What an amazing read! I knew I'd enjoy reading the novel, because Kendra Elliot is gold as an author. Every single novel she's written has kept me enthralled throughout, and Her First Mistake did the exact same thing. I found myself immersed in the story, and couldn't put it down until I finished it.
Noelle's story was incredible, and the trauma she and her family went through was wild. A testament to how resilient and protective the human brain is, and I can't wait to see what comes in the next novel in the series This is definitely going to be on the top of my TBR list. Another winner for Kendra Elliot.

Her First Mistake by Kendra Elliot started out a bit slow; it was mostly back and forth between timelines and interviews with some of the characters. The second half of the book picked up. At the heart of the story is Noelle Marshall, a resilient character whose journey from trauma to uncovering painful truths is both compelling and poignant. The plot revolves around the unsolved murder of her husband, Assemblyman Derrick Bell, and the subsequent reopening of the case by the FBI. The author captures Noelle's struggle as she grapples with memories of a turbulent marriage and a dark childhood, all while navigating her present role as a detective.

The writing is classic Kendra Elliot and is crisp and engaging, with well-crafted suspense that kept me reading. Each revelation peels back another layer of the mystery. What sets Her First Mistake apart is its exploration of the impact of hidden secrets and the quest for truth. It's a reminder that facing the past, no matter how painful, is crucial for finding peace and justice.

Overall, Her First Mistake is an engaging read and combines a thrilling mystery with deep emotional resonance, making it a good read for anyone who appreciates intricate plots and complex characters.

I would recommend this book and this author.

#HerFirstMistake #NetGalley

Kendra, girl, I have been sleeping on your books. I’ll admit that I’ve had one of your books in my library for years, but my TBR is 5 miles long, and I just haven’t made it there yet. This book kept me interested from the first chapter to the last, and I can’t wait to read the next one.
Thanks NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my truthful review.

Kendra Elliott’s “Her First Mistake” was just a solid ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for me. Why? You come to love or despise the characters. You, the reader, can envision yourself right there with them in the moment. You have a connection and immediately become invested in the story.

This story is about Noelle. Noelle meets Derrick who’s rich and handsome. From the start she started noticing her decisions were never her own. She had to have his or his mother’s approval centering around his run for public office.

One day, Derrick’s faced is smashed and he’s beat to death with a crowbar. Everyone thinks Noelle is responsible but she was hit over the back of the head also.

Thirteen years later, Nicole still has no memory of the day Derrick was murdered. She’s being interviewed again by the FBI.

Who killed Derrick and left Nicole for dead? Why is she having trouble remembering. All seems like standard procedure until Nicole’s car is bombed and she and her two sisters could’ve been killed.

This was just a great story with the right amount of who Dunn it, suspense, and possible romance.

Great mystery! The story is told from multiple timelines. There were times when I felt like I knew where it was going, but it still kept me invested!

Noelle's husband is murdered in their home, and she is attacked and left for dead. As she recovers, she is unable to remember what happened that day. Her husbands murder has gone unsolved for 13 years.

Present day - detectives start asking questions again, and all hell breaks loose!

I will absolutely read more from this author!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for allowing me to read this ARC in an exchange for an honest review.

5 stars!

Our story begins when Noelle, now an agent herself, is brought in for questioning from the FBI over her husband’s murder 13 years earlier. Derrick Bell, her husband, was a prominent Assemblyman, who was murdered in his home. Noelle was also attacked during his murder, which caused her to lose her memories of the day’s events. 13 years later, the FBI still doesn’t have any suspects.

As Noelle recounts the events leading up to that day we are brought back to when she first met Derrick, and how their relationship came to be. The first half of the story is told from multiple timelines, which leads us to the day Derrick was murdered, and Noelle was attacked.

The second half of the book focuses on the present day, with the FBI and Noelle reexamining the evidence from the day of the attack. This causes Noelle to question some of her memories and help to seek answers about what happened that fateful day.

