The Stepchildren

by Stephanie Sparks

Jamie Riley had always suspected that something was wrong with her stepfather. Burt Valentine wasn’t just a man on the hunt for the perfect life — he was a fugitive family annihilator who murdered his own wife and children. After Jamie escapes his violent attack, she learns years later that Burt had infiltrated and destroyed other families too, leaving a trail of physically and emotionally broken stepchildren. As adults, Jamie and the other survivors come together in group therapy where they discover that Burt has died in prison. All too familiar with her stepfather’s M.O. of faking his death, Jamie refuses to believe he’s dead, and the only way to be sure is to break into a funeral home to see his corpse. But as it turns out, even in death, stepdaddy dearest still has a few deadly surprises left for his wayward stepchildren. Inspired by The Stepfather franchise, THE STEPCHILDREN is a psychological horror novel that explores what happens to the child survivors of a serial killer whose evil continues to haunt them.

232 pages, Paperback

Published September 1, 2021

About the author

Retro horror author Stephanie Sparks writes stories reminiscent of classic '70s and '80s slasher and monster movies. She loves scream queens, final girls, and the masked maniacs who stalk them. Her books feature action, thrills, dark humor, and sarcasm. She prefers cats to people and when she's not lost in a paperback from hell or listening to 1980s movie soundtracks, she's daydreaming ideas for her next book or writing furiously. She's currently working on her next novel.

Reviews

[Alex | | findingmontauk1 · Rating 4 out of 5]

THE STEPCHILDREN by Stephanie Sparks is a quick read and fast-paced horror story in the vein of the beloved late 80s franchise, The Stepfather. The twist? It is from the perspective of multiple surviving stepchildren. It turns out "Daddy" has a history of being a serial family annihilator, faking his death, and moving on. But one day the surviving stepchildren get notice that he has died. They all know him by a different name as he has changed identities from family to family, but he is dead none the less. Or is he?

The survivors start getting cards/mail from "Daddy" and then they start being picked off one by one and their deaths deemed unfortunate accidents. Is their beloved stepfather still alive? Will anyone survive to find out the truth of what is happening?

Sparks put together a fun story that reads really fast as you just need to know who is safe, who is in next, and who (or how) is behind these events. I had a lot of fun with the retro horror vibes and have already picked up two more books from the author: "SCREAM, QUEEN" and "KILL THE BABYSITTER."

While this is not necessarily groundbreaking, it is still a lot of fun and shows a true love for the genre and the time/style of movies from which it can be loosely inspired. Pick this one up for a quick bite of fun and murder!

[Horror Sickness · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jamie still has nightmares of her childhood and the horrible man her mother decided to bring home.

When she was just a kid, her mother fell in love with the wrong type of man and it ended up costing her her own life.

Now Jamie is all grown up and attends a support group to get over the demons of her past. However her stepdad might be back and Jamie is determined to put a stop to his crimes once and for all.

This fast paced thriller with splashes of horror was really hard to put down. The way the chapters are structured and how the story keeps flowing just keeps you really entertained and wanting to know more.

Between the really interesting therapy sessions where you get to know different victims and the thrilling mystery that needs to be solved by our main characters, this one will have you guessing to the very last page.


Perfect for: People that love 80s/90s movie thrillers and true crime

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won a free copy of this book, and man did I get lucky! So many twists and turns, this book was such a fun ride, and the cool cover is a bonus. It's hard to believe this author doesn't have a movie deal lined up, or at least a following

[Elizabeth Sagewood · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love a book with a super creepy antagonist that is just a normal guy, walking around and the last person you’d expect to be a serial criminal. I found myself hating that man which is just a testament to how good of a writer Stephanie Sparks is.
I read Kill the Babysitter last year and it was one of my favourite books. This one didn’t quite make it that high on my list but it was engaging, had great characters and story and a wonderful twist at the end that I didn’t see coming ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