This was such a good thriller! It kept me guessing and intrigued the whole time! The characters were likable and well developed. I would definitely recommend this to everyone!

I have loved everything Sandie Jones has written so I was really excited when I was granted this ARC. Unlike some of the other reviewers, I actually liked seeing an "unethical" therapist storyline and was excited to see where Naomi was headed with Jacob. I liked that I wasn't sure who to trust throughout this but felt like it it never really came together in a cohesive way. The ending was rather predictable given all of the foreshadowing leading up to it but I feel like there could have been more leadup or explanation at the end to make it more shocking. I felt a bit disappointed by the abrupt ending. I will say I enjoyed this and it was quick read but just had a lot of moving parts that abruptly came together and just felt a bit overwhelming and convenient. I still look forward to Sandie Jones' next book. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is the fifth novel from Sandie Jones I have read. I've just finished and I'm still just a bit confused on the ending and I'm not exactly sure I completely understood how everything tied together. Natalie was a bit of a tough character to like - she's a psychologist who makes some unethical decisions that definitely blur the lines with her professional relationship with her clients. I felt like she was such a mess from her past that she really had no business in this profession - but since this is a fictional story we'll just go along with it.. There were lots of twists in this one - some maybe a bit over the top. I did like that the book was short but I feel like something was missing.

Naomi is a psychotherapist that specializes in domestic abuse. She has some experience with trauma from her childhood and sometimes gets a little too involved with her clients in the name of trying to help them. In this instance, she gets too close to Jacob and when he shows up missing things looks terrible for Naomi. Is she responsible? Is her husband Leon responsible? Or is it Jacob’s abusive wife? Naomi needs to find out fast before she goes down for a crime she didn’t commit.

I didn’t really enjoy this author’s previous book, The Guilt Trip. The problems I had with it are the same problems I have with this one. The ending moves at the speed of a freight train, there are too many odd and unbelievable twists and then it’s just over without answers to some very important questions. Not my favorite, for sure.

Sadly, this one didn't really do it for me. I didn't like the characters, the plot was a little slow, there was too much going on and I just couldn't connect with the story.

Naomi runs a private psychology practice out of her home and finds herself particularly (and unethically?) attached to two of her clients - Jacob and Anna, both of whom have come to Naomi to discuss the domestic abuse each is suffering from at home. At the encouragement of Naomi, Jacob decides to finally leave his abusive wife. When Jacob expresses that he has no where else to go Naomi offers him the apartment her and her husband have and were considering renting out. Anna, wants to take her children and leave her abusive relationship too, but doesn't have the resources to find somewhere for them to live. So now, Naomi offers up the spare rooms in her own home (much to the dismay of her husband). When Jacob goes missing and the police come knocking at her door, Naomi finds herself drowning in her own lies with both her husband and the police.

The plot just seemed too far fetched to me. There is no way that any legitimate psychologist would do any of the things Naomi does! The one thing I can say is I did feel compelled to keep reading it just because I really did want to know where it all ended up. When I found out I was pretty underwhelmed. Overall, not my favourite read this summer.

Naomi has a past she is trying to forget. She’s happily married and has her own private practice as a therapist specializing in domestic abuse. But she also has a habit of crossing the line when it comes to helping her patients. When her patient Jacob, disappears, all the evidence points to Naomi. It doesn’t help that she hasn’t been entirely truthful, especially to her husband Leon. Desperate to help Jacob but also trying to help another patient, Anna, Naomi ensnares herself in a tangle of lies and deceit where even she doesn’t know who is who and what the truth is.

This one has a lot going on and I felt that the different storylines didn’t tie up well together at the end. I suspected what was going on with some of the characters early on so the ending wasn’t as much of a surprise as I had hoped. I also didn’t like any of the characters and had a hard time empathizing with Naomi when she consistently made ridiculous choices. But it was fast paced and for most of the novel, I wasn’t sure what was going to go wrong next for Naomi.

Thank you to @netgalley and @minotaur_books for this advance readers copy. This review can also be found on Goodreads and on IG @maria.needs.to.read

Thank you to Net Galley and Minotaur books for an arc. I liked the short chapters that was a positive thing from this book. But I found the characters confusing and unrelatable. I have read several Sandie Jones book but, this one is my least favorite.