Themes in this book include:
- Story told from multiple timelines
- Political aspirations
- Meddling families
- Amnesia
- Strong sisterly bonds

I loved Noelle’s relationships with her grandfather, Aunt Daisy, and sisters. This book has a lot of strong female characters, and Noelle had fantastic character development with that support system. This book kept me guessing up until the last 10%, and I did not see the ending or twists coming! This is the first book in the Noelle Marshall series, and I will definitely be on the lookout for the next ones!

Kendra Elliot is a must read for me. I enjoyed this book and liked catching up with some of her other characters. My only complaint was it was a bit confusing in the first part of the book because it kept going back and forth in time. But overall a good story.

Fabulous mystery read!
No-one Marshall is a Detective in het Country Sheriff's Dept.
Thirteen years ago she was married to Assemblyman Derrick Ball the scion of a wealthy local family.
He was brutally murdered and Noelle was attacked and left dying on their kitchen floor in a rampage
that was never solved. .Noelle had traumatic brain injury memory issues after her attack.
The FBI has decided to take a second look at the case and their arrival stirs up a past that mist had
chosen to forget.
Suddenly, attacks on potential witnesses begin and Noelle finds herself fearing for her life and her
family's"s safety. As the tension escalates, so do the attacks and in tandem, Nicole's reliance and personal
feelings for FBI agent Reardon, does also.
Absolutely great story with enticing characters and riveting suspense.
Nicole's story is simply fascinating .
Bring on book two.

Loved this new series start about Noelle Marshall, her family and life. Starting 13 years in the past and then jumping to the present, the FBI is reopening the case into Noelle's husband Derrick's death. I enjoyed the suspense and tight writing, everything just kept you engaged and wanting more. Indeed, upon realizing that some of the characters were from a previous series, I'm now tracking those books down. A not to miss story and can't wait for more about Max's story.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC

13 years ago, Noelle’s husband was killed, and she was severely injured. The killer has never been found and there are those who believe Noelle is guilty.
We learned about her life, her family, her career aspirations, and how she met and married Derrick. He seemed like the perfect partner. He is wealthy, has political aspirations, and is in love with Noelle. But just because someone looks shiny and bright on the outside, doesn’t mean their inside is good too. Noelle’s life with Derrick was not the picture perfect postcard that it appeared.
Lots of twists and turns and quite a few red herrings. When everything was revealed, I wasn’t surprised. The killer’s identity was one of my early guesses. This was a treadmill read for me and I had to force myself to stop after an hour and get ready to go to work. It seems that this may be the start of a series and I will be interested to see who is featured in the next book. I could probably make a good guess, but that would be me falling into spoiler territory.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of this book.

13 years ago Noelle’s husband was murdered. Is he case was never solved and she has moved on with her life becoming a detective. When the FBI re investigates, Noelle is suddenly at risk.

Loved this. It had it all, mystery, suspense, friendship and of course that love angle. Told from Noelle’s point of view we go back in time, to when she met her husband originally as well as days before the murder. I enjoyed the slow tease out of the story with all the clues. The true murderer I had guessed at one point, but it was still unexpected and a shock. I need to read a future book to see what happens with Noelle and Max!

I loved this and I love detective Marshall! It was gripping and hard to put down. Noelle is a wonderful character that I hope to read more from soon!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!

This is a five-star read that will have you on the hook all the way through. This is number one in the Noelle Marshall series, and what a strong character to base a series around, Noelle is such a multi-dimensional character, she seems one way, as she is married to a man who doesn’t see her full potential, but then you see her true self start to shine through. This is such a compelling story, it will have you going at every turn, wondering what the elephant would say if it could talk, I was convinced it was so many people and it wasn’t who I expected and that’s the mark of a true story in my eyes. Do not miss this amazing author and story.

