Thank you very much to NetGalley and Bookouture for the advance copy of The Mistake in return for an honest review. Having read and loved all of K.L Slater's books to date I couldn't wait to read this one and it was definitely worth the wait. The story evolves throughout the book as it swtiches between Rosie's present day life and her life 16 years ago and it is so full of twists and so gripping you won't be able to put it down!!!

Having read the authors previous book I was keen to read this . Another great one which I read in two sittings. Short sharp chapters that make you leap to the next. Set between the past and the present this is the story of Rose who’s brother was killed 16 years previous by her ex boyfriend.. or was he ? I really enjoyed this , the ending I didn’t see coming but , to be honest , that’s the part that I liked the least hence a 4 star instead of 5 star read . My thanks to bookouture and netgalley for my copy .

The Mistake by K. L. Slater the kind of book you hold up in front of you while you’re bumping into walls, as your make your way through your house. Not that I speak from experience or anything. (Rubbing forehead)

I simply COULD NOT put this book down. (I wasn’t kidding about bumping into the wall).

Rose is a 30-something bulemic, broken woman who’s had a rough life. Sixteen years ago her 8 year old brother, Billy disappeared, while under her watch. Billy is found dead and Rose’s world unravels.

Now, a broken bulemic, she lives a quiet mundane life. She works as a librarian and helps take care of her neighbor Ronnie. Ronnie and his wife were always there for Rose and her family. But now widowed, he’s alone and takes a turn for the worst with his health.

While he is in the hospital, Rose decides to welcome him home to a clean house. But as she is cleaning, she makes a grave discovery in his spare bedroom, which rocks her world once again.

Ms. Slater has conjured up quite the plot here. The description, and my summary, do not do this book justice. It’s so much more than what it sounds like.

This story is told in alternating time periods, present and sixteen years earlier. They are easy to distinguish, and you will not get lost.

The characters are realistic and easy to feel for. Caught between her boyfriend and her best friend you can feel Rose’s confusion and frustration.

The Mistake twists you around curves you did not even know existed. This isn’t my first K. L. Slater book, nor will it be my last. Five twisty stars.

Thank you to K. L. Slater, Bookouture, and Netgalley for an advanced copy of The Mistake. All opinions are solely my own.

K. L. Slater returns following (2017) Liar, and Blink plus her debut (2016) Safe with Me with her fourth hit in a row THE MISTAKE — a twisty psychological thriller with a satisfying conclusion.

Fans of Kaira Rouda’s Best Day Ever, will enjoy The Mistake. (especially the ending). Gareth and Paul have a lot in common. Payback is a bitch.

Rose is a librarian who lives alone with a cat. Anxiety filled, with an eating disorder (when under stress), she pretty much stays to herself and never goes out at night. Books help her back to some sense of normal.

She used to read crime novels, but she has not touched a book like that in sixteen years. She had a therapist. She had experienced true terror. She now builds her life around food, drink, books, and TV.

"Reading about deceitful personalities, the hidden underbelly of society and unreliable characters who appear to be one thing but are soon found out to be something else entirely . . . all that stuff now fills me with a curdling discomfort that can last for days."


A trauma, from an event which occurred some sixteen years earlier. Her safe and ordinary life disappeared in the space of a heartbeat.

Guilt-ridden, she was with her younger eight-year-old brother, Billy. She should have been watching him closer the day they were flying his kite. However, something grabbed him in the woods and after missing for two days they found him dead. Strangled.

Her parents are now deceased, and she still lives next door to an elderly man, Ronnie. He was a nice man who everyone loves and helped search for her brother years ago. She tries to help him out with picking up food from the market and checking on him. She has a key for emergencies.

Ronnie has some sort of virus and has fallen. She finds in the bathroom and the medical team has arrived and as he is leaving, he tells her not to look in the attic.

Later, Rose decides she will do something to help the kind man which everyone loves in the small village. She decides to clean his house for him so it will be nice when he gets well and returns home.

