{"id":258017,"date":"2025-05-26T13:58:13","date_gmt":"2025-05-26T13:58:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/entertainment\/books\/the-mistake-by-mj-arlidge-and-lisa-hall-bookchattercookiebiscuit\/"},"modified":"2025-05-26T13:58:13","modified_gmt":"2025-05-26T13:58:13","slug":"the-mistake-by-mj-arlidge-and-lisa-hall-bookchattercookiebiscuit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=258017","title":{"rendered":"The Mistake by MJ Arlidge and Lisa Hall \u2013 Bookchatter@Cookiebiscuit"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n

In this family, everyone is telling lies.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Pete never wanted another child. Before baby Erin was born, they were happy. If Natalie hadn\u2019t got pregnant, he would never have done what he did.<\/em><\/p>\n

Natalie knows things have been difficult since the surprise arrival of Erin. Life with Pete and their two other children \u2013 Emily and Zadie \u2013 has been balancing on a knife-edge.<\/em><\/p>\n

#TheMistake\u00a0X\/Twitter<\/strong>\u00a0@mjarlidge<\/a> @LisaHallAuthor<\/a> @orionbooks<\/a><\/em> @Tr4cyF3nt0n<\/em><\/a>\u00a0<\/em>
Instagram<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0@m_j_arlidge<\/a>\u00a0 <\/a> @lisahallauthor<\/a> @thebookdealer<\/a><\/em>\u00a0@orionbooks<\/a><\/em> #CompulsiveReaders<\/em>\u00a0#blogtour<\/em><\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Now their home is full of guests at a party Natalie didn\u2019t want to throw \u2013 and she\u2019s about to reach breaking point.<\/em><\/p>\n

But so is her family.<\/em><\/p>\n

Because\u00a0everyone\u00a0has a secret that they\u2019ve been hiding and when Erin suddenly disappears\u00a0everyone\u00a0becomes a suspect.<\/em><\/p>\n

Surely no one here would want to harm their baby? But after the events of the party there are plenty of people who would want to hurt Natalie.<\/em><\/p>\n

Including her husband\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

My Review<\/strong><\/p>\n

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 \u2013 the other two were easy and Erin cries all the time. Natalie even imagines her baby hates her. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s 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 \u2013 spend it on a domestic cleaner and\/or even a part-time nanny. I\u2019m fuming!!<\/p>\n

I was so involved in their lives (not in a creepy way like Natalie\u2019s 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\u2019s a suspect.<\/p>\n

Pete is a bit of a prat, though nowhere near as bad as Eve makes him out to be, but Natalie doesn\u2019t really help herself. Not that I\u2019m blaming her, but she\u2019s gradually sinking into a \u2018slough of despond\u2019, but instead of seeking help, she\u2019s in denial. Not that I\u2019m one to talk \u2013 denial is often the easy way out of facing the truth \u2013 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.<\/p>\n

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 \u2013 it\u2019s based on rank stupidity \u2013 and things go from bad to worse.<\/p>\n

Poor Erin. When she grows up, if she ever finds out what happened, or that she was initially unwanted, she\u2019ll need therapy for many years.<\/p>\n

Many thanks to #CompulsiveReaders for inviting me to be part of the #blogtour and to NetGalley for an ARC.<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

About the Authors<\/strong><\/p>\n

MJ Arlidge\u00a0has worked in television for the last twenty years, specialising in high-end drama production, including prime-time crime serials\u00a0Silent Witness<\/em>,\u00a0Torn<\/em>,\u00a0The Little House<\/em>\u00a0and, most recently, the hit ITV show\u00a0Innocent<\/em>. In 2015 his audio book exclusive\u00a0Six Degrees of Assassination<\/em>\u00a0was a number-one bestseller. His debut thriller,\u00a0Eeny Meeny<\/em>, was the UK\u2019s bestselling crime debut of 2014 and has been followed by ten more\u00a0DI Helen Grace<\/em>\u00a0thrillers \u2013 all Sunday Times bestsellers.<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Lisa Hall is the bestselling author of six psychological thrillers and the Hotel Hollywood<\/em> time-slip murder mystery series. Her debut novel Between You and Me<\/em> was a Kindle UK number one bestseller, sitting in the top spot for over four weeks. Lisa has a First Class Honours degree in English Literature and Creative Writing. She lives in Kent with her husband and their three children. <\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n