Naomi is psychologist who specializes in domestic abuse. She has had it extremely difficult to not become overly invested In the lives of her clients. But after helping Jacob make the decision to leave his wife – Naomi begins to worry she took it one step too far. After Jacob’s first session post escape from his abusive wife, his file mysteriously goes missing.

After Naomi crosses the line, personally & professionally; Jacob goes missing. And all eyes are on Naomi….
____

Well, this one wasn’t awful, but it definitely wasn’t wow either. Naomi was EXTREMELY unreliable, and made some questionable decisions. I didn’t connect with ANY of the characters – and thought Naomi’s marriage to Leon lacked SO much chemistry, and quite honestly he was a big ole J E R K!

As soon as things were starting to wrap up, situations became TOO coincidental and way too far-fetched to be realistic. The epilogue was very interesting and I thoroughly enjoyed the ambiguous way it ended!

I did enjoy the sub plot, and really wished we could have gotten more insight into Naomi’s past. The times that we did get some background knowledge into Naomi’s childhood was VERY intriguing and was my favorite part of this book.

I also wouldn’t call this a thriller – there wasn’t anything “thrilling” about it. It was a semi-decent mystery for those who prefer “lighter” reads in this genre.

I loved this so much, but felt like the ending was way too rushed and confusing. We never got any closure on her sister, which I felt like played a big role the whole book, but then never came to anything.

🔪 Book Review 🔪

#theblamegame
#sandiejones
#mystery
#NetGalley published 8/16/2022
#MinotaurBooks

🔪🔪🔪/5

I wanted to like this book so much more. The story was really pretty good. The main character was just a #stupidfemale. She lied and kept secrets from both her husband and the police. Smh. She kept digging her hole deeper and deeper. Only told the truth at the very end of the book. Oiy. Just not my thing.

Easy enough read. Even with the stupidity of the MC. Didn't dread having to pick the book back up. So that pulled the score up some. As I said, the story was good. But I'm surprised that a woman would write a book with such a ridiculous woman. It seems more like something a man would do. Sorry, men. 🤷‍♀️

Don't have much to say. Not sure if I'd be interested in another book by this author. I'd be too afraid of the same idiotic main character.

#stmartinspress
#generalfiction
#bookstagram #booknerdsbookreview #bookreview

This was the perfect palate cleanser. It's not a book I'll remember for long, but it kept my attention and had interesting twists and turns that felt unique enough for the genre.

🎧⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ooh, boy! Often when I’m listening to a book I can’t stop. In this case I had to force myself to stop to mentally process everything. Just as in “The Other Woman” Sandie Jones takes us literally into a psychological thriller where I was kept trying to figure out what was going on, just like Naomi. Let’s just say that Naomi pushed her boundaries as far as they could go and that is where the story takes off.

Thank you @netgalley and @macmillan.audio for selecting me to listen to The Blame Game by Sandie Jones

#netgalley
#macmillanaudio
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#audiobook

This was a super fast read that kept my interest! I found the narrator very interesting in her outlook on things. I also immediately trusted no one!

This was an incredibly fast paced thriller. It was full of twists, turns and angst with the main character. This is the perfect vacation read you can read in one sitting. The Blame Game is truly nothing memorable for a thriller novel.

Thank Minatour Books for the advance reader copy.

I was instantly hooked and stayed up way past my bedtime reading this one. This is another great page turner that keeps you guessing right until the very end. I tore right through it and highly recommend it ! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Thank you @netgalley @minotaur_books and @macmillan.audio for this ARC in exchange for an honest review! I received the ebook and audio.

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.

💭 It seems to be an unpopular opinion, but this one was not for me. It’s a quick read and the story line had me interested.

I didn’t like the MC. Naomi is loving and wants to fix everyone’s problems, but there are lines between a big heart and unprofessional. Her marriage is a mess, and I would say half of that is definitely her own fault. Less than 300 pages, I feel like I would have enjoyed this story if there was more to it. There was so much to this story and just not enough development. The ending left me confused. I read this one and then re-listened to the last 30% on audio hoping I would catch something I missed. I love having a physical and audio copy!

I will point out I thought the epilogue was great! I think there was just too much going on and not enough to it.

I enjoyed this book. It was a lot of lying, blaming, & deception. Some of it was pretty easy to figure out but it kept my interest & I wanted to find out how it would end. A quick, easy read.

I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

This was a bit slow going at first, but when it got going… it really went for it.

I did not see the ending of this one at all. There were 5 million twists and turns. By the end, I was questioning who *I* was. It was the definition of a psychological thriller.

I suggest going into this one blind. It was super good that way!

Having read and enjoyed other books by Sandie Jones, I was excited to see she had a new book out! "The Blame Game" centers around psychologist Naomi and her husband Leo. Naomi loves helping her clients, but sometimes she takes it too far. She is particularly concerned about Jacob, a patient who is being abused by his wife and fears for his life. Naomi, against her husband's wishes, allows Jacob to stay in their empty city flat, but when he disappears and she discovers that Jacob wasn't who he said he was, all hell breaks loose.