I went back and forth reading and listening to this and enjoyed it!⁣
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I thought the narrator kept it interested and changed up the voices well, so you knew who was talking. ⁣
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This story is center around lying, blaming, and sketchy stories. This is told through Naomi’a eyes, she’s a counselor for domestic violence victims, and while I see where she’s coming from sometimes, she tends to blur lines with her patients, which causes a lot of drama and confusion.⁣
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It’s hard to believe what character is telling the truth and who the true victim is. There’s a deceitful web of lies between characters and they all have reasons for being unreliable. Mental health topics are discussed, and not everything is as it appears.⁣
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This was an intriguing thriller and I enjoyed following the chaos. ⁣
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

A quick read with some decent twists! I wasn’t the biggest fan of most of the characters which made it a little difficult to really get into the story. I also wish there was more about Naomi, her sister and her dad. I almost liked that storyline better than the actual one.

A fast-paced thriller that follows a successful therapist with a dark past as she navigates boundaries with clients. Her husband thinks she’s too enmeshed, and when a client goes missing, his wife gets caught up in the mounting evidence. The reader struggles to keep up with whodunnit and the ending seemed rushed, but overall a great read by a skilled author. Thanks NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this Arc. This is my honest review.

I had really enjoyed Sandie Jones' The Other Woman but had really been turned off by The Guilt Trip, whose ending I still don't understand. I had high hopes that this one would've returned to the land of The Other Woman but unfortunately I have to file it with The Guilt Trip. I really didn't care for it. Naomi was beyond unprofessional, sticking her nose really where it doesn't belong. The ending wasn't nearly as clear as I prefer and there felt like strings were left flying in the wind, rather than nicely tied together the way I prefer.

“I wish I were shocked that a grown man would ever doubt that his experience would be deemed credible enough to be believed. But unfortunately, it doesn’t matter whether you’re young or old, male or female; the greatest fear, apart from the abuse itself, is that nobody will believe you.”

Wow, I flew through this book in less than 24 hours. But…and this is a big but…I feel a bit, idk, icky after having just finished it. I find myself a bit confused.

Naomi is a therapist for domestic abuse victims. Great, right? But no. She makes every possible wrong decision in an attempt to right a wrong from her past. Every time she has the opportunity to tell the truth, she lies. I hate liars. She lies to her husband. The cops. Herself. It makes you not care for her character or root for her.

This book started off so strong right out of the gate! I had to know what was going to happen! But the ending lost some steam and credibility and I found myself confused and trying to decipher why her past issues were thrown in at all if they weren’t going to determine her present in some way.

The audio was absolutely addicting, though. I just could not stop listening. The narrator was one of the best I’ve heard and I listen to a lot of audiobooks. The accents. The emotion. The fear. She nailed it!

Thank you so much to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books, Macmillan Audio, and the author for the ARC and ALC in exchange for an honest review.

I will forever be a Sandie Jones fan, but The Blame Game was a bit of a hot mess of a read. I did not feel for any of the characters, most especially the main character Naomi. Naomi is a psychologist who gets a little to close to her clients in the name of helping. This turns out to be a bad practice. And the story unfolds from there. I was, however, hooked to the story and as with all of Sandie Jones’ books I had to keep reading to find out what would happen. I have to say I did see a few plot holes and did think the ending was a possibility. I did love the epilogue and how it played out.
Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this one in exchange for my honest opinion.

A quick, easy summer read I devoured during a short trip away from home. I was often frustrated by Naomi and her need to neglect the truth. I wanted to like her character, but I just couldn't because she was deceitful. Overall, a good story, but it will not become my favorite Sandie Jones book. I did love how quickly the story moved and kept you thinking about possible suspects.

The Blame Game by Sandie Jones is a domestic thriller about a psychotherapist named Naomi who goes a little too far trying to help her patients. How far will she go to protect her patients? When Naomi starts to see a patient named Jacob she finds herself wanting to help him at all costs even when her husband does not agree. When Jacob goes missing, Naomi must try to unravel the mystery of what happened before she becomes the prime suspect in his disappearance.

I read through this book very quickly. It was a very quick, easy read— perfect for the summertime and a day by the pool. I did like the twist in the final part of the story – the epilogue from a character you were not expecting.

The main character Naomi drove me slightly crazy when I was reading this book. She kept making terrible decisions throughout the story, ones that would absolutely make her look guilty for something she may not have even done. I feel like a lot of this book wouldn’t even have happened if she was just honest from the beginning. I know that she was trying to help her patients but it seemed very clear that she crossed the line when helping her patients.

CONTAINS SPOILERS:
I thought that the end of this book was a bit rushed. I was a bit confused by the ending and don’t feel as though enough time was spent unraveling the mystery of the story. The last chapter the police are arresting Naomi and then all of the sudden they realized that she did not committ the murder? Again, just very rushed. I would have liked to also hear from the main character at the end in the epilogue. I am still unsure whether the character Anna/Vanessa was her sister from her past or not. Was Anna just out to get her husband to keep her secret hidden or was she also Naomi’s sister and trying to seek revenge. Also, if she isn’t her sister, it seems like they discussed her past a lot in the book and her backstory to kind of just again leave that open-ended and unresolved. Did she ever meet up with her sister and rekindle their relationship? Again, there were just a lot of unanswered questions at the end of the book for me.

