HER FIRST MISTAKE by Kendra Elliott

4* Good backstory to introduce Noelle as a spin-off female lead in the Mercy Thompson world.

Noelle fitted nicely into the MT world where, not so long ago, she rescued a couple of MT's side-character staples, so it wasn't a surprise that she's gotten her own series. She's a strong enough lead, with clearly a huge love of her family, and a great relationship with them, too,  as well as a decent agent, that gave for a very believable tale and backstory, with shades of grey that worked for me. 

There's a hint of a romance to come in future tales, but I'm not sure it felt organic, or that she's ready for a relationship. The reveals of this tale hurt her and I'm pretty sure she's got a lot of soul searching to do, and to learn to trust guys again - the start of the tale with the two agents sent to interview her, specifically their M.O. was a good inclusion but kind of brutal on her, and felt a tad oneupmanship. 

The actual tale was pretty much on a par with this author's previous work but if I'm honest, the presence and enabling of a certain character, however well-intentioned it was, was a bit grating and happened too often for my brain not to go there and almost suss their involvement in Noelle's loss and trauma. But, this aspect of the tale was well enough done that you get a big, not-nice reveal, a kind of slap-in-the-face shock at someone's dastardlyness and others' shock, disbelief and naivety. Lives are broken, and for two characters dear to Noelle, there's going to be a lot of healing needed. 

There's not a lot of investigating in this tale, despite the outcome, but there's a few decent red herrings, a little obfuscation and enough to muddy the waters. It was believable but it felt like the ending of the tale, a month after the big showdown, felt a bit rushed, with Noelle having made a momentous decision and seemingly being OK with it that easily and that quickly, and even considering spilling the beans to her future love interest. That's where the tale loses 1* for me, but it's still a very good read.

ARC courtesy of NetGalley and Montlake for my reading pleasure. 


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