Despite having been unexpectedly widowed ten years earlier, Alice has it all. A handsome husband, two beautiful girls, a magnificent home, a fantastic best friend, and a successful business. But it all comes crashing down when she suspects her husband is having an affair...

Ladies and gentlemen, Sandie Jones has done it again.

The First Mistake is brilliantly weaved together with the kind of twisty drama and suspense that will keep your stomach in knots until the end. I loved every bit of the ride Jones sent me on with this novel. I couldn't put it down.

I don't normally read domestic suspense or thrillers, so it might be easier for the avid readers of the genre to guess how the book might end, but for me, a million scenarios were running through my mind up until the big reveal, and I can honestly say I did not entirely guess what would happen. Jones definitely threw me off with one particular twist!

As far as content goes, Jones leaves it relatively clean aside from a few explicit curses and some very mild sexual interludes. She does grapple with the topic of mental illness a bit in Alice's development, and for the most part I think she did a fine job at not adding to the stigma of struggling with anxiety. I commend her for that!

Thank you to Minotaur and NetGalley for a e-galley to read and review. I loved it!

A perfectly twisted story unwinds between two friends.

I absolutely loved this novel.
For fans of novels like "The Other Woman" or "Gone Girl" THIS IS YOUR NEXT READ

First I want to thank @netgalley and Minotaur Books for giving me the chance to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve been looking forward to reading more from Sandie Jones ever since I read her debut novel, The Other Woman. Needless to say, I was not disappointed and absolutely loved The First Mistake. It had me on the edge of my seat the entire time. There are a number of twists and turns throughout the story and the ending had me mind blown. While I do feel that it ended abruptly I still enjoyed the story. Finishing this book in a day, I’d definitely recommend it to my fellow thriller lovers!
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The beginning of the story is told in Alice’s point of view after losing her husband and getting remarried to a man named, Nathan Davis. The middle of the book is told in Beth’s point of view from 9 years ago and then the last part of the book brings us to the present day. Alice has two beautiful kids and a successful business, she couldn’t be happier. However, when she starts to believe her husband is keeping secrets Alice leans on her best friend, Beth. With every new revelation she slowly starts to wonder if her trust has been misplaced. In a story where nothing is as it seems, will Alice be able to handle the truth or is she in more danger than she realizes? Is Beth really there for her?
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#NetGalley #TheFirstMistake

**I will be posting my review to my bookstagram page closer to the publication date.**

The First Mistake is a character-driven psychological suspense novel based on four characters: Alice, the wife (and main character), Nathan, her second husband, Beth, her best friend, and Tom, her first husband who disappeared on a ski trip and has been declared dead.

Alice never got over the shock and grief of losing Tom so unexpectedly. In her eyes, he was the love of her life, and things couldn't have been more perfect - they had started a business together which was doing well, had a daughter, and were looking forward to a bright future together. His death sent Alice into a deep downward spiral. She was committed to a psychiatric hospital for acute depression for a few months until she pulled herself together and decided to live for her daughter.

Certain she'd never find love again, she is surprised when Nathan comes along and wants to fit into her life. Admittedly, she compares him to Tom all the time, but they have mesh well and marry. Nathan sticks by her through thick and thin, helping her deal with her anxieties and helping her grow her business. They have a good marriage, and have a daughter together. Again, life looks good. Until Nathan starts acting out of character which combined with intercepted text messages, hotel bills and several other things lead Alice to believe Nathan is having an affair. She finds herself doubting everything he says, though he denies it all. With additional work and child-related dramas being heaped on her, Alice finds herself getting anxious again.

Beth is Alice's best friend, the one she shares everything with, losing Tom, raising her daughter as a single parent, dating again, finding Nathan; Beth knows everything about Alice. But Beth begins acting strangely as well, and when Alice finds out something about Beth's past, she feels totally betrayed.

Can she trust anyone? Is anyone who she thought they were?

Sandi Jones has put together a very entertaining read that will keep you turning pages to find out what will happen next. There are several unexpected twists and turns, which I always enjoy. Pure escapism, but isn't that exactly what we need at times? This book gets 3.5 stars from me.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read an ARC of this novel in exchange for an unbiased review. All opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

Alice's first husband and soul mate died tragically leaving her and her young daughter to fend for themselves. But now Alice has a second daughter with Nathan who helped her pick up the pieces and put her life back together. They are running a successful business and are on the cusp of hitting the big time with a new deal. When Alice begins to suspect that Nathan might be cheating on her she turns to her best friend Beth for support. As secrets start to be revealed Alice struggles with knowing who to trust and which parts of her life have been a lie. While Part One of this novel was a bit slow for me the rest of the book picked up pace very quickly and I couldn't put it down until all of its secrets had been revealed. Great beach read!

