One Little Mistake by Emma Curtis

2.5 Stars

Vicky doesn't make one little mistake she makes a huge, glaring disaster of things but we are supposed to feel sympathy for her.  On the face of things she appears to have everything (loving husband, smart house in a wealthy neighbourhood that has great schools for her 3 children and a support network of friends).  In reality, she is always looking for greener pastures - the book starts with her ending an affair that she is adamant isn't an affair because she pulled out of things before they got "physical".  From the get go she paints herself as a bit of a "victim" and, to be honest, I wondered why this woman has any friends at all - even if they are, in the majority, the brief acquaintances you make at the school gates.  An entirely unsympathetic character that is incapable of owning her own actions and it is this that leads to her eventual downfall.

Her best friend is Amber who is, at least initially, a far more sympathetic character.  Married to a man she doesn't love who she thought could improve her status in life but who has proved to be a shambolic let down.  Envious of her friends who have a better husband, a perceived better standard of living and who clearly has a "past".  The author tries very hard to cast her in a role of master manipulator but falls short.

Initially there is some tension built by the flashbacks to the young child, Katya and her obsession with her Social Worker's daughter, Emily.  Which of these two women had this trauma in their background?  Unfortunately, the premature reveal of one of the women's mother's first name makes it clear exactly what the relationship between Vicky and Amber is and as that is the only real mystery going on in the book it soon becomes a trudge through rather vapid prose to get to the end.

I suppose it opens up some sort of dialogue regarding obsession and it's related mental health issues.  It also looks at the choice parents make about their children - I do find it hard to by in to the whole "leave your baby alone in the house whilst you go house hunting" shtick hard to countenance.  Leaving a sleeping child strapped in to their car seat whilst you buy a pint of a milk is entirely believable but the rest of it, not so much.

In short, this was a disappointing book with a plot that was as flimsy as tissue paper and with characters that I just didn't like.