You know when you read a book or watch a movie and you wonder how the heroin hasn’t been unalived yet? This is one of those books. She had a first mistake and then quite a few others. I knew there was going to be a HEA, but if something had happened to her instead, I would not have been surprised.

The FMC did make a lot of questionable decisions, and while I can understand the decision-making for some, it was a lot. I did enjoy how the author weaved the FMC’s past into her present life, and that we were looking at a few unsolved mysteries. It kept the story interesting and made you wonder who had the ulterior motives and if the mysteries were connected.

I felt like the story moved at a slower pace for the majority of the book and then at the end they threw in a lot of explanations fairly quickly to sum everything up. The twist wasn’t that shocking, but there was a good explanation for everything that it occurred that made sense.

This was a pretty good mystery novel and I do like how all mysteries were solved at the end and tied up neatly.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read this book. All opinions are my own.

How do you pass the time when you're alone and unseen? That is the biggest issue for Mia. She’s in the background. While those around her move on, Mia is stuck in a life of uncertain memories of her mother and fears about her fate.

Mia's life takes a drastic turn after a hurtful encounter with coworkers leads to jealousy and a swift decision. Who can she rely on?? The aunt who was overprotective and paranoid? Coworkers who ignored her existence? The new family has opened their home and embraced her as their own? A detective is casting a suspicious gaze upon her? In this book, lost memories and new revelations take you on a thrilling ride..

I couldn't stop reading it until the end.

I really enjoyed this one from start to finish! I finished this in one day because I had to know what happened. I really felt bad for everything Mia went through. A great read!

Thanks for the ARC!

A great read and loved the twists, which I didn't see coming. Dark and gripping. I'm really looking forward to reading more from the author.

A horrific start in life is not a child's fault. But sadly, events happened later in life that brought those feelings of abandonment back to her - and then one thing led to another and her world came crashing down, again.
Great book!

Her First Mistake by Carey Baldwin is a thriller that draws the past back into the present. Mia had a traumatic childhood, but nobody would guess that of the school teacher she has become. Mia wants to be noticed and included like other women are. She runs into colleagues one night only to feel excluded again.
As revenge for this, she hides another woman’s (Celeste) keys. She find out the next morning that Celeste is missing. What does this mean,

I was struggling with this book. I really doesn't like the writing style. I was expecting much more.

I enjoy this book very much . It was well written and had just the right amount of suspense and build up . I loved the ending and didn’t suspect how it was going to end at all . I would definitely recommend this book . 5 stars from me

This book was well written. I felt like I was on a roller coaster ride . Lots of characters so you will have to be on your toes to follow whats going on . What an ending.

Her first mistake of many. Ugh

I finished it because I was promised a great twisty ending and it was decent so there’s that. But it really was too long. I was antsy for quite a bit of it as Mia one stupid decision after another. Plus throw in the blackout sleepwalking incident (aka - unreliable narrator) and you have a lot. A lot.

On the plus side, I liked that there were so many red herrings. Each of them “felt” pretty good as a suspect for me. A side note - Mia’s coworkers were awful, actually most of the characters were. I get sad when I read about women tearing each other down and there is a lot of that in this story.

This was my first by this author and I would try more. Like I said, I did have to ride it to the end to see what happened (and found the conclusion satisfying). Overall entertaining, just a bit too much of a slow burn. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and Bookouture for a copy in exchange for a review.

Mia made a mistake ... thought of as a small thing, it's turned into a huge error.

Such a simple thing for no good reason, she stole Celeste's keys .. leaving her to have to walk home from an exclusive restaurant. Now she's missing.

Mia has a history of a severe trauma when she was younger. it's her secret past that she's tried to keep hidden. But someone has been watching her . Do they know her past? Is Celeste in the same kind of trouble that once imprisoned Mia ... and by the same person?

Intense suspense from start to finish, this is well-written with frequent changes of direction. The twist at the end is a real heart-stopper. There are many characters to follow who may know more than they're saying ... a suspicious detective, a possible stalker, nosy reporters who will do anything for a scoop, and last but not least, a strange and unexpected friendship with Celeste's family.

Many thanks to the author / Bookouture / Netgalley for the digital copy of this psychological / crime fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

Wow, this is one good book that holds your attention
all the way to the last page. My goodness, I was on the edge of my
seat several times not knowing where the story was headed.
This was my first time to read author Carey Baldwin's books, but it won’t be the last. This is one of those who stay up all night to read stories.

Thank you so much, NetGalley, Carey Baldwin, and your publisher
for the chance to read and review this wonderful book!

Her First Mistake by Carey Baldwin

I enjoyed this book very much.

I could not put the book down as the story kept me on the edge of my seat. The story is fast paced, exciting and you never know where the next chapter will take you.

