I was a bit undecided on how I felt after I read this book. The twists were fascinating, but I guessed the ending way too early. I liked the writing but thought the characters were a little annoying.

Naomi is a psychologist working out of a discrete office located in her backyard. She has a helpless desire to reach out and assist her clients far beyond the scope of her role, often to the point that it affects her personal home life. As I read this, I could just imagine a licensed psychologist cringing.
This aspect of Naomi is the central crux of the story. She is trusting and gullible to the point that her family’s safety is threatened. This is a good plot, but the characters become muddled as the story unfolds. I was confused at the end, but it was still a fun book with cringe-worthy episodes of Naomi’s bad judgment.
Thanks so much to St. Martin’s Press for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I'm going to give this one 3.5 stars. I liked this domestic suspense novel quite a bit and was entertained while reading. It was a super quick read for me and at less than 300 pages it was easily bingeable. I quite liked the plot of the story and was pretty intrigued by it. Naomi, a psychologist who specialized in domestic abuse would do anything to help her clients. After helping a man named Jacob leave his wife, she began to worry when he suddenly went missing and all of her files on him Vanished. As the police got involved and started to dig into things, more and more questions arise and this is where things start to get twisted.

I wish I could give this book a higher rating because I've loved the author's previous books. But this one got a little too tangled up for my liking. The twists were not epic, but seemed almost confusing. Everything came together very quickly, in a slightly rushed fashion and sometimes it was hard to keep characters straight. Like I said, the idea of the story was really cool and there was a lot of potential here. But while I enjoyed the book, it will not be a standout for me.

This book ended up being a DNF. Rating is based solely on the content I did read. I ultimately found the pacing and development of the story and/or characters not engaging enough to continue on and finish the complete book.

Psychological thrillers are my jam but I think this book missed the mark for me. I wanted to love it but it dragged and I just wasn't invested in any of the characters or the story. Therapists in thrillers seem to be a trend lately but it felt overdone in this book. I'm glad I read the book but it wasn't my favorite.

Thanks, NetGalley and Minotaur Books, for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!

I am not sure where this one went wrong for me. It was a great idea on paper. It is believable. There are many, many secrets. Maybe the narrator is unreliable or maybe is isn’t. It kept me guessing for a lot of the book, but it was just OK for me.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC

While I am a sucker for a good thriller (psychological or otherwise) this one missed the mark for me. The writing was good but the story dragged on and I found myself bored. I didn't feel compelled to find out what happened , or really care about the end. For that reason I chose to DNF this book.

Sandie Jones' latest novel is a quick and suspenseful thriller. Centering around psychologist, Naomi and her two separate clients, Anna and Jacob, the plot is face paced and always leaves the reader a little off kilter. Naomi leans in a little too much to her job, feeling guilt towards her clients and always wanting to help them even at her own mental expense.

Ultimately the plot twist when revealed is satisfactory, though not super surprising in my opinion. This novel can be read over a weekend, and is a fun peek into other people's minds.

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the chance to read this novel.

This was a mixed book for me, I liked the characters but found the story to be long and drawn out. Could have been shortened . I didn't hate it but I didn't love it. I have loved others of her books more than this one. 3 star for me.

I wanted to love this one. It just didn’t do it for me. Parts of it made me cringe at the ethics of it. Maybe I just read at a bad time.

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review

The Blame Game was a fun, twisty thriller that kept me entertained.

Naomi wasn’t a likable character for me. None of them were, honestly, but that made it even more enjoyable. I was trying to figure things out the whole way through and, when all of the characters seem questionable, anything is a possibility.

There’s a lot happening in this story, which kept me on my toes. And the epilogue is awesome. I absolutely loved that ending.

Read this if you like thrillers that:
⭐️Are full of twists and turns
⭐️Have unlikable characters and everyone is suspect
⭐️Are over the top full of action
⭐️Hook you from the first page

I could not put this book down - start reading early because it will keep you up all night! An excellent, twisty read by Sandie Jones!

The Blame Game by Sandie Jones was initially pretty interesting, but I found Naomi to completely lack boundaries, thereby making the entire story implausible. I wouldn't want her as a therapist that's for sure. Though there are plenty of twists and turns, I found this book unrelatable. One redeeming quality is that it is a short read. Thanks to Netgalley for an advance copy.

