3.5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
The Blame Game kept me engaged enough to finish in just a couple of sittings.

For me, none of the characters were likable, even the main character Naomi, but she was tolerable. Though she blurred a lot of lines and made some stupid decisions, I never questioned her innocence.
There were parts of Naomi's past that were worked into the story, but as it unfolded, it seemed that certain developments were just added in to throw the reader off and keep them guessing. It never went anywhere and just felt like there were loose ends by the conclusion. I had unanswered questions and didn't like that.
On the plus side, I was able to figure out part of the twist before the end, but not entirely!

Overall, I thought The Blame Game was a satisfying read. It wasn't my favorite by this author, but I'll still be interested in checking out their future releases.


_____

*Complimentary copy for review provided by St. Martin's Press. All opinions expressed here are honest and entirely my own.

I don't think this author is for me. The Blame Game had really good vibes and moment until the 50% and then everything went off the rails. The unreliable parts were full of plot holes and head scratching How did we get here tangents. As we progressed towards the end, the development and writing became so messy. I will say, Karissa Vacker is an amazing narrator and she at least provided me a listening experience I was happy with.

The Blame Game is quick read for those looking for a fast and engaging psychological mystery that keeps you guessing. Full of twists and turns, we as the reader never know who or what we can trust. There were lots of layers including both Naomi and Jacob's pasts, which I appreciate as it added more depth to the story.

The main character, Naomi, was incredibly frustrating at times and hard to connect with. Some of her decisions (i.e. getting WAY too close to her patient) were hard to get behind, but also essential to the plot. I think she may have been the one needing counseling more than her clients, but that's not for me to decide 😅

Overall, I thought this was interesting but maybe not quite as intense as her other works, like The Other Woman. Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for my gifted copy - all thoughts are my own!

A thrilling and captivating story that I could not put down! I loved the characters, loved the writing style and loved the book!! 5 stars!

"The Blame Game" by Sandie Jones is a gripping psychological thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat. Jones masterfully crafts a tangled web of secrets, lies, and shifting alliances that kept me guessing until the very end. The characters are intricately developed, each harboring their own dark motives and hidden agendas. The narrative unfolds with skillful pacing, building suspense and delivering unexpected twists that added layers of complexity to the story. Jones explores themes of betrayal and manipulation with finesse, creating a tense and atmospheric reading experience. While some plot points may be slightly predictable, the overall execution and the shocking climax make "The Blame Game" a compelling and satisfying psychological thriller, earning it a solid four stars.

This is a quick read with a fast-paced plot and ongoing action and twists. Naomi, a psychologist that specializes in domestic violence, has a new client, Jacob. He wants to leave his abusive wife and is afraid of what she will do. This is a case of a doctor getting too close to their patient. Naomi lets Jacob use her rental property. Then Jacob disappears, as well as all of Naomi's files on him. As the police begin to ask questions Naomi is afraid that secrets from her dark past may surface, especially as it seems that she is a suspect.
Since this is a short book there is not a lot of fluff and the story keeps you guessing. Good choice for a quick thrilling read.

3.5
A quick read with steady pacing. The twist is predictable but I still enjoyed it.
I wasn't feeling Naomi at all, I didn't like her unconventional ways, the secrets and lies she kept from Leon or her backstory and she crossed so many lines with her patients. She’s definitely not a likable character.

New suspense readers would enjoy this one.

This book was... interesting. I feel like there were a lot of red herrings and compounding events. The chapters were SUPER long, but I did feel like each chapter concluded nicely.

This book was short and fast paced, but i struggled and ended up skimming a lot towards the end. Didn’t really care for a lot of the characters.

Naomi is a psychologist who get way too involved in her patients' lives. When one of her patient's file goes missing, she begins to wonder if something sinister is going on or if it's something to do with her past.

This book made me want to yell at the main character, Naomi, so many times. The decisions she made were so over the top and extreme that it didn't feel realistic at times. Throw in unprofessional police investigators and it just fell kind of flat for me.

Seriously, what kind of therapist lets a patient live in their guest house, and doesn't tell their husband? I get that Naomi cared about her patients but come on. No one would do that!

I always love an unreliable narrator, but this time it didn't work for me.

I enjoyed the audiobook and that the book was a quick read.

This is a story about Naomi, a psychologist who specializes in domestic abuse. The story quickly takes off. I have to say, however, that I kept finding myself a little confused about what was going on. The plot was pretty good - I always enjoy stories told from the point of view of a professional (I.e., psychologist, teacher, doctor) and their “patient.” I also love a psychological thriller. I felt like the character development could’ve been a little better and I felt like the twists were a little out there instead of being true twists, if that makes sense?overall, it was an okay read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy of The Blame Game by Sandie Jones.

I really enjoyed this book and am so thankful to have an early copy! You'll love it! Thank you so much to netgalley for this advanced readers copy!

I had many, many thoughts about The Blame Game. I thought the main character was horrible for the things she did “in the service of her patients.” I found myself getting angry over and over again, because when things would come to light that Naomi had lied about, she would admit the truth, but then come up with another lie to cover up why she had lied to begin with. I never really understood the whole “unreliable narrator” thing, and I still don’t, really, but I also couldn’t believe a word that came out of Naomi’s mouth. So maybe she fits with that description.

