The 8 Mistakes Of Amy Maxwell by Heather Balog

This was actually quite a fun read with a good dose of humour; although if you don't have children a lot of that may pass you by.  There is something about being a parent that makes your humour turn to the dark side and this book definitely taps in to that.

The first half of the tale is really just scene setting and letting us get to know Amy and her mildly disfunctional family.  From a husband who disappears in to his mancave at every opportunity, a teenage daughter just about to move from Middle School to High School who has a major attitude problem, a second daughter who has no off switch, a 6 year old son who has a water aversion and a toddler who is obsessed with phones of all types.  Amy may be a SAHM but she is always on the move.  The situations she finds herself in are all perfectly normal, run of the mill daily things but Amy suffers from an overactive imagination and certainly overthinks things.

It is this that leads her to make all of her 8 mistakes that lead to her being tied to a chair in a remote cabin.  No spoiler there, that is where we actually start the story.  I did like that the it is the small things she latches on to as potential problems and the real big red warning light situations that just slip past her.  Probably because I am a bit that way myself - ignore the big stuff and get all bent out of shape about the minutiae.

This was a pretty good read with an ensemble cast that is lively and even the bad guys have their warm moments.  It doesn't grab you plot wise and keep you turning the pages but you do find an hour or so slipping by effortlessly as you read.  I already have the second book in the series and I am quite looking forward to reading it - if for nothing else than to read about Amy's family.