I really enjoyed Sandie Jones’s book “The Other Woman” and was excited to read her latest novel. The First Mistake is about a woman who starts to find some threads unraveling in her life and realizes she chose the wrong person to trust. I enjoyed the book but I wasn’t blown away. It might just be because I’ve been reading too many psychological thrillers, but I’m a little bored by the main character being a woman with a mental or addiction problem who is slightly unreliable so no one believes her. If you haven’t read many psychological thrillers you will enjoy it, but if you have it might be a little too similar to other things you’ve read

2.5 Stars

I thought this book was ok up until I got to the 60-75% mark. Then everything just got too twisted. Then the ending....the long awaited ending...wound up majorly ticking me off. There were so many places the author could have went but the book just kind of ended. And the epilogue....meh.

I really have to say that I disliked Alice more and more as the story went on. I felt she was too weak and pathetic. She was so fragile, easily manipulated and mentally weak that I wanted to seriously reach into the book and shake her myself.

*I received an arc of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

Fantastic read full of twists and turns. I kept feeling like I figured everything out, but then I either realized I was wrong or had forty-seven other questions. This novel was impossible to put down!

The First Mistake is the story of Alice, a widowed mother, who now lives with her new husband and has a second daughter with him. The business Alice owns is ramping up to do the deal of a century, her husband is attentive and wonderful, and her life is perfect, until it isn't. Alice starts to see signs that her husband is cheating, and everything may not have been as it appeared with her first husband. She would normally turn to her best friend for help, except that she also thinks that Beth may not be as trustworthy as she initially thought.

I found The First Mistake to be a page-turner; I found myself picking it up whenever I had a few minutes, which is not my typical reading style. I will say that I thought I had figured out the book about 15% of the way through and was really mad about it - but I was wrong, thankfully! Things were not as they seemed, and I really enjoyed the storyline. I will say that there were many times that I was annoyed with Alice for ignoring clear signs of cheating or taking her husband's lame excuses, but I got over that by the end of the book.

There were also a few loose ends, such as the Josh/Joe situation, which didn't get explained, other than Nathan was just not very bright, but I guess I can't expect everything to be neatly tied in a bow.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC of this book.

The First Mistake was a incredible suspense!! It had me guessing throughout the whole book of who was being honest and not. Alice is the main character. The wife, the friend who's life is turned upside slowly. She begins to learn things that make her question her sanity and trust in those who she knows. I loved how slowly she began to trust her instincts and realize the truths and lies that revolved around her.
It was surprising to the very end!! I highly recommend!!

*Thank you to the publisher for the ARC given through NetGalley for review.*

I read Jones’s first novel and loved it. This one didn’t quite meet the bar though. I understand it is increasing challenging to write a suspense novel that keeps a readers interest and has an unpredictable twist. Unfortunately this book fell short in these areas. Hopefully next time!

I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this, especially that last third where the plot took a completely unexpected turn and there were multiple twists.

Many thanks to Edelweiss, Minotaur Books and Sandie Jones for my complimentary e-copy ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

What a page turner! I really enjoyed the author's first book, The Other Woman, so was very much looking forward to her new release. I am glad to say it did not disappoint and had me reading quickly to find out what happened next. I liked the multiple perspectives and was surprised by several of the twists. Though the domestic suspense/thriller genre is quickly becoming a bit predictable, this one completely worked and will make a great summer read.

This book is a fast-paced, Summer thriller that is sure to delight many readers. After losing her first husband tragically, Alice now has the perfect marriage and family - or does she? How well do we actually know the people we are dating and marry? This book had a twist that I saw coming, a twist that I didn't see coming, and an ending that is sure to generate a lot of discussion. This book would make an excellent book club selection.

I really enjoyed the wild ride that "The First Mistake" takes the reader on as you delve into a plot that is intricately woven and never is really as it appears to be. The book focuses on Alice, whose first husband Tom has passed away. She is currently re-married to Nathan and is the mother of two girls. Pretty quickly in the novel, the reader starts to wonder if Tom had cheated on Alice and is Nathan being honest with her. Add into the mix, Alice's best friend Beth who might have her own agenda and the creep factor rises. I don't want to give away too many details accept to say that this is a well-crafted mystery that will keep you engaged and trying to put all the pieces together until the bitter end.

Alice is finally getting her life back on track after the death of her first husband. With the help of Nathan, her charming new husband, she is expanding her business and raising two girls. She’s even developed a close friendship with another mum, Beth, who seems to have Alice’s back in all things. On the eve of a huge business deal, Alice’s life seems to be on the brink of disaster. Alice suspects Nathan is having an affair and her youngest daughter is being bullied at school.

The First Mistake is a fast-paced entertaining triller that keeps you guessing right up to the last sentences. Sandie Jones gives us just enough information to know that Nathan is lying to Alice, but not enough to know why. I couldn’t put it down until I knew what was really going on beneath the layers of deceit.. This book made me doubt all my assumptions and question if you ever truly know the people you love.