I wanted to smack Naomi around a couple of times. Her lack of boundaries regarding her patients was seriously disturbing. She was a therapist who dealt with domestic violence, and when her male patient was trying to leave the wife who was beating him, she moved him into a flat she and her husband owned together, against her husband’s advice. I may not have liked him much, but honestly? If I had a therapist who did that, it would feel like a huge breach of trust. Not to mention, a MASSIVE conflict of interest, since she wasn’t just letting him stay there, she was RENTING it to him. The many times she got too involved in her patients’ lives was part of the intrigue of the book, so I understood why she did it, but at the same time? I’ve worked in mental health for a long time, and there’s no way I’d ever do, even as an admin, what this woman did as a therapist. It was crazy.

We all know, characters are SUPER important to the story. Without them, you might as well be reading a text bo…. wait, even those have characters! So, yeah, super important. Naomi was irritating, but she did make for an intriguing pro/antagonist. I never quite figured out which one she was. She seemed professional with most of her clients, but there were two she dealt with most in the book, and I didn’t trust either of them. I never really trusted her, either. The one character I trusted at all ended up being my least favorite character. I’ll talk about him in a minute.

The Big Takeaway
DON’T GET TOO INVOLVED IN YOUR PATIENTS’ LIVES. Seriously. There’s a reason that America has HIPAA laws, and I’m sure other countries have laws that are similar. Getting involved in the personal lives of your patients is so frowned upon it’s not even funny. I know I’ve talked about working in mental health for a long time, and I may have talked about some personal things with clients, but one: I’m not a therapist, and two: I was still really careful not to share too much. There are certain things that keep a relationship professional. One is boundaries, and Naomi has terrible boundaries. So, the big takeaway? Create healthy boundaries, no matter who you are, and hold them dear.

My Least Favorite Character
My least favorite character ended up being the one I trusted the most. Remember earlier? Yeah, that guy. Naomi’s husband tried desperately to keep Naomi from getting too personal with her patients. The thing that made me dislike him was how he treated Naomi when she refused to stop. She was going behind his back, yeah, and did I approve of what she was doing? Absolutely not. But he also became borderline abusive in his quest to get Naomi to learn a lesson. For that reason, he became my least favorite character.

The Other POV?
I would have loved to see the other side of the story from Leon. He’s Naomi’s husband, and it would have been interesting to see his part of trying to get Naomi to learn better boundaries, and maybe even see some internal dialogue that showed his motivations behind why he was so horrible to her. I’m not condoning abuse in any form, but at the same time, those motivations would have interested me to read.

Do you like psychological thrillers? Do you like not really knowing what’s going on, with only getting a few answers at the end? If you like books or movies that focus on the journey, rather than the destination, you’ll love this book. I might have never found the book purely predictable, but nor did I find it purely surprising. I didn’t feel entirely satisfied, but I think that was the point. If you like books like that, The Blame Game is for you. I do hope you’ll check it out, because it’s worth at least one read. After that, unfortunately, you’ll know too much, and the surprises and twists won’t get ya as well as they would normally.

Naomi came to England with her husband when his American visa ran out. She is a psychologist and they are living on a large estate where Leon is managing events. Leon is Naomi's only family. Her father murdered her mother in one of his rages when she was a child and her sister was lost to her in a world of drugs. She was glad to leave the States and start anew.

Naomi specializes in domestic abuse cases. Leon says that she is overinvested in her patients but Naomi sees it as doing whatever she can. She currently has two such cases. Anna is deciding if she needs to leave her abusive husband. Jacob is a more uncommon case. He has been married and abused physically, emotionally and psychologically for years by his wife, Vanessa. Naomi offers Jacob the use of a cottage she and Leon own which is over the line. She also meets him one night at a local hotel to calm him down when he believes his abusive wife has found his new residence. When Jacob goes missing, the police focus in on Naomi and believe that she has been having an affair with Jacob and is responsible for his disappearance.

Sandie Jones is known for psychological suspense novels. This one features a main character who might have been as well off being treated for her issues instead of treating others. She crosses the professional line and as one might expect, it is a disaster for all concerned. There are lots of twists and turns and the reader won't be sure until the end who is lying and who is telling the truth. This book is recommended for mystery readers.

This book was so crazy! it took off like a shot and kept barreling at such a fast pace until the very end! The twists were great and I could not read it fast enough!! Sandie Jones is an auto-buy author for me from now on!

The Blame Game had a great premise but unfortunately, I found the execution a little lacking and confusing. Half the story I was lost between the characters, and the main character's backstory did not put me on her team the way I think I was supposed to be. Her relationship with her husband was confusing and their poor communication was infuriating. The twist at the end was kind of interesting, but it didn't make up for the rest of the book. Thank you to the publisher for sharing this with me in exchange for my honest review!

I have enjoyed a few of Sandie Jones books, and read them in book clubs and they have made for fun discussions! I was interested in the storyline of this one and honestly the cover was really pretty and caught my eye. This one did not keep me hooked like The Other Woman, but was still a good read overall. I didn't ever quite connect with the main character and found everything she was doing to be very questionable even if she had good intentions. I will continue to read this authors work and look forward to the next one!

Loved this read! Sandie is an auto read for me. This kept me guessing until the very end! I equally care for and disliked all the characters.

What the hail did I just read? There was a ton of sleight of hand by putting a ton of information to distract you. I wasn’t sure where to look, who was good or bad. Honestly there were some issues I had with the book. Like with so many characters I still have no clue where one of the guys at end came from.

That being said it kept me wanting more so I’m rounding up to 4 stars.