ABOUT THE BOOK:
What should have been a fun-filled, carefree day takes a tragic turn for the worse for one mother when her best friend’s child goes missing in this suspenseful, compulsively readable, and darkly twisted psychological thriller.
It all started at the school fair…
Charlotte was supposed to be looking after the children, and she swears she was. She only took her eyes off of them for one second. But when her three kids are all safe and sound at the school fair, and Alice, her best friend Harriet’s daughter, is nowhere to be found, Charlotte panics. Frantically searching everywhere, Charlotte knows she must find the courage to tell Harriet that her beloved only child is missing. And admit that she has only herself to blame.
Harriet, devastated by this unthinkable, 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 confiding in Charlotte again may be the only thing that will reunite her with her daughter....
This breathless and fast-paced debut—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.
MY REVIEW:
Her One Mistake by Heidi PerksMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Her One Mistake by Heidi Perks is a 2019 Gallery Books publication.
Exceedingly good psychological thriller!
Charlotte has taken her children, along with her friend Harriet’s young daughter, Alice, to the park. While the children are playing, she looks down at her phone, checks on her social media, then looks back up to find that Alice is missing. Frantically, she searches for her friend's daughter- but to no avail. Instantly, the popular Charlotte loses her standing in the community, having lost a child entrusted to her care, while Harriet’s husband, Brian, outright blames Charlotte for his daughter’s disappearance.
Meanwhile, Harriet is living a double nightmare. Her child is gone, and her marriage and state of mind is more fragile than ever.
While Charlotte is the last person Harriet wants to see or talk to, she may the only one who can help Harriet get her daughter back.
After taking a year off from reading psychological thrillers, with just a few select exceptions, I decided to go back and look through the mountain of books I had listed in this genre and pick out a few I thought might be worth taking a second look at. This book sounded a little different, so I plucked it out the massive pile, and I’m so glad I did!!
This story is very suspenseful, told in a dual narrative format, giving the reader a chance to hear the story from both Harriet and Charlotte’s perspectives. Naturally, one must decipher if the narrators can be trusted or not.
The suspense builds slowly, as a picture begins to develop that is startling and disturbing. Looking back on it, I see areas where I should have questioned things, but it didn’t occur to me at the time.
The twists are well-timed, but quiet, subtle, clever and understated, which was very effective.
But, for me it was the fallout that really gave me pause. I can’t say too much, but I’m still mulling everything over in my mind. I must say that for a psychological thriller, this is really a thought-provoking story. There was a lot to digest but, overall, as controversial as the conclusion may be, it does pack a punch. The path forward still left me with a feeling of unease, but also with a sense of fragile peace and hope.
Overall, if you are looking for a well-executed and unsettling psychological thriller, give this one a try.
GRAB YOUR COPY HERE:
https://www.amazon.com/Her-One-Mistake-Heidi-Perks-ebook/dp/B07GNVJG5F/
https://www.amazon.com/Her-One-Mistake/dp/B07FYRSYY5/
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/her-one-mistake-heidi-perks/1128864421
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Heidi Perks was born in 1973. She lives by the sea in Bournemouth with her husband and two children.
Heidi graduated from Bournemouth University in 1997 with a BA (Hons) in Retail Management, and then enjoyed a career in Marketing before leaving in 2012 to focus on both bringing up her family and writing.
Heidi successfully applied for a place on the inaugural Curtis Brown Creative online Novel Writing Course and after that dedicated her time to completing her first novel, Beneath The Surface.
She has a huge interest in what makes people tick and loves to write about family relationships, especially where some of the characters are slightly dysfunctional.
Heidi is now writing her second novel
