Book Review: ‘The Boy In The Photo: A Novel’ By Nicole Trope

Daniel Stanthrope was kidnapped by father six years ago after his divorce from wife Megan. She looked for him everyday and there was no trace of where they went. She slowly moved on never forgetting her son. She soon married Michael (the detective who was on the case looking for Daniel) and they had a baby girl together (who is now six months old). And then Michael calls and said they found Daniel. He walked into a police station in New South Wals and said his father is dead from a fire. Megan and Daniel re-unite and he’s now 12. But it’s not easy as Daniel has been brain-washed by Greg to believe Megan never wanter to find him or get him back. She does everything she can to convince him that’s not true but Daniel doesn’t believe it. Slowly he starts to see things his father told him were lies. We see his life and Megan’s via flashback chapters of the last six years. When Megan is having issues with Tom (a man in a Facebook support group) she unfriends him but he’s not happy about this and soon turns up, revieling a twist ending (one you might figure out if you pay attention to breadcrumbs) but what his ultimate goal is a shock. It leads to a dramatic climax to the story.

A solid pyschological thriller from start to finish, even if some of it’s predicatable. The intense story and flashbacks with Megan and Daniel are well-written and really enhance the story. A good summer read.

You can pick up The Boy In The Photo in stores on Tuesday, June 22nd from Grand Central.