Libby Curtis is a paramedic and is shocked to be called out to a teenager who may have been drugged and held against her will. She is upset and confused to discover a link with her stepson who seems to have the vicitim’s false fingernail in his car. Could he be a monster and will she protect him?
The Stepmother is a psychological thriller set in the UK.
Libby fell in love with Nathan and, although never wanting children herself, has been a dedicated mum to his children Sam and Sienna. Now they are teens and rebelling against their parents. Libby attends a patient she recognises and is devastated when she finds a clue that links to her stepson. She battles with her conscience as she hides evidence that incriminates Sam but can’t reconcile the criminal activity with her knowledge of the boy she raised. She is determined to protect him at all costs as she couldn’t save her brother who killed himself.
Meanwhile Gemma is obsessed with a crime from the past. A paedophile was convicted of one crime but there are a string of families with no answers about their missing loved ones. She wants to find the truth and bring peace to the families who are still grieving. Her investigation leads her to the Curtis family…
The book is written in the third person to show Libby and Gemma’s journey of discovery. I did like the little detail about Gemma’s guinea pigs being a guinea mum myself! Both women have to balance their families against the truth, the personal feelings versus what is right. I enjoyed the ‘what if’ element as it made me think carefully about what lengths I would go to to protect my own family whilst also considering the victims, law and truth.
The Stepmother is a tense and thought provoking book about the choices we make to protect our loved ones.
The Stepmother
She’ll do anything to protect her family…
Libby Curtis never wanted children, until she met Nathan, a gorgeous widower with two young children. Now ten years later she can’t imagine her life without Sam and Sienna – she’d do anything for her precious kids. Anything….
So when a missing teenager is found lying on the side of the road, Libby’s first thoughts are for her own kids. Are they safe? Are they home?
What Libby doesn’t expect is for her children to be involved in the girl’s disappearance. But when she discovers an item in her stepson’s car linked to the victim Libby’s fears increase.
She can’t believe that the sweet boy she’s raised could do something like that. But if not Sam….who?
Libby must discover the truth before her family is ripped apart. But someone is determined to make sure their secrets stay hidden – even if the consequences are deadly…
Amanda Ashby and Sally Rigby are a crime writing partnership. Both authors live in New Zealand, have been friends for eighteen years and agree about everything (except musicals). They decided to collaborate on a psychological thriller which they then entered into a competition, run by Boldwood, and which they won!
