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The Boy in the Photo Paperback – June 22, 2021

by Nicole Trope (Author)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 19,492 ratings
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Read the chilling and completely heartwrenching story of a mother's worst nightmare: her child being stolen—and what happens when he returns--from the author of The Family Across the Street.
 

Six years ago

Megan waits at the school gates for her six-year-old son, Daniel. As the playground empties, panic bubbles inside her. Daniel is nowhere to be found. Her darling son is missing.

Six years later

After years of sleepless nights and endless days of missing her son, Megan finally gets the call she has been dreaming about. Daniel has walked into a police station in a remote town just a few miles away.

Megan is overjoyed—her son is finally coming home. She has kept Daniel's room, with his Cookie Monster poster on the wall and a stack of Lego under the bed, in perfect shape to welcome him back. But when he returns, there is something different about Daniel . . .

According to the police, Daniel was kidnapped by his father. After his dad died in a fire, Daniel was finally able to escape. Desperate to find out the truth, Megan tries to talk to her little boy—but he barely answers her questions. Longing to help him heal, Megan tries everything—his favourite chocolate milkshake, a reunion with his best friend, a present for every birthday missed—but still, Daniel is distant.

And as they struggle to connect, Megan begins to suspect that there is more to the story. Soon, she fears that her son is hiding a secret. A secret that could destroy her family . . .
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Previous page
  1. Print length
    304 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Grand Central Publishing
  4. Publication date
    June 22, 2021
  5. Dimensions
    5.25 x 1.05 x 7.95 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1538754347
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1538754344
  8. See all details
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Popular Highlights in this book
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Previous page
  1. She had found herself easily persuaded out of her own opinions and thoughts for years.
    Highlighted by 132 Kindle readers
  2. One glass had made her feel better, two glasses had made her feel optimistic about the future, three had made the comedy on television hilarious and then, without her noticing, the bottle was done.
    Highlighted by 102 Kindle readers
  3. We never stop worrying, Megan had thought. We mothers can never stop worrying.
    Highlighted by 100 Kindle readers
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"[An] exceptional psychological thriller... Trope pulls no punches in this tightly wound, emotionally harrowing story of parental abduction and the unhappy collision of hope with reality."―Publishers Weekly, starred review

"A masterfully written, skillfully plotted, deeply affecting, and gripping read that will keep readers riveted from beginning to end."―Booklist, starred review

"A good summer read."―Red Carpet Crash

About the Author

Nicole Trope went to university to study Law but realised the error of her ways when she did very badly on her first law essay because—as her professor pointed out—'It's not meant to be a story.' She studied teaching instead and used her holidays to work on her writing career and complete a Masters' degree in Children's Literature. After the birth of her first child she stayed home full time to write and raise children, renovate houses and build a business with her husband.

The idea for her first published novel, The Boy Under the Table, was so scary that it took a year for her to find the courage to write the emotional story. Her second novel, Three Hours Late, was voted one of Fifty Books you can't put down in 2013 and her third novel, The Secrets in Silence, was The Australian Woman's Weekly Book of the month for June 2014.

She lives in Sydney with her husband and three children.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Grand Central Publishing (June 22, 2021)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1538754347
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1538754344
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.25 x 1.05 x 7.95 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 19,492 ratings

About the author

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Nicole Trope

Nicole Trope

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Nicole Trope went to university to study Law but realised the error of her ways when she did very badly on her first law essay because-as her professor pointed out- 'It's not meant to be a story.' She studied teaching instead and used her holidays to work on her writing career and complete a Masters' degree in Children's Literature.

The idea for her first published novel, The Boy under the Table, was so scary that it took a year for her to find the courage to write the emotional story. She went on to publish a further five novels in Australia before joining Bookouture in 2019. She is a USA Today and Amazon bestseller in the USA, UK, AUS, Canada and Germany. Her books have been translated into German, Italian, Polish, Hungarian and French.

