As far as thrillers go, this was good. Psychologist Naomi specializes in domestic abuse situations and goes above and beyond for her clients, sometimes to her own detriment. This causes problems in her marriage. Two of her clients are in dire situations and she finds herself caught up in them while her past catches up with her as well.

I feel like I didn’t get the entire picture and was left feeling more confused than anything. I feel like I didn’t know the characters very well, and if that’s the case it’s hard for me to love a book.

I have loved previous book by this author and this one was right up there in the running! A beachy vibe with a pysco twist! Keep your feet in the sand and your eyes open! I ignored my adult duties to binge read this!

Thank you to @netgalley and @Stmartinspress for a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to @macmillian.audio for a free download of the audiobook.

Sandie Jones is auto read author for me. She does such a good job with domestic suspense. The Blame Game is no different. Naomi is a psychologist that has a habit of getting too close or involved in her clients lives. In this case, she offers for one to live in an old apartment she owns with her husband that isn’t being used. But then that client disappears…

This book was bingable. Between reading and listening, I couldn’t stop. It’s not often I can say that I didn’t see the end coming, but here we are! If you need a book to keep you on the edge of your seat, give this one a try!

4 stars

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Book : The Blame Game

Although this book was a fast read with interesting twists, it ultimately just wasn’t for me.

Psychologist Naomi Chandler does her best to not become too invested in her clients lives. But since she specializes in domestic abuse, this becomes more and more difficult. After helping a client leave his wife, he disappears - leaving Naomi wondering if she's crossed a line. As more secrets from their pasts emerge, Naomi begins to wonder if she's not the only one in danger...

Another wild domestic thriller from Sandie Jones - and for me it was very middle of the road. I didn't really like it, but I also didn't hate it. Naomi's backstory was super fascinating to me, and I wish we had gotten some more details about that, because it gave so much insight into why she is the way she is as an adult. I think the same goes for her husband, I feel like he would've been a bit more of a sympathetic character if we had known a bit more about him. I enjoyed the premise of Naomi being a therapist for victims of domestic abuse, because I felt there was a lot that could be done with that storyline, and that part delivered, to an extent. And the author did a decent job of planting slight clues for the ending throughout, even if it wasn't perfect. I think overall, the book lacked a bit because it was so short. With more detail and a bit more backstory, I think this book could've been stronger.

*minor spoilers below*

I did like the ending, because it did a good job of wrapping things up, while also leaving the reader guessing to an extent. There were some questions left unanswered in a way that I felt was successful in strengthening the book.

Filled with twists and turns, I had a hard time putting this book down once I started reading. I got lucky with a couple of my guesses, but still really enjoyed this story. It was a gripping read that held my interest from start to finish.

Didn't like this whatsoever. Just don't think Sandie Jones is the author for me. I find her thrillers irritating instead of thrilling.

This book should come with all the trigger warnings: domestic violence, child’s death and so so much grief. Maybe because I listened on audiobook, I found the scenes of domestic violence (experienced by at least 3 different people) very brutal and hard to read.
I love a twisty novel and this book had some twists, but I found them really dull (the big twist is the SAME twist used earlier in the book.) a lot of reviewers don’t seem to *get* the end but I think it’s left purposefully unsettled.

This book felt so familiar. I think we've all read books where we aren't sure if we can trust the narrator and even if we do, we are cringing at the decisions they make. This was so that book.

Naomi is a therapist and to say she is overly invested and unprofessional is putting it mildly. She gets overinvolved in her clients' lives, going so far as to give them lodging and free sessions.

I did this book on audio and it was a very quick read. The narrator was great and really helped keep the story interesting and exciting for me.

If you read a lot of thrillers, and maybe even if you don't, you might find this one pretty predictable. I questioned myself at times, but ultimately, this book went exactly where I thought it would. It was still entertaining, but not one that will likely stick with me.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the copy.

This book centers around a woman named Naomi. A psychologist with a traumatic past who has devoted her life to helping victims of domestic abuse. Sometimes the line between her professional life and her personal life blurs as she pours herself into the stories of her clients. So what happens when one of her clients goes missing and she finds herself in the middle of the investigation with more questions than answers?

What I liked: This was an incredibly fast read. There were a lot of questions that I had that made me want to know what was really going on and who was actually telling the truth.

What I didn’t like: I found it somewhat hard to sympathize with the main character. She was way too involved in her clients’ lives and crossed the professional line way too often in my opinion. I also didn’t like that she lied all the time which just made matters worse for her and the police. I wasn’t really a fan of the ending either. I felt that it was abrupt and that the story had some loose ends that needed to be tied up after some shocking revelations. I also felt that there were a few too many red herrings thrown in just to try to make the ending more surprising.

