LET’S CHASE AWAY THOSE BLUES: EXCERPTING “THE MISTAKE I MADE”

 

 

Welcome to another Tuesday celebrating bookish events, from Tuesday/First Chapter/Intros, hosted by Bibliophile by the Sea; and Teaser Tuesdays hosted by A Daily Rhythm.

My featured book today is an e-ARC from NetGalley:  The Mistake I Made, by Paula Daly.  I have loved two other books by this author, so I am excited about reading it.  (Just What Kind of Mother Are You?, and Keep Your Friends Close).  This book will be released on September 8, 2015.

 

 

 

Intro:  Bodies were my business.  Living, not dead.  And on a sweltering afternoon in early July the body lying face down in front of me was an ordinary specimen.  He was my twelfth patient of the day, and my back was aching, my sunny disposition just about beginning to falter.

‘How is it feeling?’ he asked as I sank my thumbs into tough fascia running alongside the spine.

‘Pretty good,’ I replied.  ‘I’ve got rid of the scar tissue around L4—the troublesome joint.  You should notice a difference as soon as you stand up.’

He was a quarry worker.  Often my toughest customers.  They spoke very little, so I enjoyed the brief respite from the interaction that most demanded, but physically, quarry workers were hard on my hands.  They have a dense bulk to their musculature, a resistance to the tissues, which requires the full weight of my upper body, directed down through my overused thumbs.

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Teaser:  When I started out on my own, years ago, I remember being terribly worried about whether I could make the business work or not.  At the time, I voiced these concerns to one of my first patients, Keith Hollinghurst, and he had this to say: ‘Those that have to make it work, do.  Those that don’t, don’t.’ (2%)

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Blurb:  The Mistake I Made is the latest page-turner from one of the England’s most captivating new thriller writers. In her provocative and riveting third novel, Paula Daly focuses her masterful eye for psychological suspense and family drama on an indecent proposal that has fatal repercussions.

Single mother Roz has reached breaking-point. After the dissolution of her marriage, Roz’s business has gone under, debts are racking up, the rent is late (again), and she’s struggling to provide for her nine-year-old son, who is starting to misbehave in school. Roz is in trouble. Real trouble.

When Roz returns home from work one day and finds an eviction notice, she knows that it’s time for action—she has two weeks to find a solution otherwise they will be kicked out of their home. Increasingly desperate, Roz doesn’t know where to turn. Then the perfect opportunity presents itself. At her sister’s fortieth birthday party, Roz meets Scott Elias—wealthy, powerful, and very married. But the impression Roz leaves on him is indelible. He tracks her down and makes Roz an offer to spend the night with him—for money. He wants no-strings-attached intimacy and can guarantee total discretion. Could it be as simple as it sounds? With that kind of cash, Roz could clear her debts and get her life back on track. But as the situation spirals out of her control, Roz is forced to do things she never thought herself capable of. Can she ever set things right again?

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What do you think?  Does the premise resonate with you?  Would you keep reading?

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