The Stepson by Jane Renshaw
He lost one family. Now he’s ready for another.
Psychotherapist Lulu is sure she’s the luckiest woman alive. She has a wonderful job and is married to the love of her life, Nick - who also happens to be ridiculously handsome and fabulously wealthy.
But now a shadow has fallen on her perfect life.
She can see that Nick is struggling with demons from his past. When he was sixteen his entire family disappeared without a trace and Nick has always insisted that his stepmother – whom he hated – was to blame, that she did something terrible to his beloved father and baby sister. And that trauma has left him feeling that anyone he loves is in danger, might vanish in a heartbeat.
So now he is obsessed with Lulu’s safety. He needs to know where she is 24/7, insists she carries a can of pepper spray, is constantly watching for any potential threats.
Lulu can see that this extreme anxiety is wearing Nick down. And as a therapist, she knows the only way to heal a trauma is to confront it. So she persuades him to return to the country house from which his family vanished.
But soon after they arrive in this sleepy rural community, another person disappears.
As Lulu is forced to question everything she knows about Nick and his missing family, dark secrets emerge from the past. The certainties of her old life fade away and are replaced by a horror she could never have imagined in her wildest nightmares.
The Stepson – the stunning psychological thriller perfect for fans of Teresa Driscoll, K L Slater, Daniel Hurst.
Author Bio
As a child, Jane spent a lot of time in elaborate Lego worlds populated by tiny plastic animals and people. Crime levels were high, especially after the Dragon brothers set themselves up as vets and started murdering the animals in their ‘care’. (They got away with it by propping the victims up with Plasticine and pretending they were still alive…)
As an adult, she is still playing in imaginary worlds and putting her characters through hell – but now she can call it ‘writing’ and convince herself that she is doing something sensible. In real life, she has a PhD in genetics and copy-edits scientific and medical journals.
Jane writes psychological thrillers. The Stepson will be her fourth novel published with Inkubator Books.
Follow her at:
Website: https://www.janerenshaw.co.uk/
Review
Well this book was right up my street! ‘The Stepson’ is a a highly taut, psychological thriller that had the power to truly make you gasp! It's a story about obsession, love and fear. What would you do to make sure that your family was safe and what if the threat was IN your family?!
A highly successful psychologist Lulu has the perfect life in London with her new husband Nick. They live in a penthouse by the Thames, Nick is always thoughtful and loving and she feels she is making progress with her clients in helping them heal. But Nick has had a problematic childhood. When he was 16 his whole family disappeared whilst he was out with a family friend - his dad, stepmom and baby sister all just vanished. This has made him highly protective of Lulu and in order to address this Lulu decides they need to return to the family home to face this head-on! Well, let's just say when she gets there things don't go as planned.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘The Stepson’ and devoured it in one sitting! I loved the fact it was set partly in Scotland and was able to easily visualise the scenes set there. I truly felt for Lulu in this story as although though she was extremely stupid at times she showed an inner core of strength towards the end of the book. The character I loved though was Nick’s stepmother Maggie - she was a wee fierce thing. I definitely enjoyed her POV sections from the past - they were the most riveting - as you know something is going to happen and you are on tenterhooks waiting for it to occur! The differing POV’s allowed for the author to really include those twists and turns we all love as thriller readers. However, I definitely didn't see the last one coming!
This is a great book just to curl with and savour, well devour really! Let me know if you read it!
