This has one of the most devastating prologues I think I’ve ever read. A young girl locked in a shed by her own mother tore at my heart.

Then we skip forward to present day and Mia is now working as a pre-school teacher, ostracised by her colleagues who as it turns out have been meeting secretly for drinks every month for the past year. Which she only discovers by having gone to the restaurant to meet with a child’s mother and, after being stood up, bumps into them on leaving. This is where she makes her first mistake!

Narrated in third person, with Mia you are never quite sure how reliable her version of events are, especially after learning what she is capable of doing in her sleep.

My heart went out to Mia though, from terrible beginnings all she wanted was a friend and I found that so heartbreaking and the cruel rejections she continued to face just made me want to protect her from all the meanness. The school setting was perfect as it’s often a place where rejection, bullying and cruelty happens. Although it’s normally the children not the adults who are both the victims, ringleader and cohorts.

This book really made me think of the film The Butterly Effect and how one small inconsequential thing can bring about devastating consequences.

This is a great read.
Mia had an unusual start to life as her mum used to lock her in a shed while her ‘friend’ visited her. One day when she’s 6 years old Mia knows she’s been in the shed too long and has to dig her way out.
No-one knows what happened to her mum so she goes to stay with her aunt, Misty.
We then follow Mia as an adult and find that she struggles in social situations and has just finished therapy.
On a night out, her friend cancels at the last minute so Mia goes to leave the restaurant but bumps into Celeste and her friends. They ask her to join them, but why wasn’t she invited in the first place? Feeling a bit annoyed Mia sees that Celeste’s keys have fallen out of her bag, and takes them.
The next day she hears that Celeste is missing and her handbag was found down an alley.
Mia feels awful so integrates herself into the search party and soon she’s chatting to Celeste’s mother, who invites her home after she faints.
It then gets interesting as there seems to be a few people under suspicion but I still wasn’t ready for the conclusion which had me on the edge of my seat.
This is a great read that I can highly recommend.
Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

There are few books that I have found to be "unputdownable" but Her First Mistake has certainly joined those ranks. Full of the twists that make psychological thrillers so gripping, the story of Mia and Celeste is sure to fuel many a wine-soaked book group conversations.Similar in many ways to The Girl on the Train, readers who pick up Her First Mistake should be prepared for a wild ride that probes some of the darkest recesses of the mind. While I would have enjoyed even more of Mia's backstory, the Mia the reader comes to know is one of 2021's most unforgettable protagonists.

Superb prologue that then sets a really high bar for the rest of the book,I wasn’t then surprised it didn’t quite match up to it but it was a taut,tense psychological thriller that kept me reading,a bit of ‘wordy’ repitition from time to time but a solid read and plenty of twists ,turns and excitement

I was hooked on the very 1st chapter but the rest of the book did not hold up to the rush if the beginning of the book.

So this is yet another book that had an abrupt change of cover and title after I got it from the Publisher. I have to say that the cover change is great but I liked the previous title "I Know What You Did" way better.

Anyways, to the book.
The writing has a great flow and even though I wasn't particulary interested in the story during first few chapters, as it felt bit boring and Mia wasn't a particulary compelling protagonist, it picked up pretty quickly and I got really into it.
I got so into it that when I was around 70% I didn't want to put it down and stayed up until like 2am to finish it. I'd give this book 3/3.5 stars, but the fact that I wanted to finish it instead of going to sleep in my book is a justification for an extra star.
I had few problems with the ending (even though the general idea was good and I enjoyed it). The "Bad Guy Telling You Everything Instead Of Just Killing You And Be Done With It" is my most hated trope and I hated it here as well. I much more prefer the protaginist finding out the truth on their own instead of listening to The Killer's tedious monologue for like 15 pages or so.

The prologue was a brilliant start of the book and it was very well written.
I likied the epilogue very much, because it was so different from all of the twisty thrillery epilogues.

Mia is sort of an unreliable narrator and I enjoyed that.

Overall, it's a good, fast-paced novel, even though it has some major drawbacks.

What a wild ride this psychological thriller was! The dark vestiges of her childhood is what leads Mia to hide the keys of a coworker, and that sets off a chain of events no one could predict...

Great cover, interesting read. Just could not quite connect with Mia. Not sure why. I love this author I can’t wait to see what’s next.

