Great characters and a fast moving plot line coupled with a couple of surprising twists makes this a great read. Recommended

The twist at the end really got me! The only negative I thought was that the book started off with Alice, which is to be expected since she's the main character; however, just when you've become familiar with her, the chapters turn to Beth, her best friend. Instead of the typical alternating chapters I'm familiar with, this one devoted several chapters to Beth so by the time it switched back to Alice, I'm like "who's Alice?" I had forgotten her story. Once I caught on though, wow, the ending - so twisty and stunning! This book is fast paced and a perfect summer read.

Wow. What a good book! I really didn’t see that ending coming! For about the last half I couldn’t put it down. I would definitely recommend it if you like a twisty page-turner! Thanks to @netgalley for the arc!

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.



My Thoughts: The First Mistake takes the reader inside the domestic lives of several characters, beginning with Alice’s world in which she lost her beloved first husband. Now her second husband shows promise…but suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, she begins to see the cracks in the façade.

In confiding in her best friend Beth, Alice thinks she has found the support she needs, but has she really? Certain details do not add up, and she may have misplaced her trust.

Alternating from the perspectives of Alice and Beth, we find ourselves in a quandary. Can we trust any of these characters? Who has the most to gain from a long con game, and who might be hiding deep, dark secrets?

In the end, I couldn’t stop reading and trying to decide who I should root for. A captivating tale with unexpected twists and turns, I had to give this book 4.5 stars.***My e-ARC came from the publisher via NetGalley.

A disturbing read with twist and turns and ups and downs leaving you just as miffed as the women, as they tell their stories and their lives entwine in ways they could not possibly have foreseen. One woman lost the love of her life, leaving her heartbroken and alone with her young daughter. As her mind fractures and she finds herself unable to even do the most basic things she meets a man whilst she is being treated. Years later she is still struggling, but with a husband, two daughters and a business that is going places she is pushing through. Trying to be happy and live. But things happen and she finds herself doubting everything she thought she knew. Her bestfriend has her own story of loss and betrayal that have left her bitter and alone, with a daughter that has no father and desperate for answers she confides in her friend who vows to help her. But life never goes the way you think it will and secrets have a way of coming out no matter what you do to keep them hidden. An interesting story that kept me occupied throughout my day, held my attention and left keep feeling satisfied with it, from start to finish.

I used to be a huge fan of thrillers and suspense novels for the longest time. But I read so much that I reached a point where it became easy for me to predict the ending, at least for most books. I still love the genre a lot but I usually go in with a lot of trepidation because I honestly don’t want to read yet another thriller just to see if I’m still good at sussing out the culprit.

I requested The First Mistake by chance on NetGalley. When I eventually started reading the book, I did make my usual guess. But you know what? I only got a little bit of it right. There are two major twists in the book and I only got one of them partially right. And this twist happens halfway through the book, which meant the suspense was still intact for the ending.

The First Mistake is the story of Alice, owner and designer of AT Designs, a company she started with her late first husband. She’s now living a happy life with her second husband and two children, has a kind and supportive best friend, and owns a company that’s fast growing. Things start going awry once she notices her husband behaving oddly. Alice figuring out if she’s trusted the right people in her life forms the rest of the story.

Sandie Jones has done a great job with sketching out the characters in this novel, especially Alice. This novel is the perfect mix of character-driven and plot-driven, making it a page turner, especially if you don’t read a lot of suspense novels.

I did have a problem with this book, but I can’t reveal it for fear of spoiling the ending. Let’s just leave it at the fact that I was a little unconvinced by the reason for the antagonist’s deceit.

In all, The First Mistake is an entertaining suspense novel I’d recommend to anyone looking for an easy page turner to read tonight.

IThis book tends to follow the direction of so many in its genre, but not bad. It's a fun, compulsive read for the summer to pass the time,

Mystery Based on Relationships: The story revolves around trying to figure out how all the relationships fit together. The characters are defined well despite the pieces to unravel. There is death in the story, but it is not graphic or tear jerking. The romance is not graphic. In one place there are some facts that get hazy as they don’t fit and the reader might find this confusing, but the ending sorts that out.
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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

It would be a mistake for you to miss out on Sandie Jones’ newest novel, “The First Mistake” (see what I did there?)

When her husband is pronounced dead after vanishing on a skiing trip, young mother Alice struggles with serious depression and anxiety. Fast forward to now (9 years later - I think?), Alice is remarried, has another daughter, and runs a successful interior design business with her new husband. Poor Alice’s world is seemingly upended once again when she realizes that things (and people) in her new life aren’t who they appear to be.

Sandie Jones fans rejoice. She’s done it again! “The First Mistake” lives up to all of the hype and expectations created by her first novel, “The Other Woman.” I really enjoyed Sandie Jones’ writing style in “The Other Woman” and was pleased to find her newest novel to be reminiscent of her first.

This story left me slack-jawed and constantly trying to guess where the story was headed - which is always the sign of a good book! With that being said, there were points that dragged a bit. I felt like a middle section of the book could have been shortened significantly and I still would have gotten what I needed to know from it. Also, although I felt for the main character because she went through some STUFF, I still couldn’t connect with her at all. Luckily, that didn’t prevent me from enjoying the book as a whole.

“The First Mistake” was a quick and puzzling (in a good way!) read that I give 4/5 💫 Thank you so much to Sandie Jones, NetGalley, and Minotaur Books for my advanced e-copy!

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.