The Blame Game by Sandie Jones is the tale of Naomi, a psychologist who just wants to help people. Her husband Leon thinks that she sometimes crosses the professional line in her quest to help people.
She specializes in domestic violence as she had been a victim of domestic violence when she was a child. Her father killed her mother and he is just released from prison. Her sister Jennifer wants to have a relationship with Naomi but she is reluctant.

This brings us to one of Naomi's clients, Jacob. Jacob is being abused physically and emotionally by his wife, strange hey? it is usually the other way around. Jacob is in fear for his life and thinks that his wife will kill him. Naomi does all she can for him including allowing him to move into a house that she and her husband own. Leon is not a happy camper when he finds that she allowed this.

Jacob goes missing and it seems that someone is setting Naomi up and the police are skeptical of her answers. Naomi has another client that is in fear of her husband. How do these two cases relate? Can she find out who is doing this to her so she can protect her clients and get her husband to believe that she has not been having an affair with Jacob?

I enjoyed this story, I actually read it in one sitting. I give it 4 stars!

“The Blame Game” by Sandie Jones is about Naomi who is a psychologist whose goal is to help families with domestic abuse. Naomi who herself has a past and may know about being a victim she sometimes can get herself too invested in a case. With Jacob her latest client she does just that and then he goes missing and she finds herself at the center of the investigation and realizing lines have been crossed to that point that even she is wondering did she go too far and is trusting no one. Another page turner by Sandie Jones. Quick read and filled with twist.
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

#julesbookshelf #arc #theblamegame #netgalley #goodreads #bookstagram

Enjoyment: 4
Total rating: 4.43

Naomi is a psychologist who specializes in domestic abuse. As a survivor herself, she is devoted to her job. Two of her clients find themselves fearing for their lives, and at the risk of blurring professional lines, she is determined to help them escape and hide from their abuser. She goes as far as offering her rental property to one of those clients. When strange things happen, such as a missing client file, Naomi begins to wonder if her client is not the only one in danger.

Taking The Blame Game at face value, I loved this high-stakes, fast-paced thriller. There was not a single person the reader could trust, and Jones was not afraid to deliver a llama feeding story that promised to entertain. I was satisfied and engaged.

With that said, quite a bit of suspension of disbelief is needed and as a psychologist, Naomi is so unethical she would have lost her license before things escalated to where they went. I feel that if Jones had chosen a different, less controversial way to justify Naomi's involvement, more people would enjoy it. Personally, it didn't affect my rating. What kept me from enjoying the book more was this one character with who I couldn't connect. Their behaviour was inconsistent, and they read like different people as their actions served the plot.

If you're willing to look past these things, The Blame Game is a great summer read, and it entertains. The audiobook was phenomenal, Karissa Vacker made it easy to follow the story and get right into Naomi's head throughout the whole book.

Disclaimer: In exchange for an honest review, I am thankful to the publishers and NetGalley for providing a copy of The Blame Game.

Naomi is a psychologist who specializes in domestic abuse cases. One of her clients goes missing, and as Naomi gets pulled into the investigation, she realizes he is not the person she thought he was.

The Blame Game is a character-driven domestic noir/thriller. It's a slow-burn read, taking it's time to get to know Naomi and ramping up for an exciting ending. If you enjoy this genre, you will enjoy The Blame Game.

Note: I've seen some people give lower reviews because Naomi has terrible boundaries as a psychologist, and they say that makes this read totally unrealistic. I agree she has terrible boundaries (and in real life she would lose her license IF she were reported), but 1. this is a work of fiction and 2. her terrible boundaries are needed for the plot of this book. If you are looking for more realism, it may be that fictional domestic noir thrillers are just not your literary cuppa.

Despite this one being short and getting straight to the plot, I found myself having so many questions in the end. I also thought the ending was a little rushed. However, I did enjoy the characters and felt that they were really developed. A slow burn, but unfortunately didn’t do it for me!

Psychologist getting too involved in their patients sorted lives and now is in danger? Sign me up! Perfect for people who liked Silent Patient, Golden Couple and An Anonymous Girl. A fast paced page-turner, prepare to stay up late finishing it!

After reading The Other Woman I was really excited to be chosen to read this book as well. And, while I didn't enjoy it quite as much, it was a solid read. The end is what threw me for a loop and I didn't enjoy it really.

There were aspects that felt forced to me. Some things just seemed a little far fetched and I didn't care for how the investigation was handled. It doesn't mean I won't read anything else by her - sometimes books just resound differently with people. This was just not a hit for me.

