I am no longer interested in the content of this book. So, I'm DNF'ing this book for now. I may circle back around to this book one day.

The Boy in the Photo by Nicole Trope is a thriller that is full of some feels. Megan's son, Daniel, is kidnapped by her abusive ex-husband. She always keeps hope alive, but she also goes through the process of mourning the loss. Six years pass, and Megan's life goes on, including a marriage to one of the detective's who worked on her son's case and the birth of a daughter. Then, she gets the call she always hoped for - Her son is alive. Daniel comes back to her new home, but it is far from an easy transition. Daniel is not the same kind, sweet boy that Megan knew and loved. Megan and her family do what they can to make Daniel feel at home, but it's challenging. Throughout the story looks back at how Megan navigated the disappearance of her son, as well as how she is coping in the present with this new version of Daniel. And then, y'all, here was a twist that I did not see coming at all, and that is what made it so very great. Again, this is heavy given the unhealthy relationship that begins the story, as well as how the return goes, and the twist plays a role in that feeling, too, but this is a powerful story of a family working to rebuild and define an unexpected now normal. Thanks to NetGalley for the access to this thriller.

What a page turner.  This book was so sad but so happy all at the same time.  How intriguing it was too.  I loved it

The story of a boy who goes missing at the age of 6 as he is taken by his father....and then returns. A gripping novel with twists and turns and kept me guessing!

THE BOY IN THE PHOTO
BY NICOLE TROPE 

I had no idea that this remarkable novel written by Australian Author Nicole Trope would be so heartbreaking and drop my stomach to the floor while reading it.  While I understand that divorce can be brutal, nothing could prepare me that an ex husband who is the father of your child could do something so heinous as to abduct your six year old impressionable boy from his own mother.  An only child Daniel is not at school when Megan goes to pick him up.  She is informed by the teacher that her cruel ex husband has already picked him up without prior notice and not authorized in the parenting plan and custody agreement.

Megan has contacted her family members and is certain that Greg has taken Daniel to England where his parents reside.

SIX YEARS LATER 

Megan has remarried to Michael who was the detective who investigated Daniel who is a missing six year old child., While she is feeding their daughter Evie Megan receives a shocking telephone call saying Daniel has been found.  Daniel has walked ten kilometers into a remote police station two hours away and announced who he is.  The police station in Sydney was notified  and Michael is calling to give her the news.  Megan hurriedly arrives to pick up Daniel but it is not the happy reunion she was hoping for.  Daniel is cold and distant, no longer the sweet and affectionate boy she remembered.  Daniel is grief stricken by the loss of his deceased father who burned up in the shack they inhabited.  But Megan fears for the life of herself and the lives of her family because there are things that Daniel is saying that doesn't add up.

As Megan wants to pick up her old life with Daniel where they left off and hug him and smother him with kisses she realizes that the twelve year old boy in front of her is cold and distant.  She knows that she needs to give him time and space but he is repeating to her the steady diet of lies and abuse his father has fed him.  He accuses Megan of not wanting him and deserting him all fed to him by his dad in an effort to hurt Megan and alienate Daniel from his mother.

Nicole Trope is a talented enough and skillful writer to pull us into the story feeling all of the emotions of pain and loss and agony.  How desperate Megan is to reconnect and reach Daniel so he knows and understands that even though she has started to rebuild her life she never stopped thinking about Daniel.  Never stopped missing him and feeling like she carried a huge hole in her heart during the six years he was missing.  

Even though this novel was hard to read, it is different and distinct and I appreciated that it was so unlike so many other novels written today about abducted children.  The homecoming is emotional in evoking all of the pain of missing the many milestones in your child's life that you never get back.  Loss on such a deep visceral level a mother never recovers from  but can only hope that you and your child will never suffer that loss ever again and hope that you both will one day reach that place of trust that nothing so horrendous will never happen again.  I plan on reading all of Nicole Trope's novels as this is the first one that I have read from her body of work.  Highly recommended!!