Jones’s books read very much like domestic dramas, so if you are looking for lots of drama especially among relationships, then her books are for you and I think that you would enjoy this book. I think if more time was spent on the ending and the twists the story, I would have enjoyed it more.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! The Blame Game will have you guessing until the very last page! I loved this book and could not put it down. I love a quick read and especially one that makes you feel so connected and invested in the story and its characters. I would like to thank net galley and the publishers for an ARC of The Blame Game in exchange for my review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sandie Jones for this E-ARC in exchange for my honest feedback and review.

Naomi is a great therapist. She will literally do anything for her clients, especially to ensure their safety. Her husband Leon does not approve of her willingness to help everyone. Naomi had a horrible childhood who watched her father murder her mother. This is one of the many reasons she does all she can to help her clients. When one of her clients, Jacob, goes missing after his abusive wife finds where he's living she finds herself the main suspect. Naomi is desperately trying to find Jacob who may not be Jacob and keep the police from suspecting her. Things seem to keep spiraling out of control for Naomi.

When I started this book I devoured it! I even requested the audio-ARC so I that I didn't have to stop reading/listening to this book until I was done. I noticed things weren't wrapping up when I hit 90% so that's when I got worried. I really hope there is a second book coming out involving this story because it feels so unfinished to me. The ending was so rushed. We didn't get any clarification on the characters actual identities or events that may or may not have happened. I love Sandie Jones. I have devoured all of her books but this one left me wanting oh so much more.

Many thanks to NetGalley, St Martin's Press Minotaur Books and Macmillan Audio for gifting me both a digital and audio ARC of the latest thriller by Sandie Jones, wonderfully narrated by a favorite of mine, Karissa Vacker - 4 stars!

Naomi is a psychotherapist specializing in domestic abuse, having survived her own terrible childhood. She is working with Jacob, a man who is being abused by his wife and is terrified; as well as with Anna, struggling after the loss of her son and disintegration of her marriage. Both of these patients need her help and she struggles to draw the line about getting too involved. But when Jacob's files go missing from her office and then he goes missing, the spotlight of suspicion points right to Naomi.

This was another fast-paced thriller by Sandie Jones. There are plenty of twists and turns and I was kept guessing until the epilogue wrapped everything up! There aren't any real likable characters here, although I certainly felt for Naomi and her desperation to help others out of bad situations. The audio narration was perfect - Karissa Vacker is a master of different voices and I found myself gravitating to the audio more than the digital copy. Pick this one up for any remaining trips to the beach this summer!

3.5 stars

The Blame Game has a very interesting premise that of a psychiatrist who is willing to cross the line to help her patients that are in dire straights.

However one must suspend belief that some of the lines crossed are justified.

Having said that there are enough twists and turns to keep the pages turning.

I did not see some of the twists , thought I knew what was happening and was wrong. Love that when it happens.

The ending without giving any spoilers makes the book and is fantastic.

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press, Minotaur Books for the opportunity to read and review.

As too many books I’ve read lately have been, this just couldn’t be a four-star book. This is a book that, if you suspend reality and pretend any of it is plausible, is very entertaining and engrossing. However, I’m actually giving it a 3.5 star rating; I don’t know how things work in the UK, but in America, any therapist doing any of the things in this book wouldn’t have a license, and definitely wouldn’t be a good therapist. But let’s suspend reality for a bit so we can enjoy the story…

Naomi is a therapist from New York, living near London. She has a couple of clients who are dealing with big things: a man whose wife has been abusing him for years, and a woman who has lost her son. She gets waaaaay too involved in their lives, thus putting herself and her husband, Leon, in danger.

That’s about it - there isn’t much more I can say without this turning into spoiler territory. Overall, this was quite entertaining and it definitely held my interest, but it was one of the most implausible books I’ve ever read. Like I mentioned, no therapist or psychologist would behave the way Naomi did. If they did, there would be serious questions about their professionalism and possibly their own mental health. Also, I figured out the end at the beginning of the book, and that always puts a damper on what should be a shocking conclusion.

I’m sadly giving this 3.5 stars, rounded down because it was just too unbelievable. The plot was a good one, the ending would have been good, had it not been so obvious by clues given early in the story, and the writing was decent. I just couldn’t wrap my head around such an implausible story, so unfortunately, that brought the rating down. Also, the cover makes it look bubble gummy, which just adds to the cheese. However, I do still recommend this as a quick and easy read … just push reality aside while you are reading!

(Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Sandie Jones, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review.)