Thursday, September 22, 2022

The Foster Family

The Foster Family by Nicole Trope
9/21/22; 264 pages
Bookouture

The Foster Family by Nicole Trope is a very highly recommended domestic psychological thriller.

 Elizabeth and Howard are foster parents for five-year-old Joe when he disappears from their front yard. The police are called in and the search begins. It becomes clear almost immediately to readers that Howard is not who he is trying to portray and Elizabeth as well as Joe are totally scared of him and under his control. Joe is a sweet little boy who just wants to watch the birds across the street from their summer rental at Gordon's house. Howard, however, governs them with and iron fist. He controls both Elizabeth and Joe. He doesn't accept anyone questioning his authority.

Gordon is a good hearted elderly man living across the street. He knows there is something wrong and Joe could be in trouble, but his memory isn't as good as it used to be. In an alternate story line we follow a man who found a brutally beaten young woman sitting on a bench when a man finds her and wants to call for help. She begs him not to, but agrees to allow him to take her home to recover.

The characters are all well-developed. They have and have depth and are portrayed as realistic individuals.  This is what will pull you in and completely engulf you in the plot and the characters.

The writing is excellent and, admittedly, Trope will control your emotions like a virtuoso throughout. This is one of those novels that completely dominates you. You'll switch between being upset, emotional, angry, and crying quite quickly between chapters. I was also thoroughly aware that Trope was playing with my emotions and controlling them. Yeah, I accepted it and went with the flow. Chapters switch between different points-of-view. Most of the story is from Elizabeth's and Gordon's point-of-view.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Bookouture via NetGalley.

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