I can never stand Sandie Jones' characters. I am always frustrated with their decisions and the relationships. But they are very realistic and I always blow through the books in about a day.

Thanks to MacMillian for providing us with a review copy. I was so excited to read The First Mistake since Sandie Jone’s last book The Other Woman was one of my favorite thrillers of 2018. The premise had me intrigued. On the surface, Alice’s second marriage, her career, and her children are thriving, but are they? Her husband begins acting suspicious, and after what happened to Alice’s first husband, she turns to her best friend, Beth, for support. But Beth might not be the best person to turn to for help. Doesn’t it sound delicious? I thought so too, but I was able to pick out literally every plot point down to the “surprise” that’s uncovered at the big show-down. MAN. The more of these psychological thrillers I read, the more I am able to predict the ending. I hate it. I like it so much more when I am utterly surprised. Still, the writing was good, the characters were well-drawn, but there were just a few too many clues along the way.

The 1st Mistake is the story of Alice, who is a widow and mother of two girls who after the loss of her first Husband Tom, finds love again. Since remarrying, she is finding the stability of her new family dynamic reassuring. Her second Husband Nathan is a little overbearing and controlling, but she overlooks those things to maintain what she feels is an ideal household. Her interior design business is thriving, and she has a best friend Beth that she can confide to and relax with at any time. Beth is a single mom who lives paycheck to paycheck. She isn’t jealous of Alice per se, but she wouldn’t mind having the perks that Alice’s life provides.

We all know things aren’t always what they seem. Alice’s youngest Daughter is lashing out and getting into scrapes at school, and she starts to think Nathan is having an affair. He becomes standoffish, and Alice becomes paranoid. Why is Tom so secretive? What is the real reason why her Daughter is lashing out at her friends? Naturally, she confides her fears and worries to Beth, who has a few secrets of her own. Is it a coincidence that the father of Beth’s youngest Daughter has the same name and birthdate of the deceased Tom? When Alice stumbles upon something fishy on social media, she doesn’t know what to do or who to believe. Alice must now figure out who she can trust, and why is she feeling betrayed?

The First Mistake is the second novel by Sandie Jones. Her first book, The Other Woman was a fast-paced and gripping read. She has a way of easing you into the story and bringing the characters together in a satisfying fashion. The characters are relatable, which in turn makes the story believable — nothing over the top or far-fetched. The story starts slowly but picks up, and the twists and turns keep coming.
Thank you Netgalley and Minotaur Books for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I have never read a book by this author and I was really impressed. i actually loved the book. It was a thrilling ride of twists and turns. I am going purchase this for the library and look to see if she has written other books.

I haven't read The Other Woman yet, but I had heard great things about it, so I thought I'd see if The First Mistake was up to par.

This novel had an interesting premise and was very suspenseful. I picked it up every chance I got, as I wanted to find out what was going to happen and whether or not my guesses were correct. Especially since some parts threw me off of my guess and there were other surprises in store, as well. I liked that both women had their perspectives featured and I felt sympathetic toward them.

I was expecting this to be a thriller, but it was more along the lines of domestic suspense. The ending felt abrupt to me and some of the plot points felt like they were being forced, when they didn't need to be. I also don't think the title fits well to this novel.

Overall, it was an engaging story and I am interested in checking out The Other Woman now.

I think this would be hard to show as a movie, unless some changes were made to the story. However, here's who I'd cast in the leading roles:
Alice: Naomi Watts
Beth: Claire Forlani
Nathan: Paul Bettany

This book started a bit slow for me but once it started rolling it didn’t stop. I thought the twists were well done and I love a strong ending. Highly recommend this one. It is just a thrillingly entertaining read.

I loved this book!! Kept me guessing all the way to the end, and held my attention. I thought for sure I would know everything within the first few chapters but I didn't. Was a great change from so many other books.

steves_reads
4.5/5 - entertaining, twisty read! @sandiejones_author is one of my new favourite authors! #thefirstmistake @minotaur_books @macmillanusa #books #bookstagram #summerreading #book #bookworm #dogs #dogstagram #dogsofinstagram #dogsreading #dogsreadingbooks #miltonpubliclibrary #netgalley

I really enjoyed this book! I love this author since reading her book The other Woman (which I actually liked better). There are unexpected twists but it’s not too confusing. I finished it in a day!

Though not perfect, I really enjoyed this book. For the most part, it was your typical psychological thriller, with plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing. I will say the plot was very well thought out - almost nobody was who you thought they were, and everything tied together very nicely and cohesively.

