Really enjoyed this one. The author did a great job of making you question everything and everyone, even had me second guessing the main character’s mental state. I will say I was a little confused with all of the back and forth but I think that was a product of this being an audiobook and me not always being the world’s best listener. I haven’t read anything else by this author but I definitely will in the future after this one!

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.

Naomi is a psychologist who specializes in domestic abuse cases. One of her clients goes missing, and as Naomi gets pulled into the investigation, she realizes he is not the person she thought he was.

The Blame Game is a character-driven domestic noir/thriller. It's a slow-burn read, taking it's time to get to know Naomi and ramping up for an exciting ending. If you enjoy this genre, you will enjoy The Blame Game.

I listened to this one; narrator Karissa Vacker was fantastic, an enjoyable listen.

Note: I've seen some people give lower reviews because Naomi has terrible boundaries as a psychologist, and they say that makes this read totally unrealistic. I agree she has terrible boundaries (and in real life she would lose her license IF she were reported), but 1. this is a work of fiction and 2. her terrible boundaries are needed for the plot of this book. If you are looking for more realism, it may be that fictional domestic noir thrillers are just not your literary cuppa.

Naomi is a therapist specializing in domestic abuse. She tends to get overly attached to her clients. And when her clients receive threats or feel threatened, Naomi gets way too involved and it puts her life and her husband’s life in danger. So, when one of her clients disappears under strange circumstances, Naomi becomes a suspect.

I am not a big fan of Naomi. I found her decision making skills a bit lacking. But, because of her lack direction, the story took many dramatic turns. This did keep the story moving, if at a slower pace than I like.

I have read another of this author’s books The Guilt Trip. And I had the same feelings about that book as I do this book. It is just an ok read. It is a bit slow to get to the point. BUT! There is a twist. So, hang in there! The twist is worth it.

The narrator, Karissa Vacker, is what kept me in this story. She did a wonderful job with all the characters and the plot twists.

Need a read which will have you asking questions…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

I missed downloading this before it was archived. My fault at requesting it too close to the archive date.

Originally from New York, USA, Naomi now resides in the UK, where she works as a psychologist specializing in domestic violence. Due to childhood trauma, Naomi struggles with creating boundaries between her and her patients, and there are no lengths she will not go to in order to help them—much to the displeasure of her husband, Leon. When one of her clients disappears, the police suspect Naomi was involved. During the course of the criminal investigation, she discovers nothing is what it seems. Naomi must locate her client and clear her name before it's too late.

The Blame Game by Sandie Jones has the perfect title for this read! There is so much blame to go around in this book and Jones skillfully crafts a mystery that is both thrilling and fast-paced. It kept me guessing until the very last word.

I received a review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley for my honest review. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

Sandie Jones's latest, The Blame Game, reinforces that Jones is really good at what she does. Twisty, toxic relationships, a slowly unfolding mystery, and the fact that she kept me guessing to the very end made listening to The Blame Game an electrifying experience. The narrator, Karissa Vacker, delivered an engaging performance, breathing life into this sometimes-unsettling cast of characters.

Naomi is an American ex-pat, living in England with her husband, but she's also a psychologist specializing in domestic abuse. Her tendency to get over-involved with her patients has put her in danger before, but that isn't enough to deter her. She helps her client Jacob leave his abusive wife, but then Jacob goes missing, and the police show up at her door.

As Naomi watches her life literally start to fall apart as the police gather more and more evidence against her, she holds on to the fact that she KNOWS she's innocent. But ghosts from her own dark past have her questioning everyone and everything else.

I stayed up past midnight cleaning the house last night just so I could finish the audiobook before going to bed because I had to find out who the mastermind was behind all the obfuscation.

If you love twisty domestic thrillers, Sandie Jones's books are always a solid bet--and The Blame Game delivers everything I've come to expect from her and more!

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and Minotaur Books for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.

