Naomi Chandler is a therapist who really wants to help her patients however in doing so crosses lines and makes many questionable decisions. Naomi, without her husbands knowledge allows her patient, Jacob, to live in her rental house and when he vanishes she becomes the suspect. This book started off slow for me but when it took off I could not stop reading! This became a fast paced thriller with crazy twists and turns. The ending as a little hard to follow and it felt a bit chaotic however kudos for the author for coming up with all of that.

Naomi Chandler is a psychologist who specializes in domestic abuse. She has a hard time establishing boundaries with her clients, especially when they are trying to escape their abusers. We meet two of her clients in this novel - Jacob & Anna, both of whom Naomi crosses a professional line for, in offering them a place to live. When Jacob turns up missing, Naomi becomes a suspect.

This was a quick read. I zipped right through. In theory, I liked the concept of this book but I was definitely confused while reading it. Several characters with multiple names and stories were hard to keep straight. There were multiple times where I had to flip back and read in order to figure out what was happening. The characters are a bit flat.

There was nothing that I particularly liked or disliked about this book. It was a fine read, but not a favorite.

All that being said, I have been a fan of Sandie Jones previous work, my favorite being The Other Woman and I also really enjoyed Her First Mistake.

Love when you pick up a book and you finish it way faster than you expected. Since I had The Blame Game by Sandie Jones through @Netgalley and @minotaur_books I had no idea how short it was.

The Blame Game follows Naomi as she is working with her patients as a therapist. Two of her current patients are in dire situations looking for ways out from their marriages. One of them goes missing and it’s looking like she may be in danger herself. Her past secrets might be back to haunt her.

❤️Review❤️

The longer I’ve sat with my thoughts the more problems I’ve had. I loved the fast paced nature of the book. It was easy to read and I found the pages flying. Naomi is not the most ethical when it comes to being a therapist. Her boundaries with her patients are essentially not there. She does way too much for them. I was originally thinking I could look past it and give it 4 stars because my feelings of paranoia and tenseness were strong. Unfortunately the end completely ruined it for me. I’m still kind of unsure of what happened in the ending. It felt so all over the place and messy. So I’m bummed to say this isn’t a new favorite for me.

3 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️

If you are looking for a short page turner, you can get your hands on The Blame Game on August 16th!

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This was a quick, fast paced thriller that kept me hooked the whole time. I expected some of the twists, but not all! Overall, a fun read.

First, thank you NetGalley and St. Martins Press for this ARC. I am so bummed to be rating Sandie Jones’ latest book so low. The storyline pulls you in right away. You think we have another “The Other Woman” on our hands. Sad to write not even close. There is no way Jones wrote this book. There is so much drama and confusion. Characters changing and storyline’s merging left and right. I could not keep up. I had to look at other reviews to see if it was only me completely lost or if anyone else felt the same. It appears a lot of people were left confused on the who, why and what in the world happened. Again if someone can explain the last 1/2 of the book, maybe I would give a higher rating.

⭐️⭐️⭐️
I typically really enjoy Sandie Jones’ books but this one was just ‘meh’ for me. Naomi is a therapist who crosses numerous boundaries with her patients. Her patient Jacob goes missing and Naomi becomes one of the suspects in his disappearance.

It was a quick read. I actually finished the last part of the book on my ereader when I took my kids to the theater to see the new Minion movie…don’t judge…I had my screen turned way down & snuggled under a blanket so no one could see I was reading. :). So the book definitely had the whole ‘keep reading & don’t put me down’ vibe.

However the characters were confusing to keep track of towards the end & the unethical behavior of Naomi was a little hard to believe.

Thanks to NetGalley & the Publisher for this free copy for my honest review.

This was a really exciting book that I had trouble putting down. This really kept me on my toes and it was fun to guess who was telling the truth and who was lying. My stomach was in knots reading this. The main character wasn’t very likable and made some questionable choices but the ending was very satisfying.

Naomi is a psychiatrist who specializes in domestic abuse; because of this, she often becomes very involved with her clients, doing anything she can to help them even if it means offering up her own home. After helping Jacob make the decision to leave his abusive wife, Naomi finds herself as the prime suspect for his disappearance. As the police investigate his disappearance, Naomi’s past comes to light, forcing her to confront things she thought she had let go of.

Wow, I could not put this book down!! The beginning was a little bit of a slow burn, but once it got going it was incredible! I read this book in less than 24 hours because I couldn’t wait to see what was going to happen next. Sandie Jones did an amazing job with this psychological thriller - I love a story where I can’t guess what’s going to happen and this book was exactly that. I found myself questioning everyone and everything multiple times just to be blown away multiple times as the events unfolded. This was the first Sandie Jones book I read but it won’t be the last!

