Review: One Small Mistake by Dandy Smith

   

Print Length: 304 pages

Publisher: Kensington Publishing (November 25, 2025)

From Goodreads.com: This was supposed to be Elodie Fray’s year. She quit her job to pursue her dream of being a published author, determined to escape her sister’s shadow. Ada, with her successful husband, enviable house, and Pinterest-worthy parties is their parents’ pride and joy. Just once, Elodie longs to be the one everybody talks about.

There is a way to get everything she wants. And Elodie is just reckless enough to try it. But once she does, she realizes the terrifying truth. There’s someone else who wants something, just as much as she does. And they’re willing to go much, much further to get it.

Elodie craved the spotlight. Now she has it. The question is, can she survive it?

                                                         *******************

My Rating: 3 stars out of 5

This story was.... interesting. It appears to be a re-issue of a novel that was first published in 2021, and from the looks of it, it's is also a little over a hundred pages shorter. Which is a good thing for me because I cannot imagine how much more this one would have dragged on if it hadn't been trimmed. See here is the thing about this novel. It has potential. A lot of it. The author has a solid writing style which pulls you into the story, but at the same time you also need to be prepared to suspend disbelief. By a lot. 

This story is told by dual points of view Elodie and her sister Ada.  And here is where it starts to get a bit tricky.  See the letters that Ada writes to Elodie during her disappearance add depth to the sister's relationship, allowing us to see things from the other side. I also enjoyed the way Ada appeared to be the only person who questioned certain people and behaviors and the way she refused to stop searching for her sister. However, Ada's chapters are also riddled with a lot of useless information that I really didn't care about. For example, is it integral to the plot that Ada has decided she doesn't want to have children? Do we need chapters dedicated to her and her husband arguing about it? Or her cousin trying to guilt trip her into having one despite her feelings? On the whole instead of adding anything to the plot or Ada's character, it came across as being preachy towards women who do not want children. 

And then things begin to become unraveled for Elodie and she begins to see things for how they really are. Sadly, this was another instance where I feel like the story went off the rails a bit. You see, prior to this the story had been so well done, giving the reader enough to see the true colors of this character and it was interesting to watch them lead this sort of double life. But then it seems like they just decide to embrace the monster within, going entirely off the rails and doing some pretty unspeakable things. 

Also this is the second book by this author that has dealt with incest. At least in this one it was more of a left up in the air are they related are aren't they kind of way, but it is still an off-putting plot-line that I feel didn't need to be included. 

That being said, I would probably give this author a third try down the road to see how their writing has grown.

DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel from the publisher. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.