ARC REVIEW: The Mistake – by K.L. Slater @bookouture

Title: The Mistake
Author: K.L. Slater
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense
First published: October 4th 2017
Publisher: Bookouture
Finished reading: September 19th 2017
Pages: 268

“Books helped me get well back then and I feel happiest now when I’m around them. Sometimes I wish I could put up a camp bed in the back office, and then I’d never need to go home at all.”

*** A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by Netgalley and Bookouture in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ***

I have been looking forward to a new K.L. Slater thriller ever since I finished Liar and I was more than excited when I first heard about The Mistake. And although it turned out not being my favorite of the bunch, The Mistake is without doubt still a very well written and suspenseful psychological thriller. The writing both draws you in and makes you fly through the pages. The plot was an interesting one and the situation and consequences of grooming are very thoroughly and realistically described. It’s not a theme I have seen all that often before in psychological thrillers and I could really appreciate the spotlight on something that unfortunately happens way too often to vulnerable (young) women. I also liked the idea of the chapters going back between past and present; showing this way both what happened all those years ago and how this effected Rose’s life even after all those years. This all sounds really positive, so why ‘only’ a 4 star rating? The main reason were the main characters, which I found highly unlikeable and made me enjoy the story less than expected. Rose and Garreth made me cringe A LOT. Unlikeable or not, the grooming is very well described as well as the consequences those actions have for the people around them. This is not a happy read and will provoke strong emotions. Realistic, full of twists, suspenseful, intriguing, provoking… All words that apply to The Mistake. Recommended for fans of the genre.

Sixteen years ago, Rose took her eight-year-old brother Billy out flying his kite and he went missing. Two days later, he was found dead… And Rose has never fully recovered from the trauma. The person who did this to Billy is behind bars, but did they convict the right man? Rose never doubted this up until she finds something in the attic room of a trusted neighbor… And every painful detail of her past comes back to haunt her.

Even though The Mistake wasn´t my absolute favorite, there is no denying it is still a very good psychological thriller with an important theme (grooming). The writing is excellent as always and manages to draw you right in; the plot is well developed and has quite a few twists and turns that will surprise you. The flashbacks to the past don’t distract and instead add to the overall richness of the plot; the grooming is very well described and feels realistic. The only problem I had was with the main characters: I never managed to warm up to Rose or Garreth and felt frustrated especially with Rose. Although I guess Garreth wasn’t ment to be likeable in the first place… The rest of the story is excellent though and will appeal to any fan of more character-driven psychological thrillers.

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