My first book by Rona Halsall and I will be reading her other work after this. I couldn' t stop readiing!
Sara, a wife and mother makes a silly mistake when trying to provide for the family when her husband is made redundant and it causes her all sorts of problems. I found the story to be rivetting and in no way was it a stretch of the imagination that this could actually happen.
So full of twists and turns that I didn't see the ending coming!
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

A 3-4 star read for me. I didn’t absolutely love this one; but finished, which means I have to give at least 3 stars! It took me a few tried to get into it, but once I did, I did find it to be a decent read. I think that Sara wasn’t the wisest in decisions, which frustrated me, so I had to give it the extra bit of stars, because I think books evoking emotions are doing something right! It had a couple thrills, chills, and little shocks! So, while not my fav, I would recommend picking up a copy and giving it a shot!

This book, for me, was about a 3.5 star book. I read A LOT of British thriller/mystery-types like this and this fell a bit flat for me in comparison to others that I've read. The plot seemed to drag on a bit too long and the ending was very obvious. I think some publishers are taking a bit too many liberties in calling books "thrillers" ... this was less thriller and more drama, in my opinion.

Thank you to Rona Halsall, Bookouture and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book! This review was also posted on Goodreads.

One Mistake is a very apt title for this book. Sara and Matt have a good life, with a lovely home, twin daughters and a young son who worships his Mum. Sara’s world comes crashing down when Matt announces he has lost his job. Sarah only works part time but was a left an inheritance which Dan wants to use to set up a new business. But when checking up on the inheritance she finds that she her investments have crashed and the money has gone. She dare not tell Dan and that’s when she makes her mistake. Sara will do anything for her family as she and her sister had a tough childhood growing up in foster homes. I found this an interesting story with lies, deceit and much more. The author takes you in different directions and just when you think you know where the story is heading another surprise comes along. This book is a good psychological thriller that you will not be able to put down.
Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

I really enjoyed reading this book. I did have a hard time with the decisions made by Sara and I was often yelling at her for being such an idiot, but this all added to the drama. I didn’t like her husband from the beginning.
A good ending though and definitely recommended

Sara has spent her life supporting her family but has finally considered her own needs and returned to work part time. Her husband comes home with the devastating news that he has lost his job and wants to set up his own company using Sara's inheritance money. The only problem is that the money has been lost in a bad investment.
Desperate to keep this a secret, Sara steals the money from her work. Her colleague discovers this and pays back to money, asking for favours in exchange. Does he have ulterior motives and can her marriage survive the lies...?
I had quite an emotional response to this book as it is very easy to sympathise with Sara who has put her own dreams on hold to raise her family. Matt has worked hard all his life to provide for his family and now feels like a failure and is determined to achieve his new goals. Yet I couldn't help feeling so angry with Matt's selfishness, his devaluing on Sara's contribution. I felt that this was a comment on society's under-appreciation of women's work in the home and the patriarchal division of labour.
There is a great deal of unpleasantness in One Mistake. and it is difficult to know who Sara can trust. As a result of her choices, she is abused and some readers may find this distressing. There are also moments of violence as well.
The tension within the plot and narrative is maintained until the end of this psychological thriller. The anticipation grows and I almost despaired of Sara making herself vulnerable rather than admitting the truth.
One Mistake is the new title of the book, but in reality I felt that Sara makes a whole stream of mistakes. Alternatively, the mistake could be husband Matt's as we discover at the end of the book...

Rona is one of my favourite authors and I feel like with all of her books, I have witnessed her get better and better, and better with each one. One Mistake is on point, pacey, and very clever. A tale of how one lie can escalate into something much bigger until you have lost all control over it.

The first half of the book leads you into a direction where the second half keeps you guessing until the final reveal. The story centres around Sara and her husband Matt who are on the brink of some hard times. Matt has lost his job, but Sara tries to solve all their problems - which is where the heart of this story reels you in. This is the point where you never want to stop reading until you know the truth. Had me second guessing everything and a blinding, belter of a twist. An ending that had me in shock!

A great, engaging and suspenseful read. Keep up the good work Rona and already looking forward to book six!