Her First Mistake will IMMEDIATELY draw you in with a gripping prologue flashing back to Mia's childhood & the quick jump into a present day dilemma when Mia's coworker go missing and she may have had something to do with it. The story leads you in many directions with several suspects, so many possibilities, and new questions constantly arising. Unfortunately, I never felt like I connected to Mia as she seemed both unreliable and inconsistent. She strives so hard to be liked or wanted, you feel like you are watching a child. You know that moment in a scary movie where you are like "NO DON'T OPEN THE DOOR" and they immediately do the stupidest thing they could do and open the door? That is how I felt about Mia - she always was making the worst decisions. She was characterized as weak and fragile but then acted boldly at all the wrong times. Her character confused and frustrated me as I read the story, which was problematic as the story focused almost entirely on her. Aside from this, the story itself moved a bit slower than I wanted until about halfway through. The ending truly did keep me guessing because there were SO MANY possible ways it could go. I loved the way everything tied together as the tale came to a close and the truth was revealed. This book has a great story and plenty of twists. If you prepare yourself for an unlikeable, unreliable narrator, you will truly enjoy the journey.

My first read by Carey Baldwin but not the last! I was drawn by the blurb and it sure lived up to the hype. The prologue grabs you and the rest of the story keeps a fast pace for a great binge-read! I just could not put it down and ended up reading it in one day!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC!

A fast paced twisted book.

I would have loved to like Mia. The entire plot is her questioning if Mia played a role in the disappearance of her colleague or not, and if I felt connected to Mia I would have been on her side. I found myself thinking she of course played a role in the crime, just unsure what role. I wish I could have been on her side, as that would have made the book better for me.

The book was fast and kept me interested. Enough going on to keep me coming back for more.

A gripping read that keeps you turning the pages. I enjoyed this one, and will definitely read more of Carey Baldwin's books. Great pacing, interesting characters, and keeps you wondering what will happen next. I recommend it!

Wow is all I will
Say! Mia has truly been through the ringer. All she wanted was a normal life right? I was praying that she got that normal life considering all that she endured..I don’t want to give spoilers so you have to read it to see if she got it.. What a great domestic suspense thriller. This book did not disappoint. I was very satisfied with the character development and the pace of the story. There were times when I thought I had it figured out only to be completely wrong. I neglected all chores while reading this book. Not sure if that’s a good thing or bad.😂 but it was very well worth it. I recommend this book. It is mind boggling making you want to flip those pages until there are no more. Very well written.I look forward to reading more from this Author.
Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to review this book for my honest opinion

My first book by Carey Baldwin and I wasn't dissapointed loved her style of writing.
We meet Mia as a 26 year old teacher who has trouble connecting to her fellow colleagues and when one of them goes missing she wonders if her action's could have been the cause.
I felt sorry for Mia at times but at others I really wanted to give her shake and tell her to go for it as she'd managed to escape from the shed at 6 years old I knew she was stronger than she realised.
Believable characters helped to make it a strong story.
I didn't guess the end which pleased me.
I will definitely read more by this author.
Thank you to #netgallery #bookoutour and #careybaldwin for an early digital copy.
Her First Mistake by Carey Baldwin published 30th April 2021.

Wow I loved Her First Mistake, I couldn't put it down, it was a real page turner.
It had great twists and turns, interesting characters and an ending I didn't see coming.
I intend to read more by this author in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for my ARC.

Omg I loved this book! This is my first Carey Baldwin read and it won't be my last!
The writing was amazing and held my attention!
The story simply chilling
Such a quick amazing bok!

A huge thank you to #NetGalley, #Bookoutour, and author #CareyBaldwin for providing me the ARC of #HerFirstMistake.

We are witnesses to a little girl, Mia, fighting for her life digging out of a shed where she has been locked in by her mother.

Then we are taken to present day where Mia is a somewhat damaged adult carrying more than her share of baggage. She has been in therapy for years, but still has problems making friends and getting close to people. She doesn't remember anything about those days when her mom would lock her in the shed to hide her when men came over. That's a good thing because I'm sure I wouldn't want to remember either.

Mia tries very hard to fit in with the other teachers at the same preschool where she teaches. She believes none of them care about her. So, while she's out and about one evening she sees some of the other girls from work. Celeste, another teacher drops her keys, but doesn't notice so Mia picks them up. Just a little something to get back at them, right?

