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The Stepmother

A totally gripping psychological thriller with a twist you won’t see coming

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The Stepmother

By: Sheila Bugler
Narrated by: Katherine Newman
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It is a day like any other when Sarah arrives at the school gate to pick up her two stepchildren, Izzy and Patrick.

But when the twins don't run out to meet her like normal, Sarah knows something must be wrong.

Sarah can't believe what she's hearing when the teacher informs her that their father, Mike, removed them from school earlier in the day. All of Sarah's calls to Mike go to voicemail.

Worse is to come when Sarah is told by police that as she and Mike are not legally married, and he is the children's father, there is nothing they or Sarah can do.

Then she receives a text message from Mike: Don't go home. It's not safe.

What has Mike been hiding? Where are their children? How can Sarah get her family back? Before it's too late... ©2026 Sheila Bugler (P)2026 Hodder & Stoughton Limited Domestic Thrillers Fatherhood Motherhood Mystery Parenting & Families Psychological Relationships Thriller & Suspense Women Sleuths
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An interesting story, for the most part straightforwardly told, in a present-tense style. Overall, I enjoyed it. I did find it hard to relate to some of the characters, including the main character, who, for me, lacked warmth, but perhaps this was intentional. There is the promised twist and several mini-twists that if you have read similar books before you will no doubt pick out prior to their reveals. But that can be half the fun, right? If you read nothing but murder mysteries, for example, you naturally get pretty accomplished at singling out whodunnit.

I thought the narration was good. Each character felt distinct and the dialogue was enhanced by whoever was doing the VO, with the possible exception of Mike and Bill, who sounded a bit samey at times.

All in all, this is something of a beach novel, something to listen to in between deeper works. It was easy to pick up and go along for the ride. The ending was a little too tidy for my liking, but perhaps that is part of the genre. Worth a listen if you want something that isn't going to place too many demands upon you as the reader.

The lengths a woman will go to in order to get her family back.

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The narration wasn’t great. Strange pauses and pronunciations. The chapter announcements are strange, as if the reader has forgotten the chapter number. One chapter stood out; I can’t remember the wording but it may have been a date plus the chapter number. There was a pause between each word, like this: 19th … February … 19 … 22 … Chapter … Twenty … Three. Though I could overlook that, it drew my attention to the rest of the narration. I’d rather have a book read to me straight, than someone attempt male and female voices and different accents if they can’t do it.

The story was obvious and rather tedious. The promised shocking twists didn’t arrive, and eventually the story petered out in a rather ridiculous way. Maybe I would have found it more interesting if I had read it, rather than listened to it, but I don’t think so. I feel totally underwhelmed by the book and will probably forget it. I just hope I remember not to listen to another written by the same author or read by the same narrator. Personally I don’t think it’s worth spending money or a credit on it. But we all have different tastes in books, so I guess some will be more enthusiastic about it than I can bring myself to be.

Pretty average in all respects

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