I've read & loved a good few of Matt's books at this stage, a mix of his solo books & his collabs with other authors but this is my first read of Lisa's, as with all great collabs there were many times throughout I forgot that The Mistake was written by two authors, the writing & plot flowed seamlessly with both authors complimenting each other perfectly.

The Mistake began as a slow burn but the tension and suspense was present from the very beginning, it's a dark, gripping & intense domestic/psychological thriller that draws you right into the tension, holding your attention until the very end. The story is told from both Natalie & Pete's POV which gives the reader a great insight into both their thoughts, perspective, motivations etc and really adds to and amps up the suspense.

The characters were very well written with some likeable, unlikeable and some a mix of both, Eve particularly stood out for me, she was so shady & unlikeable from the get-go but she was the perfect unlikeable character.

The Mistake was a fantastic dark domestic thriller, an absolute must-read for thriller fans.

The Prologue has me hooked! A baby abandoned in the woods, crying. Whose baby is it? Why is it there? What has happened?

Natalie & Pete are happily married. They have 2 daughters. Emily, who is due to be heading off to university, and Zadie, who is several years younger and still at primary school. They are finally getting their lives back when a spanner is thrown in the works. Natalie discovers she's pregnant. Pete isn't chuffed with the idea as he'd planned for them to emigrate to be closer to his family in Australia. Cracks start to appear.

Natalie has the baby and struggles coping with constant crying and not much support. She has her friend (Eve), but Pete is increasingly working late. Oh and his contractor happens to be his ex, Vanessa. We can all see where that's going.

Many mistakes are made along the way but still what happened to the baby? Well....you'll just have to read this fantastic thriller to find out. I felt so sorry for Natalie and detested Pete at times. Highly recommend 👌

🤍Blog tour 🤍

The Mistake
An absolutely gripping psychological thriller with a shocking twist
by M. J. Arlidge; Lisa Hall


The Mistake is a slow burning but gripping psychological thriller that kept me hooked from the first page. It starts with a chilling prologue and then builds the tension slowly, letting us get to know the characters and their messy lives. Natalie’s surprise pregnancy and the struggles that follow—especially with a crying baby and an absent husband—felt very real. The pressure on the whole family is intense, and you can feel things falling apart. When baby Erin goes missing, the suspense ramps up and everyone becomes a suspect. I kept changing my mind about who was responsible. The story is told from both Natalie and Pete’s perspectives, which added depth. I had sympathy for Natalie, but also felt frustrated with her at times. The ending wasn’t as shocking for me since I had guessed the twist, but overall, it was a compelling and emotional read.
A solid domestic thriller with lots of drama.

When Natalie unexpectedly gets pregnant with her third child, it comes as quite a shock to both her and husband Pete. With daughter Emily about to leave for university and an eight year old, a new baby has an impact on the whole family - and Erin proves to be a difficult baby who doesn’t sleep much. Natalie struggles to cope, Pete is rarely home and it is impacting both the girls. Things come to a head at Emily’s eighteenth birthday party - and then they realise that Erin is no longer in her cot. Who could have taken her and why?

With a prologue that draws you in from the very first page, this is a story that builds as it goes, taking some time to get to the drama at the heart of it, but allows the reader to get to know the family, as well as some other characters who are very much brought to life and who might have had their own reasons for taking Erin.

The tension builds once Erin goes missing - and with no shortage of suspects, I found myself changjng my mind several times about who might be responsible. It is a gripping read and one that kept me on the edge of my seat as I raced through it - another successful collaboration in this enormously enjoyable series.

This is the fourth book in an enjoyable series of collaborations that MJ Arlidge has undertaken with other authors. While the previous three were out-and-out thrillers, The Mistake has a very different vibe, being more of a domestic drama, but a clever one at that and no less readable.

It gets off to a flying start, with a prologue describing an abandoned baby in woods that are supposedly haunted. As a hook, it’s absolutely brilliant.

Beware, going in, that what follows is a slow burn of a read, one more about intrigue than suspense, with the first two-thirds of the book taken up with scene setting and the fleshing out of players, before the trigger that sets the plot alight.

It’s a not unfamiliar story: late, unplanned third pregnancy; fussy, crying baby; mum descending into post-natal depression; dad too busy with work. Result: the disintegration of a formerly solid and happy family unit.

I won’t deny that I tore through the pages, anxious to find out where the abandoned baby would come in.