Thank you to Minotaur books and Sandie Jones for the ARC! “The Blame Game” released August 16th.

This will be shared to my Instagram blog (@books_by_the_bottle) shortly ☺️

This is my second Sadnie Jones book and I am so glad I read this book! This is a book that literally made me drop my kindle and say “holy crap.” Sadie Jones writes a seriously good slow burn suspense story.

Most of the time you want to yell at Naomi to just stop but I promise the end is worth it! I love a good suspense but the twist in this one is seriously good and I did not see it coming.

It is hard to give a plot of this story but all you need to know is Naomi is a psychologist who is dedicated to her job. If you love twisted endings, unreliable narrator and characters, the Blame Game is for you!

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martins Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book confused the hell out of me. And the protagonist got on my nerves relentlessly. It was nowhere near as good as The Guilt Trip but it will hold your interest, if for no other reason than you'll want to figure out what the hell is going on.
Naomi Chandler is a psychotherapist who goes above and beyond for her patients much to the chagrin of her husband, Leon. One of those patients, Jacob Mackenzie, is being abused and tortured by his wife. When Jacob disappears, Naomi is the prime suspect. She did meet Jacob behind Leon's back at a hotel bar. And she did allow him to escape his abusive wife by "borrowing" the flat that she and Leon aren't using at the moment. And she is telling lie on top of lie to cover up all the lying and bad decision making she's done. Even the end isn't wrapped as neatly as it could be.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur books for a copy of this e-arc.*

If you are looking for a psychological thriller, then this book is for you! Sandie Jones does thrillers very well, and she has hit another one out of the park with this installment.

Naomi may be a little too involved with her patients. She is a psychologist for patients dealing with domestic violence in all shapes and forms. When she makes some rather dubious decisions regarding a patient, she finds herself embroiled in a dangerous game with some shady characters. Is it believable? Probably not. Is it on the edge-of-your-seat worth reading? Definitely so!

Jones is brilliant with stringing you along one thought process and then totally upending your views entirely. Very twisty and fast paced. You will not be disappointed!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the digital ARC. The opinions expressed are my own.

I immediately needed to read this one, because Sandie Jones is fabulous at weaving a bizarre story into existence. Her other books had me questioning everything from the jump. This one started a little slow for me. I was unsure of why certain characters were brought up, but by the end it made a little more sense.

Just when I thought I had the plot figured out, she threw in another detail that made me question everything. It was an interesting book, but not my favorite from her. It took me awhile to get started, but finally about halfway through I needed to know what was going on.

Pub Date: August 16, 2022

⭐️: 1.5/5 (rounded up to 2 when using whole star values, because I cared *just* enough about finding out the ending that I didn’t DNF)

As a psychologist specializing in domestic abuse, Naomi will do anything to stop what happened to her mother from happening to other victims. When on of her clients, Jacob, who is in the process of leaving his abusive wife, goes missing, she finds herself at the center of the police investigation into his disappearance.

I struggled so hard not to DNF this book. I read The Other Woman a while ago, and while I wouldn’t call it a great read, it was compelling enough, with enough twists to make it interesting. This book, The Blame Game, though…I do not have words for how annoyed I was the entire time I was reading it. The main character is an unforgivably stupid narcissist with a savior complex. She should not be certified to practice psychology, nor should any of her clients trust her, considering how personally involved she gets, a clear conflict o interest. She is clearly a PSTD nightmare, which makes her illogical and gullible, which are also traits that NOBODY wants in their psychologist. Throughout the book, as the evidence is piling up against her, she repeatedly makes the worst decisions, all under the excuse of “stopping anyone from getting hurt ever again” which is (1) impossible and (2) just so entirely immature, that she thinks she alone can find her way out of anything. I despise books in which the entire plot hinges on the main character, usually a female, making nonsensical decisions in order to fix things while ultimately making things worse. I tried, but I seriously cannot find strong enough words to communicate my derisive feelings toward Naomi.

Add in the ambiguous ending, complete with many, many loose ends, and this one was a solid “not recommended” from me. Yes, the epilogue details the “how” of several things, and implies certain others, but it just entirely drops one entire storyline, and leaves several other things from the main storyline up in the air. I’d usually give the author the benefit of the doubt, and say that maybe it was an intentional decision to leave the reader wondering, but in the case of this book with such a bad main character, I cannot extend that courtesy. Again, I cared just enough about the ending to not DNF, but honestly, it wasn’t worth it.

Thank you to @netgalley and @minotaur_books for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Sandie Jones' latest THE BLAME GAME is a popcorn thriller, but unfortunately, the popcorn may be more binge-worthy than the novel.