This book is a complete mess. The main character is a therapist with zero professional boundaries who invites troubled clients into her home despite the threat to her own marriage. There is a lot of confusing backstory, characters who are not relatable, and an ending that gives no resolution.

I’ve been a big fan of Sandie Jones for awhile now and have read three or four other books by her. This one was fairly different but still focuses on family dynamics. There were some great twists and turns in this story that kept me reading. I would highly recommend this one to everyone.

This is the 3rd book I've read by this author, and it is just as good as the rest. It started off intriguing, wondering what was going to happen. There were several chapters that had me saying "What?!?!?" at the end, which of course forced me to continue reading. The ending was fast, and at times very confusing, but push through and it will all be cleared up in the end. I'd recommend this to thriller readers.

This one kept me interested. I wanted to find out who was out to get Naomi and why. The ending wasn’t my favorite part; I think there were a lot of red herrings which had me excited for a different ending.

Overall, I’d go with 3.5 rounded up because I stayed intrigued.

I received an advanced copy. All thoughts are my own.

In order for a book to receive 4 or 5 stars from me, it has to hit certain marks for me:
Unique or Interesting Plot
Unpredictable Ending (or at least a plausible ending)
Likable Characters
Unfortunately, this book fell flat for me with its totally unlikable characters and it’s implausible plot. So much just did not add up and it was infuriating to read. I do like the author and have read a few of her books and enjoyed them but this one I struggled to finish.

This book was so much fun! I flew through it in a day. This psychological thriller will keep you guessing whether our narrator isn’t as reliable as she seems or if there’s a big conspiracy going on it. I can’t wait to read more from Sandie Jones. I gave this book 3 stars instead of 4, because I was able to guess the big plot twist. I still found the read very enjoyable though.

Quick read, but not one that I’d go back and read again. What I did like were the suspenseful twists along the way, but I felt like the story was a little confusing. Looking forward to another Sandie Jones book! Thanks to #NetGalley for this ARC. #TheBlameGame

This book was interesting and very well-written. I would likely want to read more from this author and will recommend this to friends.

I loved this book. Possibly my favorite of hers so far! The characters were so well developed and the story kept me guessing the whole way through!

Naomi is a psychologist who specializes in domestic abuse victims and has a tendency to over-extend herself to many of her patients which sometimes get her into trouble with her husband who can't seem to understand why his wife can't separate her heart from her business. Many times Naomi might be crossing the line with some of her ethical boundaries but she is willing to take that risk if it will.help her patients get out of possible deadly situations.

When a patient named Jacob needs some extra help, Naomi again steps in to hopefully save her patient which is really putting a strain on her marriage and soon after Jacob become a missing person and you'll never guess who becomes a number one suspect! Naomi, Naomi, what are you doing or is it what have you done?

This was another book that was hard to out down since it was delightfully entertaining and enjoyable. A fast read to be sure. There is something special about "Sandie Jones" writing that has me fully engaged from beginning to end with unexpected twists and turns. Now, don't expect a story about realism or you might be disappointed but if the reader just accepts the book for want it is which is a domestic/thriller and a whole lot of fun even though it is written as a serious drama, I'm sure most people will love the book. This is my second novel written by "Sandie Jones" and I hope to read many more of her books and I highly recommend this author.

I want to thank k the publisher "St. Martin's Press" and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this digital copy and any thoughts or opinions expressed are unbiased and mine alone!

I have given this entertaining book a rating of 4 DELICIOUSLY DECEPTIVE 🌟🌟🌟🌟 STARS!!

OK, so I’m going to say this again for the foolish authors in the back: STOP WRITING FEMALE CHARACTERS THAT ARE STUPID AND UNRELIABLE! Just stop. I would give this book negative 5 stars for the female characterization alone. Add to that the fact that literally nothing in the story made sense. An unethical, overly involved therapist gets herself involved in a “situation” with a patient and when things get crazy, she starts lying and lying rather than being honest. There are multiple storylines that never tie together and the epilogue is just a steaming dumpster fire.

This review was also published on Goodreads.

I feel like the psychologist and domestic abuse situation is slightly overdone in the thriller realm right now but at least this one was good. I took off a star because I don't feel like this is unique but I still rated it highly because I would recommend reading it anyways. It is captivating and entertaining from the moment you pick up the book.

This again was a great work of art By Sandie Jones! She continues to throw twists and turns that I feel I get figured out then she surprises me again! I loved the setting in this book and fell in love with some of the characters. She will forever be an auto buy from me!