“The Blame Game” is a smartly layered thriller, full of secret keeping and unexpected twists. Naomi is an American psychologist, living on an estate in Britain with her English event planner husband, taking in clients in a cottage office and caring way too much about them. She specializes in domestic abuse and goes beyond her professional duties: meeting them outside of her office and also finding places for patients to escape from abuse partners. Naomi is also experiencing a tumultuous change with her troubled American family (and hasn’t been entirely honest with her husband) that’s affecting her judgment as well. You have to decide whether you’re OK with Naomi’s behavior, and even if you’re not, should you care about the house of cards ready to come down on her? “Be a rainbow in someone else’s gray cloud” is what Naomi’s late mother had told her — and you have to determine if Naomi is the rainbow or the cloud. 4 stars. I did feel the book ended a bit too abruptly, but in retrospect I was satisfied with the ending.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): NO In fact, no one’s eyes are ever described by their color.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO Just a few geraniums in pots.

nce from her clients, she can’t allow herself to become attached to any of them. But that’s often easier said than done and Naomi begins to doubt herself after she convinces a client to leave his wife. Things get even stranger when the client disappears, as does all his paperwork from Naomi’s office. The police want answers, but Natalie is bound by client confidentiality ….and the worry that her own past may somehow be tied into Jacob’s disappearance. Another winner from Jones, who’s perfected the art of the domestic thriller

Sandie Jones has done it again. The Blame Game is an intense psychological thriller surrounding the not-so-healthy psychologist Naomi. She specializes in domestic abuse and gets too involved in the lives of her patients, but it’s never been a problem. Until now.

This is a tense, tautly written thriller that keeps you guessing. I loved the atmosphere of the English manor house and was invested in knowing what was happening-and what was pushing Naomi to overstep her bounds. I loved the final twist. Definitely a great read.

I quite enjoyed the other woman as Reese’s book club pick, and was excited about “The Blame Game”. I was not disappointed!