THEN Celeste goes missing. Uh oh.....and Mia has had episodes of sleepwalking. At times she has even left the house on her little late night excursions. Unfortunately Mia had one of those episodes the night Celeste went missing.

Now being questioned by the police she feels she has to be very careful, because even she is unsure of her innocence. Besides, she still has Celeste's keys which will make her look bad even if she is innocent.

What a joy this book was to read. The plot was perfect. Fresh and imaginative would be the perfect way to describe this book. It even has all kinds of twists and turns and makes you root for some of the characters and not like others much at all.

I really hope you will run out and grab this book! It will be available to buy wherever you like to buy your books on 4/30/2021. #HappyReading

BLOG TOUR REVIEW

Review for 'Her First Mistake' by Carey Baldwin.

Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Carey Baldwin, Bookouture publishers and Bookouture anonymous

Publication date 30th April 2021.

This is the first book I have read by this author. It was previously published with the title 'I Know What You Did', I think the new title works much better with the storyline.

I was originally drawn to this book by its eye catching cover and its intriguing synopsis. It also stated in the synopsis that this book is 'Fans of The Wife Between Us, The Girl on the Train and Gone Girl will be totally addicted to Her First Mistake.' I am a huge fan of 'The Girl On The Train' and 'Gone Girl' so am looking forward to see if it lives up to this. I must admit I was also biased due to the publisher being Bookouture. I have yet to read a book published by Bookouture that I haven't enjoyed. Hopefully this won't be the first... Watch this space! (Written before I started reading the book).

This novel consists of a prologue, 43 chapters and an epilogue. The chapters are short to medium in length so possible to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!

This book is based in San Diego, USA 🇺🇸.

This book is written in third person perspective with the main protagonist being Mia Thornton. The benefits of third person perspective are that it let's you see the bigger picture of what's going on and you get to know more characters more, what they are thinking and what they are doing. It feels like you get to see the whole picture and not miss out in anything.

This book is very well written and the vivid descriptions completely absorb the reader from beginning to end. The cover and synopsis work well with the storyline.

The storyline is absolutely captivating as well as realistic. Throughout the storyline I kept questioning myself on what I thought was going on and was completely blown out of the water when I discovered who was actually behind everything. A huge congratulations is in order to Casey, its getting harder and harder to shock me and just when I thought I had sussed it all out BANG I was completely blind sighted! The storyline was packed full of mystery, suspense, lies and was an excellent psychological thriller. The only thing I will say is that there was an awful lot going on with two characters which I would have like to have read more about, I don't really want to say who I mean as it might go towards spoiling it for readers when finding out what happened but it did seem like more was going to come of their story and then didn't. The storyline was quite unique in what Mia was going through and I would be interested in reading more of Carey's books. It is also quite thought provoking and makes you wonder what you would do in Mia's position and also makes you realise how one small thing can make such a huge difference.

The characters were strong, well defined and realistic. I am still not sure how I felt towards Mia though. There were times I really felt sorry for her especially with how cruel the teachers were bullying her in the book club session, I really felt for her. However, at other times she went from being this strong woman who I praised for her strength and determination and then completely flipping personalities to somebody who was quite weak and needy. Overall though I did feel sorry for what she went through and continued to go through and it can't have been nice for her to have such big gaps in her memory. I also felt sympathy towards another character mentioned right at the end who was judged wrongly by other characters as well as myself. I won't say who again due to spoiling things but once read I'm sure you will know who I mean.

Overall an intriguing psychological thriller that will keep you on your toes.

Genres covered in this book include Psychological Fiction, Thriller, Suspense and Psychological Thriller amongst others.


I would recommend this book to the fans of the above as well as fans of 'Girl On The Train', 'Gone Girl' and anyone looking for an action packed psychological thriller.


315 pages.

This book is just 99p to purchase on kindle via Amazon which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!

Rated 4/5 (I enjoyed it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.

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The prologue is the best part of the book, I loved it, it's engaging, heartbreaking and promising.
The rest of the book, even if quite good, doesn't stand up to its start.
It's not that it's bad, because it absolutely isn't, maybe it's just that I expected it to follow a different path and I felt let down.
Also everything and everyone seemed against Mia, the lead character, and it felt a bit too much.
The twists of the plot were good, though.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

From the first page, I was hooked on this one. I usually don’t enjoy books where the time jumps from past to present but this one drew me in and I had to read the whole thing. So many secrets were revealed and twists, this is certainly a thriller worth reading!