This story was over the top in a field of crazy women stories - an overpopulated field at that! Scattered, predictable, unlikable characters... not much of a story to sink your teeth into. In order to stand strong in the psychological thriller category, the story has to be good, get the reader hooked, and deliver a powerful, out of nowhere ending. The First Mistake fell flat.

This is the first Sandie Jones book I read. The book follows Alice a woman who lost her husband tragically but finds another love in Nathan. Also thrown in the middle of the story is Alice's best friend Beth. Alice is a successfully business woman and Beth is a struggling single mother, but their friendship is genuine. When Alice thinks Nathan is having an affair she confides in Beth. Beth and Nathan have never met face to face although Beth and Alice have been best friends for over 2 years. One fateful day at Alice's daughter's birthday party Nathan and Beth finally meet and this is where the fun begins. I won't give any more away. I look forward to reading more books by Sandie.

THE FIRST MISTAKE is an engaging read, right from page one. With a feel of women’s fiction, it does have some thriller elements, particularly later in the book. We follow Alice in the first part, Beth in the past for the second, and then both again for the third. Alice is happily married and running a company alongside her husband, Nathan. Notably, the company was set up by Alice with her first husband, Tom, for interior design, and it has been doing remarkably well.

Alice also has two daughters, Sophia, a moody teenager, and Olivia, a nine-year-old who has been having some trouble at school lately. Alice’s life is evolving and changing, and things may not be exactly as she thought they were. As things begin crumbling around her, she must rely on her husband and her best friend, but it is not clear who she can really trust.

This book absolutely pulled me in from the start, and with many twists and turns along the way, I was still completely surprised by the ending (something I always love in thrillers). The pacing is absolutely perfect, and the timing is spot-on for reveals and flashbacks. The writing is top notch and even better than the previous book by this author (THE OTHER WOMAN). Sandie Jones has really found her element here, and the structure/plot/style are completely perfect.

I highly recommend for anyone looking for a light/domestic thriller, great pacing, intense, and satisfying read. Please note that I received an ARC from the publisher through netgalley. All opinions are my own.

They say love is blind but in this case, it blindes you to all the warning signs... I devoured this one... Sadie Jones is an excellent writer and after reading The Other Woman I couldn't wait to get my hands on this one. It was an easy reason, fast paced and thoroughly enjoyable. With only four characters (one being deceased) you really got to know each of them on a deep level and were able to truly relate to Alice and Beth. Full of twists and turns, even those I figured out early on, were exciting nonetheless. Overall I loved it.

I would like to thank netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Review Copy

Twisted and warped - that's my best description for British author Sandie Jones' newest thriller THE FIRST MISTAKE. I knew exactly what was going on and what was going to happen - until I didn't. Silly me thinking it would be all that simple. That was MY first mistake.

The book is broken into a couple of different stories. It's very well told and gives a great feel for the characters. Anyone who enjoys thrillers is sure to devour this one over just a couple of days like I did.

Coming soon from St Martins Press. Try it.

Thank you NetGalley & St. Martin's Press for the ARC of The First Mistake by Sandie Jones. The cover is beautiful. I loved The Other Woman and couldn't wait to read this one as well! I could not put this domestic psychological thriller down! I read it in just one day. Everything starts to unravel in the first chapter and I was completely drawn in by Alice, the main character, her former husband, her current husband and her best friend, Beth. I'll definitely be purchasing the paperback when it comes out.

The First Mistake

Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Well I liked this one even more then Sandie Jones first novel! I was so sure I figured it out a few times but each time I was thrown for a new loop I enjoyed it more and more.

The book is about Alice a woman who seems to have it all. A loving second husband, two beautiful daughters and a kindred spirit best friend. But as she starts to notice her husband active strangely and she confides in her best friend, she wonders if she’s misplaced her trust.

Her First Mistake was fun to read! Not a overly complicated story but one that was easy to follow and uses dual narrative for one piece of the book just to leave us wanting more. Alice is also more complex then we first realize and her characters growth throughout the book is enjoyable to see!

The only thing I thought was missing was a littttttle more on the ending. In my opinion it was pretty abrupt!

All in all if your looking for a book to give you some paranoia about everyone around you, this is your book!

The First Mistake has officially affirmed Sandie Jones as one of my favourite authors. Having loved Ms Jones' previous novel, 'The Other Woman', this one had high expectations to meet, and it certainly did not disappoint.

Alice is a woman who has moved on with her life following the premature demise of her first husband, Tom, whom Alice has always placed on a pedestal. But life with second husband, Nathan, and her two daughters is good, both personally and professionally, until Alice begins to suspect Nathan of having an affair. Is all as perfect as it seems?

Beth is a friend to Alice, but when Alice starts to confide in the other woman regarding her suspicions about Nathan, she begins to sense that there is more going on than meets the eye. And Beth seems to be harbouring some secrets of her own.

This is a compelling page turner that I could not put down. Full of tangible tension, nothing is as it appears, and the twists will keep your head spinning until the final page. Sandie Jones has quickly become a must read author for me, and I cannot wait to see where she takes us next.

Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Minotaur Books for this fabulous ARC.

The First Mistake by Sandie Jones was overall a good book, a little slow moving at first. Centered around Alice and her husband Nathan and Alice’s best friend Beth, as the story unfolds you begin to not trust any of them. Became a page turner toward the end but some parts of it seemed disjointed in my opinion. Overall a good book with good twists and turns.

