Her First Mistake Could Be Her Last

Author:  Sandie Jones
Publisher: Minotaur Books (June 11, 2019)

Genre: Mysteries / Thrillers

Book Excerpt

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Kindle: 288 pages

Description

From Sandie Jones, the author of the Reese Witherspoon x Hello Sunshine Book Club Pick and New York Times bestseller The Other Woman, comes an addictively readable new domestic suspense about a wife, her husband, and the woman who is supposedly her best friend.

THE WIFE: For Alice, life has never been better. With her second husband, she has a successful business, two children, and a beautiful house.

HER HUSBAND: Alice knows that life could have been different if her first husband had lived, but Nathan’s arrival into her life gave her back the happiness she craved.

HER BEST FRIEND: Through the ups and downs of life, from celebratory nights out to comforting each other through loss, Alice knows that with her best friend Beth by her side, they can survive anything together. So when Nathan starts acting strangely, Alice turns to Beth for help. But soon, Alice begins to wonder whether her trust has been misplaced . . .

The first mistake could be her last.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press and Minotaur Books, Sadie Jones, and NetGalley for an ARC.

My Thoughts: 

Oh, my, where do I begin? It’s so hard to review books that have such great writing style yet seem to reach so far for a twist. Don’t get me wrong, by the books I review you can easily see that psychological thrillers and twists make me happy! But this story had some problems.

There is a very short Prologue followed by Part 1 Present Day – Alice. We are introduced to Alice who has lost her first husband and is now married to Nathan. She is extremely paranoid. Her husband, Nathan, is kind, understanding and a wonderful father. Alice, who is far from a social butterfly, does manage to find a best friend, Beth, at her daughter’s school. She quickly becomes Alice’s confidant.

Part 2 is Nine Years Earlier – Beth. The reader learns Beth’s involvements with a man.  Frantically, I began to try to fit all the pieces neatly into this little mystery puzzle. But not so quick . . .

Part 3 is Present Day – Alice and Beth which starts to tie the stories together. I was sure at times I had it all figured out, but like most good books, that can be a hard thing to do.

And I didn’t quite figure them out.

What Concerned Me: 

Though many reviewers are rating The First Mistake very high, for at least a couple of reasons I have a problem with the story and the twist.

1. It started out way too slow. Only midway through did the story capture my attention.
2. I felt it was far too convoluted. Without my handy dandy decoder ring, it was confusing and almost silly. (Yes, technically it makes sense, but way too far fetched for me.)

What I Loved Best: 

The writing is very good and the book did become a terrific page-turner toward the last.

I won’t hesitate to read another of Sandie Jones’s books.  But this mystery/thriller missed the mark by a little.

About the Author

SANDIE JONES has worked as a freelance journalist for more than twenty years and has written for publications including the Sunday Times, Woman’s Weekly, and the Daily Mail. She lives in London with her husband and three children. The Other Woman was her debut novel.

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