Wow, everyone in this book was bad, but what a good story. You can completely understand everyone's motivations and feel a lot of sympathy for most of them. They made me mad, but they also made me think. I'll probably use this book for one of my book discussions.

One Fatal Mistake by Tom Hunt is a 2019 Berkley publication.

Tense, fast paced and compulsively readable-


Eighteen- year old Joshua Mayo is involved in a hit and run accident and is hoping to keep it covered up, especially from his mother, Karen. But, as mothers often do, Karen eventually learns the truth.

Meanwhile, a bank robbery goes horribly awry. The robbers, Ross and Amber, a married couple, fleeing with their booty, experience car trouble.

Inexplicably, Josh and Karen and Ross and Amber’s lives collide forcing Karen to do the unthinkable to save her son’s life.

There is never a dull moment in this emotional, high-octane thriller. It was very easy to get sucked into the saga, especially between Karen and her son. The story feels a little like a cautionary tale, although the main theme throughout is that of familial bonds and the lengths one might go to in order to save someone they love.

It is curious how we all set bars at different heights when it comes plausibility limits. I’m one who firmly believes that fiction should be given the benefit of the doubt, and that is especially true with thrillers. In this case, however, I felt I had to overlook a few too many improbabilities. Sometimes it was the dialogue I took issue with, and of course some of the scenarios and rationalizations didn’t seem realistic or make much sense to me.

Maybe try burning something that is not food on a grill, then putting hot items in a plastic trash bag- for example. What mother of an eighteen- year old son doesn’t know what PS4 stands for? And that ridiculous explanation Josh gave Karen for the damage to his car. Nope- that wouldn't have flown with me- at all.

Stupid little things like that got on my nerves a little bit. But, maybe I’m just being ticky-tacky today.

Despite that, the book is an edge of your seat thrill ride. Not only that, there is a somber, emotional edge to it, especially at the conclusion. No soft sell or slaps on the wrist. Still, I rooted for the characters, hoping that everything would work out for the best.

The author did a great job with putting the characters in situations that force the reader to consider how they might react under the same set of circumstances. That question is at the heart of the story more than anything else.

So, overall, this is a fast and easy read, and even though I balked at a few absurdities on several occasions, this is still a solid, entertaining crime drama.

3.5 stars rounded down

"When first we practice to deceive"" is illustrated throughout this thriller. From son to mother to the dimwits who plan the bank robbery and then the kidnapping, the twists and turns just keep coming. Was it just one fatal mistake or a series of unfortunate events? A great read!

How far are you willing to go for your child? This books is full of shocks and twists that you will not suspect. Love that you don't see the ending until the read is over.

What do a bank robbery and an accidental murder in the forest have in common? One fatal Mistake is a roller coaster of a thriller that I stayed up way too late finishing. The twists and turns in this novel are so well plotted, and not telegraphed in any way. Tom Hunt's character portraits are spot on and his setting well developed. I really appreciated the complexity of the plot and the pacing of the story. I couldn't wait to get to the end and then I was so sorry it was over!
I received my copy through NetGalley under no obligation.

OMGoodness I could not get enough of this book. Author Tom Hunt follows up his debut novel Killer Choice with another book about deep moral dilemmas. At every turn, Josh and Karen find themselves challenged in unforeseen ways. Readers will appreciate Hunt’s snappy descriptions and his ability to get right to the heart of the action in his scenes.

Very suspenseful and a lot of unexpected twists, at times somewhat unbelievable but our readers will most likely enjoy it. What would you do to protect your child?

How far will a mother go to protect her son is the main point of this story. A lot of bad decisions made - some believable and some not. Lots of bad players in this crime story. I enjoyed reading this story but mainly wanted to see the outcome.

One Fatal Mistake is somewhat of a misnomer because it takes the reader deep inside the convergence of two fatal mistakes. Eighteen-year-old Joshua Mayo “takes a man’s life in a horrible accident” and “he leaves the scene without reporting the crime to the police.” Why would a teenager flee a hit-and-run accident, if it truly was an accident? The story opens chillingly: “The front door flew open and a shadowy figure covered in blood stormed into the house.” This is not good. Joshua needs to get his act together before his mother Karen arrives home from her nursing job.