How easy would it be to make one mistake like Sara's that leads to our world falling apart? You can't help but ponder that throughout this gripping UK psychological thriller. Sara has always been determined to not repeat history – to give her family the stability she and her older sister never had while growing up. But she seems to be losing touch with her husband and their twin daughters, and her career aspirations and need to be more than a wife and mother are unlikely to be realised. The only part of her family that is stable is her relationship with her young son, and thank goodness for her part-time job at the community centre. Then one poor decision by Sara goes pear-shaped, just as her husband loses his job and they are in dire need of money. She makes a bailout deal with a workmate with vague parameters. And things go from bad to far worse. But just who should she be most afraid of? One Mistake immediately draws the reader in with its atmospheric setting and relatable characters in Sara and her family, that like many people's is stretched by busy schedules, thwarted personal goals and dreams, and financial pressures. The pages keep turning as the plot twists and the story races to its end.
4.5 stars.

In my opinion I wouldn't call this a psychological thriller more a domestic family drama, a tangled web of lies that just got worse and worse with no way out!

When I started this book I found it easy to read but felt that the first half was repetitive and took a while to go anywhere however the second half got more interesting for me and was certainly the best part of the book.

Sara was brought up in foster care & was determined that when she had a family of her own she would always do her best for them. She & Matt are happy with their teenage daughters & their little surprise,Ezra their four year old son. When Matt loses his job her world starts to crash about her as in desperation not to let Matt know about her losing their savings she gets herself in a position where she owes her boss. Surely accompanying him to some events is a small price to pay? The price seems to be much higher as the lies & deceit mount up.

My feelings were pretty mixed with this book. I really disliked Matt & thought Sara was fooling herself about their 'happy' marriage. I thought she was a bit of a ninny considering she was an intelligent woman! However I did keep reading to see how it worked out. I'd really like to give this 3.5 stars but I've rounded it up to 4. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book.

I love all of Rona Halsalls books. I was delighted to receive an Arc of One Mistake.
As a psychological thriller it most certainly didn't disappoint! And it definitely proves how what we think is one little lie can spiral out of control very quickly!!
Absolutely brilliant.

This story really did not excite me. The plot did not work for me. The characters came off as weak and a bit unlikable.

This book was amazing from start to finish! It had me gripped from the very 1st chapter which sometimes does not happen.

Sara’s character was a mother who was doing things to help her family during tough times and all the lies and deceit turned into a tangled mess.

I did not see the ending coming at all and kept me guessing all the way through enough that I could not put this book down.

I’ve been wanting to read the Honeymoon for quite some time and will be looking for this next.

Tells you she is a good author when you want to read all her other books straight after this.

I can completely recommend anyone to read this. It was absolutely brilliant and thank you for letting me read this through netgalley.

Wow! This was a bit of a rollercoaster. I never guessed who did it!
The ripple effect of actions is very clear in this story. I was glued to the second half of this story, loving the twists and turns.

One Mistake was a very twisty read covering some sensitive subject matters.
Sara has been married to Matt for 18 years, she had a tough childhood with a mother in and out of prison resulting in her and her sister in and out of foster homes. Sara is determined that her children’s lives won’t resemble anything like that. Matt loses his job and wants to set up his own business but needs the money Sara’s aunt gave her but Sara has lost the money in a dodgy online savings account. Sara does something that she will live to regret and turns her families lives on their heads and nothing will be the same again.
I’m not going into the storyline as I think this will definitely spoil it as you are best coming in blind as I did for maximum impact but all I can say is it’s very twisty and quite dark at times but it was a book I enjoyed and can’t wait to read Rona’s next.
I would like to thank Netgalley and Bookouture for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

"She'd thought she was solving a problem, but she had in fact created a monster."

Sara would do anything for her family. They are her world. And after an unhappy childhood growing up in foster care, she promised herself that she would always protect her children from the same kind of hurt.

When her husband Matt loses his job and she sees him becoming a shell of his former confident self, Sara impulsively takes drastic action to help her family. When her actions are discovered, she agrees to a deal that seems to be the answer to all her problems. But she will discover it is the beginning of everything spiralling out of control.