Still, there were a couple of things I found a little disappointing. This book, like So Many I’ve read recently, involved this concept of women being awful to other women, seeking revenge and trying to destroy lives. And of course, infidelity played a large role. It’s been so long since I read a psychological thriller that didn’t include these two things that they don’t seem shocking or scandalous anymore.

The other slightly disappointing thing was that I figured out all of the big twists pretty early on; I’m not usually able to do that. Not saying that’s a negative on the writer - maybe my deductive skills are just getting sharper??

Even with these drawbacks, this was still a really well-written, entertaining, suspension, emotional book. I will definitely be on the lookout for more from this author!

*A review of this book will be posted to GoodReads, my personal blog, and retail sites. Thank you to NeGalley for he free advance review copy in exchange for my fair and honest review!*

Thanks to NetGalley for providing and ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Another solid thriller from Sandie Jones. I have her on my list for authors to watch.

The wife, the husband, the best friend. This plot takes on new meaning in this debut novel and you will find yourself caught up in Alice's dilemma. She seemingly has everything, a devoted husband, beautiful children and a successful business. And a wonderful, supportive best friend, someone who is always there for her. Without divulging any spoilers, Alice quickly discovers that nothing is what it seems and struggles to come to terms with life changing events. Excellent read!

I love when a thriller is more than a thriller -- Sandie Jones is so great at writing complex female characters. There were so many twists and turns here, I loved it! I was almost late to work this morning because I couldn't put it down -- I needed to finish it ASAP! Perfect summer thriller - I finished it in less than 24 hours.

When you combine a novel that is a psychological thriller with a character who has anxiety and has irrational fears, sign me up! I loved the author's first novel The Other Woman and this one was really good as well.

There are only four main characters in the book, so you pretty much figure out the who's and the what's quickly but the why's are not that easy. There are some interesting twists that add drama. I enjoyed this book on the whole.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Sandie Jones has become an auto buy author for me. Between this book and her first release, I am forever hooked on her writing. The First Mistake was another successful read into the adult suspense/thriller genre.

I've been on a thriller/suspense kick lately and this was the one book I could not put down - I actually started it at lunch time at work and was able to finish it by 10 pm that night (and yes, I still did my job and household stuff too!). While Alice began to grate on my nerves as a person, I loved Beth and her whole side of the story....

And the ending - wow - Love how the author made that happen in a way that the entire story came together in just a chapter or 2......

Looking forward to her next great read!

This story was written as a first person narrative, though has two narrators depending on the section. The characters are described in a direct manner, while the major conflicts include internal and external as characters battle themselves, technology and other characters. The major themes include working class struggles, self-preservation, and quest for power, quest for discovery, power of wealth, overcoming, and motherhood, lost love, illusion of power, heartbreak of betrayal, greed as downfall, family and death.

Alice is a widow and mother of two, but has since remarried. She is an interior designer and recovering from a mental breakdown after the death of her first husband. Nathan is Alice’s second husband; he is secretive, demanding and pushy. He mostly handles the financial aspects of Alice’s business. Beth is a single mother and friend of Alice. She is secretive and at times closed off. Alice has begun to rebuild her life after the death of her first husband Tom. She is currently raising her two daughters while dealing with a new direction for her company. She is also trying to handle her younger daughter’s fear of losing her father, like her older sister did. This has caused her to act out at school and with her friends. At the same time she is finding clues that her husband may be having an affair. This has caused her to become paranoid and her husband to worry about her mental state. Things take a bigger twist when Beth reveals that her young daughter’s father has the same name and date of birth as her deceased husband. But what does this have to with Nathan?

The ideas were interesting and unique as the flow was organized and logical. The voices were individualized but fit the characters and complemented one another. The sentence structure and word choice help to enhance the overall story. Yes, I would recommend. Anyone interested in mystery, empowered women, recovery and dedication may find this a perfect read. Anyone not interested in identity thief, conning, vengeance or large amounts of lying may need to pick up a different book.

4.5 Stars!

This was a great psychological, domestic thriller (if you don't know, those are my favorite!). This story is about a wife who is remarried after her first husband died, her best friend, and her current husband who she thinks is cheating on her. I loved the way the story was written, and so many of the tiny twists were amazing! The only reason I gave it 4.5 stars is because I was just a tiny bit unsatisfied with the last twist and the actual ending, but it could be for personal reasons - I was hoping that it would have shocked me a little more than it did, but it could be because I'm a pro at reading thrillers. I highly recommend this book to thriller lovers though, because I had a fantastic time reading it and didn't want to put it down!

This book was archived before I could download it. I would still be interested in reading it if it is made available again. Thank you.