I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are my own.

Goodreads synopsis:

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.

Review:

I used to be a huge fan of thrillers and suspense novels for the longest time. But I read so much that I reached a point where it became easy for me to predict the ending, at least for most books. I still love the genre a lot but I usually go in with a lot of trepidation because I honestly don’t want to read yet another thriller just to see if I’m still good at sussing out the culprit.

I requested The First Mistake by chance on NetGalley. When I eventually started reading the book, I did make my usual guess. But you know what? I only got a little bit of it right. There are two major twists in the book and I only got one of them partially right. And this twist happens halfway through the book, which meant the suspense was still intact for the ending.

The First Mistake is the story of Alice, owner and designer of AT Designs, a company she started with her late first husband. She’s now living a happy life with her second husband and two children, has a kind and supportive best friend, and owns a company that’s fast growing. Things start going awry once she notices her husband behaving oddly. Alice figuring out if she’s trusted the right people in her life forms the rest of the story.

Sandie Jones has done a great job with sketching out the characters in this novel, especially Alice. This novel is the perfect mix of character-driven and plot-driven, making it a page turner, especially if you don’t read a lot of suspense novels.

I did have a problem with this book, but I can’t reveal it for fear of spoiling the ending. Let’s just leave it at the fact that I was a little unconvinced by the reason for the antagonist’s deceit.

In all, The First Mistake is an entertaining suspense novel I’d recommend to anyone looking for an easy page turner to read tonight.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

~ Shruti

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