It was hard to follow this book at times because of all the side plots: her husband's possible cheating, a long lost sister, another client who needs her help, etc. The ending was a little hard to follow because it was hard to figure out who the "bad guy" really was. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Sandie Jones knows how to write a domestic thriller and I was captivated by this one. Even though nothing is quite wrong at the beginning, you can tell there is an air of something sinister happening or coming just by how she writes her stories. I was uneasy from the start and that certainly did not let up until the very last sentence. It started as a possible slow burn, but then definitely ramped up until I had to read slowly just to wrap my head around what was happening; and I could feel the MC doing the same as she was spinning in confusion. I don't want to spoil anything, but even though I might have guessed a minor detail or two, I was completely thrown by the ending (actually a few times) and loved this wild ride.

About 1/3 of the way into this one and it’s turning into another favorite if Sandie Jones! I believe I’ve got some of the twists figured out but I’m excited to see how they play out! Thank you Net Galley for the ARC!

Abuse Therapist Naomi Chandler needs a Therapist to help her learn that good intentions don't always result in a positive outcome. As Naomi works with her fragile patients she begins to overstep the role of Therapist and steps uncomfortably into the role of savior. Again, no good deed goes unpunished.... Just when Naomi thinks she is helping one patient her professional and personal life begin to spiral around her. She becomes the key suspect when her patient goes missing but was she responsible, was she careless., was she distracted or was she all three?

This book is fast paced and has MANY twists and turns. There are a lot of characters and I had to really focus to remember who each person was, I feel as confused as Naomi at times but in the end I liked the story and recommend it... even if I would never allow Naomi to treat me in therapy!

Once part two hit, I couldn’t stop reading! I spent the whole second half guessing and I was sort of right. I love the mind f*ck this novel takes you on as your try to solve what actually went down.

I shouldn’t read books with psychologists. Even as a person who did not continue her psychology degree into practice, I can tell how many lines Naomi crosses on a pretty consistent pace. How is she still licensed? This wasn’t the only problem I had with the book, but it is still bugging me. Maybe there are different codes of ethics that I just don’t understand. I found the MC to be unlikable and the story to be a less than thrilling thriller.

WOW!!!! What a read!!!!!

Due to medical issues, I will be sending a full review as soon as I can. I apologize for the inconvenience.

Sincerely,
Cheryl Masciarelli

This is my fourth book I have read by [a:Sandie Jones|3917070|Sandie Jones|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1566343107p2/3917070.jpg] and looking back, [b:The Other Woman|38318767|The Other Woman|Sandie Jones|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1525957772l/38318767._SY75_.jpg|57846205] has been my favorite with a four star review.
I also review generously due to I DNF a ton of books, and if I am able to finish a book that should tell you it’s entertaining if there isn’t anything else.

This is an example of one of those books that I was able to quickly finish, but I moaned and groaned the whole time, cussing at the unrealistic stupidity of the MC who is supposedly a professional psychotherapist! The plot of the story is one that would NEVER happen in real life to a professional and I did feel the author made a bad decision to make the MC this profession, because it could have been better otherwise.

The author did try to put doubt into the readers head by including a by story, however, that story was left swinging in the wind completely and it leaves readers wondering what was the point in the first place? That story was more interesting to me anyway admittedly.

All in all, I was able to finish this book in one day. It is an entertaining read and a book that will be easily forgotten.

Thank you NetGalley & Minotaur &Macmillian Audio for my gifted copy.

The Blame Game started off slow for me and it took me a moment to get into it, especially part 1. Once I started Part 2 though, I was hooked. I loved the ending and the epilogue. It will stick with me for a while.

Naomi is a psychologist specializing in domestic abuse. She has a hard time with boundaries as she is often blurring the lines to help her patients. A lot of that stems from her childhood trauma and not wanting the same thing that happened to her mother happen to her patients. Her husband on the other hand is frustrated with her lack of boundaries with her patients, so Naomi begins lying to him. One of her patients go missing and Naomi’s lies begin to unravel and truths are revealed. As everything begins to unravel, it is apparent someone is going to great lengths to frame her.

Part 1 was slow to me. I had a hard time with Naomi and her lying. I understood why she did it (though don’t agree) but even when caught in her lies, she continued to lie or only give half truths. Part 2, though, was great. It picked up quickly and I love how the story unfolded and how the truths were revealed. For a while I was at the edge of my seat and was like, did she really do it? Could this be the big reveal? I am not saying anymore other than I loved how it ended and that epilogue! I am still reveling at the epilogue.

I almost gave the book 5 stars just on how the way the author ended it. I thought it was very clever. But the slow start of Part 1 is ultimately why I gave this book 4 stars.

I highly recommend this book. It was definitely worth reading and a great mystery/suspense.

Thank you to the NetGalley, the publisher, and Sandie Jones for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion and review.