Thank you to #NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read an advance copy of this novel in exchange for my honest opinion.

Unputdownable-ness: High
Ugly Cry Potential: Low
LOL: Low
Character Development: Fair
Originality: Low
Quality of Writing: Fair
Intellectual Depth: Low
Emotionally Trying/Hard to Read: Low

THE WIFE: For Alice, life has never been better. With her second husband, she has a successful business, two children, and a beautiful house.

HER HUSBAND: Alice knows that life could have been different if her first husband had lived, but Nathan’s arrival into her life gave her back the happiness she craved.

HER BEST FRIEND: Through the ups and downs of life, from celebratory nights out to comforting each other through loss, Alice knows that with her best friend Beth by her side, they can survive anything together. So when Nathan starts acting strangely, Alice turns to Beth for help. But soon, Alice begins to wonder whether her trust has been misplaced . . .
The first mistake could be her last.

I loved Sadie Jones' other book and couldn't have been more excited to get the opportunity to read her new book. It was even better than I thought it was going to be! If you liked her first book you're going to love this one! The plot of this story is insane!

Thank you #NetGalley for the ARC of The First Mistake by Sandie Jones
Pub Date: 11 Jun 2019

Gripping. Twisty. An absolute guessing game of the best kind!
I loved this book and I devoured it in two days. But the greatest thing is, what I thought I had figured out is what kept me reading, and I was wrong!
This book was written with a perfect tempo, fascinating characters and some heat! All those things combined make it a must read!!

WOW! I have to say, this was a good read. Drama, drama and more drama, taking you to the end of what some may have felt to be a predictable ending, but none the less, the trip to get to the end.....loved it!

Twists and turns, fast paced read. I did however not enjoy the middle all that much, as I don’t like past tense points of view very much. I like to stay on on path and meander my way through. It just felt like I could have skipped the middle and been just fine.

But, this was well written, will keep you intrigued and I don’t doubt for a moment Alice’s trials and tribulations will have you racing to the end of this one.

As a mother, a wife, and a successful business owner from the outside looking in Alice has a good life. She is married to the man of her dreams, Nathan has 2 beautiful daughters and the support from her good friend, Beth that she turns to whenever in need. Alice is living the American dream. Or is she?

After the death of her first husband, Tom, Alice has struggled with depression. Not only did her oldest daughter lose her father but Alice went through major guilt after meeting Nathan and becoming pregnant following only 3 months of dating. Nathan does his best to be the loving father to both girls all while running the company to the best of his ability. Tom's life savings went into the start of the company so Nathan is forever in his shadow even though he tries his best to carve out a lane for himself. This continues without a hiccup until Alice discovers that Nathan may be having an affair. Told from Alice and Beth's point of view THE FIRST MISTAKE drops the reader into a tangled web of deceit, money, lies and the inner dealings of a con-artist.

As the reader, I enjoyed the hard work that went into this novel. Jones presented a plethora of plots and storylines that enveloped each other in a well thought out way. Just when I thought I figured out what was going to happen next something else popped up that changed my thought process. In a good way of course.

The characters were well written but I honestly did not have a favorite amongst the entire bunch. I enjoyed reading Beth's life story but I did not like her as a person. Alice had an intriguing personality but she fell short when she was around Nathan. I wanted her to have more of a backbone.

To conclude this review, I did enjoy the book. It was a quick read and got my mind off my tonsils which is a good thing. THE FIRST MISTAKE doesn't come out until June 11th so you have a little over a week to add it to your TBR especially if you are looking for a summer read to beat this heat! Thanks, @minotaur_books, and @netgalley for providing me an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, for this free review copy.

I read The Other Woman last year, and really enjoyed it. I was excited to see Sadie Jones had another book coming out! I think I enjoyed this one, a lot more!!


I thought this book was so predictable when I first starting reading, and then bam, I was so wrong. There were so many twists and turns I did not see coming. It was hard to put down until I had everything figured out. This was such a great thriller, in my opinion.