However, she recalls his warning of the attic. She thinks possibly he is embarrassed because it is messy, so she decided to clean the upstairs as well.

Then she stumbles upon a blanket. The blanket was her brothers. The one he had the day of his death that no one has ever found. Rose is now beside herself. How could Ronnie, this nice man have her brother’s blanket? She desperately needs answers.

Has she been living next to her brother's killer all along?

We revisit the events leading up to Billy’s disappearance and death. Rose had a best friend Cassie. They did everything together. One day walking home with her art, this good-looking guy stops her. Gareth. Cassie encourages her.

Gareth was in his twenties and seemed worldly. He was responsible for the regeneration of the village with new plans. He seemed interested in her. Soon she becomes engrossed with this new guy. However, he soon turns into a controlling narcissist, but not before he charms Rose and pulls her in with manipulation.

Cassie warns her to stay away after she sees how controlling he is. Gareth says Cassie is jealous. He makes her choose. Soon he manipulates his way into their family with her dad, offering him a volunteer job and promises of a paid job.

However, he dislikes her little brother Billy and does not want her to have any friends. He tells her he loves her. Yet he tells her what to wear, how to act, and wants to control everything in her life.

Cassie later is raped and now is estranged from Rose. Rose tried to see her but her protective brother Jeb turned her away. Not until the abuse begins does she realize how deep she is in. She must break things off with this monster. However, it is not so simple. He will not let her go.

She has lost everyone she is close to. It is her fault for allowing this monster into their lives.

Moving back and forth from past to present in alternating chapters, readers are dying to know about what really happened to Billy. Gareth was in prison. However, was he the real killer? He was a bad person but is Ronnie the real killer? On her father’s deathbed, Rose promised her dad she would never see Gareth again. However, will she have to face down her worst nightmare in order to help Billy?

She is receiving threatening notes. Someone is watching her every move.

She has to find the courage and find out once and for all who killed him. In the process, she could be trying to help a monster go free. She is only safe with him behind a jail cell. She has to be smart to stay one step ahead of Gareth. She gets in touch with the detective, Mike North who was on the case.

What about Ronnie, her neighbor? She must solve this mystery to put this nightmare behind her once and for all. Was it Gareth, Ronnie, or someone else? Motive for harming an innocent child?

However, she has to keep Gareth in prison. He is evil, abusive, a psychopath, liar, and a rapist. A killer?

An unputdownable thriller, and as always Kim keeps you glued to the pages. If you have read her other books, you know she is the queen of killer twists. The Mistake is another one which keeps you on the edge-of-your-seat. A Sleeping with the Enemy with a twist.

I especially enjoyed seeing Rose stand up to Gareth, after the abusive relationship and everything he put her through. This one will leave you smiling.

A cautionary tale of coercive, manipulative, abusive, and controlling relationships and the lost-lasting effect such a negative experience can have on a person. The author also addresses help for anyone who thinks they may find themselves in this type of relationship full of criticisms.

A special thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for an advanced reading copy.

JDCMustReadBooks

The Mistake is K.L. Slater 's latest novel, and I'm sure they just get better and better.

When eight year old Billy goes missing, his older sister Rose is a teenager. Sixteen years later she is still blaming herself for his death, even though she knows the real perpetrator is safely behind bars.

Rose is a kind and caring woman, working at the local library, she knows that she could have moved away after her parents died, but despite all that has happened, she feels at home where she lives.

Rose is considerate of others, and is happy to help out elderly neighbour, Ronnie, after the loss of his wife. But Ronnie is still fiercely independent, despite his loss, and when he ends up in hospital is adamant that Rose shouldn't go upstairs.

Rose meaning well, ignores her neighbour. She knows he'll be delighted to come home to a clean and tidy house from the hospital.

But then she makes a discovery that makes her question every single thing she thought she knew about Billy's disappearance and subsequent murder.