I always look forward to Sandie Jones' books and was really excited to read this one. i enjoyed it alot! Thank you so much for the opportunity to read and review this one. Can't wait for the next one!

Ohhh my this book has lots of twist and turns and it blew my mind! Naomi lives in a small village in England and is a therapist for domestic abuse encounters a man who is a victim of it. However the next day the man goes missing only his name isn’t what she thought and she was the last one to see him alive. So now Naomi doesn’t know what to believe or who is who!

This book has so many great turns and you’re always guessing!

Thanks NetGalley for the advanced copy!

I really enjoyed this domestic suspense novel. Naomi is a psychologist that often gets a bit too involved in her client’s cases. This is what happens when she helps a client but when he suddenly vanishes she is accused of having something to do with his disappearance. Has she read the situation all wrong? There were a lot of twists and turns and it definitely kept me guessing. I loved the writing and the fast paced plot.

Another great read by one of my favorite authors. It was a little slow to start with but once all the craziness started I couldn’t stop reading. I few red herrings thrown in made me second guess what I thought I had figured out. The ending was great and I kept questioning who the actual bad person was. Was it the husband or the wife which I had kinda already figured out. What a great read and can’t wait for her next book.

The Blame Game by Sandie Jones is the tale of Naomi, a psychologist who just wants to help people. Her husband Leon thinks that she sometimes crosses the professional line in her quest to help people.
She specializes in domestic violence as she had been a victim of domestic violence when she was a child. Her father killed her mother and he is just released from prison. Her sister Jennifer wants to have a relationship with Naomi but she is reluctant.

This brings us to one of Naomi's clients, Jacob. Jacob is being abused physically and emotionally by his wife, strange hey? it is usually the other way around. Jacob is in fear for his life and thinks that his wife will kill him. Naomi does all she can for him including allowing him to move into a house that she and her husband own. Leon is not a happy camper when he finds that she allowed this.

Jacob goes missing and it seems that someone is setting Naomi up and the police are skeptical of her answers. Naomi has another client that is in fear of her husband. How do these two cases relate? Can she find out who is doing this to her so she can protect her clients and get her husband to believe that she has not been having an affair with Jacob?

I enjoyed this story, I actually read it in one sitting. I give it 4 stars!

“The Blame Game” by Sandie Jones is about Naomi who is a psychologist whose goal is to help families with domestic abuse. Naomi who herself has a past and may know about being a victim she sometimes can get herself too invested in a case. With Jacob her latest client she does just that and then he goes missing and she finds herself at the center of the investigation and realizing lines have been crossed to that point that even she is wondering did she go too far and is trusting no one. Another page turner by Sandie Jones. Quick read and filled with twist.
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

#julesbookshelf #arc #theblamegame #netgalley #goodreads #bookstagram

Enjoyment: 4
Total rating: 4.43

Naomi is a psychologist who specializes in domestic abuse. As a survivor herself, she is devoted to her job. Two of her clients find themselves fearing for their lives, and at the risk of blurring professional lines, she is determined to help them escape and hide from their abuser. She goes as far as offering her rental property to one of those clients. When strange things happen, such as a missing client file, Naomi begins to wonder if her client is not the only one in danger.

Taking The Blame Game at face value, I loved this high-stakes, fast-paced thriller. There was not a single person the reader could trust, and Jones was not afraid to deliver a llama feeding story that promised to entertain. I was satisfied and engaged.

With that said, quite a bit of suspension of disbelief is needed and as a psychologist, Naomi is so unethical she would have lost her license before things escalated to where they went. I feel that if Jones had chosen a different, less controversial way to justify Naomi's involvement, more people would enjoy it. Personally, it didn't affect my rating. What kept me from enjoying the book more was this one character with who I couldn't connect. Their behaviour was inconsistent, and they read like different people as their actions served the plot.

If you're willing to look past these things, The Blame Game is a great summer read, and it entertains. The audiobook was phenomenal, Karissa Vacker made it easy to follow the story and get right into Naomi's head throughout the whole book.

Disclaimer: In exchange for an honest review, I am thankful to the publishers and NetGalley for providing a copy of The Blame Game.