The drama and suspense are excellent. I had many suspicions of who the culprit could be but was blown away by the ending when we found out who actually did it.

I loved all the characters and could easily relate to them. I loved the main character, Mia, and couldn’t wait to find out what happens to her in the end.

I would like to thank Net Galley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I’m sure I already reviewed this title but it’s just popped back up in my list?

Her First Mistake is the sort of twisty, dark thriller that I live for! Excellent writing and an absolute must read.

4.5/5

Her First Mistake started brilliantly and emotionally about Mia’s childhood. After twenty years, Mia is working at a private school and then made her first mistake related to Celeste, and Celeste was missing the next day.

Mia is not in a good state as she sometimes takes a sleeping pill and can’t fully remember what she did while she’s sleeping. And that thing makes me suspicious of her. As the story continues, I have my suspicion of all the characters, especially Celeste‘s family.

For me, the storyline is not fast-paced, but it’s not slow either. I only found the story is quite dragging. Nevertheless, I liked the plot twist and surprised by the actual person who did things wrongly here. It’s still a decent read for me.

The prologue gripped me completely. I felt powerless reading it, imagining the whole situation that poor little Mia had got into. There are a lot of people that have veen through this. I can't begin to imagine the psychological impact it has on them.⁣
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Mia didn't choose her life. But she grew up in it. Living in a shed in the middle of nowhere with her mother is heartbreaking, but for her mother to leave little Mia there all alone, locked up, every night in order for her to 'work' is cruel. Well, one night Mama never comes back. The food and water has long gone. What will Mia do? The poor girl has to learn the real meaning of survival.⁣
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This book is a must read! I was captured from the beginning. I love the strong love, family and betrayal themes in this book. Each character was explained to the fullest, the dialogues powerful, all the while the mystery seeping in slowly. ⁣
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It was well written and so different. This is a marvellous example of a psychological thriller with tension throughout the novel. I cannot wait to read more books by the author! ⁣

Another great book
This will have you hooked from the start
Plenty of twists and turns
You’ll not want to put this book down.
Thanks NetGalley

This was a quick, suspenseful book. The first chapter had me hooked - a flashback to when our MC Mia is 6 and her mother has locked her in a shed while she has a man over. However, it’s been 4 days and her mother still hasn’t come for her. It ends with Mia digging her way out of the shed for help...
Flash forward twenty years and we meet Mia as an adult - painfully shy, suffering from PTSD and a complete loner. When she’s stood up for dinner with a friend she runs into her work colleagues. However, it soon becomes clear that they are all meeting up (and have been for some time) without inviting her intentionally. So, when one of them drops their keys Mia sees this as an opportunity to spit her colleague Celeste.
But the next day Celeste turns up missing. Wracked with guilt, Mia inserts herself into the case and into Celeste’s family. This quickly becomes borderline obsession for Mia. She needs to find out what happened to Celeste since she never did find out what happened to her mother all those years ago. But, Mia's having blackouts with lost time and it someone may be following and threatening her...or is it all in her head? As time goes on we just aren’t sure, but Mia seems to be running into bad luck left and right. Meanwhile, she’s got a nagging feeling her mother’s case is connected to it all.
I really liked the overall plot of this novel, but the unfolding of the story itself felt a little unbelievable to me. Especially how everything comes together to connect in the end. Between an unreliable narrator (Mia) and plenty of other suspects I felt this story could’ve played out a lot more creatively. It wasn’t quite predictable, but all the other coincidences throughout were also far-fetched so the ending didn’t feel realistic. A good premise for a thriller, but I just felt it could’ve been done a lot better.

Past having its hold over the present, and yet a character strong enough to break out of that fear when stakes were high was the core of this story.

Mia was a fighter but she had scars on her psyche too from the yesteryear. Living a life of school teacher I liked her quiet awkwardness in making friends. Then one of teachers goes missing. And it was upto Mia to get to the truth, especially when the cops started questioning her.

A new author for me, Carey Baldwin managed to endear Mia to me. It took us time to become friends, but as the suspense deepened, I liked how she dealt with it.

This was something different than my police procedurals and I liked the way she went about it. The author did put hurdles and twists on her path, and also a way to come out.

Curiosity prodded me on as I rushed through the pages to finally get to the end. As per the norm, an explosive end. Quite a good read with tea and cake.

Her First Mistake was my first Carey Baldwin book, and it definitely won't be my last. I had a hard time putting it down because I couldn't wait to find out what happened to Celeste. I found it easy to empathize with Mia and hoped that she would find out what happened to her mother, and the ending took me by surprise. Her First Mistake is a great thriller, and I highly recommend it. Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for giving me the opportunity to read and review a new book by an amazing author. : )