I was instantly hooked and stayed up way past my bedtime reading this one. This is another great page turner that keeps you guessing right until the very end. I tore right through it and highly recommend it ! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Thank you @netgalley @minotaur_books and @macmillan.audio for this ARC in exchange for an honest review! I received the ebook and audio.

As a psychologist specializing in domestic abuse, Naomi has found it hard to avoid becoming overly invested in her clients’ lives. But after helping Jacob make the decision to leave his wife, Naomi worries that she’s taken things too far. Then Jacob goes missing, and her files on him vanish. . . .But as the police start asking questions about Jacob, Naomi’s own dark past emerges. And as the truth comes to light, it seems that it’s not just her clients who are in danger.

💭 It seems to be an unpopular opinion, but this one was not for me. It’s a quick read and the story line had me interested.

I didn’t like the MC. Naomi is loving and wants to fix everyone’s problems, but there are lines between a big heart and unprofessional. Her marriage is a mess, and I would say half of that is definitely her own fault. Less than 300 pages, I feel like I would have enjoyed this story if there was more to it. There was so much to this story and just not enough development. The ending left me confused. I read this one and then re-listened to the last 30% on audio hoping I would catch something I missed. I love having a physical and audio copy!

I will point out I thought the epilogue was great! I think there was just too much going on and not enough to it.

I enjoyed this book. It was a lot of lying, blaming, & deception. Some of it was pretty easy to figure out but it kept my interest & I wanted to find out how it would end. A quick, easy read.

I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

This was a bit slow going at first, but when it got going… it really went for it.

I did not see the ending of this one at all. There were 5 million twists and turns. By the end, I was questioning who *I* was. It was the definition of a psychological thriller.

I suggest going into this one blind. It was super good that way!

Having read and enjoyed other books by Sandie Jones, I was excited to see she had a new book out! "The Blame Game" centers around psychologist Naomi and her husband Leo. Naomi loves helping her clients, but sometimes she takes it too far. She is particularly concerned about Jacob, a patient who is being abused by his wife and fears for his life. Naomi, against her husband's wishes, allows Jacob to stay in their empty city flat, but when he disappears and she discovers that Jacob wasn't who he said he was, all hell breaks loose.

It was hard to follow this book at times because of all the side plots: her husband's possible cheating, a long lost sister, another client who needs her help, etc. The ending was a little hard to follow because it was hard to figure out who the "bad guy" really was. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Sandie Jones knows how to write a domestic thriller and I was captivated by this one. Even though nothing is quite wrong at the beginning, you can tell there is an air of something sinister happening or coming just by how she writes her stories. I was uneasy from the start and that certainly did not let up until the very last sentence. It started as a possible slow burn, but then definitely ramped up until I had to read slowly just to wrap my head around what was happening; and I could feel the MC doing the same as she was spinning in confusion. I don't want to spoil anything, but even though I might have guessed a minor detail or two, I was completely thrown by the ending (actually a few times) and loved this wild ride.

About 1/3 of the way into this one and it’s turning into another favorite if Sandie Jones! I believe I’ve got some of the twists figured out but I’m excited to see how they play out! Thank you Net Galley for the ARC!

Abuse Therapist Naomi Chandler needs a Therapist to help her learn that good intentions don't always result in a positive outcome. As Naomi works with her fragile patients she begins to overstep the role of Therapist and steps uncomfortably into the role of savior. Again, no good deed goes unpunished.... Just when Naomi thinks she is helping one patient her professional and personal life begin to spiral around her. She becomes the key suspect when her patient goes missing but was she responsible, was she careless., was she distracted or was she all three?

This book is fast paced and has MANY twists and turns. There are a lot of characters and I had to really focus to remember who each person was, I feel as confused as Naomi at times but in the end I liked the story and recommend it... even if I would never allow Naomi to treat me in therapy!

Once part two hit, I couldn’t stop reading! I spent the whole second half guessing and I was sort of right. I love the mind f*ck this novel takes you on as your try to solve what actually went down.

I shouldn’t read books with psychologists. Even as a person who did not continue her psychology degree into practice, I can tell how many lines Naomi crosses on a pretty consistent pace. How is she still licensed? This wasn’t the only problem I had with the book, but it is still bugging me. Maybe there are different codes of ethics that I just don’t understand. I found the MC to be unlikable and the story to be a less than thrilling thriller.

WOW!!!! What a read!!!!!

Due to medical issues, I will be sending a full review as soon as I can. I apologize for the inconvenience.

