I’ve really enjoyed this author’s books and will definitely read more, but this one missed the mark.

I’ll say this—it was the sort of book that I read quickly and couldn’t put down, because I needed to know the “twist,” the conclusion.

But the main character was so awful that it made it really hard to turn the pages. Naomi is dreadfully naive and so unprofessional. I have never seen a character that showed such a disregard for boundaries, at the expense of not just her practice, but her marriage as well. She also acts ridiculous and it all starts to get repetitive after a while.

Speaking of her marriage—she and Leon have been married for years and are supposedly so perfectly in love, and yet he shows no support of Naomi once it all starts to hit the fan. Which is understandable in a way, but still makes little sense.

I’m not crazy about the fact that there’s no resolution regarding Naomi’s family either, for all the time spent talking about her father and sister.

Points for the epilogue giving us some closure, but to be frank, it wasn’t enough to make up for things not making much sense earlier. Vanessa/Michael/Anna/Jacob/their significant others and families needed to be a stronger part of the story for it all to fit in to the bigger picture for me. Most of it was Naomi “I didn’t do it! My father! My sister! Leon’s concert!” So when the big reveal came I just had a “so?” response.

Thanks so much to Minotaur Books/St. Martin’s Press for giving me the opportunity to read this book through NetGalley

4/5
Wow! What a read!! I enjoyed this twisty psychological thriller! Did not expect some of the twists at all. The author did such a good job writing this one. I’m so glad I got the opportunity of reading this. Looking forward to reading more from the author!! Thanks for the ARC!!

The Blame Game was awesome! I loved it, along with all of the other books I've read by Sandie Jones. This book was well written, blew my mind, and I could never even try to guess what happened next. A true page turner, and super fun, twisty novel! I definitely recommend this psychological thriller.

I tried with this book, but I couldn't get past Naomi, a psychologist, letting a client move into one of her properties. At some point, she should have realized how many ethical rules this violated. If she was experiencing countertransference, she should have transferred the client to someone else. I get it, it's fiction and written this way for the sake of the story, but come on! Naomi, think of your license! Consult with someone about these challenges.

Naomi is a committed psychologist that specialises in domestic abuse.s a psychologist specializing in domestic abuse, Much to her husband's dismay, she continuously crosses the professional line to become too invested, too helpful and too close to her clients. She has just promised to make changes when she meets Jacob and is pulled into his compelling story of his abusive wife. Before long Naomi is smack in the middle of all of Jacob's problems. Then, she realizes some of her files are missing and someone might becoming into her office. If you like quick and dirty domestic thrillers with thrills and twists, The Blame Game is for you! #Stmartins #Minatourbooks #Netgalley #TheBlameGame

Omg, Sandie Jones has done it again! Outstanding writing and the storyline will throw you so many curveballs that you don’t see coming! Excellent suspense.

The Blame Game is the latest domestic thriller by best selling author Sandie Jones. The book centres around a psychotherapist Naomi who specializes in clients involved in domestic abuse. Naomi herself has survived childhood trauma and will often overstep the ethical boundaries of her profession to help her patients experiencing domestic abuse even to the detriment of her own shaky marriage. Jacob is a patient who is experiencing violence in his marriage and Naomi goes out of her way to ensure his safety even being deceitful to her husband Leon. Strange and unsettling events are happening in Naomi’s life and her traumatic past that she worked so hard to escape is quickly closing in on her. Naomi’s idyllic world is quickly turning into a nightmare of lies and deceit. She becomes a suspect in a missing persons case and must outwit the police in order to solve the mysterious disappearance of Jacob.

What I liked:
-the lush, manicured world of Tattenhall estate and it’s quaint cottage and office shed of Naomi, as well as the seaside Whitstable settings
-the unraveling of Naomi’s life due to her lies and deceit and overstepping of professional boundaries
-the suspenseful tension and buildup of the story with twists added to the plot

What I didn’t like:
-Naomi irritated me with all her lies and deceit, if she would just be truthful she wouldn’t have got herself in questionable situations, I had difficulty relating to her and her actions
-being able to predict a few twists
-the ending felt abrupt and too open ended, I needed more closure

Final Take Away
Although I am a huge fan of Sandie Jones' previous works, I was a little disappointed with the abrupt ending and I felt it was missing something. However, I was hooked from the start until the end because Jones does an excellent job of building suspense and tension.

My rating 4 out of 5
I’d recommend this book for fans of Sandie Jones, Liv Constantine, and Ruth Ware and other domestic thrillers. I took a star off because of the unsatisfactory ending.

