Fabulous reads: Slow psychological thriller with ‘killer’ ending
Book review - The Blame Game by Sandie Jones
The Blame Game, Sandie Jones, Pan Macmillan, ISBN: 9781529086386
AS a child, Naomi was a victim of domestic violence. She witnessed her father killing her mother. Now, as an adult, she is a psychiatrist assisting other victims.
However, due to her past, she becomes too invested in the lives of her patients.
She ignores the warnings from her husband, and this finally comes to bite her after she tries to help her latest patient, Jacob, escape his physically abusive wife. Jacob has now vanished, and all the evidence seems to suggest they were having an affair – and that she killed him after he supposedly broke things off.
To make matters worse, just before she is fingered as a suspect in Jacob’s disappearance, she receives news that her father, whom she helped put behind bars, has been released from prison, and that he has reconnected with her estranged sister, who has a grudge against her.
Naomi quickly spirals into a sense of paranoia. Her marriage and friendships start falling apart, and she feels unsure of who she can trust or who is responsible for framing her.
Sadly, it was another book that was riddled with plot holes, unlikeable characters, unexplored storylines and illogical decisions that made me want to jump into the book and violently shake people.
The main storyline just felt forced and contrived. For me, there is a difference between fiction and fantasy.
The only reason I stuck with the book was the mystery. I needed to know the ‘who’ and ‘why’. Fortunately, the book has a great pace, making it easy to swiftly work through the chapters.
The ending was my favourite – not because it ended but because it was actually clever and satisfying. – Mariclair Smit – 2/5 stars
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