In the vein of the Reese's Book Club x Hello Sunshine Book Club pick The Other Woman, Sandie Jones’s heart-pounding new novel The Blame Game will keep readers on the edge of their seats.
Games can be dangerous. But blame can be deadly.
As a psychologist specializing in domestic abuse, Naomi has found it hard to avoid becoming overly invested in her clients’ lives. But after helping Jacob make the decision to leave his wife, Naomi worries that she’s taken things too far. Then Jacob goes missing, and her files on him vanish. . . .
But as the police start asking questions about Jacob, Naomi’s own dark past emerges. And as the truth comes to light, it seems that it’s not just her clients who are in danger.
The Sexy nerd's Review. . .
This was one of those novels that the suspense build-up was so much, I almost skipped several sections so that I could hurry up and find out if my scenarios floating around my head were true! Every angle I could think of, I could not figure out where Jones was going with this? But, as I’ve come to expect with this author, she didn’t let me down.
Meet Naomi Chandler. She’s the type of psychologist you want on your side. She’s a great listener. She’s very attentive to her patients' needs. She takes on the role of Captain-Save-a-Patient and gives her all to assist those who need it. Especially patients who are in domestic abuse cases. So how is it that a woman this well put-together with a strong constitution and will power finds herself in a web of lies, deceit and blame?
For starters, her weakest attribute was her strong suit. Hmm…you may be wondering what in the world am I talking about? Because Naomi was a great listener, she took on too much of her patients’ woes and problems. So much so that her willing to give so much of herself was beginning to crumble her marriage to Leon. It was Naomi’s role to guide and give advice when needed, but she never quite took that advice for herself. She was entirely too trusting and that was due, in small part, to her past with her parents and sister, Jennifer.
One thing Naomi could not stand for is any type of domestic abuse. It didn’t matter which adult was performing it—if you struck your partner in any way, shape or form, she was the woman to help guide you otherwise. So, imagine, on the night her patient, Jacob, calls her in a panic and asks her to meet him at a hotel bar so he could talk, this was the opportunity for Naomi to bow out gracefully. But, did she do that? Of course not! She meets him there and words were exchanged. From the outside looking in one could easily assume the two of them were lovers or having some type of an affair, but did that matter to Naomi and Jacob? No! When the police track down Naomi to ask her questions about the disappearance of her patient, Jacob, that’s when the movie reel in her mind began spinning out of control. She did everything to cover her tracks, or so she thought.
When Leon gets home and Naomi tries to explain why the police wanted to talk with her, she realized fairly quickly that she could either tell her husband the truth and nothing but. . .or, she could lie and place blame somewhere else. And that, readers, is where this story begins to go left.
One thing I love about Sandie Jones, she most definitely knows how to keep her readers wrapped around her finger until we’re about to bust! Holy cow, this novel had so many red herrings that it almost muddied the story line. I must have had about four key scenarios happening and I was right with the four I had, but it was the order in which they played out that made all the world of difference. Was this story as good as The Other Woman? For me, not as good, but it had some great twists and turns that I absolutely loved! Jones truly toyed with the story line and bent it in ways I didn’t think was possible. And what really brought it on home for me was the ending. It was something so sweet and simple, there wasn’t any room for doubt.
The Sexy Nerd gives The Blame Game four side-eyed stares. This is one of those stories that will have you scratching your head and thinking to yourself—wait, what? You may even have to read some sections twice just to make sure you didn’t misunderstand what you thought you read. I found myself doing that a few times, only to laugh when the actual plot really began to take shape. Jones is an amazing author and I urge you to grab her book and get to reading. The Blame Game goes on sale, Tues., August 16, 2022 at your favorite book retailers or wherever books are sold. Until next time, you already know what to do!
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