This book centered around a family with a stepmother MC who seems to have someone targeting her. Her husband has a shady past including the death of his first wife, and secrets are being kept.

I enjoyed this book it was a quick fast-paced read. It was a bit difficult at times to follow what POV it was because it seemed to change in the middle of chapters with no delineation that a new character was narrating. The character's POVs were also in different narrative styles (the female MC was first-person and the male characters were third-person) which threw me off a bit. Good thriller overall to get you out of a reading slump with the short chapters, but probably wouldn't re-read it.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was very excited to read this because the synopsis sounded so good. I liked the plot and the way the twists were worked into the story, but I found the narration to be super confusing. The narrator seemed to change mid-chapter and there wasn't any spacing or anything to tell you it was switching, so you read along and all of a sudden, you realize that you're reading from the other character's perspective. I really enjoyed the short chapters and I found that at one point or another, I was suspicious of every single character, and I enjoy that when I'm reading a thriller.

This was different. Great writing but so many stories….possibilities. It’s immersive & absorbing but after a while I wondered how many more loops I’d be thrown🤷🏼‍♀️. Again, great writing, only wish the story had been narrowed or scaled down. I love a book that has lots of questions. I just want them to be inside a relative parameter that easily solves the problem. That could just be me & wanting plenty things simplified.

For some reason this is not working on my kindle. It pulls up just the table of contents and then it won’t move past it. I’m hoping since it’s the unedited version, that it will be better. I did pull it up on my phone and boy howdy was it everything I expected. So much detail to put into this book and definitely has all the twists and turns. Take from an avid thriller reader, it’s GOOD!

I received this ARC thanks to NetGalley for a review. The storyline and character development was good. However, the changes in POV was awfully confusing. It was change within a chapter and there was no indication beforehand, There were some good plot twists to keep you intrigued. I'd give it 3.5 stars.

The Stepfamily could have been trite, but it’s not. Not quite trite. Close, though. The book is saved by its excellent writing. And, the changing voices of the narration, first person for Laura, the stepmother only, and third person for everyone else (although it’s definitely the relevant character’s thoughts and observations), is an interesting literary device.

The story - well, it’s kind of corny. Laura, Peter’s wife and stepmother to his children, experiences a number of mysterious, frightening, and life threatening events, all revolving around the swirling shadows of the woman with whom Peter was having an affair when his wife apparently, and very strangely, hurls herself off a cliff to her death. She loses her job. Details of Peter’s past unfold at a snail’s pace, which I actually found quite amusing. The length to which Peter goes to obfuscate his whole story are tantalizing, and there’s a hint that a drug his company developed might not be completely on the up and up.

Still, it’s a good read. I would not call it a thriller or a psychological unraveling. Without giving away spoilers, I really can say no more and you will just have to read it yourself if you want to know the whole story. I would certainly be intrigued by other books by this author.

I received this as an ARC from the publisher and NetGalley.

Brilliant, one of my favourite books of the year so far, I can’t wait to see what’s next in the future

Good book! This book had a bit of everything! It had suspense, intrigue, murder, mystery, and a few crazy twists and turns! The storyline was very interesting and kept me glued to my Kindle! I definitely recommend reading this book as it was well worth reading! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

My first Bonnie Traymore novel. The stepfamily. I devoured this in a few short hours. Very easy to read and the story keeps you coming back for one more chapter. I felt the characters could have been sharper, but honestly that wasn’t a deal breaker for me. Definitely will look out for more books by this author. 3.5/5