I was instantly hooked by Sandie Jones' book The First Mistake. We follow Alice who is still coping with the death of her first husband, Tom who died 10 years prior. Alice is now remarried to Nathan and has two daughter, one from each marriage. Alice owns and runs a design company out of London and is pitching for a large apartment structure in Japan. While doing this, she begins to suspect that her husband is having an affair, possibly with her best friend Beth who holds secrets of her own. The First Mistake was a roller coaster ride of suspense and plausible deniability. While there are times that Alice's naivete as a character and her continual longing for her dead husband become redundant and almost annoying, the novel still does a brilliant job of carrying the story forward. While I enjoyed the ending, I felt it was too sudden of a stop. I would have liked to read more of the aftermath of revelation of truths and lies. I would have liked to see months or years down the line with how the characters coped with their actions. Overall, a great beach time read!

Oh my, reading this book is a roller coaster of a ride. I thought it started off a little on the slow side but it soon picked up and never let down until a very surprising ending. The author did an excellent job connecting all the dots of the different story lines that were going on. I highly recommend unputdownable book to anyone who loves a good thriller. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this great book that I really enjoyed.

Very interesting book with a few twists. If you think you've figured it you might just be wrong! Suspenseful with characters you actually care about.

4.5 Stars to The First Mistake!

Sandie Jones' sophomore effort is EVERYTHING I love in a summer thriller! Pack this one in your beach bag and enjoy the campy drama while trying to theorize what exactly is happening - I guarantee you will not figure it out!

Alice has been widowed for ten years and has been remarried for nearly eight of those years to Nathan, a kind and supportive man - and now business partner. Alice starts to receive indications that Nathan may be cheating (an unknown earring is in his car, flowers come to her addressed to another woman) and her suspicions are high. Enter Beth, Alice's best friend and a single mother. Beth is on a quest to track down her daughter's father and wants to help Alice with her own marital discords.

For fear of spoilers, I do not want to disclose more, I just want to say this book is so much fun and will definitely keep you guessing. When you think you know exactly what is coming, guess again. Sandie Jones is two for two in my book and I'll be eagerly awaiting what comes next!

Thank you to Minotaur Books for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

This book keeps the reader hanging. Just when you think you've figured it out, your case unravels. Characters are compelling and well drawn. The story was expertly developed.

I was first drawn to Sandie Jones' first book, The Other Woman, last year. I was thoroughly pleased, so of course, I jumped at this book as soon as I could. Jones' writing paints an ever-present picture and wraps you up in the story without ever letting you go until you get to the end. This book and its characters are so relatable, I felt like I was reading the drama unfold on my own self, with my own friends. As present-minded humans, we tend to be paranoid and untrusting. You want--need--to trust your friends, and by god, your husband! But what if you can't?

I received an ARC copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for my honest opinion of it and all I can say is Wow! What an amazing book. I actually read it in less than 24 hours. Beth and Alice are best friends. But really, how well do you know your best friend ? How well do you even know your own husband? There are so many twists until the very last page! Highly recommend!

This book was very creative and fast paced, which makes me very happy. I enjoyed the narration and how the story was presented in parts because it gave the reader enough information to stay engaged but left a little cliffhanger. I had an idea about where this was going but didn't have it completely figured out so I was interested until the end. I thought at one point that it was going to devolve into the trendy genre of women who drink too much and can't get a grip on the reality around her - but thankfully the author saved us from having to feel sorry for this poor woman and made her a strong woman who overcomes the challenges she faced. This was a quick read, nothing special, but a good story.

THE FIRST MISTAKE, by Sandie Jones, is an enthralling, fast paced tale of a wife, unraveling. There are so many stories of suspense, based on domestic disharmony, these days, that they can tend to get a bit muddled together. THE FIRST MISTAKE stands out as being fresh, new and truly gripping. Thank you Netgalley, Sandie Jones , and MacMillan for the ARC, in exchange for my honest review,

I read this author's debut book and was okay with it. It didn't really spark anything strong with me. I was hoping to maybe a get a little more in her second book...