Where to start?
What I liked:
I liked the *idea* of what the author was trying to do. I also think the author has a nice way of describing things.
What I did not like:
The narrator's voice sounded constantly on edge, even when the main character wasn’t. This story was a head scratcher to me. It tried to be too many things and left loose ends and seemed just too implausibly. It pushed me past my willing suspension of disbelief straight into “this doesn’t even make sense” land. The ending was also just too unbelievable to me. The whole backstory of Naomi’s father and sister was a weird, unnecessary distraction. If the point was to give context to why Naomi might lie, it failed.
Let’s talk about Naomi for a minute. I found myself growing completely frustrated with her. HAVE SOME HEALTHY BOUNDARIES, Naomi, PLEASE! Her relationship with Leon seemed completely indifferent.
Above all though, I do not understand how the reader is supposed to buy this Jacob/Michael- Ness/Anna storyline. It barely makes sense, even after reading the book!!

Naomi is a psychologist specializing in domestic abuse but she has a bit of trouble with boundaries and to help keep her clients safe she sometimes crosses a line and lets them get way to close. But when one of these clients goes missing the mystery is so much more than that he is missing, who really was this man and why did he lie to her. Did Naomi put herself and her husband in danger?

This was a good thriller that kept me guessing. I do hope Naomi finds a new career after this!

Karissa Vacker’s narration was excellent she brought the emotions to the surface very well!

4 stars

I received this book from the publisher Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for a fair and honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an audio copy of The Blame Game in exchange for an honest review.

Naomi is a married psychologist living on a vast property her husband manages and she has her office onsite. She specializes in domestic abuse and with her own personal history with this subject she is willing to over step her boundaries to help her clients. One of these abuse victim is Jacob, who has been mentally and emotionally abused for years by his successful wife. As he flees his relationship Naomi offers to let him live in a rental property she owns while he rebuilds his life. Naomi knows her husband Leo does not approve of her overstepping the lines so she decides to keep their new tenant a secret along with the encounters she has with him outside of her office. When Jacob vanishes without a trace Naomi is convinced his ex-wife has finally found him but the police are looking at Naomi as their prime suspect.

*possible spoilers*

I liked the premise of this book and was excited to jump into it but it fell flat. I disliked the characters which made it hard to care about the plot twists. Naomi is incredibly unprofessional. She is constantly lying, tampering with police evidence and crossing lines with her patients that don't need to be crossed. In one instants a client calls her to tell her she is actively attempting suicide, instead of calling the police or medical professionals, Naomi gets into her car and drives to the woman. There were some plot twists but most were predictable early on. This was not a good thriller. I had the audio version that was narrated by Karissa Vacker, who I have always enjoyed listening to, but even her strong performance couldn't save this lackluster mystery.

I am not going to go into a long summary of this book for a couple reasons. First, there are plenty of those out there, almost every review and even the blurb on the back of the book has a summary. Second, it is best if you go into this thriller totally blind, as I did.

Let me start by saying that the rampant criticism of this book that the story is unrealistic or unbelievable because no therapist would break boundaries as Naomi does is ridiculous. Newsflash - doctors date patients, teachers sleep with students and therapists break boundaries - does that make it right? NO. But it happens, and in this instance, Naomi is one of those people who are not following the rules of her profession. Once you get past this that YES, she is acting ridiculously towards her clients, you will enjoy the book much more. YES, Naomi is one of those crazy people. That is the point of the book. End rant.

This book was twisty and turny, and while I did figure out one of the twists pretty early on - there is one twist I still can't tell if I figured out. That being said, the book is a little confusing. The ending is a little "was that supposed to be what I thought it was?" I think that the ending, while trying to be ambiguous, could still use a little more explanation.

I listened to this book on audio, and the narrator was fantastic. The pacing of story is great, and there are many red herrings along the way. Some people like red herrings, other people see them as a waste of time, in hindsight. I will say that I was duped by a couple of the red herrings and therefore found their existence enjoyable.

I loved Sandie Jones' other book - The Other Woman, although that book was also heavily criticized. In my opinion, she writes fun-to-read thrillers. Did I completely connect with Naomi? No. But I didn't need to because she was meant to be a little bit crazy, a little bit damaged, a little bit of an unreliable narrator. This book is perfect for the beach, the airplane or a work-out. Just enjoy it for a what it is - a twisty turny thriller. No need to take it so seriously, just have fun on the ride.

Special thank you to Netgalley and MacMillan Audio for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Twisted story about marriage; womens blindness and people twisted plans. Psychologist gets patians and they all play her, they all tell her lies. In the world of lies there is alway a truth. Who is telling truth?