I can't wait to see what Sadie Jones comes up with next! The First Mistake is on sale June 11th!

Alice has had a rough time of it. Her husband died in a skiing accident leaving her with a small daughter. She has been battling depression ever since. She met Nathan, had another daughter and life is good. The business she owns is profitable and she has her best friend Beth. Beth is a single mom, and hasn't had it so well. Then when a shocking secret comes out that affects Not only Alice, but also Nathan and Beth, Alice has to some hard choices to make.
Sorry to make the description so cryptic, but I didn't want to spoil a single thing for you. This book was SO good. I could not put it down. It had so many twists in it... every time I thought I had something figured out, a new twist was thrown in. I highly recommend this book!

I’m a bit torn about this book. There were definitely clever bits and interesting twists and the ending was well set up, but there was also something else that was hard to define. I think I just didn’t like the characters and found it hard to get invested in them.
Alice just didn’t do it for me. I get that she was widowed and that she still missed her dead husband 10 years later, but she definitely let it get in the way of enjoying her life in the moment and she second guessed herself all the time. And, if she did love her first husband so much and missed him so badly, it seemed forced that she would marry someone else less than a year after his death. I like that she was presented as having trouble with her mental health and got help, but she got a hard time from her (current) husband about using meds to help her, which is unfortunate. She really defined herself in relation to the men in her life, which, I guess, is just how she was presented so that she could grow…
The thriller aspect was good and very thought out by the author. There were definitely breadcrumbs if you knew to see them, something which I love. I don’t like it when a solution comes out of nowhere with no foreshadowing.
Overall, this is an easy read with some good twists and turns.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the review copy.

Poor Alice! Is her husband lying to her? Is her best friend lying to her? Was her previous husband lying to her? Has anyone ever been honest with Alice? Or is it all in her head? It makes for good reading when you can't even find a foundation for your own theory as to what is going on. Ms. Jones gives a couple well placed clues through the book, but I felt the ending was a bit over convoluted. And I wondered why it hadn't been uncovered somehow earlier. But, that doesn't diminish from a book that makes you pay attention and not want to put it down!

I want to start by giving thanks to St Martins Press and Minotaur Books for giving me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
I have never read a book by Sandie Jones before and have been looking forward to trying one out.
THE FIRST MISTAKE was a very intriguing story about a woman who found herself suddenly surrounded in a web of deception and was desperately trying to sort through what was real and what was lies.
I found the story captivating from the beginning and hard to put down. I also found the story so outrageously unbelievable but it didn't stop me from reading it . I still had to see how it ended.
I did like Sandie Jones writing style (aside from the extreme unrealistic part),
I will try another book again. I thought this deserved 4 stars from me.

Sadie Jones has a barn burner with The First Mistake.
How well do you know your husband or your best friend?
Find out how well Alice knew her husband and best friend in The First Mistake.
You won’t regret it.

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!! This book is up & down & twists all around until your mind boggled & enthralled with this story!!!!!!!! This book is a fabulous twisty read that you will enjoy and will keep you reading in suspense till the very end. Alice is a remarried widow & mother of two daughters. She thinks her life is perfect with her current husband. Until he starts acting suspicious and she turns to her best friend but then she starts questioning can she really trust her best friend. It gets crazy & you will go round and round with your theories but judt like The Other Woman you will be wrong!!!!!!! Thank you to St. Martins Press and Netgalley for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. When I first got into it I thought I knew how the story was going to end but I was very definitely wrong. Many twists and turns later, the ending was satisfying and left a little up to the reader's interpretation. A great marriage and family thriller that will be a bestseller this summer.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Page turner on the way!! June 11th to be exact. There is so much going on in this book. When I thought I knew what will be next, another twist popped out. Good writing, very well-developed characters and big surprise on the end. I hope sandy Jones will write many more books because so far, she is doing great job.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to St Martin's Press, Minotaur Books and NetGalley for letting me read this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.
Wow! Another 5 star, fast paced thriller by Sandie Jones! This book was so good, with lots of twists. I literally did not want to put it down. I thought I had it figured out close to the beginning but I was way wrong. I think I liked this one more than her first book. And that ending! You will not go wrong with this if you like psychological thrillers that keep you guessing.

Intriguing. I loved this book from start to finish. The characters kept me engaged. Lots of twist and turns with a great ending. I have found a new favorite author. I will be talking about this one for awhile.