New standalone thriller by Sheila Bugler out September 24th
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...
Bugler has written a number of books across the last ten years, this reviewer has read the majority of them. After a short series, she has nestled into this ability to write gripping novels based in and around the South East of London, away from her home town of Eastbourne.
This book like all of Bugler's has a very good plot to begin with - all seems well for our heroine Sarah, she lives a happy life and goes about her day of picking up her stepchildren from school at the end of the day. Only when she arrives, the children have already been picked up by their birth Dad, Mike, who is now not picking up the phone.
Panic sets in for our heroine as her routine is disrupted by this strange change of events. As she tries to find out the reason for this change of circumstances, Sarah gets more and more wound up leading to some desperation and a growing dependency on red wine, when it comes to light that Sarah and Mike's marriage is not legal meaning she has no legal authority as guardian to the two children.
As with most Bugler protagonists, they become investigators as the police exhaust all their avenues of enquiry, meaning Sarah must uncover the truth as a battle of wills is apparent in a tense psychological setting.
What follows is a tale of familial differences and relationships that have been cast aside when selfishness comes along. The depiction of abuse and bullying by a later toxic male is well handled and fits in well with this current climate of combating the supposed alpha males who believe they are right just by the fact of which chromosomes they muster.
This confronting the mainstream is across Bugler's work - strong females who are misunderstood by authority or must battle to be heard. The title of the book is an inversion of media stereotypes; normally the Step-person is a figure of evil or malevolence from across literature and Disney movies - here we are afforded a female who is a figure of nobility and goodness.
A strong paced final act means this book ends on a high and will leave the audience satisfied, my hope being that a large audience does enjoy this book and leads them to more of Bugler's back catalogue which is growing stronger by each thrilling novel released.
The Stepmother is released by Hodder & Stoughton on 24th September
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