Sandie Jones has done it again! This book was even better than The Other Woman, which I thought was great. The story was compelling and suspenseful. As soon as I was confident that I knew what was going on, the rug was pulled out from under my feet. When I thought it was clear what was going to happen next, I was proven wrong every time. The twists and turns just kept on coming in The First Mistake.

Alice lost her first husband and she has never fully gotten over him. Now, ten years later, she has learned that her best friend Beth had an affair with him and have birth to his child. The friend claims she never knew he was married. But wouldn’t you know that the child and one of Alice’s are close friends.

Alice is now remarried but has begun to grow suspicious that perhaps Nathan is having an affair. Alice isn’t sure who she can trust anymore. But then everything changes. I don’t want to give anything away but essentially, don’t believe everything you read until the end. The First Mistake will keep you on your toes.

The story flowed well and the characters were well developed. The book is divided into three sections, one about Alice, one about Beth and then the last one about both of them. The First Mistake was hard to put down and would make a perfect beach or rainy day read or anytime for that matter. I can’t wait for Sandie Jone’s next novel!

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press - Minotaur Books and NetGalley for an advance reader. Opt in exchange for my honest review.

I loved this book and was able to finish it so quickly. It kept me interested the entire time and was twisting until the very end. I was so sad when it was over! Will definitely recommend to friends and have already lent out my copy!

Alice and Beth meet because they each have a daughter in the same school. They become friends, share tidbits about their lives and enjoy the camaraderie before their lives take a strange turn. Alice is a hard-working mother who has already lived through the pain of her first husband's death. She is now married to Nathan and he is the perfect man. Things begin to change as they two begin to work on a project in Japan. They each have secrets but after shocking twists, the reader is drawn into a web of deceit and suspicion. I guarantee that you'll never look at people the same way again. I couldn't put the book down until I got to the very end. A moving story with mystery, deceit and plenty of strange moments that were very much like real life. Four stars for this super-charged thriller of a story.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to read and review this book. Publication date is June 11, 2019.

I am, sadly, disappointed with this one. The book started off slow - a woman whose first husband died years ago begins to suspect that her new husband is cheating. It’s quite boring until it gets to the second part, where it begins to pick up.

Aside from the fact that I knew what was going on the whole time, I was really frustrated that the gaping plot hole that should have been cleared up easily was never filled in. None of what Alice feared made any sense being that the timeline of the story wouldn’t have matched up.

Yes, the story was interesting, but so implausible that I just shook my head for about the last quarter of the book.

Let me start by saying that Sandie Jones is easily becoming one of my favorite authors. Her books are so easy and quick to read, and while they're not exactly your typical thriller, they always have their parts where my heart is racing and I CANNOT. STOP. READING. The First Mistake was no different. At first, I thought the story was going in a completely different direction from where it actually ended up. You're just not sure what characters you're supposed to trust, and who the "good guy" is. But this did not stop me from getting hooked once the first twist is revealed about 1/3 of the way in. From there on out, I couldn't put it down. I will say that I was not in love with the ending, but overall, it is worth the read. 4.5/5 (with a push to 5 for the star scale, because I just love SJ's style!)

I truly enjoyed this book. I've always enjoyed books that had little twists in them and then conclude in a way that makes total sense. That is the way it is here with "The First Mistake." Alice was married to Tom, whose death nearly took her life as well. But she recovers from her grief with the help of Nathan. Nathan eventually joins the firm that Alice and Tom started, and business appears to be growing. But, over time, Alice starts to suspect that all is not right in her life. I don't want to give too much away, because it is important for the reader to discover things as Alice does. I will say that I read this book in a day. I had trouble putting it down. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Go read this book!

Have you ever read a book because you see all the hype & then think ... hmm are we reading the same book? This just didn't work for me. It seemed bogged down in tedium and pointless conversations that never really advanced the story. When the story did advance, so many of the twists were just not believable.

Guess it's just not my bag.

I was so excited to read this and I absolutely loved. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time and read this book in two sittings. I literally couldn’t out it down. There were so many great twist and a great story of friendship, love, loss and complete betrayal. I love that this book brought two strong women together and they supported each other through some the hardest things someone could go through. I would highly recommend this book!

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martins Press for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars.

After being pleasantly surprised by The Other Woman, I was happy to read Jones’ next novel. This centered around Alice who runs a successful business with her second husband Nathan. When Nathan starts to behave suspiciously she turns to her friend Beth, but Beth has some secrets too.

This book was really an enjoyable and quick read. There were quite a few surprises at the end and I was invested enough in the story that I really wanted to find out what was going on. I was not disappointed with the reveals at the end. I look forward to the next book from this author.

This is the first book I’ve read by Sandie Jones, and I really enjoyed it. At first, I thought this would be a pretty straightforward case of infidelity, but as I read further, I was thrilled to discover that there was so much more involved. The way the characters’ lives were interconnected caught me by surprise and made me devour the book even faster. The author did a great job of keeping everything under wraps for the majority of the book, and while I thought the story was going in one direction, it ended up going in the complete opposite. The ending was great too, and I liked that the epilogue was left open to interpretation for the reader, though I think it leaned one way more than the other. Definitely recommending this one!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2748085084

Wow!!! Full of twists and turns and unexpected plot lines. This was my second book by Sandie Jones and it did not disappoint. A fast thrilling read that will leave you wanting more.