Everything she thought she knew has been placed into turmoil, and she realises she doesn't even know if she's safe anymore.

Told in alternating present and flashback chapters, the Mistake is a novel that entices you in slowly, then grabs hold of you tightly. You won't want to put it down!

Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for a free electronic ARC of this novel, received in exchange for an honest review.
When Rose was eighteen, her eight year old brother was abducted and killed, and to this day she lives with the guilt. She should’ve watched him closer, she should’ve spent more time with him. And, most importantly, she should’ve stayed the hell away from Gareth. Now, sixteen years later, Rose is riddled with anxiety, ill and living as a shut-in. When she discovers her brother’s blanket in a box in her neighbour’s attic, she is forced to reconsider Gareth’s role in her brother’s death. Could that monster possibly be innocent? Rose must overcome her internal guilt and fears and confront Gareth one final time to get to the bottom of what happened to her brother.
I was introduced to K.L Slater with her novel, “Liar”. Although I was a huge fan of “Liar”, I am an even bigger fan of “The Mistake”.
The novel is gripping and filled with suspense, alternating storylines between present day and sixteen years ago, all told from the perspective of Rose. Rose is a fabulous character, full of flaws and eccentricities that have resulted from the loss of her brother and the responsibility she feels.
A non-stop plot, this story was next to impossible to put down. It pulled me in from the start, and I was immediately cheering for Rose, praying that Gareth would get his just desserts, and hoping for justice for young Billy. Even the ending was unpredictable- just when I thought I had it figured out, another twist would blow my assumption out of the water. It ended so fabulously, I practically cheered.
There is nothing bad to say about this novel- creative, addictive writing, suspense-fueled plot, passionate and honest characters (both good and evil alike). Surprises at every turn will leave the reader constantly wondering what’s going to happen next. “The Mistake” has it all- young, teenage romance and the passion that could go horribly wrong, the murder of a young boy and the mystery that shrouds the sadness, and the quest of an older sister to bring the killer to justice.
I was delighted to get the chance to read this story and cannot wait to experience her other works. This novel is definitely not a “mistake”, and I highly recommend it to everyone who needs a great, chilling, psychological thriller with a flair of mystery.

I actually liked this book even though I didn't much care for Rose. I was never sure if Rose was really that naive or if she was just weak. I wavered throughout the book on my feelings for her. I did enjoy the story though and I kept turning pages because I just had to know.
I loved that Rose is a librarian but I'm a bit disappointed that we don't find out the fate of the library.
I would recommend this book if you are looking for a quick little mystery and don't really want to think too much while reading. It's a fast, easy read.

I've read and very much enjoyed two of the author's other books - "Safe With Me" and "Liar" - so I was especially delighted to get my mitts on this one as well. All are rightly dubbed "psychological thrillers," and that alone is enough to get my attention. I do admit, however, that no matter how much I understand the hows and whys, relating to women who don't, won't or can't stand up for themselves just doesn't come naturally to me. It is, then, a testament to the author's outstanding writing skills that I not only finished the book with nary a single, "C'mon, woman, get your act together and hit the road," but completed it in two sittings just because I was so reluctant to put it down.

The woman in question is Rose Tinsley, whose younger brother Billy was murdered 16 years earlier. Because he'd been with her the day he chased a kite into the woods and never came out, she has blamed herself for his death. She works in a small library in Nottinghamshire County (which based on terminology and non-American English spellings is somewhere in the United Kingdom). She lives in the family home next door to an elderly man and good friend named Ronnie; his wife and her parents are deceased, and she looks in on him every day. Also every day, she lives much like a hermit, suffering from almost debilitating paranoia and, on occasion, the return of the eating disorder she developed after Billy's death.