Potential Trigger Warnings for victims of domestic abuse and violence as well as childhood trauma.

Many thanks go to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the eARC!

Got this from @netgalley and oh my goodness @sandiejones_author does it again !!!
Stayed up way to late tonight because I HAD TO FINISH this I just had to know wtf was going on ! 5/5 review for sure —-

Wooooowwwww goodness what a ride !!! I was hooked from the start - I mean come one this was for me !!! This is a story told by a therapist and is playing on therapist vulnerabilities and fears —-as a psychologist the base of this story is what we often say is the biggest difference in care at the institutional level vs private practice and what you want to believe to be true in private practice ….I won’t explain more because it would be a spoiler but wow!!! I also must say I was screaming “NO GIRL” and “WTF is she doing” because her no having boundary self and the over involvement / savior complex— I could not! This is why you have profession contracts and boundaries!!! Man oh man so much to say but it would all be a spoiler so I’ll say this - get it now, like right now! I don’t think you will figure it out , I know it will keep you entertained, and I would LOVE to hear your thoughts! I did guess a part of it / pieces but it was all twisted and messy in the best way and even the pieces I guessed I didn’t piece together to solve it and had the wrong characters doing what I guessed …. it keeps you in it till the very last line

This book is a crazy adventure! The way the author has you questioning the sanity of the main character is pure brilliance! I couldn’t put it down. I’d give it more than 5 stars if I could.

This is a twisty psychological thriller that will keep you turning the pages long into the night!

The story revolves around Naomi, a psychologist who deals primarily with domestic abuse victims. She loves what she does but she has a habit of getting too involved with her clients. This causes problems in her own marriage. One of her patients is Jacob, who is a victim of spousal abuse. Without telling her husband, Naomi offers Jacob their vacation cottage as a safe place to stay. Not long after that, Jacob goes missing, and Naomi’s deception leaves her in a very precarious situation.

This smart, engaging book is relatively short, and is a quick, easy read. The twists kept me guessing.

Thanks to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have mixed feelings about this one, the first being as a therapist, she did many unethical things and her boundaries were terrible, overly personal contact with clients, not charging for sessions, not holding time boundaries etc. Her relationship with her husband was not very believable either, how much she kept from him. I It made it hard for me to read the book, the first part felt slow, it got more interesting mid way through the book and it became a faster read. It did leave a lot of loose ends and i wondered why they put in some of the storylines to leave them hanging. I think others will like it more than I did

The Blame Game by Sandie Jones is a tangled web of a story and every time you pull on a thread, it somehow gets more complex. Naomi is a psychotherapist who experienced trauma when she was young. She has a soft spot for her patients and gets pulled into the drama in an unprofessional way. This story is a thriller because it is full of lies and misinformation, with lots of unexpected twists.

What I liked: I was drawn into the story nearly right away and I was on the edge of my seat, trying to figure out what happened next. I read it all in one sitting, trying to solve the mystery and unravel it all.

What could be better: Some of the twists are a bit predictable and I could see them coming. However, I still didn’t feel like I had reached a resolution by the end of the book. The ending itself is a bit of a cliffhanger and there wasn’t much of a denouement.

I think this book is a three-star read for me because I didn’t love how it ended and the characters weren’t likable enough to carry the story for me. I liked how captivating the story was but wasn’t satisfied in the end.

*Please note that the ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*

Sandie Jones is back with another twisty thriller that will leave readers questioning everything. Naomi, a therapist, is dealing with demons from her past when she crosses the line to help two of her clients. Jacob, a man dealing with all forms of abuse from his wife over the last ten years and Anna, an American like Naomi, dealing with issues with her husband and the loss of a son. Naomi has crossed the line before to help clients and her husband Leon is worried it is happening again. Then, Jacob is missing and all the evidence is pointing to Naomi as her past is (seemingly) racing to confront her. Naomi, a somewhat unlikeable and unreliable narrator, has told so many lies that she can't seem to separate fact from fiction and readers will pick up on that as well. The chapters are short, with a lot of tension and twists mounting. Fans of Sandie Jones will enjoy this latest release and find it a quick read! There are a few plot holes lingering that keep it from being a five star read from me but a solid 4 stars regardless.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

Name of Book: The Blame Game
Author: Sandie Jones
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press ~ Minotaur Books
Genre: Mystery Thriller
Pub Date: August 16, 2022
My Rating: 3 Stars!

This is author, Sadie Jones' fifth novel and my fifth book of hers. Awww yes! I am a fan.
My favorite was [book: The First Mistakes|97641].
Ms. Jones does not disappoint!