Thank you to Net Galley, Nicole Trope and Bookouture for providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Heart wrenching, gripping, intense, made me hug my babies kind of book. When Megan's son was abducted from school, my hear dropped because I could not imagine losing my kids. Megan was abused by her ex husband, and fear took over her when she learned he had picked up her son from school and vanished. She gets a phone call 6 years later informing her that they found her son. In shock, Megan had recently married the Detective assigned to her case. This book is written from their point of views and what came of after finding Daniel. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I could not put it down until I had answers. I can not wait to see what author Nicole Trope comes out with next

I was given an ARC from NetGalley in return for my honest review.

A mother’s worst nightmare, losing a child but Daniel is found! He’s just not the boy he used to be. It was a gripping read and I couldn’t put it down. It’s a very heartbreaking story and I felt so awful for this mother and Daniel. I was on the edge of my seat throughout and was shocked by the ending!

Man, this book gave me ALL the feels. I cannot imagine what it must have been like to lose a child when you haven't actually lost a child. Six years ago, Megan's ex husband picked their son up from school and never returned. After years of searching, years of chasing clues that ran cold, Megan has to come to terms with the fact that her child was lost. And, worse, he was lost to the man that she thought she had loved. I was so filled with rage for so many aspects of this book - I was mad at the injustice, the lies, the deceit. I cannot imagine having to come to terms with the fact that while you know your son is alive, you will never find him; until, one day, you do. He's disheveled and scared and a bit feral, but he's alive. And, he's alone. Where is his father and what's been happening to Daniel all of these years?

This book made me think and feel and yell. I really enjoyed the ride.

This is the first nicole Trope book I have read, but it certainly won't be the last.
I'm not ashamed to say that I cried many times while reading this book.  
I felt every emotion as it was written, the fear, pain, suspense, heartbreak, anxiety and feeling of foreboding .
This is an incredibly well written book and I can't praise it enough. 

Nicole has not just written of her own fears, but that of anyone who has ever had a child. 
From the minute you become a parent one of the leading fears is losing that child.
She covers those fears so incredibly well, along with those that come from divorce, failed relationships and the impact or all family attached . 

One of the best books I have read in some time.

Boy this was an emotional read. Very thought provoking. Set in Australia made it even more personal for me. I loved the twists and turns and the emotional connections. This is the first book I have read by this author and I look forward to reading more.

Abducted children who return home years later has become something of a trope (no pun intended) in suspense fiction.  THE BOY IN THE PHOTO twists this plot in a new and interesting way - it was not a stranger abduction, but the boy's own father who took him.  It is heartbreaking to read of the lies the boy's father told him and makes one wonder how easily one's own child could come to believe lies about those nearest and dearest.  Good story, interesting characters, twisty plot - can't go wrong.

I received a free e-copy of The Boy in the Photo by Nicole Trope from NetGalley for my honest review.

Daniel was abducted at age 6. He is later reunited with his Mom. Megan, but he is not the little boy she remembered. The truth is he absolutely scares her.

An emotional, heat-breaking read.

A fast paced and heartbreaking thriller that kept me turning the pages! Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an advanced reading copy.

Megan experiences every parent's worst nightmare- her son, Daniel, goes missing, Taken by his father, her estranged ex-husband, Daniel shows back up in a town close by six years later and his dad is dead from a fire. Told from Daniel and Megan's perspective and changing from the past to the present, this thriller rushes toward a potentially surprising ending. 

I wanted to fully enjoy this thriller, but I could tell what was coming from a mile away. I did appreciate reading about the struggle between Megan's guilt in building a life after losing her son and Daniel's struggle to integrate back into his family.

The Boy in the Photo is not the same boy who came home six years later.  The story line can be read in the headlines too many times.  A child is taken by their non custodial parent and disappears only to come back many years later.  What the headlines don't tell you or the movies show you, is the child who was taken is not the same child who comes back.  A mother's story of life pre and post her child's return.  How can you reach him when he looks at you like a stranger?  An outstanding thriller that will have your heart breaking over and over again.  Nicole Trope has written an excellent book that should be on the best sellers list!