This author has a great imagination, giving some really inventive and unique stories. I cannot deny that. This one, like her first book, it a very unique storyline. I had no clue in the beginning where it would possibly take me.

I don't want to spoil anything, so I am going to be very vague when it comes to the characters. I wasn't sure how I felt about them at first. The wife. The husband. The best friend. The supporting characters. If I am honest, by the middle of the book, I wasn't a fan of any of them. They just didn't have any real depth to them, which they need for this story.

I pretty much figured out the twist in the first few chapters. That in itself was a bit disappointing. It was blaringly obvious, so the rest of the book pretty much drug for me from there. To say I was underwhelmed would be accurate. I just, I don't have a lot of words I can share since they will spoil this book. Not that it matters since the book is spoiled pretty early on. 

This is the second book this year that I read where neither the title or cover have anything to do with the book. I sat after I finished it trying to correlate the title and cover with the story inside, and I am not connecting them. That is very frustrating. A title and cover are the first thing we know about a book. If you read this one, just ignore those two things going in.

Overall, this book was not one I will be recommending all over the place. It just wasn't very interesting. It moved slow. It was written to confuse the reader and hide the fact that the twist was already given in the beginning. I was pretty disappointed in this one.

3.5 stars.

Another thriller, another crazy ride.

Truthfully though, the more thrillers I read, the more I feel that my life isn't nearly as screwed up as I think it is sometimes!

Alice had an idyllic life with her husband Tom, a growing business, and a beautiful young daughter. His sudden death at a young age tore Alice apart, leaving her shattered, and unable to regain control of her life for a short while. Ultimately she realized her daughter meant the world to her, and she owed it to her—to the both of them—to pull herself together.

Years later, Alice feels like she has a second chance at happiness. Her second husband, Nathan, has stood by her through thick and thin, indulging her anxieties and her fears. She now has two daughters, and the business she started building with Tom is now flourishing.

But when Nathan starts acting suspiciously, Alice's sense of security starts to erode. Her best friend, Beth, tells her that she has every right to be concerned about Nathan, but Beth is dealing with her own issues as well. And then bombshell after bombshell is revealed, leaving Alice to wonder whom she can trust—and how much of her life and her relationships have been a lie.

Sandie Jones throws a lot of twists into The First Mistake, so I'm being purposely vague on my plot summary, even though many of the surprises seemed well-telegraphed early on. But having read so many thrillers, some of the things I was expecting didn't materialize, and I always love when an author pulls a fast one on me!

This was a quick and satisfying read, although there was definitely more than enough melodrama to go around. Jones created some complex characters, none of whom is entirely likable, but I couldn't tear myself away from the book even as I was getting annoyed with how long it seemed to take for characters to confront one another.

I definitely expect to see the gorgeous cover of The First Mistake in the hands of many readers this summer. Suspicion, jealousy, marital dysfunction, and melodrama? Sounds like the recipe for a perfect summer read. And with Jones as the chef, there's a lot to savor here.

NetGalley and Minotaur Books provided me an advance copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making it available!

This book will be published June 11, 2019.

Sandie Jones is quickly becoming one of my favorite writers! Her characters are devilish and conniving and I am there for it! I enjoy following along on their revenge, trying to figure out what will happen next and guessing the twist the entire time. I liked The Other Woman just a teensy bit more but both were really enthralling and super quick reads. Another thing I liked about this was that she made Alice's character both strong and vulnerable. She had trials, she had breakdowns, but she was coming back into her own and still ran a company and a home. I appreciate her strong woman characters! I wish the epilogue was a bit longer and that we would have been privy to what transpired after the fall and the relationship between Beth and Alice. All we saw was who she picked to save.
I will be posting to my instagram stories and wall at the end of May, a week prior to publication.
Thank you to minotaur and net galley for the copy in exchange for a fair review.