She lives in Sydney with her husband and three children

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
19,492 global ratings
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I felt a little nervous waiting for something scary to happen but I'm glad I pressed through and finished this fantastic book with a surprise ending...it was an emotional ride that brought tears and was well worth it
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Top reviews from the United States

Tom McGee
5.0 out of 5 stars A Captivating, Well-Written, & Entertaining Psychological Thriller That Keep Me Guessing Throughout.
Reviewed in the United States on November 29, 2023
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Folks, I try to research and find books that I think I will love before buying them. I am usually right just as I was with Nicole Trope’s, Boy in the Photo. Over 19,000 reviewers liked this book as much as I did.

Nicole Trope’s has a unique ability to throw in a few red herrings her and there to keep the reader guessing and maybe to presents so twists, turns, and surprises as the story unfolds. As she did in her bestselling psychological thriller, The Family Across the Street she did just that with this enthralling tale.

From start to finish, this compelling 289-page tale grabbed me at the onset and held my attention tight through the very end.

In this tale, Greg, the sociopathic husband who manipulated his wife, Megan to the point she just could not stand him anymore finally divorced him. When their son was 6 years old, Greg kidnapped his son and went into hiding for the next 6 years. The entire time he brainwashed his son to think that his mother did not love him and was a terrible mother.

Megan remarries the investigative policeman who had steadfastly hunted her son until the boy finally showed up at a police station in Australia where he identified himself and stated that his father was dead.

It was clear that Megan’s son believed his father’s lies and hated his mother. Megan began to wonder whether this boy was really her son and worried that he might hurt her newborn little girl, Evie.

I love the author’s writing style and I think most fans of this genre will agree. She does a great job developing her story and her characters. I find that I had to really pay attention to the time frame of each chapter as she goes back and forth in time, but it is part of her style and kept me engaged and entertained throughout the entire story.

I recommend this book to family, friends, and others who enjoy a well-written psychological thriller that will keep you guessing through the satisfying conclusion.

Enjoy!
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Christy Welch
4.0 out of 5 stars The Boy in the Photo
Reviewed in the United States on March 23, 2024
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Gr8 storyline. Loved the ending, although I figured it out b4 then. I didn't care for how the timeline played out. It was all over the place.
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Mary E. Trimble
5.0 out of 5 stars A highly suspenseful, engrossing present-day novel
Reviewed in the United States on April 3, 2021
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The Boy in the Photo by Nicole Trope is a highly suspenseful, engrossing present-day novel that takes place in Australia.

Megan takes her six-year-old son Daniel to school, but at the end of the school day when she goes to pick him up, he isn’t there. Megan frantically goes into the school to search for him, but learns his father has picked him up. The arrangement is that Greg, her abusive, former husband, only has supervised visits with his son. A search begins, but with no success.

Six years later, her current husband Michael, a police detective, calls from work to tell her they’ve found Daniel. The twelve-year old boy seemingly wandered into a police station, dirty, disheveled and confused.

When Daniel, now twelve, is returned to Megan he is full of hate and anger. Slowly, the story of living with his bitter, controlling father surfaces. Megan and Michael patiently try to work with the boy, but there is always something strange and sinister hovering over them.

The story toggles through the years in time from the anniversary date of Daniel’s disappearance to the present day, both from the boy and his mother’s point of view.

The Boy in the Photo is a psychological read that kept me eagerly turning the pages. I could feel Megan’s pain, sadness and desperation both before Daniel's disappearance and after he is returned to her. To have a child kidnapped by an estranged parent is uncommon but not unheard of, and as I read this novel, I realized that much of the story is probably realistic. This novel shows the strong bond between mother and child, and the confusion and trauma that occurs when that union is threatened.
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Dragoness
3.0 out of 5 stars Characters' Actions Implausible
Reviewed in the United States on February 20, 2021
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Good story and the author did a pretty good job of conveying the torment of a mother who's had her child stolen. But I have some complaints:

1. The mother seemed more concerned that her son be the way she remembered him, instead of helping him heal from his ordeal. I found this implausible because it didn't sync with her thoughts and actions prior to his return. She was devastated at losing him and continued to be devastated for 6 years, but then when he returned, she seemed rather selfish that he had changed...as though he didn't measure up to her expectations. She did feel guilty for having those feelings, and those feelings were probably normal, but I really think that any normal mother (which she apparently was) would have overridden those feelings with an overwhelming dedication to getting her son some professional help, and try to uncover what had actually happened to him. Rather than going to the ends of the Earth to help get him the help he obviously needed, she instead expected him to just integrate into the family! This just wasn't realistic.

2. When Daniel finally expressed his anger, Michael ordered him to his room. WHAT?? They didn't know what he had experienced during those 6 years, and when he finally gave them some clues by expressing his feelings, they shut him up! Didn't the the therapist tell them anything? Victims of trauma need to feel safe enough to get in touch with their feelings and if they start expressing those feelings, that needs to be allowed, albeit in a way that doesn't harm anyone. That was the perfect time to learn more about what had happened to him, and instead of asking him why he felt like that, they just shut him down. I felt so sorry for Daniel in that moment! It was just tragic! Maybe in Australia children aren't allowed to express their emotions, but here in the US, I think most therapists would agree that shutting him down and punishing him for his feelings was Not an appropriate response for a child who'd just been traumatized.

3. Megan knew what Greg was like, yet she assumed that he had cared for their son. She made a lot of assumptions. It just wasn't plausible that she would have been so naive.

4. A highly unstable adolescent comes back after 6 years, and the mother immediately trusts him with her baby??? Again, totally implausible. Any mother would have moved that baby into her own bedroom, just in case. We're expected to believe that, after losing one child, she'd be so careless with her other child?

5. The Greg character didn't have much depth. Why was he like that? His parents were briefly introduced, but the opportunity to explore his own upbringing was missed.

Sorry, but all of these are just so implausible that it made it difficult to really enjoy the book. I would suggest that the author do a bit more research into the behavior of traumatized people before writing about traumatized people. The book could have been so much better, had the therapist been given more voice, and had the characters' actions and reactions been more realistic.

On the plus side, Megan's displays of grief were well done, her efforts to cope (by running, etc) were well done, the twists were good (even though I figured out one of them) and the ending was satisfying.
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Top reviews from other countries

Dina Pompa
5.0 out of 5 stars Read in a day!
Reviewed in Canada on June 23, 2021
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This book was such a page turner! It kept my attention and I couldn't stop turning the pages! The mystery of all that was had kept me on my toes. Beautifully written.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Gripping
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 26, 2024
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An excellent page turner. Very well written. One of the best books I've read in a long time.
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Rajesh Sobti
5.0 out of 5 stars A Mother Child Emotional Connect
Reviewed in India on April 5, 2020
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Goes without saying that The Boy in the Photo is a page turner. You cannot really leave once you have begun reading. But that is not the reason for my 5 star rating.
My appreciation is for the way the author - and I personally feel only a woman author could do this - has so vividly put in words the emotional connection between a mother and her child, and the trauma both go through when separated from each other. You almost feel you are witnessing the characters in a real life situation.
Nicely written story. Would recommend it for readers of all age groups. I am going to be reading all the books by Nicole Trope.
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Em_s
5.0 out of 5 stars Gripping Emotional Read
Reviewed in Australia on February 22, 2020
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I hadn't read anything by this author before so I wasn't sure what the book would be like. I felt the characters were well developed and their reactions to situations seemed to be realistic. The book fluctuated between the past and the present and looked at both the child and mother's experiences during their six years of separation. I must have been captivated by the storyline as I finished the book in one day. It was really nice to read a well written novel set in Australia. If you enjoy suspense, a tug at the heart strings and an Australian setting this is the book for you.
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Cynthia
4.0 out of 5 stars Book
Reviewed in Canada on November 9, 2023
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Good book
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