The Boy in the Photo by Nicole Trope will keep you wondering all the way through as you read it. I started it today. And I finished it today. The story follows Megan, who loses her son Danny when he is six years old. Danny is kidnapped by her abusive ex-husband and the two seemingly disappear. Six years go by with no word and no hope for Megan. Then, one day, Danny walks into a police station just a few hours from where Megan now lives with her husband and new child, saying his father died in a fire. Megan is overjoyed to have her son home, but he is distant and edgy and there is so much pain between them. The more time they spend together, the more worried she becomes. There are questions about the fire and questions about the life Danny led when he was with his father, but Danny doesn't seem able to answer them all. Is there more going on than they can imagine? Or is it simply the trauma of what he went through. A must read to find out for yourself! 
I really enjoyed this book (obviously!), although I did guess at some of the plot points, though by no means all! It really kept me guessing right up until the end! I hope you enjoy it also!
I received a free copy of this story from NetGalley. All opinions are my own!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of "The Boy in the Photo" by Nicole Trope in exchange for an honest review. 

"The Boy in the Photo" by Nicole Trope pulled at my heartstrings. To have a child taken by an ex and disappear is incomprehensible. The pain and agony that Megan goes through for six long years trying to find her missing son, Daniel is heartbreaking. 

The mystery, suspense, family dynamics and writing style between past and present made this a great read.

The worst fear for a parent is for their child to go missing, with no idea if they are alive or dead. The worst fear for a single parent is that the child’s other parent snatches them.
Megan found the courage to leave her manipulative and abusive husband Greg and tried to keep things amicable for the sake of their son Daniel. One day she goes to pick Daniel up from school only to be told he has already been collected by his father. They have gone and no contact is made for 6 years.
Megan is obviously devastated but eventually moves on with her life, falling in love, marrying and having a new baby with the lead detective who was investigating Daniel’s abduction.
Suddenly, she receives a phone call from her new husband to say that Daniel has walked into a police station and his father is dead. Daniel returns home but it is not a smooth homecoming as he has spent 6 years having poison dripped into his heart by his bitter father.
The Boy in the Photo is SO SO GOOD! I was completely drawn to Megan’s character and situation which are both heartbreakingly realistic and well described. The emotional element to the book is so powerful and I think every parent would be able to identify with Megan’s mixed feelings.
The book jumps around chronologically so that we see what Megan and Daniel experienced during their separation. The insidious ways that Greg treats Daniel showcase his hatred for Megan in a disturbing way and as a parent is was difficult to read of a parent mistreating their child in this way. We then see in the present day how these lies manifest themselves in Daniel’s behaviour and destroy Megan’s happioness.
There were several twists or revelations which I did guess but were superbly written. I was hooked from start to finish, just as I was with Nicole Trope’s previous book My Daughter’s Secret.

This was a great read from the first page. I felt so bad for the mother not knowing where her son was or if he was dead or alive. And then when they finally found him 6 years later, he wasn't at all the boy she remembered. I'd love to read more books by this author.

This is a truly compelling and addictive read! In The Boy in the Photo, Megan's world collapses when her six-year-old son Daniel goes missing - snatched from school by her abusive husband. When all leads prove unsuccessful, Megan is resigned to the fact her son is not coming home, that she'll have to live without him. That is, until six years later, when she receives a call to say he's been found, and that his father is dead. 

Daniel is now older and practically a stranger, having been brought up in Australia, being fed lies about Megan by his controlling dad. Daniel is cold, angry, still hurting from the death of his father. But he has a secret, and along with his slightly unnerving presence around Megan and her new family, something doesn't seem right about her once happy, smiling son.

This is a wonderfully gripping book which I really struggled to put down. It's a great thriller that'll keep you guessing right to the end.