Naomi is a psychotherapist who, due to events in her past, deals mainly with victims of abuse. Her past also makes her want to help these victims escape their abusers and this has resulted in her crossing the line to offer direct aid. When Jacob, a client she has given a place to stay, disappears, she soon finds herself a suspect. But is his disappearance the result of someone from her past or is it someone closer to home? As she seeks to prove her innocence, she finds herself sinking deeper and deeper into danger.

First, I’d like to thank Netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review. Okay, so I found this book a bit difficult to review. It was too much to ask of my willing suspension of disbelief to believe that an accredited Psychotherapist would cross so many ethical and professional lines to supposedly aid her patients. I get her wanting to help but to actually invite patients to stay at her house is a clear ethical violation. To do it against her husband’s expressed wishes is a recipe for disaster both for the client’s well-being as well as her own,

Don’t get me wrong - I didn’t hate the book. It’s well-written and, if i wasn’t completely able to accept the actions of the characters especially Naomi’s, I did finish it. I’m giving it three stars because of that. However, I‘ve read other reviewers who loved the book so I’ll finish by saying that I make no recommendation other than to say if The Blame Game sounds like something you’ll enjoy, I leave it up to you to decide for yourself.

I had high hopes for Sandie Jones's The Blame Game, but my anger at the main character got in the way. She crossed every professional line and lied to all the wrong people in all the wrong moments. She started as a strong female lead, but became weaker and weaker with every poor choice she made.

What happens when your past begins to haunt your present and you begin to make questionable choices which could change your future forever?

American psychologist Naomi Chandler whose specialty is domestic abuse now lives in London with her husband Leon. She has a soft spot for all her clients, always giving a little more than she should. She herself was a victim of trauma witnessing her father killing her mother.

According to Leon, she has a tendency to give too much of herself to her clients, taking what she feels they need from her a little too far. He has always told her that someday it will get her into trouble. Even as she continues to tell him no such thing could happen; she has kept a few secrets from him which could be a disaster in the making.

When one of her clients, a man named Jacob, who has been continually abused by his wife for years and has cigarette burns on his arms and bruises to prove it, decides he can’t take the mistreatment anymore and wants to leave but is afraid she will find him and kill him, Naomi takes it upon herself to set him up at a cottage her husband owns which is secluded and no one could find him. Of course, she keeps telling herself she must tell Leon, but knows he will disapprove.

Jacob begins to feel free and clear of his wife and Naomi is pleased with her decision. But then as she prepares for their next session, she can’t find his file. She absolutely knows she locked it up, but as she searches her office and house, she can’t find it. She fears somehow his wife broke into her office and took the file and now knows where Jacob is staying.

Her fear comes to fruition as Jacob makes a frantic call to her one evening saying his wife has called and he is scared for his life. Against her better judgement, she meets Jacob at the bar at the hotel she told him to go to. She finds him drunk and scared and tries to settle him down.

At the same time Jacob seems to be hitting a wall, another client, Anna, whose relationship with her husband has turned violent due to his drinking because they lost a child years ago and she blames him for what happened, has decided she needs to take her children and leave because she doesn’t feel safe anymore. Naomi again makes a contentious decision and tells her she can stay at her house until they get her settled into a shelter.

Then Jacob misses his next appointment and Naomi fears the worst. She goes to the cottage where he is staying but he is not there. Then she gets a shocking visit from the police. Jacob’s wife has filed a missing person report and all the evidence seems to point to Naomi and Jacob having an affair. She is now the prime suspect in his disappearance!

Her world begins to implode as all the evidence points to her, and with Leon wanting to take a break and Jacob still missing, she can’t believe she has done this to her life. As she sadly reminisces about her mother, wishing she could talk to her one last time so she could help her, she begins to find inconsistencies in the clues. Is someone trying to frame her? But still, no one is willing to believe anything she has to say. Everyone seems to want to blame Naomi for this situation and no one wants to believe she would never harm anyone. Has she taken her kindness to clients too far? Will she end up in jail? Or will whoever seems to want to destroy her, kill her before she can figure out why this is happening.

