Cover Image: Her One Mistake

Her One Mistake

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Member Reviews

In the blink of an eye your whole life can change and that is exactly what happens in “Her One Mistake” by Heidi Perks. I won’t get into the plot too much as I do not want to give anything away. I will say that this book is every parent’s worst nightmare. It really put me in the mind of “Big Little Lies”. I enjoyed the alternating point of view as well as the past and present portions. At times it was a little slow paced but even so, it is full of twists and turns. Overall, I enjoyed this novel and will definitely read more from Heidi Perks in the future.

*I received a digital copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*

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Not a huge fan of this. I didn't think the characters were particularly fleshed out. I really expected Charlotte to be more the focus of this book and was disappointed that she really wasn't. I thought it would be the very interesting story of a woman who must live with the fact that she was responsible for the safety of another's child and failed. I would have loved for the author to explore that, but it was barely glossed over. It veered off into a twist that was kind of strange.

I suspected something when the Harriet's husband was clearly gas lighting her, but I didn't think that story was as interesting as exploring Charlotte's guilt would have been. So once we got to that point in the story, I lost a lot of interest. Too bad. It started out strong, but ultimately fizzled.

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An amazing read! Could not put it down. It messed with my head in all the best ways possible, kept me on the edge of my seat guessing what really happened. Author did an amazing job with the ending I felt like the character and was waiting on edge to see if a certain someone showed back up. Loved it can not recommend it enough.

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An excellent psychological thriller. Filled with surprises. Well done layering of information, evoking many emotions, and containing wonderful characters. Thank you NetGalley for the e-reader copy. All opinions are my own.

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Every Mom's Nightmare!


Charlotte and Harriet are moms and friends. Charlotte lives a comfortable life with three children and Harriet's life is not so comfortable and she only has one child named Alice and she never lets her little four year old out of her sight (never). There is a school fair that all the children are looking forward to but Harriet has a somewhere she must be on that day, so she asks Charlotte to take Alice to the fair, who is only happy to oblige though Harriet seems very nervous about leaving Alice but Harriet trusts Charlotte and thinks she is a wonderful mother.

The children are very happy and excited to try everything and three of them go on the huge jungle bounce but only two come out. Where is Alice? Where did she go? How will she face Harriet?

This is only the beginning of a heartbreaking mystery that has so many twists and turns and tests of friendship among other friends and mothers and has Charlotte doubting herself as a mother and friend, especially when the police continue to question her about how she could lose Alice and not one of her three children.

This was a very entertaining book and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good psychological mystery.

I want to thank Netgally and the publisher for this arc and will read more by this author.
I have given this book 4 mysterious 🌟🌟🌟🌟 stars!!

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A mother's worst fear is her child being abducted. In this novel, Her One Mistake, that is exactly the nightmare Harriet is enduring when her daughter Alice goes missing. Even worse? Harriet was at a class when her child was taken, right under the watchful eye of her best friend Charlotte.
I really felt sympathy for Charlotte. The way things are today, no doubt the focus of headlines would be on the careless mother who lost her best friend's child, instead of efforts towards actually FINDING the child. I couldn't imagine being in her shoes, anymore so than Harriet's.
This novel really did make me feel for the characters, even if it wasn't the most "on the edge of your seat" type of story. For the most part it drug on and on at a pretty slow pace until the ending, where there was quite a bit of an unexpected finish. I feel like it could have used a little more closure, but overall it was a good read and I will probably read more from the author in the future.

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In the "British Girl in Trouble" vein, this one was just okay. A woman asked a friend to watch her daughter for an afternoon and the little girl is abducted. But, guess what, there is more to the story!

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I enjoyed the fast pace of this twisty book. It was not predictable, the who did it mystery remained throughout the book. There are a lot of novels written where a child goes missing under the watchful eye of a parent. This one was a friend, and not a close friend, and the friend was reluctant to do so in the first place.

The story unfolds from differing points of view, told by different characters. It also jumps from the aftermath of the disappearance to before and then to the moment the child is lost. This is confusing in some books, but not this one. It kept me riveted the entire time.

Thank you NetGalley for the advance copy.

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I have such mixed feelings about this book. It was engaging, it was a page turner, it kept me guessing.....I just didn't like the characters. I don't know what I've done, because clearly I've done something to stick me in this pit of good stories bad people situation.

Thank you Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2721832890

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My Rating: 4.5 Stars

How chilling to read a book when a little girl goes missing at a fair!

Charlotte has three kids of her own, so being asked to take her friend's child, Alice, along to the local fair is not a problem. However, Charlotte is posting while on her phone, so just imagine her horror when Alice suddenly disappears. Oh the guilt! Oh the accusations!

This chilling story is told in alternating timelines of before and now. What I thought when approaching this book and what I learned while reading were two entirely different things. Both timelines were so incredibly intense! Who couldn't feel sorry for the mother, Harriet, whose child has disappeared? And as a parent, I can't help but admit that I was extremely angry with Charlotte for allowing her need for social media to cause such a distraction.

Without providing a spoiler, suffice it to say that things were not as they seemed in Her One Mistake. That fact, along with many other disturbing facts, make this book work. And, oh, it works so very well. This is a psychological thriller down to its very teeth. The story goes beyond the two mothers. There is Brian, Harriet's husband and Alice's father. All I can say about him is "Wow!"There is something else worth mentioning at this point: Harriet really wasn't close to any of her friends.