By the time this twist hit, the authors had cleverly invested multiple characters with a motive for snatching baby Erin, including people on the fringes of the family and even mum Natalie herself, whose foggy state of mind adds to the confusion.

The closing chapters are filled with tension, amid concerns over Erin’s whereabouts and survival and efforts to identify her abductor. Everything is teed up for a spectacular conclusion.

Sadly, for me, the ending felt a bit of a letdown, as I had long guessed the perpetrator. That said, it’s the only weakness in an otherwise compulsive read. It may catch some readers off guard, but seasoned armchair sleuths like myself will almost certainly have everything sussed.

When Natalie unexpectedly becomes pregnant at almost forty, it isn’t exactly welcome news. Her eldest daughter, Emily, is about to leave for university, while her youngest, Zadie, is now eight. Life is comfortable and she and her husband Pete are full of dreams for their future when the nest is empty. Another child now would disrupt all their lives. Ultimately, Natalie decides to go ahead with the pregnancy. Erin arrives after a traumatic birth and is a difficult baby who screams incessantly and doesn’t sleep. Natalie is in a downward spiral and her days are spent trying to survive. Pete is never home and the older children are also struggling. This is a family at breaking point. It all comes to a head the night of Emily’s 18th birthday party, when all the secrets, lies and resentments finally boil over and little Erin disappears. But which of their closest family and friends took their daughter? And why?

M. J. Arlidge has long been one of my favourite thriller authors and I’ve been loving his Crime Writers Room collaborations, so I was excited to read this collaboration with Lisa Hall. As I hoped, it was another cracking thriller that I devoured in just a few hours. Expertly written and deftly choreographed, Arlidge and Hall have crafted a thriller that keeps you guessing from the first page to the last. The heart-stopping prologue reeled me in and I remained glued to the pages as the story switched to a slower burn as we went back to the time where Natalie first found out she was pregnant. I was on the edge of my seat as tension escalated and suspicion swirled with multiple suspects in the frame when Erin went missing. I had my theories about who it was, but that did change a few times as Arlidge and Hall skillfully kept their identity hidden and created believable red herrings.

The story is told from Natalie and Pete’s perspective, offering us an insight into their mindset and motivations, allowing us to understand their actions. While they were relatable characters, they weren’t always likeable and I often just wanted to shake them. I did have a lot of sympathy for Natalie, who showed signs of postnatal depression, but I’d want to hug her one minute and be frustrated with her the next. I wanted to tell her to reach out for help and just talk to her husband. Meanwhile, Pete was useless both practically and emotionally, but reading his perspective made me confront the shades of grey that led to his withdrawal from his family and other bad decisions. I still wanted to yell at him to help his wife though. And at both of them for refusing to see how their other children were struggling.

The other characters are brilliantly written but Eve, Natalie’s best friend, is most memorable. Unnerving and manipulative, she gave me the ick from the start, and I didn’t like how she behaved around Natalie’s youngest kids. It was obvious that Natalie relied on her, but this girl was toxic and I was yelling at the pages for Natalie to cut her out of her life and talk to Pete instead.

Suspenseful, dark, emotionally and totally addictive, The Mistake is a must-read for all thriller lovers.

Two phenomenal writers collaborate on this standalone thriller - part crime & part psychological. I don’t know their writing process, but you definitely can’t see the join in this tension building tale. Opening with a powerful scene which will pull on all parent’s heartstrings, I had to put my big girl pants on to continue. It was worth it believe me.

Natalie & Pete are happily married with two daughters; one getting ready to go to university (Emily) & the other nearing the end of primary school (Zadie). Imagine then, when along comes the unexpected bundle, Erin. A new baby can put stress on the strongest foundations & it is no different here. Natalie really struggles & leans on her close friend, Eve, more & more. In fact, Eve appears to be becoming the mum or is that Natalie’s imagination & Pete is working all hours to keep the family going, or is he? Add in Emily’s dubious older boyfriend & an old flame of Pete’s & the scene is set. Oh, I forgot to mention, a disastrous party celebrating Emily’s birthday & A level results where baby Erin disappears…

The opening pulls you in instantly & I wanted to know how we had got there. Told through chronological chapters from different POVs, we soon find out in glorious dysfunctional technicolor. Circumstance can be a cruel mistress & she certainly comes to the fore in this fast paced book. My only niggle is the very end, hence dropping one star, but I know many readers will accept it for what it is. I’ll say no more, because spoilers, but I do recommend that you read it for yourself.