The Blame Game is another slam dunk from Sandie Jones! An amazing quick paced psychological thriller with a “wow”! ending which will both shock the reader and satisfy them at the same time.

Thank you #NetGalley #MinotaurBooks #TheBlameGame #SandieJones for the advanced copy.

I enjoyed this fast-paced domestic thriller. Naomi is a psychologist who has a past of getting a little too close with her patients. When her patient, Jacob, suddenly disappears, the book picks up and doesn't slow down. I kept turning the pages, desperate to know what was going on. The only thing I wasn't sold on was how naive Naomi was throughout the book. She came across as a meek character and I found myself not having very much sympathy for her. However, I didn't let that stop me from giving this book five stars!

I was very excited for this new Sandie Jones novel. I've typically enjoyed her books and was hoping this one would be no different. However, it fell pretty flat for me. While the plot is interesting, I found it a little far fetched at some points and overall pretty predictable which was disappointing. Overall giving it 2/5 stars.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I just finished this book, and Sandie Jones has me in utter shock over here. I was questioning my sanity around the 50% mark because I didn't know who to believe, Naomi, Leon, Jacob or Anna. The entire book minus the Epilogue is told from Naomi's POV, and she's the most unreliable character I've ever met.

Naomi Chandler is a psychotherapist in England who lives on a large estate with her husband Leon. Leon works for the owner of the estate, and Naomi has her private practice located on the estate as well. One of her new patients, Jacob MacKenzie claims that his wife, Vanessa, has abused him during their entire marriage. He claims that she's been having an affair and wants Naomi's advice on how to leave her without upsetting their two children's lives in the process. Enter in Anna, Naomi's other new patient. Anna comes to Naomi to seek help in getting out of her abusive marriage with her husband who is an alcoholic. Naomi gives sound advice to both patients, but forms a special bond with both of them and wants to "save" them both.
Things start to take a turn for the worse when Jacob is a no-show for his therapy appointment with Naomi. After Jacob has been missing for a few days, a police investigation ensues.
Meanwhile, Anna is still trying to leave her abusive husband with her two children. Naomi is scrambling around trying to do her best to stay sane during the investigation into Jacob's disappearance and her own marriage is taking a turn for the worse.

This book had my mind going in so many different places. There were so many twists, deep secrets uncovered, and lying spouses. I loved it! I couldn't figure out who was doing what and who was really behind it all. The ending was unbelievably good! This was my second book by Sandie Jones and won't be my last!

This was a fast and enjoyable listen, but I was left confused with a lot of questions at the end. I am fond of this author’s writing!

The Blame Game was an ok read for me. All of the characters were generally unlikeable...why all the lying and sneaking? Lots of plot twists which made me keep going but it was just ok for me. I did like the epilogue...that gave a satisfying end. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Naomi is a psychotherapist with boundary issues. Because of her past, she works with those in abusive relationships and sometimes crosses lines to help. This time those blurred lines are coming back to haunt her when her patient goes missing. Knowing that things don’t look good, Naomi digs herself in deeper by not being honest, but does she have something to hide? As the case develops more and more evidence points to Naomi being involved, but is she being framed? Her husband believes the evidence and thinks she’s having an affair, but is there a chance he’s the one framing her? While there were some big twists, they were fairly far fetched, but the ending was solid making this an overall entertaining read.

This book was a bit of a letdown for me. I really enjoy Sandie Jones' books, especially last year's The Guilt Trip, but this one was a little convoluted and the ending was a little confusing. It took me awhile to really get into it, but then it felt like there wasn't enough buildup or a shocking twist. I could have predicted the end from the first few chapters, but didn't understand it any clearer at the end or in the epilogue. Still looking forward to the next one!

Naomi is a psychologist specializing in domestic abuse, but she tends to get overly involved in her patients’ lives. After helping her patient, Jacob, make the decision to leave his wife, he soon mysteriously disappears, and Naomi find herself as the prime suspect.

This book is short {256 pages}, which made for a fast read, however, I think it could have benefited from being a bit longer because some parts felt unfinished. I was somewhat thrown off by the ending—it felt rushed thus leaving a few too many loose ends. Overall, while this was not my favorite thriller, it’s a quick read if you want something easy to zip through!