One Mistake examines the age-old conundrum: how far would you go to protect those you love. Sara has always said she would do anything, and she proves it with her actions over the course of the book. Yes, she makes some questionable choices, but they are all done with thoughts of helping her family at the forefront of her mind. She sacrifices so much about herself for them. What starts out as a small lie to just one person becomes much more as her lies pile up and bleed into every facet of her life. It is out of her control and she’s terrified of what is going to happen.

Rona Halsall has become one of my go-to authors. Her stories are always morally complex and filled with emotion. She puts you in the shoes of the protagonist and you find yourself empathising rather than judging as she makes you think about what you would do in their position. Without her ability to do that I would have written off Sara as stupid early on. Instead, I found myself with my heart in my throat as I wondered how on earth she would get herself out of this mess as her world collapses around her.

Unexpected, entertaining and immersive, One Mistake is an emotionally-charged multilayered thriller that will keep you guessing until the end.

One Mistake by Rona Halsall is one doozy of a messed up read! There are so many things I want to say about this story and how brilliantly written it is. I don’t even know where to begin! Let’s just say the one big mistake in this story has a snowball effect you will never see coming.

This story just hooked me right from the prologue and I found myself settling back knowing it was going to turn into a very long night of reading. Again, I continue to ask myself, why must I start reading after 11PM especially when I pick up a fantastic story with a premise that draws me in from page one. Needless to say, I was up until the sun came out.

If you want to read about how one mistake can potentially have the power to ruin one’s life, then this is definitely the story for you. I just never realized how deep Halsall would go…..and it is quite evil and mind twisting and so f*** up! I freakin loved it!

Sara, oh Sara, how I wanted to just reach through the pages and slap her silly. She is a good person at heart, but is very very naive. She is a great mother and a good wife to her husband, Matt (more on him later!) She would do anything for her family and she does, which leads her down a dark and quite dangerous path. Okay, so more on the dear ol’ hubby Matt. I just wanted to punch him in the face over and over again. Geez Halsall really got my blood boiling over the hubby. I can probably add in a few cuss words, but I’ll be nice! I hate the way he treated Sara. He is such an unlikeable character and the way he talks down to Sara at times had me fuming. What a piece of work!

One Mistake has many twists and turns you will definitely never see coming. Sometimes I felt I knew who was behind it all and then Halsall would flip the script and confuse you all over again. Well done keeping me guessing. This story will just suck you right in and never let go right up till the very end.

One Mistake is a brilliantly written, intense story that will play on all of your emotions right up until the very end. I wholeheartedly recommend reading this amazing book! A definite 5 stars from me!

Interesting domestic noir/ crime thriller.
Set in small-town England, One Mistake by Rona Halsall is about Sara, who is married to IT tech guy, Matt. Together they have three children, 14-year-old twin girls, Sophie and Amelia (Millie) and 4-year-old Ezra. This is the close-knit, happy family life Sara has always wished for. She and her elder sister, Hailey, had an addict mother, and Sara had lived in a number of foster homes during her childhood.

When Matt loses his job, he asks Sara for the £9,000 inheritance she had banked. However, this is where the problems start for Sara (no spoilers). A fulltime housewife since her children's birth, Sara has recently started working in a part-time admin position at the local community centre, while Ezra attends kindergarten in the mornings. It is here that Sara thinks she has discovered a temporary solution to her money troubles. Sara conveniently 'finds' £9,000, in her attempt to put her past wrongs to right and support her family. Her ill-thought action results in Sara owing her manager, the enigmatic James, a favour.

The novel follows an out-of-control spiral of deceits, secrets and increasingly underhand activities that the naïve Sara is at the pointed end of. Sara also finds herself following the dreaded path of her mother's life, with a downward trajectory that just increases in steepness until the 70 percent point.

While Sara is too trusting and foolish, Matt is self-centred, manipulative and aggressive towards his wife. Despite keeping all his business activities close to his chest, Matt wants Sara's full obedience as well as her entire savings. At turns, however, he is warm towards her. It takes Sara a long time to demand answers from Matt, as for too long her psychological pendulum swings in the regions of self-blame and self-pity; and in her deluded surmise that she's smart enough to outsmart everyone in her workplace and home.