Natalie and Pete Maxwell have been together since their uni days, now twenty years later they are happily married with two daughters, seventeen year old Emily and eight year old Zadie when Natalie discovers she is pregnant. They struggle to come to terms with the idea of being parents again at this stage in their lives, especially when Pete had major plans in place for their future, but Natalie is determined she's keeping the baby and she goes on to give birth to another daughter, Erin. This time round it's harder, Erin isn't an easy baby, she rarely sleeps, Natalie is exhausted and Pete, well he's never there. When it's decided to throw an eighteenth birthday party for Emily at the house, Natalie is immediately regretting agreeing to it, especially when, at the end of the night, they discover Erin is missing and a search party gathers to look for her, she's found sometime after and rushed to ICU but who would want to harm an innocent child? DI Travis sets out to discover the truth while both Pete and Natalie have their suspicions, but they are both shocked when the perpetrator is revealed.

The Mistake is the latest collaboration by M J Arlidge and this time with author Lisa Hall. This domestic thriller starts off as a slow burn while it introduces all the characters but soon ramps up the pace and I struggled to put it down, devouring it in less than 24 hours. As with his previous collaborations, you wouldn't know this was written by two authors as the story flows so seamlessly and the plot is excellently portrayed. There are some great characters in this tale and some rather dubious ones who, when Erin went missing, I had my suspicions about but then I had a lightbulb moment and realised who was really responsible, though this didn't spoil the rest of the story for me. This is a compelling read full of intrigue, secrets and lies by two fabulous authors that certainly kept me on the edge of my seat throughout.

I'd like to thank Orion Publishing Group and Netgalley for the auto approval, I will post my review on Goodreads now and Amazon on publication day.

I really enjoyed this and read it over two days. But there are a few things that wound me up about Natalie. This is her third child, so I get it – the other two were easy and Erin cries all the time. Natalie even imagines her baby hates her.

It’s obvious Natalie is suffering from post-natal depression. But when she goes to the doctor, she makes light of her desperation. Lay it on thick Nat. Get some help. Forget Valium (no-one takes that nowadays and ask for a modern anti-depressant together with some form of talking therapy). Take the baby in with you and get her checked over just in case she is suffering from colic, or is lactose intolerant or something else. Your husband can afford tickets to Australia and a diamond ring – spend it on a domestic cleaner and/or even a part-time nanny. I’m fuming!!

I was so involved in their lives (not in a creepy way like Natalie’s friend Eve), that I just had to keep reading. I did actually guess who took Erin and I almost snuck a quick peep at the ending to see if I was correct, but I resisted the temptation. Because everyone’s a suspect.

Pete is a bit of a prat, though nowhere near as bad as Eve makes him out to be, but Natalie doesn’t really help herself. Not that I’m blaming her, but she’s gradually sinking into a ‘slough of despond’, but instead of seeking help, she’s in denial. Not that I’m one to talk – denial is often the easy way out of facing the truth – but when your other children are suffering, you have to seek help. Teenager Emily feels that she is being put upon too much, being asked to help with the baby, while 8-year-old Zadie is wetting the bed and being disruptive at school.

Soon the whole family is falling apart and Pete is even more in denial than Natalie. You just want to knock their heads together and shout at them. Pete has his own answer to their problems – it’s based on rank stupidity – and things go from bad to worse.

Poor Erin. When she grows up, if she ever finds out what happened, or that she was initially unwanted, she’ll need therapy for many years.

Many thanks to #CompulsiveReaders for inviting me to be part of the #blogtour and to NetGalley for an ARC.

Natalie Maxwell is pregnant with her third child. Her two other children are Emily, 17 and Zadie, 8 and this one is an unexpected shock for both herself and husband Peter. Peter had in fact been planning for the family to move to Australia, where his parents live, but that goes by the board very quickly. A slow burning start as the main characters are introduced but still a compelling read, told from the duel perspectives of Peter and Natalie.

Briefly, Natalie has a difficult birth, subsequently baby Erin seems to never stop crying and Natalie very quickly finds herself going into a downward spiral clearly suffering from post natal depression. The house starts to look neglected, the two other daughters feel ignored and Peter doesn’t want to know! At a birthday party to celebrate Emily’s 18th matters come to a head between Natalie and Peters can things get any worse? Yes they can when Erin goes missing!

As a criminal investigation is launched the officer in charge Max Fleming questions the once close family members and any number of secrets and lies raise their ugly heads. I felt some sympathy with Natalie as she struggled with this pregnancy and subsequently with Erin as for Peter he was about as useful as a chocolate teapot. I did find the perpetrators identity to be well hidden and I changed my opinion more than once. A well written, tense and entertaining domestic thriller.