If you like crazy, unreliable characters and a lot of drama, this one is for you. A twisty, tangled web of deceit and lies. LET THE GAMES BEGIN.

Our main character is Naomi Chandler, a psychologist (if you can call her that), specializing in treating victims of domestic violence after her father killed her mother when she was a child. She moved to England from New York to be with Leon and works out of a garden office of their home. Naomi's husband works as an events organizer for the estate where they live. Before the book ends, Leon is put out with her for getting too involved in her clients' lives (as well as he should).

Naomi is an unreliable narrator. She is secretive, lies, and untrustworthy. The lines are blurred between professional and personal. She gives her patients places to stay and gets herself in trouble. She also has a MAJOR problem—she does not set BOUNDARIES and becomes too personally invested in her clients' lives. No professionalism, but maybe with the specific storyline, she is not meant to.

THE BLAME GAME focuses on Naomi and her treatment of two specific patients, both victims of domestic violence.

Jacob is a victim of his wife’s abuse, and after ten years, he wants to save their marriage. Anna and her husband lost a young son a year ago, which is when his abuse of her started, and she is increasingly concerned that he will begin to abuse their other two boys. But she is terrified of trying to escape him. She bonds with Naomi over their shared past.

The backstory is intriguing, influencing why she became a psychologist.

When she and her sister Jennifer were young, their mother was killed by their father, and Naomi's testimony sent him to prison. Naomi and Jennifer went into foster care, Jennifer was adopted, and they were separated because Naomi was a teenager at the time. Later she met Leon and moved and got her license.

Jennifer became a drug addict and showed up at an aunt’s house when she turned 18, looking for Naomi. She was resentful. Now years later, Jennifer has it together and reached out to the aunt to get Naomi's contact info after the father has been released from prison.

EVERYONE IS A SUSPECT. THE BLAME GAME.

This is one crazy, wacky book, and Naomi (highly annoying with no common sense) makes one wrong decision after another until it is almost comical yet frustrating. There is no conclusion. I have never been a big fan of this author and think it is time to move on after several attempts.

Thank you to #MinotaurBooks and #NetGalley for an ARC to read, enjoy, and review in exchange for an honest review.

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www.JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | JDCMustReadBooks
Pub Date: Aug 16, 2022
My Rating: 3 Stars ✨✨✨

I flew through this book in a day. Naomi is a psychologist who often crosses the line of professionalism to help her patients, much to the frustration of her partner. I don’t want to give too much away because this book is mysterious in so many ways. You can’t stop reading because you will have to know what is happening (and I could not figure it out as I went). I will say there were plot points that were confusing and others that were downright implausible but that does not detract from the fun of this read. This would make a good read for a book club because there is a lot to discuss once you get to the end!

Thanks to Sandie Jones, St. Martin Press, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

In The Blame Game, Naomi practices clinical psychology. It was difficult reading this story, as I kept telling Naomi how stupid she was for all the lying she was doing. I was so disgusted I actually had to walk away from my Kindle a few times. Turns out that Naomi is quite the practiced liar, as she has been doing it for years. I loved the ending Sandie Jones gave this story. I want to thank NetGalley and Minotaur Books for an early copy to review.

The Blame Game by Sandie Jones

Thank you to @netgalley for this e-arc. This book will be available August 16th.

This was a really quick read. I was so excited about this one and wanted to figure out how it end which kept me turning pages. Some parts were easy to see coming but most were surprises!

Naomi is a psychologist that specializes in domestic abuse. As someone that has experience with that trauma, she finds it difficult to not get too involved in her patient’s lives. Naomi helps Jacob leave his abusive wife, but then he goes missing….

4/5 🌟 I really enjoyed this one and it was hard to put down. I just wish there was a little more thrill to it.

Sandie Jones the Queen of Summer Thrillers. Another amazing story with devious characters. Will be recommending to my followers

Yooooo the cover is GORGEOUS. I absolutely loved this story and will be buying a copy for my bookshelf! 5 stars. Highly recommend!

I absolutely love Sandie Jones and all of her books. I absolutely love Sandie Jones and all of her books. I have read all of her books to-date, and this one did not disappoint and left nothing to be desired. It is my favorite of all her books. I love that she grabs you from the beginning and keeps you hanging on at every turn, and what you think is, that’s not it. In the end, you get that little something extra that all of us mystery lovers need to have at the very end.

Her pace and writing are everything! I was happy to keep reading. I love that she grabs you from the beginning and keeps you hanging on at every turn, and what you think is, might be. But it is never all that there is to it. In the end, you get that little something extra that all of us mystery lovers need to have at the very end.

Her pace and writing are everything!