This is my first Carey Baldwin novel. As with many of Bookouture’s titles, this one did not disappoint.

This is a well-written story, with many twists and turns. It kept my attention throughout, and I didn’t want to put it down.

Mia Thornton is the girl everyone overlooks. Quiet and self effacing she fades into the background.
Left home alone by her mother when she was six she eventuall6 escapes when she realises her mother isn’t coming back for her.
This hits home when she discovers that all my fellow teachers at school are meeting up for dinner.
When one of the girls drops her keys Mia picks them up and walks away, the next day she finds out 5ge girl never made it home.
Trying to make amends she joins in the search and grows close to her family, but someone is watching her.
With so many secrets and lies you won’t see the ending coming.
#Her Lasr Mistake. #Carey Baldwin #Netgalley.

What a great cover and synopsis for Her First Mistake!

I absolutely loved the prologue for this book. It showed a lot of promise and I felt like I was gearing up for an action packed—maybe even heartbreaking—read.

But I really struggled with it once I got past that opening scene and found myself losing focus throughout the rest of the book, and struggling to stay engaged.

We fast forward 20 years for the entire rest of the book—with the exception of some flashback scenes—and the story suddenly focuses on an older Mia and the disappearance of her co-worker, a teacher who Mia is jealous of and wants to be friends with. And Mia may or may not have had something to do with it.

This is the part of the story where I found myself rolling my eyes at Mia. Her character didn’t feel believable, or even likable. She starts off timid, shy and doesn’t seem to have much of a back bone, only to suddenly shift to confident, determined and assertive as she throws herself into the investigation and even into the victim’s family. Character growth is always great to see in a novel, but this one felt a bit too quick and out of character to me—so to speak—for Mia.

Overall the premise of this one was great, but I just couldn’t quite get into it.

Thank you to @NetGalley and @Bookouture for the advance reader copy.

Caveat: It's been some time since I read a Carey Baldwin book and when I saw that her newest book, a psychological thriller, I was so excited and preordered a Kindle copy. But then, I saw that it was available for request as an eARC on NetGalley and I did because sometimes patience isn't one of my virtues. Am I glad I did?

Since the synopsis concisely describes the story, I'm not going to reiterate except to say that Mia's first mistake of taking Celeste's keys, sets in motion a chain of events of lies in which Mia finds herself and deepens as the story progresses, but will state how I felt reading this book.

Even though it may look like that it took many days to read it, it has nothing to do with the story and suspense of the book. It was due to adulting responsibilities. But also with this book, I did something I haven't done in quite a while and that is read into the early hours of the morning until I finished it because I just HAD to find out how this was going to end. Am I glad I lost some hours of sleep? Absolutely!!!

The author's writing style transported me directly into the story. I felt that I could visualize every single page of the story and feel each of the characters' emotions. The suspense started on page 1 and continued to the intense ending. An ending that I had to process after reading the last word.

A thrilling page-turner that captivates the reader and doesn't let go!!!

Posted to Instagram and GR 04/10/21 Will post to blog 04/29/21

This is a fascinating look at what lengths some will go to in order to protect the ones the love and the ramifications of those actions on the ones they love.
Mia is a shy, insecure teacher who had a super rough upbringing. She wants to keep her past a secret so that people don’t feel sorry for her. One of Mia’s fellow teachers, Celeste, has it all-comes from a wealthy family, she’s pretty, got loads of friends-everything Mia has always wanted. One night, Mia does something impulsive and it changes everyone and everything. Shortly afterwards, Celeste goes missing and all eyes point to Mia, and so she has to figure out what has really happened by joining search parties and asking questions the questions the police don’t. Mia hopes that in helping to resolve this case, it will clear her name and also it may help the police look into what happened to her mother as well more than 20 years ago. Little does she know how dark things will get before it all comes to light.
There were loads of twists and although I had guessed at some of them, ultimately there were a few that threw me off the scent and there was really no characters you could trust, which added depth to the story.
Thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for this eArc in exchange for my review.

Had to keep turning the page on this one. There are alot of secrets and gripping edge of your seat moments. I do feel like there were alot of loose ends at the end but it was still very well written and absorbing.

If you need a psychological thriller with tension and suspense that's filled with secrets, check out this one.

Thank you to #NetGalley and the publisher, #Bookoutre for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A great, edge-of-your-seat story.
I could not put this one down! I finished it in one sitting.

The start of the book was really intriguing. A flashback to the main character’s life when she was just six years old. I think it’s fair to say that Mia didn’t have the best start in life.

Move on twenty years. Mia is now a pre-school teacher with a meek personality and few friends. She is so upset to be once again side-lined by her colleagues that she commits a spiteful act that she regrets immediately but can do nothing about. She decides to put things right the following day, when to her horror, her colleague Celeste is now missing. Mia is sure that her thoughtless action has at least contributed in some way to Celeste’s disappearance.

She exaggerates her relationship with Celeste to try to get close to her family, so that she can help in their search for Celeste. Mia has no idea of the trouble she is getting herself into. Her spiteful act was just a spur of the moment decision, one that she never imagined would lead to her involvement in what becomes a murder investigation.

Mia is not the only one with a secret. She meets others who aren’t who or what they say they are. As a psychological thriller, there were a lot of loose threads right from the start of the book. Unfortunately I had worked out what had happened so the end was not such a surprise for me. However, I liked the writing and the characterisations. It was fun to hate a few of the characters right from their introduction. I was not so sure about Mia’s personality, however, as it went from a meek, quiet type at the start of the book to an intrepid, confident woman by the end.