What a fantastic read I couldn't put this book down. Read in 2 days couldn't wait to see what happens at the end . Absolutely brilliant a must read can't wait for the next one .

Yes! Kendra Elliot has a new series and it's going to be great!!! Loved everything about this book. Really love the crossover characters from the Mercy Kilpatrick series. I cannot wait to see what happens next with Noelle!

Thank you #netgalley and #montlake for the eARC.

Her First Mistake
A brilliantly constructed crime thriller in a new series from this author. Suspenseful and exciting this is a real page turner that keeps you guessing throughout and with a cast of great characters good and bad.
Five years previously Noelle and her husband were attacked in their home, he died and Noelle was brutally struck on the head leading to memory loss of the whole incident plus problems with her short term memory since. Making a new life for herself she is now a detective and the FBI ask her to attend an interview to re question her about the case, she tells them that she still has no memory of what happened during the last five years.
The story slips seamlessly from past to present and we learn a lot about Noelle’s marriage and her family and all manner of events are revealed.
Noelle is a great strong character and I found myself really invested in the outcome for her. Well written and very satisfying, I can’t wait for the next in the series.
My thanks to net galley and publisher for the opportunity to review this book honestly.

I read some time ago there'll be a new series by Kendra Elliot and I couldn't wait to get my hands on the book. And now the day is here - yay me.
Her First Mistake is Noelle and Max's story.
Noelle Marshall is Detective with the Bend PD and Max is a FBI Agent from out of town, reviving an old case.
A case that involved a 13 years younger Noelle in a former life.
I started reading and was intrigued. It was like coming home to characters I already knew as well as being introduced to new characters I still ahd to form a bond with. And yes, there will be a sighting of Mercy, Truman and Det. Bolton. I loved the push and pull, the suspense, the twists and unexpected turns. And the end oh my.
I can't wait for No One Knew, their next book.

Everything was perfect in the beginning. Noelle met the man of her dreams but Derrick became her worst nightmare. She has tried so hard to move on from the past but the FBI is looking over Derrick’s case again. They never caught the killer and Noelle has made peace with that.
But now she is starting to have doubts she lost her memories of that fateful day when she almost lost her life as well.
She has never told anybody about her past but she needs to open up about it all.
Agent Max Rhodes knows their is more to the story but he can’t cross that line even though he is attracted to Noelle. Will him & his partner be able to find out the truth about that day?
Is the killer still out there waiting?
A good read. Great characters good storyline. I had the killer wrong but I was kind of close. Great to see old characters for other books
Thank you Netgalley & the publisher for the copy. This is my voluntary review.

This one definitely keeps you guessing and on edge just trying to figure out who done it!! So many twists and turns. Sometimes secrets come out that will destroy you. This new spinoff series is already a winner in my book.

I couldn't wait to get my hands on this book! Noelle Marshall was portrayed as a mysterious, minor character in the Columbia River thrillers, and I've been anxiously waiting to learn more about her since the end of that series. And this story did not disappoint! It started out a little slow and confusing with the constant switching from past to present. The author provided us with two separate timelines of Noelle's backstory as well as the present-day period where her past comes back to haunt her. It didn't take long for the pace to pick up and for me to grasp the order of events. By then, I was fully captivated with the mystery and edge-of-your-seat suspense. I couldn't read fast enough to get to the end and have all my questions answered. And it was definitely a shocker! I loved all of the new characters and look forward to reading book two, which will feature Max Rhodes story. One of my favorite things about Elliot's series is her great cast of likeable characters. She always combines new characters with recurring characters from her previous books. You never know which characters will make an appearance in each story, but it always feels like a reunion of old friends. Good stuff! I loved this book and love all of her series! I highly recommend to thriller lovers and fans that were just as anxious as I was to have more of Noelle. This can be read as a stand-alone, but I would definitely recommend starting from the very beginning of all of the series. You will not be disappointed!

Thank you to Montlake for granting me a digital ARC via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review!