He stepped into the shower and turned on the water. It washed over him, rinsing the blood down the drain—bright red, then pink, then clear.

A diet of forensic crime shows has informed us that a trace of blood always remains, but humans instinctively try to wash away evidence, no matter the reality. Lady Macbeth sums it up: Out, damned spot! out, I say!” Eventually, Karen discovers what Josh did, through means a rueful parent of a teenager might recognize. She wakes up in the middle of the night, convinced something is wrong with her son. She discovers he isn’t in his bed and reaches for her phone tracker app.

The program opened. A map appeared onscreen. Right in the middle, there it was: a red dot.



Joshua’s phone.



The dot was about fifteen miles south of Cedar Rapids, down in the middle of Hawkeye Wildlife Management Area.



What was he doing all the way out there?

Here comes mom. Joshua shows her the dead body and starts to explain, when, to their horror, “about one hundred feet away was the beam of a flashlight, headed straight toward them.” Before Karen can decide what to do with the information that spills out from her distraught son, they literally crash into two fugitives on the run. Joshua and his mother are by no means hardened criminals, but the same can’t be said for the duo they encounter.

Meet the other fatal mistake: a decision to rob a bank. The heist takes you back to “Point Break,” although rather than wear masks of former presidents, the trio hides behind Star Wars. Before storming a small-town bank in Hastings, Nebraska, Shane hands out “cheap plastic Halloween masks” to his accomplices, his brother Ross and Ross’s wife: “He handed Yoda to Amber. Chewbacca to Ross. Kept Darth Vader for himself.” But the force isn’t with Shane because after the robbery, Amber and Ross lock the doors of the getaway car and peel off. It seems “There’s no honor among thieves.” Proverbs 21: 10-11. Hours later they end up in the Hawkeye Wildlife Refuge near Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Their car has run out of gas and they’re at their wit’s end. When Ross sees two cars in the middle of the refuge, he says, “Might be our lucky day.”

The tenor of the book shifts dramatically. Amber and Ross take Karen and Joshua hostage, convinced the duo will provide a safe escape ramp for them to enjoy the fruits of their felonious labor. Things don’t go as planned. Like the Perils of Pauline, every chapter ends on a more nail-biting cliff-hanger than the one before. The strongest person in the book is the single mom. The weakest, Karen’s sad-sack ex, Teddy, more interested in being a friend to Joshua than a father. Karen blames Teddy’s machinations for the predicament she and Joshua find themselves in . . . but enough almost-spoilers. Plunge into One Fatal Mistake and meditate on the sliding spectrum of criminality. Eighteenth-century philosopher Edmund Burke said, “Crimes lead one into another; they who are capable of being forgers are capable of being incendiaries.” It’s fascinating to watch Karen confront what she can do—what’s she’s willing to do—to save her son.

For Karen and Josh, life will never return to normal. No more will Josh look “out from the deck at their small backyard, the tranquil farmland that stretched forever, the night sky above.” They have been stripped down to their essence but in the aftermath of horrific events, they are there for each other, each trying to rebuild and re-enter life. Paul Simon says it best, in a verse from “Mother and Child Reunion.”

No I would not give no false hope



On this strange and mournful day



But the mother and child reunion



Is only a motion away

The underlying message of One Fatal Mistake is that actions have consequences but the why and how of a mistaken decision forever colors the outcome.

Joshua Mayo is driving at night and accidentally kills a pedestrian. With no witnesses, he makes the impulsive decision not to call the police. He is eighteen with a bright future and fears that this incident could derail his acceptance into Clemson. A few days later, he gets worried and returns to the scene of the accident to search for any evidence. Events begin to unfold that force Joshua to confess his plight to his mother Karen.

Ross is a drug addict with a volatile personality and is married to Amber who hopes a change in fortune can rekindle their marriage. Together they are on the run after robbing a bank. They have left everything behind except the stolen money and a gun. They are on foot and decide to steal a car which brings them in contact with Joshua and Karen who are forced to help the unstable couple.