Sincerely,
Cheryl Masciarelli

This is my fourth book I have read by [a:Sandie Jones|3917070|Sandie Jones|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1566343107p2/3917070.jpg] and looking back, [b:The Other Woman|38318767|The Other Woman|Sandie Jones|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1525957772l/38318767._SY75_.jpg|57846205] has been my favorite with a four star review.
I also review generously due to I DNF a ton of books, and if I am able to finish a book that should tell you it’s entertaining if there isn’t anything else.

This is an example of one of those books that I was able to quickly finish, but I moaned and groaned the whole time, cussing at the unrealistic stupidity of the MC who is supposedly a professional psychotherapist! The plot of the story is one that would NEVER happen in real life to a professional and I did feel the author made a bad decision to make the MC this profession, because it could have been better otherwise.

The author did try to put doubt into the readers head by including a by story, however, that story was left swinging in the wind completely and it leaves readers wondering what was the point in the first place? That story was more interesting to me anyway admittedly.

All in all, I was able to finish this book in one day. It is an entertaining read and a book that will be easily forgotten.

Thank you NetGalley & Minotaur &Macmillian Audio for my gifted copy.

The Blame Game started off slow for me and it took me a moment to get into it, especially part 1. Once I started Part 2 though, I was hooked. I loved the ending and the epilogue. It will stick with me for a while.

Naomi is a psychologist specializing in domestic abuse. She has a hard time with boundaries as she is often blurring the lines to help her patients. A lot of that stems from her childhood trauma and not wanting the same thing that happened to her mother happen to her patients. Her husband on the other hand is frustrated with her lack of boundaries with her patients, so Naomi begins lying to him. One of her patients go missing and Naomi’s lies begin to unravel and truths are revealed. As everything begins to unravel, it is apparent someone is going to great lengths to frame her.

Part 1 was slow to me. I had a hard time with Naomi and her lying. I understood why she did it (though don’t agree) but even when caught in her lies, she continued to lie or only give half truths. Part 2, though, was great. It picked up quickly and I love how the story unfolded and how the truths were revealed. For a while I was at the edge of my seat and was like, did she really do it? Could this be the big reveal? I am not saying anymore other than I loved how it ended and that epilogue! I am still reveling at the epilogue.

I almost gave the book 5 stars just on how the way the author ended it. I thought it was very clever. But the slow start of Part 1 is ultimately why I gave this book 4 stars.

I highly recommend this book. It was definitely worth reading and a great mystery/suspense.

Thank you to the NetGalley, the publisher, and Sandie Jones for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion and review.

Naomi is a psychotherapist who, due to events in her past, deals mainly with victims of abuse. Her past also makes her want to help these victims escape their abusers and this has resulted in her crossing the line to offer direct aid. When Jacob, a client she has given a place to stay, disappears, she soon finds herself a suspect. But is his disappearance the result of someone from her past or is it someone closer to home? As she seeks to prove her innocence, she finds herself sinking deeper and deeper into danger.

First, I’d like to thank Netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review. Okay, so I found this book a bit difficult to review. It was too much to ask of my willing suspension of disbelief to believe that an accredited Psychotherapist would cross so many ethical and professional lines to supposedly aid her patients. I get her wanting to help but to actually invite patients to stay at her house is a clear ethical violation. To do it against her husband’s expressed wishes is a recipe for disaster both for the client’s well-being as well as her own,

Don’t get me wrong - I didn’t hate the book. It’s well-written and, if i wasn’t completely able to accept the actions of the characters especially Naomi’s, I did finish it. I’m giving it three stars because of that. However, I‘ve read other reviewers who loved the book so I’ll finish by saying that I make no recommendation other than to say if The Blame Game sounds like something you’ll enjoy, I leave it up to you to decide for yourself.

I had high hopes for Sandie Jones's The Blame Game, but my anger at the main character got in the way. She crossed every professional line and lied to all the wrong people in all the wrong moments. She started as a strong female lead, but became weaker and weaker with every poor choice she made.

What happens when your past begins to haunt your present and you begin to make questionable choices which could change your future forever?

American psychologist Naomi Chandler whose specialty is domestic abuse now lives in London with her husband Leon. She has a soft spot for all her clients, always giving a little more than she should. She herself was a victim of trauma witnessing her father killing her mother.

According to Leon, she has a tendency to give too much of herself to her clients, taking what she feels they need from her a little too far. He has always told her that someday it will get her into trouble. Even as she continues to tell him no such thing could happen; she has kept a few secrets from him which could be a disaster in the making.

