Definitely not my favorite Sandie Jones novel. While the mystery was fast paced and kept me going, my annoyance toward the MC’s gullible thinking only grew stronger. Can’t wait to read Jones’ next novel, this one was a miss for me.

Sandie Jones never disappoints! I was so excited to begin this book and I literally didn’t put it down until I finished it! Less than 24 hours. The book begins with intrigue and each time I thought I had it figured out, I had as many questions as the main character did! There is only one reason I will be giving this 4 stars instead of 5 - the main character is a therapist and her relationship to her patients is entirely unprofessional to the point of losing her medical license. This is a serious offense and the plot of this book still could have worked while keeping true to career protocols. Thank you for the advance copy - can’t wait for Sandie Jones next book!

This definitely wasn’t my favorite Sandie Jones read, but it was fast paced and I needed to know what happened so I couldn’t put it down. I definitely see this being a book people either love or hate especially after the ending which I kind of saw coming.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC of The Blame Game by Sandie Jones.

I have only read one book by this author before and I absolutely loved it. So going into this one I was so excited. That excitement slowly dwindled the further I read but I still kept my hopes up thinking I would be wrong about my guesses and be blown away by the end. Unfortunately that didn't happen and my guesses about who did what was right. While that usually still won't deter me from overall liking the book, I couldn't help but still feel disappointed by then ending and lack of closure and certain questions I still had. It was still an enjoyable read with a great storyline. I just wish the ending gave the reader a little more.

I really enjoyed this one! It was a little slow at first, but once it picked up it had me hooked! I really liked the storyline and the characters!

So psychological thrillers are not my thing. I always want to like them, but they are too much for me. I have to race through as fast as I can to find out what happens at the end. They just stress me out. Well, this must have been a good one because I couldn't wait to finish it. I did not savor the author's engaging writing. I did not pause to think about what was happening. I just had to get to the end. It was exhausting. So if you are looking for an engaging, entertaining and exciting psychological thriller, this is definitely the book for you!

In the Blame Game you meet a psychologist, Naomi Candler, who treats cases involving domestic abuse. Naomi patent Jacob goes missing after Naomi helped him come to the difficult decision to leave his wife. What happened to Jacob?

This twisty psychological thriller had me guessing till the end. I would highly recommend this thriller

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. IYKYK, my reviews are always honest.

THE PLOT

Dr. Dumbass—whoops, Naomi, gets a lil cozy with Jacob, an abused husband trying to escape his house of horrors. But then Naomi goes from just plain unprofessional to a murder suspect when Jacob suddenly disappears. Uh oh.

MY OPINION

Wow. Up until today, Avery, the unlicensed "therapist" from The Golden Couple was the worst fictional therapist I've had to endure. Naomi: "Hold my beer." From the jump, Dr. Dumbass showed a complete lack of common sense, boundaries, and the basics of what's appropriate in a patient-psychologist relationship. When they interlocked fingers at the hotel beer and she was like "oh I'm just a friendo" and then had vivid thoughts about putting down some "sexual healing" on him I was like huh??? But then when he confessed his love, basically called her a cock tease, and then did a 180 and said ok see u wednesday? and she said yea c u l8er alligator, I was floored.

Well. A whole lot of nothing happens with a lot of weak ass writing, predictable and shallow plot, and a contrived ending. This made a mockery of a serious issue, and despite the doctor's "heavy" past, the author was unable to add any depth to this sordid tale. To summarize, this book was vapid.

PROS AND CONS

Pros: after a long ass wait, I was finally approved

Cons: this is a shallow mess

That was kind of a short book, but I feel I got the whole story except for the ending?! I'm not sure how I feel about the end?! At first I was like what?! No way?! That's the end?! then the more I thought about it I guess I understand it?! Not sure I like it but I get it! Anyway this book had suspense, intrigue and a difficult twisty storyline that is kind of hard to understand! There's A bit of a who's who! But bottom line it was a good book! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

This was a good psychological thriller. The last 20% fly by so quickly you’ll forget everything around you. Worth the read.

This twisty psychological thriller had me guessing until the very end. Psychologist Naomi Candler takes her job very seriously, almost too seriously. Her clients’ lives become intwined with hers, and she can’t extricate herself and it’s starting to affect her relationships. When she realizes that she’s at the center of a murder investigation, she knows she may have gone to far this time. 3.5 stars. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange my honest review.

I have enjoyed all of Sandie Jones's novels, but for some reason, this one fell flat for me. I found myself rushing through the last quarter just trying to finish it, so maybe that's why it didn't come together for me in the end as far as motive goes. I thought it was slowly paced with few surprising twists, unlikeable characters, and separate plots that just didn't gel. It has many good reviews on Goodreads, however, so don't be hesitant to try it--maybe it was just me.

The Blame Game for sure!! With all the twists, turns, half truths & whatnot, who is to blame will not be answered until the very last page. I enjoy the authors works immensely, Her First Mistake most of all. But The Blame Game is as twisted a book as I’ve ever read!☺️

Typically I like to read my ARCs in an order of publication to ensure that I do not miss one before the big release. However, when I get super excited about a book, I know there is no holding back.

This was the case with The Blame Game.

