
Blurb
Mia covered her mouth to keep from crying out. She hated the dark, but her mother had made her promise. But what was the point of being a good little girl if she couldn’t help her mother? She’d promised her mother not to scream, but she hadn’t promised not to escape…
To the world, Mia Thornton is invisible—a quiet, timid preschool teacher. People would never guess that she found the will to dig her way out of a locked shed when she was just six years old. That she never saw her mother again.
Now, all Mia longs for is a normal life and friends to call her own. But when she runs into a group of colleagues one evening, she discovers that, once again, she’s been excluded. Stung at the rejection, she pockets the keys of one of the women in a petty act of revenge. Celeste Cooper is fearless, pretty, popular—everything Mia wishes she could be.
The next day, Celeste is reported missing. And Mia realizes that it might have been her fault. Wracked with guilt, she joins the search, determined to make up for her mistake. But as she grows closer to Celeste’s family, Mia can’t help but feel she’s being watched…
What if Celeste’s disappearance has more to do with Mia than she realizes? And if she keeps digging, does she risk being dragged back into the dark forever?
Prepare to be gripped by the pulse-pounding new psychological thriller from USA Today bestselling author Carey Baldwin. Fans of The Wife Between Us, The Girl on the Train and Gone Girl will be totally addicted to Her First Mistake.
My Review
This has one of the most devastating prologues I think I’ve ever read. A young girl locked in a shed by her own mother tore at my heart.
Then we skip forward to present day and Mia is now working as a pre-school teacher, ostracised by her colleagues who as it turns out have been meeting secretly for drinks every month for the past year. Which she only discovers by having gone to the restaurant to meet with a child’s mother and, after being stood up, bumps into them on leaving. This is where she makes her first mistake!
Narrated in third person, with Mia you are never quite sure how reliable her version of events are, especially after learning what she is capable of doing in her sleep.
My heart went out to Mia though, from terrible beginnings all she wanted was a friend and I found that so heartbreaking and the cruel rejections she continued to face just made me want to protect her from all the meanness. The school setting was perfect as it’s often a place where rejection, bullying and cruelty happens. Although it’s normally the children not the adults who are both the victims, ringleader and cohorts.
This book really made me think of the film The Butterly Effect and how one small inconsequential thing can bring about devastating consequences.

About the author
By day Carey is a dedicated pediatrician. By night she’s a USA Today bestselling and award winning author of edgy suspense. In addition to her MD, Carey also holds a PhD in clinical psychology. She loves reading and writing stories that keep you off balance and on the edge of your seat. In her spare time she enjoys hiking and chasing wildflowers.
For all news and updates:
Website: CareyBaldwin.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CareyBaldwinAuthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CareyBaldwin
Links to buy
Amazon: https://geni.us/B08V57793TCover
Apple: http://ow.ly/RhdT50DkzUd
Kobo: http://ow.ly/xSio50DkzRG
Google: http://ow.ly/1g1950DlyF3

Melanie, thank you for this lovely review! Carey
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My pleasure, even though it nearly broke me at the start 😭 x
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