Format

ebook

Format:

ebook

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In the vein of the Reese’s Book Club x Hello Sunshine Book Club pick The Other Woman, Sandie Jones’s heart-pounding new novel The Blame Game will keep readers on the edge of their seats.

Games can be dangerous. But blame can be deadly.

As a psychologist specializing in domestic abuse, Naomi has found it hard to avoid becoming overly invested in her clients’ lives. But after helping Jacob make the decision to leave his wife, Naomi worries that she’s taken things too far. Then Jacob goes missing, and her files on him vanish. . . .

But as the police start asking questions about Jacob, Naomi’s own dark past emerges. And as the truth comes to light, it seems that it’s not just her clients who are in danger.

PART TWO

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This is my fifth book … my fifth book! If you’d have told me five years ago that I’d publish just one novel, I would have talked you out of it. My ideas weren’t good enough. I didn’t have the imagination. I certainly didn’t have the time. And anyway, what was the point? There was a million-to-one chance that it would be picked up—that kind of thing only ever happened to other people, younger people, cleverer people, better connected people …

Except I’m proof that you don’t need to be any of those.

Now, I’m firmly of the belief that if you want to write a book, what have you got to lose by giving it a whirl? Get the words down on the page, find yourself a fabulous agent like Tanera Simons at Darley Anderson to champion you, brilliant editors like Catherine Richards at Minotaur and Vicki Mellor at Pan Macmillan to impart their wisdom, and you’ll be surprised how quickly the wondrous team around you grows.… Nettie Finn, Joseph Brosnan, Hector deJean, Dakota Cohen, Amber Cortes, Rebecca Lloyd, Rebecca Needes, Mary Darby, Georgia Fuller, Kristina Egan, Sheila David, Rosanna Bellingham … all go the extra mile to get their author’s words read by as many people as possible.

Another reason I held back from writing fiction for so long was that I didn’t think I was well-traveled enough. But then I listened to a famous author talk about his novel set in America’s deep south. I’d read the book and had been transported there myself; blinded by the writer’s knowledge and memories of a place and time he must surely have experienced personally. Except he then admitted that he’d never traveled south of New York! Proving that now, with the power of the internet and the connectivity we’re all able to create, you can go anywhere, experience anything, and get answers to questions you don’t know. To this end, I’ll be forever grateful to my army of American friends who helped me out with references and memories that made Naomi the woman she is:

Debbie Anderson

Jessica Baxter

Carol Bibb

Donna Block

Cindy Bokma

Lisa Boris

Kimberley Brewer

Jasmin Brodie

Erin Christiansen

Sarah Deaner

Maria Denmark

Samantha Fugate

Trisha Glenn

Jordan Gomez

Kristina Hayes

Jennifer Herkert

Mallory Knott

Amber Laurito

Briana Miceli

Leah Mossor

Christine Mott

Kimberley Mussell

Emily Ostlund

Heather Starr

Sarah Yum

Big thanks also to my friends on home soil who continue to support and encourage me, and to Rob, Oliver, Lucy, and Oscar, who continue to put up with me! I couldn’t do this without you.

Thank you so much for reading The Blame Game—I know how many books there are out there and I will never take it for granted that you chose mine. I hope you enjoyed it. And for any aspiring writers who have been wanting to do this for ages: I look forward to reading your work soon!

Best wishes,

Sandie x