Background on the events of 16 years earlier are revealed in flashback chapters, where it's learned that a just-ready-for-university Rose fell in with a much older man with named Gareth, with whom she thought she was in love. Appropriately, I guess, she donned Rose-colored glasses when it came to his ultra-controlling behavior; in fairly short order, she was shunned by her long-time best friend Cassie as Rose acquiesed to Gareth's demands and rationalized them to be a sign of his love for her.

But one day in her present life, she returns home to find that Ronnie is in bad health. As the EMTs wheel him to the hospital, he whispers to her that she's not to go into his upstairs. As she's already demonstrated, she doesn't listen to advice from other people close to her, so of course, when she returns to tidy up his house, she can't resist heading up. When she finds a closed door, she can't resist opening it; and when she finds storage boxes there, she can't resist opening them as well. And what she finds there not only takes her breath away, but challenges everything she's believed in since her brother's murderer was tried and convicted - in part as a result of her testimony - and jailed.

That discovery sends Rose on a roller-coaster ride of emotions as well as the determination to find out what really happened to her brother. Could it be that the wrong man was convicted? Could her brother have been done in by someone closer to home? Here and there, the story does get a little too melodramatic for my taste, but the nonstop action - and the twists and turns - are enough to reel me back into the story until the surprising conclusion.

My conclusion? Another winner. Many thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I have read all of this author's wonderfully twisted, heart racing books and when a new one is announced, I have to have it. And this book was everything I was expecting - thrilling, addictive, fast paced - and more. The author's skill is in creating characters we can all identify with, ordinary people, who appear completely normal but are all hiding extra-ordinary secrets, which implode with devastating consequences. This story was again another absolutely amazing page turner, with so many twists. I could not out it down. I was bereft when it was over, and I was wowed. LOVE this incredible author and I cannot wait for her next gripping story!

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for my copy.

This book tells the story of Rose a shy innocent teenager who meets an older charming man Gareth. She thinks he loves her but she is soon under his control. He tells her what to wear, how to behave and starts to alienate her from her best friend Cassie and her little brother Billy.

Fast forward 16 years and Rose is a shell of her former self. Working at the local library with no friends apart from her frail old neighbour Ronnie. Her life is spent trying to control her anxiety through basically self neglect, food issues, making herself unattractive and cutting herself off from people.

This story is told alternately between the different times. The life she had with her friends, family and how she comes under Gareth's control to the present time when she still hasn't come to terms with the murder of her little brother and is still searching for answers.

This was a very enjoyable read and I could really feel how easy it would be for Rose to be drawn in by an older worldly wise man who flatters and showers her with attention. Although not as riveting as her previous books this was still a great read by a talented author.

I love K L Slater' books. They always have twists and turns and this one is no exception. Rose is a librarian in a quiet village and 16 years ago her young brother Billy was abducted and murdered. A man named Gareth was arrested for the murder and is now in prison. The murder has left Rose with an eating disorder and living with her nerves.
When Rose's elderly neighbour Ronnie is suddenly taken into hospital, she looks after his empty house and whilst cleaning she finds something of Billy's which was never found after the murder. Is Ronnie the murdererer and the wrong man in prison?
The characters are very believable and the author always manages to draw you in to the plot easily.
Looking forward to the next one!