Lamentably, The Blame Game falls into a category that I'm beginning to see more and more - forgettable domestic thrillers that don't do anything different from 90% of the books in the genre. This book has the ingredients that you've seen before: a therapist with questionable ethics, a main character with a dark past, distrustful spouses, etc. But I had so many gripes with the execution of this story that I couldn't set aside – Naomi is an extremely unprincipled therapist and dishonest person in general, the police "investigation" of the missing persons case is a total joke, Naomi's backstory feels completely out of place, and most importantly, the ending of this book was so confusing that I had to go back and re-read it three times just to make sense of it (and even then...). Unfortunately, this book was a pass from me. (Thank you to Minotaur Books for the ARC via Netgalley.)

Thank you so much to @minotaurbooks for sending me a complimentary arc of The Blame Game to read and review close to publication. The Blame Game came out on August 16, 2022 - available now!

I haven't read any of this authors earlier books, and if I'm honest after this one, I'm not sure if I will (except The Other Woman because of my read all the Reese picks ongoing goal).

Naomi is a psychologist specializing in domestic abuse and often finds herself getting too close to her clients and overstepping professional boundaries (I added that last part). She allows a client to move into a flat that her and her husband own to get away from an abusive spouse and soon after he goes missing.

I'm getting pretty bored of women making poor decisions, keeping unnecessary secrets. There were so many times during this book that Naomi could have made any other decision, and there would have been a better outcome.

I had a lot of trouble keeping up with the different characters and what their histories were. I guessed the twist in this book very early, and none of it seemed realistic or possible.

If your looking for an easy read, and don't mind if the pieces don't really fit together or make sense... this is the book for you.

📖 The Blame Game by Sandie Jones ⭐️⭐️⭐️


Thank you @netgalley and @macmillan.audio for the audiobook of #TheBlameGame

🌙𝐵𝑜𝑜𝑘 𝐵𝑙𝑢𝑟𝑏: “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.”

🌙 𝑅𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑒𝑤: I absolutely loved this cover and after The Other Woman, Sandie Jones is an auto-read author so I was super excited for this book.
This book was a fast, entertaining read but I couldn’t get over the unprofessional conduct , maybe low researched, psychology field in this book. I don’t know, I felt a weak link between the smart portrayed MC and the actual unintelligent character we got. I didn’t like the main character at all but the book was entertaining nevertheless.

🌙𝑁𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛: The audiobook was easy to follow, great paced, fast to listen to and well narrated.

🌙𝑃𝑢𝑏 𝑑𝑎𝑡𝑒: Out Now!


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This one fell a bit flat for me and I'm not sure I would want to read about by the author. Not my writing style.

Naomi is the kind of psychologist any patient would love, she goes above and beyond and really cares about her patients. Her spouse, Leon, however, thinks Naomi gets a little too involved. I was intrigued from the beginning as to what happened to Naomi and her sister when they were children and how her personal life events may just destroy her career, her marriage, and possibly take her life. The story moved along quickly at and times was a bit confusing. I would have liked an epilogue or a 'three months later' chapter at the end as well.

Growing up in a domestic abuse home, and losing her mother and sister at a very young age, gave Naomi a great push of opening her own practice to work and help peoples who are suffering from physical and domestic violence. But Naomi does so much more for her patience, which draws an issue in her own marriage. But she has no idea that one of her latest clients is playing a very dangerous game of life and death.

This novel had my mind working from the very first to the very last pages. It has been a few days since I finished the novel, and my mind is still on this last plot twist. Phenomenal writing, and a great plot, loved Naomi's back story, although I was a bit disappointed by the latter. Wish there was more of it to the novel. Nevertheless, Naomi's clients produced enough drama for one book. I enjoyed all the twists provided in the story. It was a fast-paced read, I was very intrigued and had a hard time putting the novel down, hence it took me a bit more than one day to finish it.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and Sandie Jones for providing this complimentary ARC through NetGalley.

I enjoyed the book's creative who done it story but there were too many lose ends. We are to believe the main character is an intelligent psychologist but she would never think, I should talk to a lawyer. That part was totally unbelievable. I'm still unsure if Ana was the sister--too confusing, and if she was the sister how could they not have had a sisterly exchange at the end. I was ultimately disappointed with this book. I kept listening hoping it would get better but I don't feel it did.