The Aussie Zombie

The Mistake is told in alternating POV with flashbacks to Jodie's childhood and her courtship with Angus and her relationship with her teenage daughter, Hannah.

After Hannah is injured in a car accident, Jodie finds herself back at the hospital where she gave birth 25 years earlier, completely unknown to her family, friends and Angus. When a well-meaning midwife discovers that Jodie adopted out her first child, she takes it upon herself to try and reunite mother and daughter with disastrous consequences. As Jodie and Angus try to preempt the police investigation into the baby's adoption, the national media grab hold of the story and twist it from the search for an adopted child into a murder investigation.

Jodie is a difficult character to like - she is reserved, composed and almost cold. She had no compulsion to reunite herself with her first-born child and instead seems to prefer burying her head in the sand rather than facing the truth. But as the story progressed, I felt more and more sympathy for her - as the media, the public and even her friends and family being to doubt and accuse her of some incredibly cruel things. As Jodie withdrew from life, hiding behind her perfect life veneer, it was hard to imagine how this story would end. And the ending was not what I ever imagined.....

Ms. James writes a compelling story - with real, flawed characters that have more than their fair share of personal demons and obstacles to overcome. Interspersed with media reports, flashbacks and some incredibly emotional scenes, The Mistake is a story that will keep you guessing right until the very last pages.

Read more of my reviews at The Aussie Zombie