When Alice’s husband Tom went missing on a ski trip in the Alps, she fell apart. She couldn’t move on. She couldn’t be there for her daughter Sophia. She just shut down. She had to have inpatient help to help her deal with her overwhelming grief. And it did help. The doctors gave her emotional support and medicine, and Nathan gave her a reason to try harder. He’d been visiting a friend that day at the hospital and found Alice instead. They started talking, and for the first time Alice could conceive of a future without Tom.

As the years went by, she found her footing more and more. Eventually, she and Nathan got married, had a daughter, started a business together. And now they’re about to close on a deal that will put their small design company on the map, literally. Although they’re based in London, this new deal in Tokyo will mean an entire apartment building where each apartment has been designed by Alice. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and Alice doesn’t want it to slip through her fingers.

On the other hand, her anxiety has been rising again. She’s fearful of flying, she turned to her anti-anxiety meds again, she’s drinking too much, and she wants to make sure that she’s doing the right thing for her two beautiful daughters, for her husband, and for herself.

And then she finds out more devastating news. Her best friend has betrayed her, and Alice is stunned. She doesn’t want to keep moving forward, but she must. She has to move forward for the sake of her family. She has to for the sake of her business. She has to for her own mental and physical health. But is she truly strong enough to face the truth, the whole truth?

The First Mistake is the sophomore novel from Sandie Jones, who brought us last year’s best-selling The Other Woman. And just like her first novel, The First Mistake is filled with suspense, plot twists, and secrets. It’s a fun, quick read that’s perfect for fans of B.A. Paris, Wendy Walker, and JP Delaney. I flew through this novel to find my way through all the labyrinthine lies and surprising secrets to understand what that first mistake really was.

Galleys for The First Mistake were provided by St. Martin’s Press through NetGalley, with many thanks.