Thank you to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for my gifted e-ARC!

2.5 stars

This was a struggle to read and finish as I found the main character Naomi acting in the most foolish and unprofessional way, which made the book very frustrating to read.
I was intrigued by the topic, although it was quite predictable.
The part that I struggled the most is the lack of fair judgement. There are very good reasons why a psychologist should never offer her own home to her clients.
On top of this, concealing people and hearing just one side of the story also makes it incredibly hard to believe that Naomi was in any shape or form a good, neutral, objective psychologist.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read this book!

A therapist gets way too involved in the issues with her clients, causing problems with her husband as well as the clients and their families.

I couldn't finish this one. The parts I read were interesting but not enough to make me want to keep reading. I am going to chalk it up to the major slump I have been in.

Maybe I will pick it up again when I don't feel so much pressure to finish reading it.

My Rating:

4.5

Favorite Quotes:

The thought of her being at the house when I’m not there sends me into a blind panic, even though I’ve got nothing to hide... Yet it still feels as if I’m a mouse with a cat clawing at my tail, holding me still before releasing me again.

My Review:

This was a fast-paced and tense thriller that kept me guessing, nibbling on my cuticles, and on edge from start to finish. I suspected everyone by the last chapter as not one in this oddly compelling mix of cagey characters seemed trustworthy.

The main protagonist of Naomi was deeply fractured and although she was well-meaning, she was also sketchy and kept digging her own grave with one annoyingly moronic decision after another. She quickly became a master at prevarication, although she was a lightweight when compared to her clients.

The cunningly crafted storylines prickled with angst and taut deception and tended to race across my kindle at an ever-increasing pace. I found myself picking up speed and reading faster and faster to keep up with the action, which may have singed the little pea in my brain as it rattled in overdrive while assimilating clues and building theories. I wasn’t able to remove my shoulders from my ears until the very last page. Sandie Jones is a devious minx.

I didn’t hate this. But I didn’t love it.

It seemed a little far fetched. The ending felt really rushed and left some questions. There were parts that were just confusing and it felt like the author was trying to have too much happen at once. And the characters? Didn’t like a single one.

I finished this in a couple sittings to finish it. I wouldn’t recommend this to others. A 2.5 rounded up to 3.

I received this book free of charge from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

This book is a good thriller about a therapist and her patient and her inability to separate work and personal relationship.
Her client comes in claiming to be trying to get away from an abusive wife. She tries to help him and strange things start to happen. Things that seems she’s being set up but can’t seem to find a reason. Her other client seeks help but she’s not as she appears. Now who’s lying and who is telling the truth?

My first novel by author Sandie Jones and I'm so glad it was The Blame Game.
As a psychological thriller this book was top notch.

I was so twisted throughout this whole thing that I had to keep reading until I figured out what was going on. Things were not what they seemed, at all, just when I thought I knew what was going on it would go in a completely different direction. I love thrillers like that!

Naomi was a strong character if not a little naive at times for being a psychotherapist. She was someone that just wanted to help others and try to make up for a mistake from her childhood. Unfortunately, she just went about it the wrong way. I wasn't a fan of Leon, her husband, I felt he should have been more supportive. Then there were her patients, Naomi just went way beyond, more than any therapist would, ever. These two patients were just so complicated from the start. The web that was woven was intricate, deceitful and so twisted you have no idea which way it could go.

I think you will either love this book and the wildness it brings or not. I will definitely recommend it. I will be picking up another Sandie Jones novel soon!

Sally Hepworth is one of my all times favs so it pains me to write a below 5 star review.

I have mixed feelings about this one, the first being as a therapist, she did many unethical things and her boundaries were terrible, overly personal contact with clients, not charging for sessions, not holding time boundaries etc. Her relationship with her husband was not very believable either, how much she kept from him.
Still, it’s a well-written story that’s engaging, despite its obvious flaws.

Another solid suspense from author Sandie Jones. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for an early copy. Look for this one on bookstore shelves in August if you have time to squeeze in one more beach read. Be ready for the "What the ???" moment at the end!