British author Sandie Jones (The Guilt Trip; The Other Woman) has an affinity for concise psychological thrillers with solid twists. She takes another leap forward in The Blame Game, her highly entertaining fifth novel. Naomi Chandler is a caring, thoughtful psychologist, but she often crosses the line by getting overly involved with her clients. Violating her clinical training and professional ethics has caused her trouble with her supervisors and her husband, Leon. But even though her entanglements have put her in danger in the past, she can't seem to keep distance from her patients. She decides to offer her patient Jacob Mackenzie their vacant flat in nearby Whitstable, England, so he can escape his violent, abusive wife. Knowing that Leon will be adamantly opposed, Naomi doesn't tell him.
Naomi worries about her own safety--and Jacob's--when she finds her office unlocked and Jacob's file missing. She becomes even more enmeshed in Jacob's life when he disappears shortly after she meets him in a hotel bar. Police suspect that Naomi has harmed Jacob, particularly when frantic, violent-sounding text messages suggest she was having an affair with him.
Jones keeps the tension high: Naomi believes she is being gaslighted as she deals with her murky past, which includes a violent father newly released from prison for killing her mother. Although Naomi often makes bad choices that put her in danger, Jones shapes her character as an appealing, likable one worth caring about. --Oline H. Cogdill, freelance reviewer