In this story - Naomi Chandler is a Psychotherapist who has her private Psychology Office in her home. She specializes in domestic abuse.
Jacob Mackenzie is a school teacher and a client who has for ten years been dealing with domestic abuse (his wife not only is verbally and mentally abusive but does things such as pour ice on his chest while he is sleeping, has burnt him with a cigarette, and once used a razor to make small cuts on the bottom of both of his feet while he was sleeping.)
Jacob has applied for a position out of the area and decides this is the perfect time to leave Vanessa his abusive wife.
Naomi offers her beach flat that she and her husband plan to rent out but is current empty. She doesn’t tell her husband Leon as he is against her mixing her work with her private life.

Jacob is fearful that his wife knows where he is and calls Naomi and asks her to meet him at a local bar.
Next thing ~ Jacob is missing.

There is another client Anna who is also planning to leave her abusive marriage and Naomi offers her the extra rooms in her home.
I question if these situations are ethical. There are agencies that help with placement in safe housing.
but the story wouldn’t be interesting if Naomi didn’t cross this ethical line.

Story totally had me under its spell; especially since the Amber Heard and Johnny Depp trial ended a week ago. But I soon got confused as who as who and what was what.
When it ended I sat and stared into space and asked… what in the world did I just read?


Want to thank NetGalley and Saint Martin’s Press ~ Minotaur Books for this eGalley. This file has been made available to me before publication in an early form for an honest professional review.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for August 16, 2022

If you see a book by Sandie Jones, you know it’s going to be a good one. Her latest is called The Blame Game. I liked the plot- a psychologist who feels compelled to go above and beyond to help her client, but what if she takes it too far? There are twists and surprises all the way through the book!



Games can be dangerous. But blame can be deadly.

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.

This was a pretty quick read and if you like fast-moving suspense, you will want to get this when it’s out on August 16

I like this one . She is one of my favorite writers right now . The characters and plot are always engaging and I like her characters. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

I stayed up all night to finish this book, I just couldn't stop reading it. This book caught my attention at the beginning, I love when books are like that. Thank you NetGalley for the free read.

PLOT--
Naomi is a psychotherapist who specializes in victims of domestic violence. Having been the victim of domestic violence in her home while growing up, Naomi frequently finds herself crossing professional boundaries in order to keep her patients safe, much to her husband’s chagrin.

One such patient is Jacob, a man who has been getting tormented by his wife with physical, verbal, and psychological violence. When Naomi convinces Jacob to finally leave his wife once and for all, she once again finds herself crossing a line to make sure Jacob’s wife can’t find him. But then Jacob goes missing and the detectives become very interested in Naomi as the prime suspect.


CHARACTERS--
Naomi. The main character of this book is honestly one of the most unlikeable I’ve encountered in a long time. Not only is she in a morally grey area with how she “protects” her patients, her first person narration shows that she’s also selfish in doing so at the risk of her own relationship. She’s paranoid and accusatory of those around her even while being the least trustworthy person on the block. I found her narration to be very off-putting throughout.

Jacob. Jacob is a tortured soul from the start. Suffering at the hands of his wife, he’s desperate to find a way out but doesn’t feel safe enough until Naomi offers to help protect him.

Leon. Naomi’s husband has had just about enough of her intervening in patient’s personal relationship troubles. He thinks she should just treat them for talk therapy and call the proper authorities if need be when someone is at serious risk of danger.


SPOILER-FREE REVIEW--
The mystery in this kept me guessing and I didn’t sleuth out the ending which is a great thing. The unfortunate part is that I think that is in large part to the fact the plot is rather convoluted. There are events from the past dispersed throughout and it was sometimes difficult to tell if that narrator was speaking about something that was happening right now or something that happened when she was a kid. I was rereading pages at the end to make sure I was understanding what was going on and I still don’t feel like I got all the answers I was looking for.

Naomi’s character is the only one written with nuance and a history. The characters surrounding Naomi are one-dimensional, which kind of makes sense because we’re seeing them through her perspective, but their actions and behaviors aren’t compelling enough for real character development. That combined with the fact that I didn’t like the narrator made this a tough read at times.

That being said, I was engaged enough to keep reading and I was happy that the twists weren’t fully expected which is my experience with a lot of modern day thrillers. I liked the concept of a psychotherapist who cares too much about her patients and Naomi’s personal life history was really interesting to read.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced copy of the book in exchange for my honest review!

I love Sandie Jones & her latest was quite the thriller! Twists and turns kept me engaged and on the edge of my seat! Highly recommend!

Very interesting read. Great suspense and we'll formed characters. Definitely a page turner. Would definitely recommend.