Overall, this was a fast read with some surprising twists. It didn’t have a ton of closure at the end, but worth the read. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC of this book!

I enjoyed reading this suspenseful story. This is my first book by this author which I look forward to seeing what is next for them. I found this book to be well written and engaging. I enjoyed how the author used their writing skills as well as attention to details to make her story pop. The twists and turns had me turning pages fast just to see what would happen next. The are a few subjects in this story that could cause some triggers but if you can get past them you will find a great story that is hard to put down. I enjoyed how the characters bring the story to life on every page. This is a story where you realize that sometimes your clients are not the only ones in danger but you are too. This is an easy and entertaining story to read. A fast paced story that is full of suspense, mystery and action which you do not want to miss. I highly recommend this book.

The Blame Game, Sandie Jones’ newest thriller, is a propulsive page turner! Perfect for fans of Ruth Ware, Megan Miranda, and Freida McFadden.

Naomi is a psychotherapist with tragedy in her past. She’s worked hard to overcome her catastrophic childhood, and now has a successful career and happy marriage. Due to her childhood experiences, Naomi has a soft spot for victims of domestic abuse, and to the chagrin of her husband, goes beyond her professional duty to help her patients experiencing this. This time, somebody is out to get Naomi, and she is being framed for the disappearance of a patient who was living in a house that Naomi owns. Every way Naomi turns, she is pulled deeper into the quicksand that this mystery person has woven, and her small lies of omission wedge her in deeper. Can Naomi prove her innocence and save her life, career, and marriage?

The Blame Game is written in alternating timelines. This allows the reader to learn about Naomi’s tragic past while progressing through current events. Sandie does a good job of alternating these timelines to keep the reader engaged and propel the story forward. Since Naomi had significant professional accolades, I was surprised by her lack of professional boundaries with both patient confidentiality and friendships. However, the lack of boundaries was important to move the story forward. This can be accounted for by the collision of her tragic past and traumatic present day events.

I thoroughly enjoyed Sandie Jones’ The Blame Game and definitely recommend it!! Thanks for the copy - published August 16, 2022. Grab your copy now!!

Unfortunately, this book wasn't for me. I found it confusing and thought the main character was completely overstepping with her clients in a way that made me uncomfortable.

Perhaps one of the worst, most confusing thrillers I've read all year. I'm still confused on whether or not Anna was the sister or not. I think if there were 100 more pages this could have been very interesting. I wish the epilogue was also part of the story. Shame because the concept was good!

Sandie Jones always delivers!! The Blame Game was everything I wanted it to be, and so much more. Looking forward to what this authors brings to the table in the new year/

This was a good book. It wasn’t my favorite that Sandie Jones has written, but it did keep me hooked to the very end. I feel slightly disappointed by the end, not because it wasn’t good, but because I don’t like loose ends and I feel like they needed to be tidied. Overall though, I would recommend this book.

Naomi is a psychologist specializing in domestic abuse, something that is part of her past history. She is currently residing in London with her husband Leon. She tends to get very invested in her client’s lives, so much that she even offers them a place to stay on her estate. She is currently treating Jacob, who claims that he is being physically and mentally abused by his wife. When Jacob goes missing, Naomi is the number one suspect since she was the last person to see him. She knows that she has nothing to do with his disappearance, but how does she prove it? There is numerous evidence that all point to her involvement- text messages, emails, CCTV footage. Who is behind all of this? Is it her husband? Jacob’s wife? Her long-lost sister who she abandoned when they were separated as young girls? Is it her father who was just released from prison?
The story is told from Naomi’s perspective. I found it somewhat confusing at times with all the different possibilities. The plot was fast moving and you wanted to keep going to see where all the different leads were going. I suspected some of the events but was still surprised by the ending.
If you like domestic psychological thrillers, this may be the book for you.

I've read The Guilt Trip by Sandie Jones and really enjoyed it so I was excited to receive an eARC of The Blame Game. This one was great too! Having to do with domestic violence, stereotypes and boundaries, it was a gripping read full if twists and turns; some were unexpected but I also saw a few coming as well. I'm sure this one will keep most readers interested until the very end.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

This was a fast paced book and I enjoyed all of the twists as well as the ending. Sadly I found Naomi to be insufferable - between her overstepping with her clients and blatantly lying to literally everyone, I was so sick of her by the time I was halfway through the book. That being said, I did question every single character and had no idea what the truth was by the end, so a job well done there.

Overall it was just okay and not one I would go out of my way to recommend to friends.

I listened to the audiobook and Karissa Vacker did a fantastic job narrating this story. It's a twisty thriller with an unethical psychologist and two different clients with unreliable stories. I always enjoy being surprised when reading this genre and there were a few shockers here. Despite a little confusion here and there, the epilogue wrapped it up nicely.
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