“One Fatal Mistake” is Tom Hunt’s second novel. I found this book entertaining and action-packed. The twisty events and creepy characters will motivate you to quickly finish the story.

What a roller coaster ride! It’s a little predictable and a little crazy, but it is well written and a quick, easy read. It’s an entertaining thriller and one to pick up if you aren’t used to reading thrillers but want to keep your eyes glued to the page. I think the twists got a little too carried away for my liking.

3.5/5 Stars

Thank you Berkley Pub for my copy in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 star review

One Fatal Mistake is my first Tom Hunt book. I wasn’t sure what I was getting into when I picked it up and I was hoping for the best. While some of the choices that the characters make and the way things come together had me going yea… that would never happen, I couldn’t stop reading. I was so enthralled with the story and caught up on the drama of Josh, Karen, and the rest of the characters that I just couldn’t put the book down.

There are thrills, suspense, teenage fear, and horrendous choices made by all involved. While this is a thriller, I would say it isn’t as much a thriller as I expected. I was able to predict how the story would go for the most part but I still couldn’t stop reading. I was hooked from the beginning to the end and am excited to read more from Tom Hunt.

Before you open this book, take a deep breath. Then check your ability to throw logic out the window so that you can suspend a large measure of disbelief in order to swallow this story of one family's attempt to cover up a murder.

Joshua Mayo and his father are driving in the Hawkeye Wildlife Management Area in Nebraska when they are involved in a hit-and-run accident in Josh's Nissan Altima. Joshua tries to hide the evidence and go about his usual activities. He's a senior in high school, waiting for a college acceptance letter, and doesn't want his life to be ruined so he doesn't contact the police. Unfortunately, as things do, everything unravels quite quickly when Joshua goes back to the accident site to retrieve a missing glove and runs into Ross and Amber. The pair has just gone on the lam after robbing a bank and cheating their third partner in the crime out of 40K. And this is when the real trouble begins...NO SPOILERS

It's never a good idea to try to get away with murder or to try to cover up a crime. Joshua and his parents, Karen and Teddy, get in way over their heads in this action-packed tale. This was a quick read and ends much as you would expect. Parents trying to protect their child. Moral ambiguities that definitely cross ethical and responsible behavior -- you know, something you want to nuture in your children. There was quite a bit of this story that I just couldn't stomach as it was impossible for me to buy into the scenarios and outcomes in some cases -- but I guess I'm just not that kind of a mom and I had a hard time liking any of the characters -- you know, the ones you're supposed to empathize with or relate to. I'm sure others will find this domestic drama much more appealing than I did.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for the e-book ARC to read and review.

One Fatal mistake is Tom Hunt’s second great suspense novel. This one asks; what would you do to protect your child? And what consequences would you be willing to face?
Josh is any child. A normal kid who happens to kill somebody in a fatal car accident. Karen, Josh’s mom decides to cover it up and put it behind them. Just fine until they run into Ross and Amber who have just robbed a bank. How these events snake and twist together make for one incredibly entertaining, exasperating, and crazy a** suspense adventure that you will finish the same day that you start. Bravo for Tom Hunt. BTW – thank you to the publicity department at PRH and Lauren Bernstein for the early review copy.

One Fatal Mistake by Tom Hunt (3 Stars)

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.

This is a thriller, but once again I seem to be in the minority. Other reviews talk about heart-pounding action, a roller coaster ride and the twists you don’t see. Part of the problem for me was the book took to the halfway mark to start any really good action, and the twists, well, let’s just say they were good but not great. By that time, my attention was starting to wane. The title of the book was a bit perplexing also. I kept expecting to see one big old fatal mistake. Instead, there were choices made by all the characters as well as lapses in judgement, but I was looking for that one big old fatal mistake and didn’t find it. The ending was also a bit less than satisfying to me.

