Author: Nicole TropeThriller / suspensePublished on 21 May 2026 by Bookouture in the United Kingdom.Paperback | 320 pages128 x 198 x 24 | 228g Three-year-old Millie Everleigh disappears on a crisp winter's day, and nothing is as it seems...My phone rings. It's my stepdaughter, Shelby, who is babysitting my three-year-old little girl Millie.'I only went upstairs for a second,' she says through her sobs. 'She's gone.'I race home to find my blue-eyed baby girl missing, and my heart ripped out of my chest. And when the police turn up, Shelby's story starts to unravel. What is she hiding?Then I get a message saying, 'Your husband is not who you think he is.' Could he be lying?Suddenly, my family feel like strangers. Everyone has a secret - even me.Once the truth comes out, and all of our lies are exposed, will it be too late to save my precious child?A pulse-pounding psychological thriller about family secrets, shocking pasts and the lies we tell ourselves in order to survive. You'll lose sleep as you race through the pages until the final gasp-worthy twist! Perfect for fans of Lisa Jewell, Liane Moriarty and The Wife Between Us.Readers love The Stepchild:'WOW!!!!! I couldn't put this book down, it was gripping from beginning to end... Had me on edge, I had to finish it the same day I opened it... A huge twist... WOW is the only thing after that last sentence I can say... It was too GOOD!!!' Goodreads reviewer, ?????'Grabbed me from the very first page and never let go... I loved this... Every time I thought I knew what was going to happen I was thrown an ever bigger curveball... Amazing... I never saw the ending coming!' NetGalley reviewer, ?????'WOW, WOW, WOW!!! My heart is still pounding! Amazing... Nail-biting thrill ride!... Absolutely unputdownable!! I read this in about 4 hours... I was on the edge of my seat.' Hockessin Book Reads, ?????'Omg, wow... Just wow. There are not enough superlatives in the English dictionary to express how much I loved this incredible thriller... Very very highly recommended by little old me.' Nicki's Life of Crime, ?????'Amazing amazing amazing. The Stepchild is brilliantly written. There is every kind of emotion that a person could feel within the plot... I adore Nicole Trope.' NetGalley reviewer, ?????'Wow, what a brilliant read this was!!!!!...It had me shocked and jumping up with joy all at the same time... I got so immersed... Could do nothing else until I finished it. Time totally stops when I'm reading one of Nicole Trope's books.' Goodreads reviewer, ?????