Having read and enjoyed previous books by this author, I was champing at the bit to get my mitts on this, her new one. I started it with trepidation as my expectations based on previous track record were high but I had no reason to fear as this was of an equally, if not higher standard.
Rose has had a bit of a troubled life. Her brother Billy was taken and killed when he was only eight years old and Gareth, the older man that Rose was "dating", was convicted and jailed for his murder. Rose blames herself for letting this monster into their lives and not having the guts to end things when the relationship degenerated into abuse. She lives a quiet life and her only friend is her next door neighbour, Ronnie, an elderly gentleman who has always been kind and supportive to her and her family. One day, Ronnie is taken bad and has to go into hospital. As he is being taken away he implores Rose not to go upstairs. Obviously, human nature dictates that as soon as we are told not to do something, we invariable want to, have to, even if we had no intentions of ever doing so in the first place, and so Rose ventures upstairs and what she finds there chills her to the bone. Is everything she currently believes about Billy's death about to be turned upside down? Told in the present with flashbacks to Rose and Billy's past and the story of Rose and Gareth's relationship, this is a story of what really happened sixteen years ago and why.
I simply devoured this book, cover to cover in just a couple of sittings, only stopping when life made me and, when it did, I was counting the seconds until I could pick it up again. Due to the nature of certain relationships depicted within, it is not an easy book to read and some of the descriptions of what was happening chilled me to the bone and made me quite uncomfortable. I hasten to add that all that was described was in context and added to both character development and plot and not included to glamourise or for shock tactics but, I repeat, be warned, some of what happened wasn't easy to read at all. I ended up reading way past my bedtime as I really, really needed to know what really happened.
It did take me a while to really connect to Rose but, as more of her past was revealed, I started to really understand her and sympathise with her. As more and more of her shocking past came to light I really felt for her and the situation she found herself in. It's easy to read a book and shout at the characters to just do this or just do that or just tell someone but, at the end of the day, the reader is not in the character's shoes and feeling all the emotions they are feeling so, although I did query some of young Rose's behaviour, I had to reserve judgement and accept what was happening to her and the decisions she was making.
The ending was, for me, pretty perfect. I have tried to form the words to express exactly why but every time I try, it invariable includes spoilers that I am desperate to avoid. So, suffice to say that all the twists and turns throughout the book come together very nicely to form a complete and wholly satisfying ending.
With the bar set even higher for this author now, I am really wondering where she will take me next time, can't wait!
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

I have read all K L Slater’s previous novels so I was looking forward to reading this one.
It starts with Rose working as a librarian a rundown local library, threaten with closure. Rose lives on her own in a small village. She keeps an eye on her elderly neighbour Ronnie. When one day he has a fall and is taken into hospital. The last thing he says to Rose is do not go upstairs. She doesn’t heed his advice and goes upstairs to tidy up his flat before he comes home. Where she finds her little brothers blanket that was missing when her little brother Billy is found murdered Sixteen years ago. This evidence could re-open the case.

The story then goes back sixteen years where Rose met a guy called Gareth Farnham who was 10 years older than her. They started going out together. Everybody warned her to stay away from him but, she only thought that Gareth was protecting her. Not only did he control her but, also her family. Bad things start to happen. Billy is murdered and not only was she raped but, her best friend Cassie too.

This is a fast-paced gripping thriller, which I enjoyed very much. I like the characters in this story especially Rose. I kind of felt sorry for her. The way Gareth treated her. I wanted her to give back trouble what Gareth gave her. It was also scary to think how one person can manipulate a whole family to do their bidding.
Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture for a copy of this book.

The Mistake by K.L. Slater
Rose's young brother was murdered sixteen years and now Rose has uncovered something that makes her think that the wrong person is in prison for the crime. An excellent psychological thriller that had me hooked from the first page. I really enjoyed this book and read it in one day as I did not want to put it down. I would like to thank NetGalley and Bookouture for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishers, Bookouture for this review copy given in exchange for an honest review. Also thanks to Kim from Bookouture for organising the Blog Tour and finding me a space on it!!

The story is told from Rose’s point of view, but 16 years apart. 16 years earlier, she is an impressionable teenage girl who is ‘groomed’ by Gareth, a man she meets. Gareth was loving and attentive to begin with, but as the story goes on you get to see the real person behind the mask. The relationship begins to spiral out of control, and Rose begins to lose her friends because of him. One day, her brother Billy goes missing and he is later found murdered. Gareth is convicted of his murder and is currently serving his sentence. In the present time, Rose is a librarian, fighting to keep her library open. She is also fighting to keep on top of her own personal demons, having suffered with eating disorders and mental health problems since Billy died. Her parents have since died and she is alone, still in the same town, where everyone knows what happened. She lives next to Ronnie, an old family friend who supported her family through their darkest times. One day, she finds Ronnie ill in his house. Worried for the condition of his home, whilst Ronnie is recovering in hospital Rose decides to clean it. Whilst doing so, she discovers Billy’s blanket, hidden in a box in Ronnie’s spare room. Billy had it on the day he was murdered, and it was the one thing that was never found. How did it get there? More importantly, who put it there?