Because any further comments about the story would indeed be spoilers, there is a trigger warning. There is domestic abuse, and it is because of such that a person might ask how far would they go when faced with an untenable situation. No doubt other readers won't take long to query as to who made what mistake.

I have already stated that this book is chilling. It is equally suspenseful and compelling, and despite that, sometimes difficult to read. It is that level of difficulty that made this book nearly impossible to put down.

Many thanks to Gallery Books and Edelweiss for this ARC to review in exchange for my honest opinion.

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Her One Mistake was my first book to read by Heidi Perks. It was a fast-paced psychological thriller. The storyline centers around every mother’s worst fear. It was a heart pounding read.

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The abduction of a child and the devastation of a friendship.
This was a good story, considering the content. I took me a bit to really become vested in the story. The timeline kept messing with me. I think it would have worked better had it been linear.
Overall, I ended up liking it and gave it a 3.5 stars.

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This one genuinely surprised me! I felt for both of the women in this book and while it wasn't what I was expecting, I truly enjoyed reading it.

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Good book after a while. Took a little bit to really get into it.. Not sure if I would recommend it to a friend.

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What if you lost your best friend's child?

Charlotte had finally convinced her best friend, Harriet, to let her take Harriet's daughter, Alice, to the school fair. Harriet never let Alice out of her sight, but just this once, she decided it would be okay for Alice to go with Charlotte and her three kids to the fair. It's a warm, sunny day. The kind of day made for sundresses and flip-flops and cotton candy. And the Jungle Run, the bouncy ride that all the kids wanted to play on. They all go in as Charlotte takes a moment to check her Facebook feed. But only Charlotte's kids come out. Alice is gone, vanished seemingly into thin air and no one can find her. Not Charlotte, not Harriet and her husband, Brian. Not the police. She's just gone.

Imagine if you were Charlotte. Or Harriet. Terrifying thought. But what happens as you read this book is nothing like you think is going to happen. There is a deeper darkness here. Things aren't quite what they seem. And to find out what happened, you will need to delve into the darkness, to find out about Charlotte and Harriet. There is character development and not just one twist after another. It's easy to follow, even with two different narrators and two different time periods.

If you are looking for a thriller where the truth isn't so readily apparent, I highly recommend reading this one! Thank you to #netgalley and #gallerybooks for the opportunity to read and review this book. I look forward to more books from #heidiperks.

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I was given an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Also thanks to Gallery Books / Simon & Schuster for the early copy.

Her One Mistake by Heidi Perks is a psychological thriller. Charlotte and Harriet are best friends, which seems strange to many of Charlotte's friends, as Harriet is considered strange and a bit of a loner. Alice is Harriet's daughter, and she is never out of Harriet's sight.
One day, Charlotte convinces Harriet to allow Alice to come with Charlotte and her children to a school fair, while Harriet attends a class. Quickly, the day turns to horror when Alice goes missing.
Spoiler Alert:
This book reminded me a lot of Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris. Both books are about a husband who is determined to control his wife, and the wife fears not only for herself, but for a loved one. In this book, Harriet is concerned for Alice, and in Behind Closed Doors, the wife is concerned for her mentally challenged sister. In both books, the husband portrays himself to the world as good and loving to his wife. However, the truth is not the same as the perceived reality. It also reminded me a bit of Gone Girl, due to the deception that is revealed partway through the book.
Heidi Parks creates a novel that sets to convince you of one thing, while building an entirely different subplot. I liked the tactic of questioning the people involved by the police, and I liked the reveal of the deception. I was uneasy at the end, constantly wondering, like Harriet, if Brian actually died, or if one day he would miraculously appear. I don't understand the terror that Harriet felt married to Brian, thankfully, but understand that it could be a very real issue, as so many women are abused mentally and in fear of their abuser.
I enjoyed the novel and would like to read more by this author.
#HerOneMistake #HeidiPerks #NetGalley #GalleryBooks #SimonSchuster

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Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for this early copy!

An well-done and interesting thriller. I will be checking out more from this author in the future.

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This is a great book with well developed characters who keep unfolding along with the plot. As the story develops my opinion of characters changed and that was a good thing. Many surprises along the way and I like the fact that the story had a real ending! I have read too many books lately with very unsatisfying endings, but not this one. I recommend this and would read other works by Heidi Perks. Thanks, NetGalley, for the opportunity to read/review this one!

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Well this had a surprising twist. I had to keep reading to see if I had this figured out and I was totally surprised. The story covered many current topics - abuse, kidnapping, child disappearances, family issues, friendships, etc. - all things readers will find interesting in this story.

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Her One Mistake by Heidi Perks, I have got to say this book git me! I thought I knew, I just knew I knew but nope it turns out I was wrong! Charlotte was watching Harriets daughter for the 1st time when she was abducted. This is the very first time Harriet has left her child with a friend and now she has to explain to her husband why she needed a sitter in the first place as her place is with her child. Mystery, intrigue, twists, this book has it all! Thank you Netgalley and the Publishers for allowing me to read this ARC and give my honest opinion.

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