Warning: there are some parts of this review that might reveal more than you care to know if you are planning on reading the book, so don’t read any further. The story begins with 18-year old Joshua mysteriously texting with someone about a night gone wrong. Joshua had accidentally killed a man, covered it up and later realized he left left evidence behind. Was that his mistake? He decides to retrieve the incriminating evidence, which turns his life upside down. Was that his mistake? His suspicious mother follows him and they run into some bank robbers on the lam. Was that her mistake? In an attempt to get away, Joshua and his mother are taken hostage. And here is where it finally starts to get interesting. There is a hostage situation, a breakout from a hospital, another hostage enters the picture, and the bank robbers all start to turn on each other.

I will say that this would make a great action-filled movie. My feeling is that’s why the book was written, so there just didn’t seem to be any depth to the characters.

candysplanet.wordpress.com

Joshua Mayo is a high school senior. 18 years old. Waiting for his acceptance letter to Clemson. He has his whole life ahead of him. Until a hit and run accident. Until he kills a man. Until he runs from the scene of the accident. Until his parents cover it up. Until......

One Fatal Mistake.

Wow...this book is one crazy ride! Vehicular homicide...then a cover up....and add in bank robbers on the run. Geez....the action and suspense never stopped. I loved the story line....it kept me reading. Total binge read. But....the characters....oh my....I hated them all. The Mayo family doesn't see anything wrong with covering up the death of an innocent person. Lie after lie after lie....because their kid's future is worth more than someone else's life, right? Major S-heads. And the bank robbers....well they are are completely screwed up too. And the universe is just F'd up enough to make them all meet in the middle. It makes for an awesome thriller....with the little voice in my head commenting about how horrid every single person in the story is. Every. Single. Person. Completely horrid. But insanely perfect for this story.

I love my kids. I would do just about anything for my kids. But.....I would NOT cover up a murder, hide bodies or lie to the police for my kids. Or anybody. No, no, no, no....and after that....NO. But....I will totally binge read an entire book in one afternoon that is about parents who will do just that....and more. Great story....twisted and traumatizing....but a great story.

Well-written. Suspenseful. Twisted. Loved it! This book kept my attention from beginning to end. I'm definitely going to read more by this author. Tom Hunt has written one other book -- Killer Choice -- about a man so desperate for money to help his ill wife that he's willing to commit murder-for-hire to get it. Oh my.....another story with completely F'd up characters. I have to read it!!!!! So twisted! Book insta-added to my TBR list!

**I voluntarily read an advanced readers copy of this book from Berkley via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

Thanks to NetGalley, Berkley Books, and Tom Hunt for the opportunity to read and review this fast-paced thriller - hard to put this one down!

18=year=old Joshua is driving one night when he has an accident, killing a man. He's with someone and they decide not to report the accident. Joshua does his best to clean up but realizes he must have left something at the scene and goes back to find it. When his mom realizes he's left in the middle of the night, she tracks his phone to find him at the scene. But two other people find them at the scene as well and that's where it gets really crazy.

You may have to disregard a bit of reality that all this could happen, but it's a wild ride and you truly won't be able to put this book down until the end.

A teenager makes a split-second decision, drawing his entire family into a nightmarish situation. While his mother is determined to take the lead and keep her son is safe, other forces may prevent her from doing so. Author Tom Hunt is back with his second novel and thriller, the somewhat uneven book One Fatal Mistake.

Single mom Karen has devoted her life to her son, Joshua. He’s months away from graduating from high school and, fingers crossed, accepting a golf scholarship to his dream university across the country. Karen’s done okay for herself as an ICU nurse, and she even gets along with her ex. While she’ll miss Josh, she also knows how important it is for him to get out of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and experience the world.

That world suddenly becomes much smaller when Josh confesses a horrifying fact to Karen: he attacked a man and left him for dead.

It doesn’t matter that the man initiated the heated exchange nor that the altercation happened on the spur of the moment. Even Josh’s valid claim that he came at the man in self-defense scares Karen. Years earlier, the son of a prominent politician found himself in a similar situation and the jury didn’t hesitate to put the boy behind bars. Karen fears her son, an ordinary person, will suffer a similar fate or worse.