I’m sure that this book will interest many lovers of psychological thrillers, as all the ingredients are there. There are a number of bodies and many anxious moments. Poor detectives don’t add a lot to the story unfortunately, apart from bumbling incompetence.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this advanced copy Bookouture and NetGalley. Thank you for sharing your work Carey, it was much appreciated. I leave this personal review voluntarily.

I always enjoy Carey's books. This one almost felt like an English setting, to me, at first. Felt so sorry for little Mia, then older Mia did not fit in either. It kept me guessing to the end. Another great book Carey. Please keep them coming.

This is definitely a book that has gripped me, pulled me in and been completely and utterly impossible to put down. I have been unable and unwilling to put this one down.
This has started with a flashback that has gripped me instantly. I have devoured page after page with no regrets. This author has captured me and made it impossible to put this book down to do real jobs.
Baldwin explores what one individual is prepared to do in order to protect others. This is definitely a book that has sucked me in, taken me on a rollercoaster read and then spat me back out. This is a new author for me but I will definitely be reading more and adding her to my list of favourite Bookouture authors.
This is unique, well-written and completely absorbing. This is a must read for fans of psychological thrillers. I have loved how the suspense and tension have built up throughout this novel. This has definitely kept me wanting more.
I have found this book completely engaging and unpredictable. I can safely say that I have been converted as a fan of this author.

The book had a good flowing story and there was a great back story for the title character of Mia.

There were twists throughout the book and the I didn't know who the perpetrator was until the last chapter or two.

A well written book with a believable story that unfolded well and came to a satisfactory explanation at the end.

3.5 stars

2.5 stars rounded up. I really wanted to like this book but I felt like the author was desperate to meet a word count for each chapter as the sentence structure was often weird.

For example chapter 38 contains this sentence: “They found it in a parking lot—where people park cars.“ Maybe I misinterpreted the sentence but I found it to be quite odd that she explained what a parking lot was. Overall I did enjoy the book once I got over the weird elements of it.

Such a taut thriller I had to avoid reading close to bedtime because the creep factor of "did she or didn't she" would follow me straight into my dreams. GREAT suspense with building intrigue made this a page-turner, complete with twists that double-back. Highly recommend!

This was a pretty good read for me , I did enjoy it and raced through it .
MIa is a troubled soul , after digging herself out of a shed she was kept in at age 6 it is no surprise to hear that this has affected her life . One night she is leaving a restaurant when she see's a party of her work colleagues , feeling hurt and left out she picks up Celeste's dropped keys and puts them in her own bag .
When she finds out the next day that Celeste did not make it home and is now a missing person she is filled with guilt . As she tries to keep involved with the search she starts to become close to Celeste's family . I have to say she makes some unbelievable choices that I did find hard to imagine . Though this didn't spoil my enjoyment
A good conclusion . I would recommend

The book was off to a great start with a chilling flashback prologue. The story held great promise with a compelling narrative, but somehow I wasn't very taken with the ending.

26-year old Mia Thornton is a pre-school teacher with a traumatic past. Her meek personality renders her almost invisible to those around her, no matter how much she desires to have friends. When she finds out that she has been sidelined yet again by her popular clique of colleagues, she commits a spiteful act that she immediately regrets. A remorseful Mia intends to make amends the next day, but finds that her action may have lead to the disappearance of one of her colleagues, Celeste.

What I liked:
* The suspense build-up in the plot was on point; that alone kept me hooked to the book. Mia was an unreliable narrator which led to plenty of surprises in the story.
What I wasn't so on board with:
*Mia's personality pre- and post- Celeste's disappearance was poles apart; from timid to assertive, it was like a switch was turned on.
* I also didn't see the point of the characters of Ruth and Paul.

Though the climax had a good twist, the villains' justification behind their actions was pretty weak, in my opinion.

Overall, an engaging plot with a good suspense.
Thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for providing a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Overall a good read, took me a while to get into the storyline and I did get a bit distracted trying to figure things out and the characters were good.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

Wow. What a fantastic book!
I was so desperate to find out how it would all come together in the end, I literally couldn’t put it down. It’s a real page turner, full of twists and turns with great characters and I didn’t guess the ending at all which is always a bonus.
This book has everything I look for in a good psychological thriller. I love Carey Baldwin’s style of writing, she kept me hooked throughout.
I’ll definitely be reading more from this wonderful author.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for an advanced copy of this fabulous book in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for allowing me to read this Arc..
This book kept me up at night turning the pages. I just simply couldn't put it down. It was full of twists and turns. I didn't see that ending coming at all. And as for the twist at the end??? Wow just wait for it!! Absolutely brilliant and well worth five stars!!

Wowza! I can't even tell you how much I loved finding a book that held my interest as much as this one did! I read a lot for proofreading and reviewing, and, honestly, sometimes it feels more like a chore than a pleasure. Except for a brief start the day before, I read this in one day because I didn't want to quit.

When the story began with a little girl having been locked in a shed for several days, I knew I wanted to read on. This is the tale of a grown-up girl who feels responsible for the disappearance of a co-worker but still wishes she knew what happened to the mommy who locked her in the shed. I love when a book has a few surprises in store, and this one didn't disappoint.

Thank you, Carey Baldwin!

Loved this one. Took a moment to figure out the connection though I knew where it was, I didn’t know who it was. It takes a lot to pull the wool over my eyes with all the reading I do.

Clever, an easy way to pass the day. I’d recommend to anyone who wants an authentic, entertaining book to read for any occasion.