I am a HUGE fan of Sandie Jones !!! The Guilt Trip, The Other Woman and The First Mistake are among some of my most favored books. The Blame Game is nothing short of a five star book as well.

As I begun reading I knew I was in for a treat, I had NO idea what direction this book would lead me in but I became addicted to each turn of the page. The chapters are long, which usually I am not a fan of BUT each chapter concluded a piece of the story and led me right into the next chapter where more and more were uncovered.

I did have my suspicions about a certain someone, but I will let you as the reader uncover those on your own. This book is just "IT" . This is going to be a book that is long talked about amongst our book communities . "Best Seller" is written all over this one.

I can not wait for the big release as I NEED to be able to discuss this book with others without spoiling anything!

Do yourself a favor and pre-order this book!!!!!

5 Stars

I absolutely and completely binged this book.
Cooking dinner? Tablet in hand
Pushing daughter on the swing? Tablet in hand
Doing homework with other daughter? Tablet in hand

(Don’t judge me. It’s THAT GOOD) and within the day, I was done. I’m telling you I could not put this down!!
The blame games was an absolute mind bender of a thriller. I couldn’t stop thinking I had it all figured out, only to be absolutely mistaken. The depth of deception between all the characters was astounding. I can not recommend this one any higher!! Probably in my top 5 thrillers of the year.

This isn’t to say there wasn’t any flaws in the novel. Some things were left a bit hanging for me, but the fast pace and flow of the story absolutely makes up for them!!
Sandie absolutely holds her place as one of my autobuy authors with this gem!

In the Blame Game, you meet Naomi a psychologist who treats cases involving domestic abuse. When Naomi's patient Jacob goes missing, the twist and turns begin and do not stop until the very end!
Being a fan of Sandie Jones’, I jumped at the chance to read THE BLAME GAME. I am am very glad to say, I was not disappointed. I would highly recommend this excellent psychological thriller!
Many thanks to NetGalley and publishers for my ARC in exchange for honest review.
#NeGalley #TheBlameGame #SandieJones

𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐨 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐠𝐞? 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦, 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧'𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐞...𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝? 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲'𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞, 𝐚𝐭 𝐧𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐧?

This story started out so strong. Naomi is a psychologist specializing in domestic abuse, and she is extremely empathetic to her clients. She especially has a soft spot for Jacob, a man so demoralized and beaten down by his verbally abusive wife that Naomi is afraid for his safety. After an especially troubling incident, she decides to let Jacob move into a rental that she and her husband own.

Then strange things start to happen. Jacob's file, full of private and sensitive information, goes missing. Her husband is acting strange, and another client is in a panic when her husband starts to become violent. Naomi is juggling all of these things when the police show up to question her involvement in a missing person's case. The name is completely unfamiliar to her, but then when she's shown a picture, it's her client Jacob. Who is this man, and why is he going by another name? Why is evidence found in her home that makes her look guilty of wrongdoing?

The last 30% or so is when things started to unravel. Too many conflicts were introduced that were convoluted and didn't enhance the story, such as the plot line with Naomi's past. The twist was pretty easy to figure out, and the red herrings were weak. Despite those flaws, it was still an enjoyable read. Releases August 16, 2022.

Naomi is a psychologist who treats cases involving domestic abuse. Naomi has a history of becoming too involved in the lives of her patients while trying to help them. Like Jacob, for example, Naomi helped him to make the difficult decision to leave his wife. But now Jacob has disappeared and his files gone missing from her office. What has happened to Jacob?

I am a fan of Sandie Jones’ previous books, so I jumped at the chance to read THE BLAME GAME. It was a fun, twisty story that had my interest piqued due to the psychological aspects. Sandie Jones is an excellent writer and her latest work is clearly no exception. I had a suspicion about the final twist but it did not take away my enjoyment of this novel in any way. I would highly recommend this excellent psychological thriller!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for my ARC in exchange for honest review.

This review will be posted to my Instagram Blog (@coffee.break.book.reviews) in the near future.

“The Blame Game” is a smartly layered thriller, full of secret keeping and unexpected twists. Naomi is an American psychologist, living on an estate in Britain with her English event planner husband, taking in clients in a cottage office and caring way too much about them. She specializes in domestic abuse and goes beyond her professional duties: meeting them outside of her office and also finding places for patients to escape from abuse partners. Naomi is also experiencing a tumultuous change with her troubled American family (and hasn’t been entirely honest with her husband) that’s affecting her judgment as well. You have to decide whether you’re OK with Naomi’s behavior, and even if you’re not, should you care about the house of cards ready to come down on her? “Be a rainbow in someone else’s gray cloud” is what Naomi’s late mother had told her — and you have to determine if Naomi is the rainbow or the cloud. 4 stars. I did feel the book ended a bit too abruptly, but in retrospect I was satisfied with the ending.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): NO In fact, no one’s eyes are ever described by their color.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO Just a few geraniums in pots.

nce from her clients, she can’t allow herself to become attached to any of them. But that’s often easier said than done and Naomi begins to doubt herself after she convinces a client to leave his wife. Things get even stranger when the client disappears, as does all his paperwork from Naomi’s office. The police want answers, but Natalie is bound by client confidentiality ….and the worry that her own past may somehow be tied into Jacob’s disappearance. Another winner from Jones, who’s perfected the art of the domestic thriller