I Made a Mistake by Jane Corry
Genre: Domestic thriller, Family Drama, Women's fiction
Read: 8th December 2020
Published: 28th May 2020
★★★ 3 stars
DESCRIPTION:
YOU DIDN'T MEAN TO DO IT.
IT WAS ONLY ONCE.
BUT NOW HE'S DEAD, AND SOMEONE HAS TO PAY . . .
In Poppy Page's mind, there are two types of women in this world: those who are faithful to their husbands, and those who are not. Until now, Poppy has never questioned which she was.
But when handsome, charming Matthew Gordon walks back into her life after almost two decades, that changes. Poppy makes a single mistake - and that mistake will be far more dangerous than she could imagine.
Someone is going to pay for it with their life . . .
MY REVIEW:
"It started with a kiss...and ended with murder!"
Although I have a couple of Jane Corry's books on my TBR list, this is the first book I have read by this author. And although I MADE A MISTAKE is a very slow burn to begin with, it does pick up the pace further in with a mystery to make you glad you stuck around for it. I wouldn't class it as a thriller as such - more of a domestic drama tinged with some thriller aspects. These types of books are generally difficult to categorise as they tend to fall between genres - not quite in but not quite out either.
Beginning with a tragic accident at Waterloo underground station, we don't discover who is involved till further in. And only then we are given tidbits to flesh out in our imaginations as to what really happened on that fateful day. It soon becomes clear a few chapters in that someone is on trial for murder and, though we don't know who, the deceased's identity is soon revealed...leaving us trying to piece the puzzle together.
Rewind six weeks prior and Poppy Page is at a Christmas party where she bumps into an old boyfriend. But not any old boyfriend. Matthew Gordon was her first love and they were together for three years before he upped and left with another student from their drama class, whom he later married. Matthew went on to become a successful actor in the title role of a popular drama in the nineties...although he hasn't been in anything since. He claims to be at the party to network amongst directors and producers, hoping to land himself something.
Although Poppy's dreams of becoming an actress never came to fruition, she now runs a successful agency for "extras" negotiating with casting directors for films, TV and commercials. The last thing she expected, or even wanted, was to chance upon Matthew bloody Gordon. But she soon catches his eye and he hones in on her almost immediately, batting away a string of admirers along the way. The meeting is tentative and awkward at first but Poppy soon finds herself reminiscing about the man who could ignite a passion in her she has never felt since. And what was at first a chance encounter leads to a mistake with such repercussions that could devastate her entire family.
As a mother to 17 year old Melissa and 14 year old Daisy, Poppy has been married to her dentist husband Stuart for nearly twenty years. Her family mean everything to her. Including her mother-in-law Betty, who also lives with them since the death of her husband Jock. Since starting up her extras agency business, which she runs from home, Poppy has welcomed Betty's presence even moreso and her invaluable help with the girls when it is most needed. For Poppy, Betty has been like a mother to her...especially since her own mother abandoned her and her father when she was 18 and she hasn't heard from her since. But what Poppy doesn't know is that in a secret lifelong desire, Poppy is the daughter that Betty never had. Perhaps that's why the two women are especially close.
So when Poppy makes a horrible mistake that inevitably puts everything she values most at risk, she soon discovers that the ripple effect she has set in motion by diving head first into the deep end has far-reaching consequences that could destroy everything. Can Poppy's family survive the fallout from that one mistake? Can her marriage?
I MADE A MISTAKE unfolds rather cleverly through the eyes of both Poppy and Betty. As Poppy takes us on a journey through lost love, mistakes and repercussions, Betty recounts her own story in the format of a series of letters to her daughter-in-law. There is also the inclusion of excerpts from a trial at the Criminal Court where Poppy finds herself under brutal cross examination. And while we discover the identity of the deceased in the first of these (court trial) chapters, exactly who is on trial remains a mystery until about three quarters of the way through. Though I pieced it together in a random moment of clarity just before it was revealed.
Although there are two stories unfolding throughout, whilst seemingly different in the past and present, the choices each makes can often find two different women in somewhat similar circumstances. However, while Poppy's story is primarily the focus here that wasn't what made it interesting for me. I was more fascinated and invested in Betty's own story and the choices (and mistakes) she made as a young wife and mother and how that played into the circumstances Poppy ultimately finds herself in. It was Betty's story that kept me turning the pages. That, and the criminal trial which was also proving to be compelling. Poppy's story had me tearing my hair out at its slow progression to anywhere...and then when it did, I found I wanted to shake her for her stupidity. But then stress does make people do strange and idiotic things that another simply cannot fathom. And what with her already floundering marriage, her bickering teenagers, her busy lifestyle, running a house AND trying to cope with her father in the early stages of dementia...Poppy sure had her fair share of stress.
I have to admit, every time her name was mentioned in full - Poppy Page - I found myself hearing "Polly Page" from The Bill. And then to realise her mother-in-law's name was Betty Page...but somehow I didn't picture the 70 year old grandmother as a buxom pin-up model of the 1950s. I think hubby Jock might have had something to say about that, that's for sure!
Initially dubbed as a thriller, I MADE A MISTAKE is more of a family domestic drama that starts of very slowly but gains momentum about halfway through. Admittedly, I nearly gave up several times but it was Betty's story that kept me anchored in the hope the rest of the book would pick up pace. Not soon enough though, but enough to say that I am glad I stuck with it because in the end, I did enjoy it.
A story of mistakes, guilt, regrets, death and lost love, I MADE A MISTAKE will appeal to fans of slow burning domestic drama and women's fiction.
I would like to thank #JaneCorry, #NetGalley and #PenguinUK for an ARC of #IMadeAMistake in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
Jane Corry has been writing stories ever since she learned to read as a young child. English was her favourite subject at school and she found books were a great escape. She often hid herself away in corners with books which she'd borrowed from the library and also from her parents’ bookshelves. Many of them were probably quite unsuitable but she devoured them anyway!
Reading English at Reading University she then trained as a journalist with the Thomson Newspaper Graduate Training Scheme. After that, Jane went on to write for various magazines including Drapers Record, Parents and Woman’s Own before turning freelance when she became a regular contributor to The Times, Daily Telegraph and many other publications. After her first marriage ended, she took a job as a writer in residence of a high-security male prison which gave her a darker voice!
Now a full-time Penguin novelist, Jane is also a hands-on grandmother. She writes Diary Of A Modern Granny in the online version of My Weekly magazine.
Jane now lives by the sea with her second husband and love wild water swimming, tennis, walking and reading - as well, of course, writing! And often gets ideas walking along the beach with her dog.
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