From the New York Times bestselling author of the Hello Sunshine Book Club pick 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 … 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.
Praise for The Other Woman:
“One of the most twisted and entertaining plots.”–Reese Witherspoon
“A perfect beach read.”–Kristin Hannah
“Whiplash-inducing.”–New York Times Book Review
“Such fun you’ll cheer [Emily’s] chutzpah.”–PEOPLE
“This thriller will hit close to home.”–Refinery29
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“The First Mistake” is an unusual thriller. Things seem to be happy and peaceful for Alice with her business, children, and her second husband. However, like all thrillers, there is an unusual undercurrent of distrust, betrayal, and duplicity. The story is told from several points of view and sometimes, deliberately; it is hard to sort out just who is who.
The pace is steady and deliberate. The characters seem likeable, but somehow not entirely trustworthy. The people and relationships are right out of a soap opera and are just as enjoyable. Alice, the wife, seems trusting and yet suspicious, dependent and yet determined to be a successful independent business owner. The friend, Beth, is supportive and yet disloyal. The second husband, Nathan, is understanding while living in the shadow of the “perfect” first husband and yet, well, just read and find out about him. In the end, none of those descriptions is completely accurate, and that contradiction makes the book compelling. Readers instinctively know something is wrong, very wrong, but cannot discern exactly what that is.
“The First Mistake” is an easy book to read and full of psychological suspense and treachery. The title alludes to a first mistake, but there are so many mistakes, it is hard to pinpoint the first one. There is drama, betrayal, and crime but little actual violence and certainly no buckets of blood running in the streets. The story unfolds easily and then comes to a shocking and tragic end.
The First Mistake by Sandie Jones
For me this book started a bit slow but it picked up and all the twists and turns kept me reading and I am glad I did! Well written and good storyline, great summertime read! Thank you Netgalley and the Publishers for this book and letting me leave my opinion.
I got what I asked for because Sandie Jones gave me another emotional rollercoaster with The First Mistake! After her debut novel The Other Woman, I thought I couldn’t take another cluster-f**k of emotions, but sure enough Jones came back for seconds!
Alice once had a perfect life — a beautiful daughter, thriving business and a charming marriage to her husband, Tom. One day her world comes crashing down when Tom leaves for a ski business trip and never returns. As her world falls into darkness while she is grieving for Tom, she meets Nathan. Pulling Alice out of crippling depression and grief, he is there to stand by her side, pulling her back up and getting her back to work.
As years pass, Nathan and Alice are now happily married, they have their own daughter and their business is booming. When Nathan starts acting suspiciously, Alice fears for the worst. Confiding in her best friend Beth, who’s also dealt with something similar, she realises her friendship may be more challenging than she ever thought it would be. After a whirlwind of revelations, twists and turns, Alice has to decide who she can trust and who is out to get her, and even her money!
This book has everything you’re looking for in a suspenseful psychological thriller — cheating husbands, double lives, money laundering and even whimsical dialogues with snotty teenagers! It left me questioning how well do I really know people — my best friends, love interests, even my family. Who can you really trust? And are you really sure you can?
The only downside to this book is it was a tad predictable and a little cheesy at times. I will honestly say, I enjoyed Sandie Jones’ debut novel more. That being said, Jones’ writing is immaculate. The characters are engaging and the dialogues are exciting. Like Jones’ first book, I finished this in one sitting, desperately waiting for that massive shock twist at the end, and sure enough, Jones out did herself, again!
If you’re looking for a magnificently crafter, twisty suspense thriller that’s assured to keep you on the edge of your seat, Sandie Jones’ The First Mistake is the book for you! You’ll be questioning everything from start to finish — Who do I hate? Who is the good guy? And even, who do I root for? This suspenseful psychological thriller packs quite a punch — love, friendship, betray and even sex (WOOT) — it certainly has it all!
Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Sandie Jones for an ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.
Read my full review here: https://bit.ly/2N0NTES
Sandie Jones is fast becoming a favorite author! The First Mistake is another terrific read!
