Her One Mistake

Heidi Perks

Jan 2019 · Sold by Simon and Schuster

About this ebook

What should have been a fun-filled day takes a tragic turn for one mother when her best friend’s child goes missing in this “seriously page-turning” (Lisa Jewell, New York Times bestselling author), suspenseful, and darkly twisted psychological thriller.

Charlotte was supposed to be looking after the children, and she swears she was. But while her three kids are all safe and sound at the school fair, Alice, her best friend Harriet’s daughter, is nowhere to be found. Frantically searching everywhere, Charlotte knows she must find the courage to tell Harriet that her beloved only child is missing—and admit that she’s solely to blame.

Harriet, devastated by this unbearable loss, can no longer bring herself to speak to Charlotte again, much less trust her. Now, more isolated than ever and struggling to keep her marriage afloat, Harriet believes nothing and no one. But as the police bear down on both women, trying to piece together the puzzle of what happened to this little girl, dark secrets begin to surface—and Harriet discovers that trusting Charlotte again may be the only thing that will reunite her with her daughter....

This breathless and fast-paced novel—perfect for fans of Big Little Lies and The Couple Next Door—takes you on a chilling journey that will keep you guessing until the very last page.

Ratings and reviews

A thought-provoking story that begs the question of just how far a parent would go to protect their child, and how many secrets a person can expect a friend to keep. While the storyline did hold my interest, there were a few things that bothered me about this one, leaving me somewhere in the middle with how I felt about it. The timeline jumps back and forth between the now, about two weeks past Alice's disappearance, and the day it happened, plus some glimpses from even further back. That, in itself, wasn't problematic, but the jumps from first person to third person were a little jarring, pulling me out of the story. There were also a few things that just weren't believable, especially the investigators, who were a bit caricature-like for most of the investigation into the abduction. I will add that I felt like the court of public opinion where Charlotte was concerned was done very well, painting an accurate picture of the naysayers and those fair-weather friends who all think they know the circumstances. The story was a mix of too obvious twists and those we can't see coming, but it ended pretty much as I expected it to once the key elements were revealed. In the end, there were things I liked and things I didn't, but it was interesting enough to keep me turning the pages. All in all, Her One Mistake is a promising debut from this author, and I look forward to checking out whatever she does next.

1 mistake .... wish I made only 1, but when your constantly Hoeing your bound to make more, shot tons more in my case. If you knew me for real, you'd be disgusted

Okay, it’s true, I’m a romance junkie. But every once in a while I get the hankering for something a little different. Although, in order to gain my attention, it has to really pull me in with the blurb. This book did that and being this is written by a new author I was a bit worried that I might have fallen for a great blurb and not much else. I’m happy to say that is not the case. While this plot is about a missing child, it’s really about so much more. It’s about friendships, marriage, parenthood and all the not so pretty things behind these labels. I was definitely caught up in the case of the missing child, but I also found myself deeply moved by the layers that were revealed with these characters’ friendships. I’m ashamed to say that I actually saw myself in some of them. You know, that friendship that is just on the surface and has no real value. But you don’t really ever acknowledge that fact. I began to question myself about how I would react to this situation should one of my “friends” be found in the center of such an event. I’d like to think I’d be the resilient one, but even in this story that friend isn’t perfect…and that was when I realized how true to the human condition this story really was. Plot wise, this story kept me hopping. I never knew what was going to happen and each twist and turn was a complete surprise, with the exception of one element that seems pretty obvious almost from the beginning. However, that one non-hidden suspicion grew to be much more than I had anticipated, so even there I was taken by surprise. The switch between past and present, first and third person, was a bit confusing and oftentimes I felt myself pulled out of the story as I had to reevaluate when and whose point of view I was in. This doesn’t end in an “everyone lived happily ever after” but more of a “this is the best life can give us and we’re going to hold onto it for all it’s worth”. And despite my love of romances that guarantee a HEA with every read, I was totally okay with it. I would definitely recommend this read to anyone who likes a suspenseful mysteries that also have a deeper message beneath its surface. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book provided by NetGalley and Gallery/Pocket Books . All thoughts and opinions are my own.

About the author

Heidi Perks was born and raised in the seaside town of Bournemouth on the south coast of England. After moving up to London for a short stint, she has since moved back to Bournemouth where she now lives with her husband and two children. Heidi has been writing since she was small, though for too many years her day job and career in marketing got in the way. Now she writes full time and cannot think of anything she would rather be doing.