The Mistake is a compelling family drama plotted with physcological thriller lies and secrets wrapped in mystery. Natalie and Pete have two daughters and Pete is planning for all their futures. That is until Natalie reveals that she is pregnant with their third child. Then when the baby is born Natalie is struggling and Pete is never home. It's a miracle she can keep it together between Pete's ex girlfriend who has come back on the scene and Natalie's interfering best friend. The tensions come to a head at a party where baby Erin disappears. The writing in this is outstanding as it captures every thought and feeling well and I didn't want to put it down. It has a element of surprise and intrigue about it!

I really enjoy this author’s writing, and their collaborations have been consistently strong. I often wonder how co-authors work together—do they map out the entire plot beforehand? Do they alternate chapters, or write specific characters? It’s hard to know whether writing with someone else makes the process easier or more complicated.

In this story, Pete and Natalie have a happy marriage and two daughters—Emily, who turns 18 during the book, and Zadie, who is 8. With the girls growing up, life is starting to open up again for both Pete and Natalie. That is, until Natalie discovers she’s pregnant. Unsure of how Pete will react, she confides in her best friend, Eve, instead. Eve encourages her to wait until she’s ready to tell him—and she also reveals a long-held secret that shocks Natalie.

When Pete and Natalie finally go out for a meal, both have big announcements. Pete shares his surprise first, but Natalie’s news overshadows his completely. Pete is far from thrilled about the pregnancy, though he eventually accepts it.

But this pregnancy is nothing like her first two. Baby Erin is difficult—she cries constantly, never sleeps, and Natalie is utterly exhausted. Pete offers no help; he’s out early and home late, and then later still. Why?

The heart of the novel revolves around life with a new baby—and it’s clear that Natalie is suffering from postnatal depression. Like many women, she doesn’t realise it, and guilt weighs heavily on her. She just wants the crying to stop, but she has no support. Emily resents having to help with Erin, Zadie starts wetting the bed and gets into trouble at school, and Natalie is falling apart.

Everything reaches breaking point on the night of Emily’s 18th birthday party. Secrets come out, tempers flare—and baby Erin goes missing.

Told from both Pete and Natalie’s perspectives, we see how each of them handles the growing cracks in their marriage and lives. Can they survive this? Is their relationship strong enough? At one point, I found myself frustrated with nearly all the characters. I felt deeply for Natalie, who was clearly struggling, while Pete was utterly useless. Emily had her moments of selfishness—but she’s 17, facing A-levels, and has her boyfriend Jake to think about.

The story keeps you guessing—what is the mistake? I had my suspicions as to who it was, and was surprised to find I was right. This is a gripping psychological thriller packed with secrets and tension. You won’t know who to trust, because at some point, every character seems suspicious.

Perfect for fans of twisty, emotionally charged domestic thrillers.

Thank you to #netgalley and the publishers for an eARC of this, all opinions are my own and have not been influenced in any way.

I have read a few books by MJ Arlidge before and was excited to get this arc to see what this one is like. I found it slow paced to start but once it gets going you get sucked in and realise everyone has something to hide, secrets try to be kept hidden. Since reading this I have read two more of Lisa Halls books and looking forward to being part of the book tour for this. Full review will on Instagram when it's my turn start of June. I rated this 4.5 overall and would highly recommend this book. Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for this arc.

I have read a lot of books by these authors individually, so needless to say, I was very excited to find out what they'd do when they were working together. To be honest, The Mistake isn't what I expected, but I still enjoyed it. I was invested in the central characters and their relationship and I really wanted to know how things would work out for them.

The Mistake is quite slow burning, particularly at the beginning, as we get to know all the characters and what makes them tick. This is valuable groundwork, as every one of them is potentially a suspect in Erin's disappearance. I love novels where the reader has the opportunity to guess who the culprit is, and my opinion changed several times over the course of it.

MJ Arlidge and Lisa Hall are both very talented writers, and this is demonstrated brilliantly in the portrayal of Natalie's post natal depression. Despite not having experienced this myself, I was taken into Natalie's mindset really well and was able to understand how she was feeling.

As the plot begins to take shape, The Mistake gathers pace, the tension increases and it becomes clear that nearly everyone has something to hide. I enjoyed reading as all the different secrets, and their implications on the characters’ lives were revealed.