This story is told in three parts and starts with present day. Alice Davies, a wife, mother, and owner of AT Designs. A company, that started using her late husband’s, Tom, inheritance. Alice and Tom were happily married with a daughter, Sophia. That marriage ended tragically, when Tom went with his friends for a ski trip and never returned.
Later, Alice remarries Nathan Davies, and they become the proud parents of Olivia. Alice’s best friend is Beth, who also has a little girl, Millie. Alice has confided in Beth about Tom’s death, and that dark period of her life. Beth, also dealt with hurt, when the man she thought loved her, just walked out of her life without a word. She’s left to pick up the pieces.
The second part of the story deals with Beth. We learn that she was a teacher and how she met the man, who eventually would walk out of her life. This was before, Beth, even met Alice. What starts as just an impromptu meeting with a stranger, leads to a very head over heels love affair.
The third part of the story is how worlds collide from secrets, lies and vengeance. Everyone that was trusted, becomes suspect.
Just when you think, you’ve figured it out, there was a new twist. My heart went out to both Alice and Beth, since I could sympathize with the pain, both were experiencing and trying to heal from their devastating pasts. Great read!
I received an ARC by NetGalley via St. Martin’s Press and this is my honest review.
Having loved The Other Woman, I had high expectations for this one and dare I say I liked it even better! Alice lost her first husband, Tom in a skiing accident years ago and is now happily married to Nathan. But when she begins to discover clues of his infidelity and he swears it’s all in her head, she turns to her best friend, Beth. But of course things are never as they seem, and Alice finds her life turned upside down as she begins to uncover the secrets lurking beneath the surface of this idyllic marriage. Do you trust your husband or best friend? Can the past ever stay in the past or is there always something suspicious about unanswered questions? Jones is a master story teller with twists at every turn that had me gasping for breath as I tried to put together all the pieces to this puzzle. And oh, what an ending! If psychological thrillers are your jam, then pre-order this one today! Out June 11.
Just block out a chunk of time to read The First Mistake. It’s such a just one more page kind of story. Full of secrets and lies, this story is a psychological thriller. Who can you trust? Your best friend? She always has your best interests in mind. What about your husband? He would never cheat or lie because he loves you. And, questions to ask yourself-Is your past really gone for good and certain? Did that happen, or were you dreaming? Maybe you misunderstood something, or maybe you weren’t paying enough attention which allowed something to slip by you, or maybe you’re just spiraling out of control because you’re crazy. I felt such a ridiculous confusion while reading, but that’s a good thing in this case because I really could not predict any of it. I found some characters sympathetic and likeable while others were not likeable at all. Like life, these characters have good and bad elements. The story is told through different perspectives, and this adds more depth to an already multi layered narrative. It’s beautifully written, and I didn’t find it confusing. There is so much to love about this book, and I did enjoy reading it. So many engrossing moments and questionable everything. This will be an excellent beach read. One of my favorites this year! Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.
I received this book from Bookish First for a truthful review. I read her first novel, “The Other Woman”, which I loved. This one I just liked. It was very contrite and I was disappointed the ending. I do not want to give too much away. The plot twists and turns in order to build to the conclusion. It is about a wife, her husband and her best friend. The way these characters interact creates a riveting experience Sometimes too much, I’m afraid. The novel starts out in the present then goes back about ten years in order to fill in the background and then comes back to the present. But it is certainly entertaining. A wonderful beach read. However, that being said, I would read future books by this author.
I enjoyed the book until the last chapters. The ending was implausible to me.
Okay, this is a terrific read. I’ve been trying to review it without giving anything away. Not easy so will just write this. It’s a well crafted, well written story with many twists and turns along the way. Creepy, smart, shocking, emotionally devastating. The kind of story that makes you question everything. So often many of is figure out who did what and to whom. This is not that book. Trust no one, believe nothing and be prepared to finish in no more than 2 sittings! You will not want to walk away until you get to the end to find out who did what. Enjoy this read and keep a light on when doing so. And always remember, be very careful who you let into your life.
