in bad shape. She begs him not to call for help. He takes her home and helps her get better.

In the meanwhile we meet Elizabeth and Howard. A couple in their forties. Due to not being able to have kids of their own, they foster.
The family rents a vacation home in the town of Gilmore, Australia. The perfect time to relax with their young foster boy, Joe. Joe has been in an out of foster care, his mother being quite the tragic case. In and out of drugs, desperate for money.

Across the road lives Gordon, an elderly man in the early stages of dementia.

Then Joe disappeared while being outside. Police gets involved, everyone desperate to find the young boy.

Gordon witnesses the abusive nature of Howard towards his family. But nobody takes him seriously because he does not always remember things correctly anymore.

The story jumps back and forth between now and then and flashbacks to the young girl from the beginning. It jumps a bit too much for my taste, from one characters timeline to another ones. I am not sure anymore if it was chronological at all or if I just got confused by it.

Howard is clearly a despicable being. Elizabeth is unable to stop the abuse and bring herself and the boy to safety. It was hard to read and not seeing her do anything.

So what happened to Joe? Did he wander off? Did his biological mother come for him? Is Howard involved!? How is the mystery girl involved? At some point the different storylines melt together and it’s all explained.

I couldn’t really warm up to Elizabeth. I am glad she got her happy ending and stood up for herself. The best one was definitely Gordon, the elderly man and little Joe.

The story was solid and the writing fluent and interesting. I would have given it five stars, but I found the timelines done a bit too confusing, at least for me. Otherwise it was a solid story which I enjoyed!

Howard and Elizabeth are foster parents of 5 year old Joe. They take a getaway vacation and stay in a nice house near the water for 2 weeks. Their neighbor across the street, Gordon, becomes friendly with Elizabeth and Joe and has them over to see his birds. Howard is not as friendly. When Joe goes missing they blame Gordon. Gordon does have memory issues, but is he to blame?

I have read many books by Nicole Trope and this was an interesting story. I will give a trigger warning of physical abuse here. There were a few surprises and I did like the ending to this story.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This review will be posted to my Instagram Blog (@coffee.break.book.reviews) in the near future.