WOW twisted and entertains. A lady Alice turns to Beth when her husband Nathan starts acting differently. We all think we know and can trust our friends. But that is not always the case. I really liked the book and it make you stop and think if you should share what’s on your mind n

Sadie Jones has done it again. Edge of your seat read and will keep you guessing till the very end! Very realistic characters and plot. Never know what will happen next and to whom.

The First Mistake was an amazing book filled with tons of twists and those OMG moments! I found myself staying up late into the night not wanting to put it down! Alice wonders if the world she once knew was true or all a lie. Can she trust her new husband Nathan, her best friend Beth. You will find yourself coming up with idea after idea and be shocked with each turn of the page. This is a must read, if not that will be your First Mistake!

I just loved The Other Woman, for the sneaky surprise and Jones’ warm style so I was excited to start this book. It took a while to pick up in terms of getting past the necessary setting up of characters and basic plot line. I wasn’t too excited about the protagonist being one of those strong successful types who still requires a drink and Valium to face the day. I was also a little disappointed that at 30% into the book, not much had developed and Alice was still mulling over the earring she found in her husband’s car...Next, please. Even at this point, her main emotion seems to be confusion, including whether to make love to her husband who she’s suspicious of but still makes her knees go weak....mmm, that does not endear a main character to me, as I don’t respect her. But when the story turned, it turned for the better and then I recognized the Sandie Jones writing that I love! For some reason, Beth’s viewpoint flowed much better and I was invested in her, though I could spot her Mistake a mile away, I was intrigued. And the intrigue continues to grow, with nicely paced writing, though Alice’s constant emotional roller coaster can seem unrealistic at times. But the reveal and the resolution of the mystery is a worthwhile payoff. Sit back, take in all the details and character development and enjoy the satisfaction of this terrific ending.

Sandie Jones is an excellent author who knows how to build suspense and keep readers hooked into the story! 

Alice was such a great character. She has risen through a horrendous tragedy and has found joy in her family, her work, and her new husband. You really feel for her in this book as her suspicious rise and she needs to uncover a mystery in her life. 

The book has lots of surprises and an ending that you will want to discuss with your book loving friends!

This book centers around a woman, her husband, and her best friend. A mystery is involved between all three characters and it's not your typical mystery. Alice and her husband Nathan own an architectural design company. Farewell off because it is a successful company that was established prior to the second marriage of hers with her first husband. Alice is really devoted to this company and is not really friendly with most of the other mothers in the group of her younger daughter. She has one friend, Beth, they have daughters of the same age, who seemed to be best friends. Alice starts noticing some peculiarities with her husband. And fears that he is having an affair. She confides her fears to her friend Beth.

I don't really want to go into this much more, without giving away the premise of the book. Honestly, I found some of it more predictable. And can see where it was going. I did however find that the writing was spot-on. This author is excellent with her character development. You find the characters seem to pop right off the page. I found myself relating most to Beth. I found Nathan very unlikable. And Alice seems cold and standoffish, or else fiery end her temper seemed out of control at times. I do however recommend this book for people who love psychological thrillers, or domestic thrillers. The setting takes place in both England and Japan.

*I would like to thank the author/publisher/Netgalley for the opportunity read this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I absolutely loved The Other Woman and I had high hopes for The First Mistake. I was not disappointed. I received this book as an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion. Ms. Jones is a fantastic writer and really nails the twisty plots and endings. This books grabs you early on and I found myself not wanting to put it down! Definitely puck up The First Mistake on 6/11/2019 when it is released!

Thank you to Minotaur books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Hang on tight for this edge of your seat psychological thriller! I read a few reviews and I am in the minority, I did not think it was predictable and I was definitely thrown for a loop quite a few times! It was a fast and easy read and I was extremely frustrated when I discovered there weren’t any more pages to turn after the one page epilogue - I wanted to keep reading to see what would happen next! Compelling, intriguing, gripping... A great read!