Oh. My. Goodness. What a book! I have read other books by this author and have enjoyed them, but this is the best one yet! I was so excited to read it, and it’s only taken me just over a day to get through it!! It kept me awake when I should have been asleep and I grabbed a couple of extra minutes reading on my break at work as I couldn’t put it down! Granted, it’s not an easy read. It’s very sad and to be honest I found it downright creepy. The whole Rose/Gareth relationship set my teeth on edge! You just wanted her to wake up and see what he was doing, but I suppose as an accomplished groomer Gareth knew just how to stop her from doing that.

It is a heart-breaking story. I can’t say I loved this book as that feels wrong, but it was definitely a book that keep me hanging onto every single word. I used every possible spare minute I had to squeeze in a few more pages – I just needed to know what happened at the end. Oh, and I seriously didn’t see the end coming (no spoilers though!!) It might not be a topic which you are comfortable reading about, but you have to put that aside and read this book, just keep your tissues handy. Fantastic writing by a fantastic author.

Five Stars!

I loved this thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat! And there are so many mistakes that make your head spin! Rose's young brother, Billy was abducted and killed when he was nine; Rose has suffered ever since as she feels responsible since they were together flying his kite when he went missing. Compound that with the devious controlling older boyfriend who has Rose in his clutches, and we are set for a roller-coaster ride of psychological terror. Told in alternating 1st and 3rd person, both present and past, the author weaves a story of heightening tension as Rose must unravel the past, deal with her own demons, and solve the mystery of what happened to her little brother. Gripping and authentic, this one will resonate with me for a long time.

The Mistake
K. L. Slater

MY RATING ⭐️⭐️⭐️▫️▫️
PUBLISHER Bookouture
PUBLISHED October 4, 2017

THE MISTAKE is an emotional and haunting tale of how just one person can negatively alter your life forever.

SUMMARY
Eight-year-old Billy goes missing one day, when he is out flying his kite with his sister Rose. Two days later, he was found dead. It's been sixteen years since Billy’s murder, and Rose still blames herself. She had failed to protect her little brother and she has never fully recovered from the trauma. She still works at the library and lives in the same house she grew up in. One afternoon, while cleaning the home of her long time neighbor, Rose finds something that will shake her world. She thought she knew what had happened to Billy. Her first ever boyfriend, Gareth a scheming narcissist had been found guilty of Billy’s murder. Now she wasn't so sure.


REVIEW
THE MISTAKE is a smartly structured book. The story alternates between the story of Rose’s current life and her life from sixteen years earlier when she first meets Gareth. Rose leads a unfortunate and tortured life and you can't help but feel very sorry for her. It's hard reading about her life and her lack of confidence that made her a prime target for Gareth’s manipulation. I really liked the ending of the book and felt better about Rose and her future when it was all is said and done. Thanks to Netgalley, Bookouture and K. L. Slater for an advance reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have read all of the books by this author and love every one of them. Rose is taken in by Gareth a suave stranger who gradually takes over her life without her realising. He takes her away from her friends and family and makes her do whatever he thinks she should, from eating, drinking and the clothes she is wearing. When her brother Billy is found murdered Gareth is jailed. How does Rose cope with what has happened to her and her brother? The book is very well written from Rose's perspective and the author is great at bringing to life people's feelings. You feel like you are right inside the person's head. A very good book although not as good as Liar which I think was her best book yet.

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.