When one of her clients, a man named Jacob, who has been continually abused by his wife for years and has cigarette burns on his arms and bruises to prove it, decides he can’t take the mistreatment anymore and wants to leave but is afraid she will find him and kill him, Naomi takes it upon herself to set him up at a cottage her husband owns which is secluded and no one could find him. Of course, she keeps telling herself she must tell Leon, but knows he will disapprove.

Jacob begins to feel free and clear of his wife and Naomi is pleased with her decision. But then as she prepares for their next session, she can’t find his file. She absolutely knows she locked it up, but as she searches her office and house, she can’t find it. She fears somehow his wife broke into her office and took the file and now knows where Jacob is staying.

Her fear comes to fruition as Jacob makes a frantic call to her one evening saying his wife has called and he is scared for his life. Against her better judgement, she meets Jacob at the bar at the hotel she told him to go to. She finds him drunk and scared and tries to settle him down.

At the same time Jacob seems to be hitting a wall, another client, Anna, whose relationship with her husband has turned violent due to his drinking because they lost a child years ago and she blames him for what happened, has decided she needs to take her children and leave because she doesn’t feel safe anymore. Naomi again makes a contentious decision and tells her she can stay at her house until they get her settled into a shelter.

Then Jacob misses his next appointment and Naomi fears the worst. She goes to the cottage where he is staying but he is not there. Then she gets a shocking visit from the police. Jacob’s wife has filed a missing person report and all the evidence seems to point to Naomi and Jacob having an affair. She is now the prime suspect in his disappearance!

Her world begins to implode as all the evidence points to her, and with Leon wanting to take a break and Jacob still missing, she can’t believe she has done this to her life. As she sadly reminisces about her mother, wishing she could talk to her one last time so she could help her, she begins to find inconsistencies in the clues. Is someone trying to frame her? But still, no one is willing to believe anything she has to say. Everyone seems to want to blame Naomi for this situation and no one wants to believe she would never harm anyone. Has she taken her kindness to clients too far? Will she end up in jail? Or will whoever seems to want to destroy her, kill her before she can figure out why this is happening.

The Blame Game is another slam dunk from Sandie Jones! An amazing quick paced psychological thriller with a “wow”! ending which will both shock the reader and satisfy them at the same time.

Thank you #NetGalley #MinotaurBooks #TheBlameGame #SandieJones for the advanced copy.

I enjoyed this fast-paced domestic thriller. Naomi is a psychologist who has a past of getting a little too close with her patients. When her patient, Jacob, suddenly disappears, the book picks up and doesn't slow down. I kept turning the pages, desperate to know what was going on. The only thing I wasn't sold on was how naive Naomi was throughout the book. She came across as a meek character and I found myself not having very much sympathy for her. However, I didn't let that stop me from giving this book five stars!

I was very excited for this new Sandie Jones novel. I've typically enjoyed her books and was hoping this one would be no different. However, it fell pretty flat for me. While the plot is interesting, I found it a little far fetched at some points and overall pretty predictable which was disappointing. Overall giving it 2/5 stars.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I just finished this book, and Sandie Jones has me in utter shock over here. I was questioning my sanity around the 50% mark because I didn't know who to believe, Naomi, Leon, Jacob or Anna. The entire book minus the Epilogue is told from Naomi's POV, and she's the most unreliable character I've ever met.

Naomi Chandler is a psychotherapist in England who lives on a large estate with her husband Leon. Leon works for the owner of the estate, and Naomi has her private practice located on the estate as well. One of her new patients, Jacob MacKenzie claims that his wife, Vanessa, has abused him during their entire marriage. He claims that she's been having an affair and wants Naomi's advice on how to leave her without upsetting their two children's lives in the process. Enter in Anna, Naomi's other new patient. Anna comes to Naomi to seek help in getting out of her abusive marriage with her husband who is an alcoholic. Naomi gives sound advice to both patients, but forms a special bond with both of them and wants to "save" them both.
Things start to take a turn for the worse when Jacob is a no-show for his therapy appointment with Naomi. After Jacob has been missing for a few days, a police investigation ensues.
Meanwhile, Anna is still trying to leave her abusive husband with her two children. Naomi is scrambling around trying to do her best to stay sane during the investigation into Jacob's disappearance and her own marriage is taking a turn for the worse.

This book had my mind going in so many different places. There were so many twists, deep secrets uncovered, and lying spouses. I loved it! I couldn't figure out who was doing what and who was really behind it all. The ending was unbelievably good! This was my second book by Sandie Jones and won't be my last!

This was a fast and enjoyable listen, but I was left confused with a lot of questions at the end. I am fond of this author’s writing!