Double lives? cheating husbands? money flowing perhaps in the wrong direction? twists, and surprises will greet the reader in THE FIRST MISTAKE.

We meet Nathan and Alice - in love and happy until odd things start to happen and Alice questions how happy they really are.

Alice had been married before to Tom, and Tom had died while on a skiing trip. Alice still loved Tom even though she was married to Nathan.

THE FIRST MISTAKE takes us on a roller coaster ride as Alice suffers with her mental problems, her doubts about her marriage, and her constant thoughts about Tom.

We follow Alice's days and how she confides in her friend Beth about everything.

Revelation after revelation continues throughout the book as we find out the characters are connected in ways none of them had any idea. A few of them actually are not who they say they are.

If you enjoy not knowing what is coming next, THE FIRST MISTAKE is the summer read for you.

A bit slow at first, but the suspense and surprising events are non-stop as you continue reading.

Master sleuths will love this book, but you may be stumped. 4/5

This book was given to me as an ARC by the publisher and BookishFirst in exchange for an honest review.

Sometimes I accidentally read chic lit. That’s what I would call THE FIRST MISTAKE by Sandie Jones. I don’t like chic lit, and I rarely pick it up on purpose. But if you do like chic lit, this is probably one of the better ones I have accidentally read.

The book is divided into three parts.

Part 1 is Alice’s part. She is emotionally unstable and paranoid. She is on husband number two after husband number one was lost in the mountains. Husband number one seemed perfect, then didn’t; husband number two seems perfect, then doesn’t, then does, then doesn’t, then does, etc. Then there is also Alice’s best friend, Beth. She seems perfect, too, then doesn’t. Is all this due to Alice's unstable paranoia? Maybe so, maybe not.

Part 1 is SO predictable.

Then comes Beth's Part 2. Now we see some things that happened before Alice came into the story. But who is this man Beth has picked up? Part 2 is predictable, too, but less so than Part 1.

As much as I dislike chic lit, I have to admit, Part 3 is unpredictable. Alice suddenly becomes a businesswoman, making her own decisions about her own company. Beth and Alice figure everything out but not before lots of surprises.

If you are a fan of chic lit, Part 3 makes this a five-star novel. If you, like me, are not, Part 3 upgrades this to a two-star novel.