In addition to Matt, most characters are depicted painted in shades of grey. Is James up to nefarious deeds or holier than holy? There's Fiona, the glamorous and successful community centre manager, and Sara's overall boss. Is Fiona Sara's strong supporter and ally, ready to babysit her daughters at the drop of a hat, or a threat? Big sis, Hailey, is also painted as potentially good, potentially bad. Is she too close to Matt, and why? Is she trying to win Sara's twins' favour against their mother? Why is Hailey so judgmental of Sara when she knows the poor mothering role model they were given from the start?

The twists and turns all happen in the first third. Some of them made me think, 'ho-hum' as the novel lacks the suspension of belief. ' One Mistake' cranks up a notch at about the 70% point, when Sara and Hailey form a detective crew to solve the mysteries strewn in Sara's wake.

The sordid side of the 21st century are depicted: social media videos taking a life of their own, drug rape, teenage issues, marital violence. That side of the book was done well. What grated against me was Sara's / the author's voice in telling of the decisions Sara was making. It felt like a pre-teen was writing with words like, 'swooshed' and adverbs strewn liberally, making the story seem like an adult's in children's clothing. I didn’t like the constant loop of Sara’s explanations. Yes, she's made a mistake. She feels guilty. The end glosses over Fiona and James (no spoilers).

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher Bookouture for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley, Rona Halsall and the publisher Bookouture for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Sara has the perfect family and a hard-working husband, Matt. When he begins to act strangely, she wonders if he is having an affair. That fear is quickly removed, but still things are pretty bad - he’s lost his job, made redundant, which is something becoming all too common.

Sara had always wanted to reenter the workforce one day. With twin teen girls and a four-year-old son, she was always too busy. Now with Matt without income, Sara is more than willing to step up. Having already taken on part-time work at a local community center, so she asked and was then able to take on full-time work.

Meanwhile, Sara had a little nest egg and when Matt comes up with an idea to start his on business, it is then that Sara hatches a deadly plan. The thing is, Sara lost the money in a bad investment but never told her husband. She “borrows” the money from the community center, with every intent of paying it back. When the manager of the community center, James, gets wind of what Sara has done, he promises to make things right with the center’s accounts - if Sara will do him a favor. This “little” favor has long-reaching consequences for Sara and things begin to unravel in unimaginable ways for her.

Now Sara is all twisted up. She is now keeping secrets from Matt, dealing with the stress of problems with her teen daughters and she is trying to balance her relationship with her sister Hailey, as the two had a very difficult childhood and their relationship is very sensitive. Meanwhile, Matt is changing before her very eyes. Then there is Sara’s situation with James - how far with one favor go?

I love how Rona Halsall juggled so many balls between all of these scenarios. I also loved that my assumptions about what was actually going on were so wrong! I just had to read this book in one sitting. I felt like I was on a speeding train while reading this book! I just kept thinking it would derail at any moment. I will say that this book truly was rife with situations bound to explode, and they certainly did! This exciting book was thrilling from the very start and the tension never once let up.

Many thanks to Bookouture and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

This is a domestic drama full of completely unlikeable characters who do really stupid things, make bad decisions, and can't communicate. So many secrets, lies and misunderstandings complicated by a plot that hinged on the characters never acting sensibly or honestly.

I couldn't bring myself to mark this as a DNF, so I did manage to get through the whole of it -- all the while worrying about how to write this review. I find it very difficult to express my true opinions without coming off too harshly. I'm just not the right audience for this type of book and I apologize to any die-hard fans for not finding this twisty, exciting, suspenseful or thrilling. The characters annoyed me with their behavior and I am glad I don't know any people like that. They sure all liked to control things in different ways. Sara did not elicit any sympathy from me despite all her excuses, Matt was all of a sudden a jerk, well -- I'll just leave that here. I am sure that I'm the exception but this was not the book for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for this e-book ARC to read and review.