The Foster Family by Nicole Trope
Genre: Contemporary fiction, Domestic Suspense, Family drama
Read: 23rd September 2022
Published: 21st September 2022
★★★★★ 5 stars
DESCRIPTION:
In their holiday home, a stone’s throw from the beach, Elizabeth dials the police with trembling hands. ‘My little boy, he’s missing.’
Elizabeth is Joe’s foster mother, but she loves him like her own. The five-year-old, who adores superheroes and watching the birds outside, is the child she has dreamed of. As she looks into the garden, where he was playing just moments ago, her heart feels like it has been ripped from her chest.
She was meant to save Joe from his birth mother who almost harmed his chances at life. The woman who has been trying to desperately get him back.
She was meant to protect Joe from her husband. The man who, right now, lies to the police, saying he was making breakfast when Joe disappeared. Who squeezes her shoulder, ordering her to be quiet.
She was meant to look after Joe. They are just footsteps from the ocean, and little Joe can’t swim.
Then Joe’s tiny blue sandal is found in the water. If the worst has happened – the unimaginable – Elizabeth will never forgive herself. Because what if the secret she has been keeping for years, the guilt eating her alive, has somehow hurt her little boy?
It’s time to tell the truth – even if it means losing the child who is her whole world. Even if it could be the death of her.
A totally addictive, twist-packed psychological thriller about family secrets, a marriage on the edge, and the deadly line between love and hate. Perfect for fans of Lisa Jewell, Liane Moriarty and Freida McFadden.
MY THOUGHTS:
I am excited to be taking part in the #BooksOnTour #BlogTour for Nicole Trope's tense domestic tale THE FOSTER FAMILY.
Nicole Trope has done it again! I love her books and am always excited when she has another coming out. Each story is emotive and filled with tension, drama and even a little bit of mystery and THE FOSTER FAMILY is no different. She has the innate ability to draw you in from the very first page and keep you invested throughout the journey. And it is a journey she takes you on. Her skillful prose and the way in which she entwines the past and present into one can only speak of her proficiency in both her writing and the genre with which she floods. She can always be relied upon to spin us a tale of intrigue and tension that will get under your skin.
On the beautiful south coast, a couple of hours from Sydney, Elizabeth, husband Howard and their 5 year old foster son Joe arrive at their holiday home for the next month leading up to Christmas. The weather is warm, the sun hot and the sandy beach offers plenty of recreational enjoyment for the family. Elizabeth wants nothing more than to give Joe all that his heart desires but Howard rules the home with an iron fist - both figuratively and literally. He has a list of rules that are far too many for such a young child and yet there will be consequences should Joe fail to follow them.
Across the road, watching from his window is 80 year old Gordon. He enjoyed the idea of a young family on the quiet street again and is eager to introduce himself. But something stops him. A cross word, a frowned expression and a pointed finger that was oblivious to his watchful eye and Gordon realises that all is not as it seems. What should he do?
One morning he goes out to fill his bird feeder when he sees little Joe laying on the bench outside with a blanket over him. It might be summer but the mornings can still be chilly on the coast. So why would a child be sleeping outside when he should be safely tucked up in bed?
The more Gordon watches, the more he realises that something is amiss with the family across the street. But when he phones his son Malcolm and shares his concerns, he tells him to keep out of it. But Gordon isn't so sure.
And then one morning as he returns from his walk, he is shocked to find police cars outside the house. It seems Joe has gone missing. And Gordon can't help but think if only he had called the police and shared his concerns earlier, maybe he could have prevented this from happening. But he isn't sure himself of what he saw in the fogginess his deteriorating mind has become.
Across the street, Elizabeth is frantic and Howard is angry. He has pointed the finger at "the old guy across the street" accusing him of showing a perverted interest in Joe. But Elizabeth knows that not to be true. He is just a nice old guy that is a bit forgetful sharing his love of birds. But can she speak out against her husband and live with the consequences? Or should she just keep quiet? What if Joe's biological mother has come looking for them? What if she's found him and taken him? The authorities have denied her any access whatsoever after she was caught trying to sell him for $50,000.
And then there are the intermittent chapters of an unnamed man who stops to help a horrifically injured young girl. Who are they? And where do they fit into the story?
But what's most important is finding Joe. Where could he be? Did he run off? Did Howard hurt him? Has Gordon taken him? Or has the biological mother returned to claim him, albeit illegally? The possibilities are endless.
The story unfolds primarily through the alternating perspectives of Elizabeth and Joe both leading up to the disappearance and on the day of. While interspersed are those of the aforementioned unnamed man. The plot is complex with a wealth of characters that each play a part. The beginning may be a little confusing to start with, especially as the unnamed chapters have no timeline on them so we have no idea of when it takes place. Is it present or sometime in the past? But it soon falls into a steady rhythm that flows quickly as the pace quickens.
The characters are expertly drawn though it was hard to warm to Elizabeth and definitely not to Howard. The winner of the story, for me, was Gordon who wanted so much to help but was battling with his own deteriorating mind. Nicole expertly gave us a window into the mind of someone in the early to mid stages of dementia...and it is both eye-opening and heartrendering. It is something close to my heart just now.
As always, Nicole's writing is solid and skillful as the story seamlessly flows between perspectives, timelines and events. While the ending did require a little suspension of belief, it was a rather happy ending for all and that in itself is satisfying, whether it was believable or not.
Overall, THE FOSTER FAMILY is an emotive yet tense read that while not really a thriller, is still fast paced tale of domestic suspense. I cannot speak highly enough of Nicole Trope's work and I have loved everything of hers I have read. Worth every star.
I would like to thank #NicoleTrope, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheFosterFamily in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
Nicole Trope went to university to study Law but realised the error of her ways when she did very badly on her first law essay because-as her professor pointed out- ‘It’s not meant to be a story.’ She studied teaching instead and used her holidays to work on her writing career and complete a Masters’ degree in Children’s Literature. After the birth of her first child she stayed home full time to write and raise children, renovate houses and build a business with her husband.
The idea for her first published novel, The Boy under the Table, was so scary that it took a year for her to find the courage to write the emotional story.
She is now published by Bookouture and is an Amazon top 100 bestseller in the USA, UK, AUS and CAN.
She lives in Sydney with her husband and three children.
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