She returns to the scene of the crime with Josh to decide what to do about the man’s body. Before mother and son can come up with a rational plan, however, they run into two people on the run from the law. Karen and Josh are taken hostage and find the most unbelievable demands being placed on them. Now not only does she have to fight for Josh’s life; Karen also has to fight for her own.

Author Tom Hunt follows up his debut novel Killer Choice with another book about deep moral dilemmas. At every turn, Josh and Karen find themselves challenged in unforeseen ways. Readers will appreciate Hunt’s snappy descriptions and his ability to get right to the heart of the action in his scenes.

The book’s climax, however, starts in the middle of that action and then drags for pages. What begins as a situation taut with tension gradually dissolves into a dreary play-by-play scene where the characters’ choices become more fantastical and the problems presented don’t match reality. Hunt may lose more astute readers in these moments.

For example, at one point a character is shot and undergoes surgery. Within hours, according to the narrative, infection sets in and the character’s wound becomes a mess. Another character attacks the wounded person, and despite repeated blows and hours of no attention somehow the wounded character survives. Hunt may be trying to pull readers in with shock value, but the narrative doesn’t prop up the shock with anything substantial. The result is a series of scenes that might induce snickering instead of gasps.

Short punchy sentences may be good for thrillers, but Hunt uses too many of them. It almost gives his story a sense of breathlessness, like the characters have a hard time communicating even when they’re just thinking about the situation at hand. Readers may grow weary of the choppy paragraphs.

Fans of thrillers might like this one for a quick weekend read. For the most part, I recommend readers Borrow One Fatal Mistake from their local libraries.

With vibes similar to Herman Koch’s The Dinner, Tom Hunt has elevated it to a different level. One Fatal Mistake has a suspenseful plot that keeps the reader at the edge of their seat in some parts. However, I did find some areas to read a bit slow for me. At 320 pages, it should not have taken me as long as it did to read it.

I am not saying that I did not like this book but it is not one of my top picks in this genre. Maybe the writing style is not what I prefer in a thriller/ suspense novel.

This is one hold-onto-your-seat, heart-pounding book! What started out as a steady-paced domestic suspense novel about a secret kept took a turn and didn’t let up for the entire rest of the book! I can barely put into words how fun this roller coaster of a story is! Tom Hunt’s One Fatal Mistake is sure to be a best-seller.

About the Book

Reflection

The book opens with divorced-mother Karen certain that something is off with her son Joshua. She knows he recently broke up with his girlfriend, but this seems like something more than that. And of course, we learn that it is. Joshua is involved in an accident late one night and a man loses his life. Joshua fled without reporting the incident, but he feels regret, shame, and fear over what he has done.

Karen is such a fantastic character and mother. She is truly a good person, but Karen also knows that ethical decisions aren’t so easy to make. In fact, early in the novel we learn about a choice Karen made that wasn’t so easy just a few months previously. When she follows Joshua late one night and learns what he did, she makes another choice that isn’t so straight-forward to make. And from there, she and Joshua must suffer the fallout of their choices…

I want to be cautious here and avoid talking about a few major elements of this book, because I think they’d be considered spoiler-y. What I am comfortable saying is that this book is filled with morality and immorality. A series of choices that seem right at the time, can often lead someone so far down a path, that there really is no way to turn back. And that is what I’ll say about this book. Karen and Joshua make choice after choice that lead them further from safety and honesty.

The brilliance, though, is that all of those choices are kind of understandable. As a reader, I empathized with their decisions, even if it felt like the wrong ones at the time. I find the pace of this novel to be incredibly fast, but still rich with inner monologue. This is a book fueled by action and plot, rather than characters. It is a wild read and one I think readers are going to have a ton of fun with!

The ending to me was really well-executed. I didn’t necessarily expect the conclusion we got, but at the same time it totally seemed fitting. There was a rawness to this book that started page one and carried through to the very last scene. I definitely will read more from Tom Hunt, and I can’t wait to hear what readers think of One Fatal Mistake!