I did like this book, but I liked “The Other Woman” better. I liked the parts of this book, how it told the different characters’ perspectives and then how it joined them together, and the past and the present. I liked all that. I DID get confused at one point, and I didn’t like that. But then I was fine and I figured it out, but it took a lot of thinking and a little bit of time and I didn’t like that I wasn’t just CLICKING it all together like I was supposed to. I loved the ending. I liked the pre-page, whatever that’s called, and the epilogue too. It would make a good movie. I’m glad it ended when it ended. I had had this book on hold for months and months through our library’s consortium, because one, evidently we’re slow, and two, then corona happened and everything got halted. So I was sooo ready to read this book while kind of stuck at home kind of thing, and it was a great escape full of twists and horrors and gasps. I never like all the wine and sex stuff, but that’s just me, and I also didn’t in this one either, so I’m not surprised on that, nor disappointed. It is what it is. It is one I probably should read again sometime now that I know more, just so I can feel smarter and have things click instead of having those pages and moments of piecing it together because I didn’t want to be confused. So…what was the actual first mistake, do you think?
This is the first book I’ve read by Sadie Jones and it certainly will not be my last! The First Mistake is a fast-paced thriller that kept me turning pages until the wee hours of the morning! I could not put it down. As a lover of Lifetime movies, about a quarter of the way in I thought I had it all figured out but I was wrong! This book puts Lifetime thrillers to shame! The twists and turns keep coming until the satisfying end.
This book is well written, the character development is great, the plot is fantastic, and the ending is a true shocker! This will be an instant best seller for sure!
I’m looking forward to more books by Sadie Jones and will be purchasing her prior book, The Other Woman, to tide me over in the meantime
This is written in 3 parts – Present Day Alice; Nine Years Ago Beth and Present Day Alice & Beth. This is a story of a woman who has lost her husband and has rebuilt her life with a new husband and a woman who thought she had found the perfect man. These two women’s lives intertwine in a way I was not anticipating.
Is she losing it or is she being manipulated and set up? That is the foreboding tone throughout this novel of a woman, with a bit of psychological baggage, whose life and sanity seems to be unraveling. Financially, she’s secure and devoted to her two daughters. It’s her sanity, her current and deceased husbands, and her best friend in question here. Keeping the stories of Alice and Beth straight is a bit confusing, but hang in there. Everyone is suspect here. There is no shortage of twists and turns in this story and they continue to the last page. Well written and maintains a good pace.
The First Mistake is a fast paced and entertaining thriller. Alice fell apart when her first husband Tom went missing and was presumed dead in a skiing accident. She is emotionally fragile and relies heavily on her second husband Nathan, especially when it comes to her design business. She has one child from Tom and one with Nathan. Alice becomes unsettled when she begins to suspect that Nathan is having an affair – flowers arrive with another woman’s name on them and there is a suspicious hotel bill. She turns to her best friend Beth for support. Beth has a hidden agenda and things get interesting and twisty really quickly. Some of the twists are predictable, but I did not see the big one at the end coming. The First Mistake makes for compulsive reading. Plan to stay up late.
What an amazing story, full of twists and turns. I thought I knew what was going on and then there I was, confused again. I didn’t know what was the truth and what was a lie. All of the characters in this dramatic tale were ones that I both loved and hated simultaneously. I wasn’t sure who my sympathies should be with.
This is probably one of the best psychological thrillers that I have read this year, and honestly I have read quite a few. This one will keep you guessing to the very end and have you shaking your head that that ending.
I gave this three stars because I listened to the whole book. I wanted to find out what happened at the end. Otherwise I wasn’t overly impressed with the characters or events.
So this is the second book by Sandi Jones that I received an Arc of. And first let m whist say thank you for the opportunity. Secondly, this book did not disappoint after the Other Woman. I was hoping that it would start off strong and not fall flat like some thrillers and suspense books sometimes do. And it didn’t. I thought I knew who was who. But I did not see the twist and the culprit coming. Every time I thought one thing was about to happen it didn’t and it set a different course for the story. I liked how it showed the relationships between her friend and herself and her husband. I really was hoping that it would end a certain way…without spoiling it, I’ll say the ending was even better than I had hoped. It started strong and ended on a strong note. Good job Sandi!