The First Mistake is another psychological thriller in a wonderful group of recent domestic thrillers. If you liked The Wife Between Us by Handricks and Pekkanan or Best Day Ever by Kaira Rouda, you would like The First Mistake.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of the book.

What a fun and entertaining thriller, which I devoured in one sitting. While the end is slightly impassible, I love the twist that I never saw coming. Jones has done it again, with another chiller where the pages fly.

Following The Other Woman was going to be a hard battle for Sandie Jones, but she nailed it with The First Mistake. I thought I had this book TOTALLY figured out, only to realized I was wrong. Close, but wrong. I love when books do this! The psychological/domestic thriller genre is really hot right now, but with that comes a lot of repetition and very little surprise. Sandie was able to surprise me, and keep me interested, to the point that I blew off all obligations, and stayed inside for an entire Sunday to read. I finished this one is a little over a day, only because my eyes were burning and my brain was begging for rest. This is one of those situations where I wish ARC came in audio.

The character development in this book is probably my favorite part. The main character starts out very meek and timid, and grows significantly by the end of the book. The First Mistake is SO well written, that it will make you question everything you think you know about your own relationship. I love when books make me reflect, and even sometimes when they make me freak out.

I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

Holy cow, what just happened?!? Every time I thought I had it figured out I turned out to be wrong. Everything I start to write seems spoilery, so I’ll just say this was a riveting story. It’s tense, at times confusing, and completely unpredictable and I really need someone else to read this to talk about the ending!

So many twist. I was truly blindsided by the end!!! Great story full of deceit, pain, and what men and women would do for love and money.

I received an Electronic Advance Reader Copy through NetGalley.

I connected with Alice from the beginning of this story. This could be a study on the true meaning of friendship and trusting those we love. I did feel that the ending was rushed, but I understand that was for shock value. All in all , I enjoyed this book a lot.

What a twisting, turning read! I found myself reading myself right into a tizzy, not sure what was coming next!

I will keep this review brief today, as I want to be very careful not to reveal any spoilers. What I will say is this: I kept thinking I knew exactly what was going on or what was going to happen, and Sandie Jones would surprise me AGAIN! I had felt disappointed toward the beginning of the novel, believing I knew right away what was happening, but I ended up second-guessing my way through the entire novel, which is what I'm looking for in a mystery. While we all want to feel intelligent and figure out what happens next before we read on, I enjoy being surprised and taken along for the ride.

On the constructive side, I would have preferred a much stronger ending. While it "wrapped up," it felt unfinished and rushed. I believe even one more chapter to tidy things up at the end would have made this a more satisfying read for me. I love Sandie Jones's writing style, even when I can't relate to the main character; and I ALWAYS love a rotating perspective. However, I found the shift from first-person narration to third person (around two-thirds of the way into the book) a bit strange. I understand the reasoning behind it and the desire for effect, but it fell a bit flat to me.

Overall, it's an entertaining and twisty read that you are sure to enjoy!

This was my first read for Sandie Jones and holy wow, it was a doozy! A grieving widow meets a new man and seemingly has the picture perfect life until her husband starts doing a bunch of things that has Alice questioning everything she knows. Turning to her best friend Beth is second nature for her, but before long, she starts questioning her friendship with someone she thought she knew and could trust.

There's plenty of twists and turns in this story and I couldn't turn the pages fast enough to find out what was going to happen next. I wasn't really a fan of the three main characters, especially Alice because of the things she does and says, but ultimately this is her story and just because I would have done a ton of things differently than she did shouldn't take away from a gripping story told by Ms. Jones.

There are some things that occur that I predicted early on in the plot and other things that I didn't see coming at all. The pacing of the story dragged in a few places for me and sped too quickly in others, and the story came to an abrupt ending which was kind of vague and left me with wanting more, but overall for my first Sandie Jones book, I was entertained and plan to go back now and get a copy of her first book, The Other Woman.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced review copy of this book in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

WOW is what I think when I think of this book! It was amazing throughout. I couldn't put it down and even fought sleep to finish it.

Alice fights each day with the loss of her husband from 10 years earlier. She has remarried to a man she believes saved her from wreckage. Nathan is by her side in every way. At home to help raise their daughter and the daughter from her first husband. He works with her in the company her and her first husband build. He is very supportive in every way she needs. Or is he?

Alice does not befriend women so easily so when her and Beth become close it means everything to Alice. She can confide in her with just about anything. Beth knows of the struggle Alice had dealing with the loss of her husband. However Beth has her secrets too!

This book has me from the start. Just when you think you have it all figured out there is another turn you didn't see coming. This book is full of suspense just the way I like it. I can see it being a huge hit this summer.

The First Mistake by Sandie Jones is another stellar suspense thriller by an author who is quickly becoming one of my must reads. Lots of twists as you read about Alice and Beth and their unknown connection to each other. The drama keeps the book moving along at a swift speed that reaches a great conclusion. Read and enjoy!