The Perfect Stepmother by Karen King
Genre: Psychological drama, Domestic drama, Suspense, Mystery
Read: 11th June 2021
Published: 17th June 2021
★★★★★ 5 stars
DESCRIPTION:
She seems too good to be true. And now she lives in your home…
Lily wants to be happy for her father when he tells her he’s getting married again. Even if it feels too soon after the death of Lily’s mother.
He’s madly in love with Maria. And he thinks she’s going to the perfect stepmother to Lily’s much-younger sister, Emma. And perhaps he’s right. Because no one seems to have a bad word to say about Maria.
It’s only Lily who can’t trust her. Who thinks no one is that perfect. Who notices no one had ever heard of Maria until exactly ten years before.
And then Emma goes missing…
A totally gripping and unmissable psychological suspense novel about dark family secrets, perfect for fans of Shalini Boland, Claire McGowan and Gone Girl.
MY REVIEW:
I am excited to be taking part in the #BooksOnTour #BlogTour for Karen King's thrilling domestic drama THE PERFECT STEPMOTHER.
After having thoroughly enjoying Karen's debut psychological thriller "The Stranger in my Bed", I was excited at the prospect of her latest. But THE PERFECT STEPMOTHER is more than just a thriller - it is domestic drama built on secrets, lies and mistrust. It also examines how a person is defined by their past and how the choices made as a youth can haunt those for the rest of one's life. The story was not what I expected and while it holds the promise of a thriller, it is also a moving story that had me in tears by the end. With so many twists, the story leads to a surprising yet satisfying ending. And I enjoyed every minute of it.
The prologue opens with the disappearance of five year old Emma Metcalfe from her backyard. But it's not your usual "missing child" trope so don't be fooled by it. There is something far deeper at play beneath the surface. Something that will shock Emma's family to the core. But first we must go back to when it all began...seven months ago.
Lily always had a simple dream: to be as happy as her parents were. Always content in their suburban home, life was good for Gareth and Ruth Metcalfe and nothing phased them...not even when a surprise pregnancy resulted in their second child Emma, twenty years after daughter Lily. But their love story was tragically cut short when Ruth succumbed to breast cancer when Emma was just four. Sadly Emma doesn't remember a time when her mummy wasn't sick while Lily's memories go back further to the days they were happy.
Still grieving the loss of her mother, Lily is shocked to discover her father canoodling in a cafe with another woman, even moreso when he announces they are to marry barely a year after her mother's death. Believing her father to be going through the stages of grief and feeling lonely, Lily tries to convince her father to slow the speed of their relationship down. But no sooner has he made the announcement than Maria moves into the family home and the date of their wedding is set for the the following month. Lily is so enraged that her father could disregard the memory of her mother so quickly for the woman who had been her beautician until she died, she voices her concerns to boyfriend Seb who, at first, shares her doubts but accepts the fact that it's her dad's life and his happiness.
No one appears to be listening to Lily and her concerns about Maria, who appears to be perfect and can do no wrong. Her father and his new wife are so obviously in love and Emma adores her new stepmother. Despite her father's pleas, Lily cannot make peace with his decision and is sure that Maria has an agenda; that she has manipulated her father and wrangled her way into his life for the perfect husband, the perfect house and a ready-made family. But it's her over-protectiveness of Emma that makes Lily uncomfortable and soon Emma begins to display signs of a nervous child under Maria's care. And when she offers to take Emma for a sleepover, Maria curtails those plans with her own citing that she, Gareth and Emma need time to bond as a family. But Emma is her little sister! And yet little by little, Lily feels as if Maria is slowly shutting her out of her own family.
Unable to trust her new stepmother, Lily then makes a surprising discovery: there appears to be no trace of Maria beyond ten years ago when she set up her exclusive beauty salon. Why is that, she wonders? And why does Maria reveal nothing of her past? And whenever asked she is quick to change the subject? What is it that she is hiding? For she is hiding something, of that Lily is sure.
So one day when she is called to collect a sick Emma from school, she does a little snooping in Maria's things and comes across an old photo of a couple face down in a drawer. Are these Maria's parents? And if so, why keep their photo hidden away and not on display? She quickly snaps a photo on her phone and forgets about it...until the day it leads to an even bigger discovery. And the truth about Maria's past is finally revealed. But not before Emma disappears from her walled backyard whilst in the care of her stepmother...
Intriguing from the very beginning, the story unfolds through the eyes of Lily and Maria throughout. And although I enjoyed capturing both sides, I feel it removed the element of mystery of Maria a little, where the reader would be left questioning Maria's motives. On the surface, Maria appeared to be perfect. When she wasn't working in her salon, she was involved in various charities, taking part in fun runs to raise money and devoting one day a week to give free beauty treatments to cancer patients...which is how she met Lily's family. How could someone so perfect be hiding a guilty secret? Unless they were trying to atone for a mistake in their past? But no matter how perfect Maria seemed to be, Lily was sure she was hiding something and because of that she worried for her father and her little sister. There were times Lily appeared to obsess a little too much about Maria, but then had I been in her shoes I probably would have felt the same. After all, no one really knew anything about Maria as she was such a private person...the question is, why? Especially when innocent questions about her past were practically ignored and the subject changed. Then one would have reason to be suspicious.
But as the story unravelled, so did the mystery of Maria as the truth is gradually revealed. And although hints had been dropped throughout, the secret is a somewhat tragic tale that one can't help but shed a tear.
While secrets and lies feature heavily in this book, so too does mental illness (though not till towards the end). THE PERFECT STEPMOTHER is more than secrets, more than lies, more than deception...it is about regrets and redemption and moving forward. It is thrilling, it is touching and also a little bit sad. You cannot read this book without going through a whole range of emotions.
THE PERFECT STEPMOTHER is an intriguing story that is surprising and emotional...and certainly not what you would expect when beginning the book. It is a mix of psychological drama, domestic thrills, mystery and suspense...all with a surprising and clever end.
This is one of those books I cannot recommend highly enough. It's gripping and emotional and leaves you wanting more. THE PERFECT STEPMOTHER is a fantastic read that does not disappoint.
I would like to thank #KarenKing, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #ThePerfectStepmother in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
Karen King is a multi-published bestselling author of fiction for both adults and children. She has also written several short stories for women's magazines.
Currently published by Bookouture and Headline. Karen has recently signed a two-book deal with Bookouture to write psychological thrillers. The first one will be out in November, and the second one in 2021. She is also contracted to write three romance novels for Headline, which will be out in 2021 and 2022
Social Media Links:
PUBLISHER:
Stay up to date with upcoming releases from Bookouture by following them on these social media accounts.
No comments:
Post a Comment