I really enjoyed The Other Woman by Sandie Jones, so I was looking forward to reading The First Mistake by her. This novel didn’t live up to my expectations. I was thrown off a bit by the timeline, which didn’t seem to fit to me. Additionally, I am having a hard time believing that no one recognized the antagonist for what they were. It seems to me that there would have been a resemblance that would have been picked up by someone.
I did suspect for a time who it was, and what was happening, but I couldn’t quite connect all the pieces on my own. It was an interesting concept, but I struggled to believe how naive some people could be, as well as the stupidity of people to jump into bed with a perfect stranger not long after meeting them.
There was a lot of misdirection in this book, which helped keep you guessing.
Thanks to Minotaur Books for the advance copy of the book. All opinions are my own.
#TheFirstMistake #SandieJones
This review is also available on my blog: Wine Cellar Library
First, I would like to thank Netgalley and Minotaur Books for providing me with a free Kindle ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
When I started reading this book, I was concurrently reading another novel with a similar beginning, so I had to set this one aside in order to prevent confusion. The book is broken up into three parts. Part I was mildly interesting as Alice begins to suspect her second husband of cheating, whilst continuing to struggle with the grief of her first husband’s death almost a decade ago.
In Part II, the book changes from Alice’s narration to that of another character. I do not want to spoil anything for anyone, so I won’t even mention this character’s name (don’t peek!). This was my FAVORITE part of the book! I was so obsessed with these characters that I couldn’t put the book down and stayed up until my boyfriend got up and started getting ready for work! o.O There are two words for this section: ultimate betrayal!
Part III brings everything together. I had already figured out how this book would end in Part I, but reading Part II made me question everything I suspected. I felt that the conclusion of the book was rushed and that the Epilogue was so short that it could have been omitted.
Nonetheless, this book became unputdownable at the conclusion of Part I and I stayed up all night to finish it. This book will have you loving the characters you hate and hating the characters you love!
#netgalley #thefirstmistake
Alice has a seemingly perfect life. But for the memory of her dead husband and her current husband never really being able to fill his shoes, all is well in paradise. She has the cars, the house, the children, and the best friend. Or does she?
Okay I liked this book but there are a couple of small problems with it. Granted I am reading the ARC edition, but I doubt that something like this they would have changed in the first edition. The problem that I had is the world building and detailed descriptions. Simply put, there is none. One minute they’re in London and then the next second they are in Tokyo with not even a hint of description. Not about the airport, none about the flight, no detail whatsoever. This happens throughout the book and in my personal opinion needs to be fleshed out a little bit more in order for the reader to completely immerse themselves into the story and the book as a whole.
I also think that the sex scenes could have been fleshed out a bit more. If the author had gone into a little more detail it would have added to the steaminess of the story itself and fed more to the reader’s emotions.
This book is literally just a straight story. There is no detail to wrap it up and there is a lot of dialogue in the story. Which is totally fine and it works for this type of book but it leaves the reader wanting a little bit more to the story.
The other pet peeve that I had is just a personal one and that is in the beginning Alice continues to go on and on and on about her ex-husband who has passed away to the point where it is an obsession. I’m sitting here reading this thinking “why on Earth has she gotten married again? It’s been 10 years and you are remarried girl you need to move on!” But then you get to the ending and it kind of all makes sense the way that the author wrapped up the ending in a nice little terrifying bow.
Although elements of the ending were frightfully predictable, I still found it a bit surprising when it finally got to the portions where the final revealing was happening. So it was indeed written very well on that point.
The characters were also very well developed and by the end of it you really do feel for what happens to each of the characters at the final standoff.
All things considered I’d say this was a pretty good book. I would recommend it to those who like a romantic thriller.