The First Mistake

The First Mistake by Sandie Jones. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2019. 319 pages. ****

Alice's life is stable after falling in love and marrying her second husband. Her husband, Nathan,  is a partner in her very successful business started with her deceased husband, Tom. She has two beautiful daughters and a best friend to share her secrets with. She and Beth can tell each other anything and when Alice becomes suspicious that Nathan is cheating on her, Beth listens and supports her. Nathan swears nothing but business is going on when he travels to Japan and at the same time he is pressuring Alice to sign a million dollar deal. Alice doesn't know what to believe when she finds a receipt for a couples massage, and flowers addressed to another woman are delivered to the house. The florist claims Nathan ordered them. Is Nathan having an affair with someone in the office? Alice wonders why hasn't it worked out for her best friend to meet her husband? Is Tom, her first husband, still alive or is someone impersonating him on Facebook and posting current pictures of her children?

Jones strength is in presenting every day events that are not what they seem. Alice is tortured by her distrust of Nathan and the evidence against him is mounting. The marketing campaign for this book is amazing. The book arrived with an additional cover, see above, and it really piqued my interest. There are many subplots within the main story, Alice suffered from depression when Tom disappeared, is she paranoid and delusional about Nathan? Is Beth the good friend that she seems to be? Why is Nathan so determined to seal the deal to build in Tokyo? Jones drops hints along the way that no one is whom he seems to be and leaves the reader guessing as to what is really going on. It's not confusing, just intriguing. I don't want to spoil the ending, but prepared to be surprised. I did guess part of the plot, but in true Jones style, there is a final twist to the story. I look forward to future thrillers by this author. Her books are standalones, so be sure to read her first book too.

Her debut novel: The Other Woman 


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 is her debut novel. Follow her on FB /RealSandieJones... Twitter @RealSandieJones

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