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The Mistake
The Mistake
Dec 15, 2025 1:34 PM

Author:Douglas Kennedy

The Mistake

A direct to digital short story from the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Pursuit of Happiness and The Moment which also features the opening chapter from Douglas Kennedy's new novel, Five Days.

Sometimes things are not always what they seem and the heart can often blind us to the truth.

Gitte is a forty-something successful French lawyer in Paris. Beautiful, intelligent, captivating and athletic. Who wouldn't fall in love with her? But...often we only see that which we want to see.

Reviews

A meditation on the secrets we keep... Red Joan's strength lies in the complex personal relationships that underpin the spying game... A powerfully-written exploration of the far-reaching consequences that even the smallest-seeming actions can have

—— Kaite Welsh , Literary Review

A brilliant spy novel, with an unlikely culprit and a deft, involving plot...tense, beautifully pitched and very moving novel

—— Eithne Farry , Marie Claire

Sensitive spy thriller… Finely detailed and resolutely sensitive… This excellent period novel still carries some considerable resonance in the age of Bradley Manning

—— Andrzej Lukowski , Metro

If you loved William Boyd’s Restless, you’ll enjoy this

—— Viv Groskop , Red

Compulsive reading... Rooney's approach it to make this a very personal story for Joan. There's love, loss, betrayal, friendship and secrets galore and it gives a believable insight on how one, normal person might be let to betray her country. The true mark of the story is that you find yourself thinking that you might have done exactly what Joan did in those circumstances

—— The Bookbag

A gripping, emotional and expertly plotted spy novel of the Cold War, inspired by a real story. Beautifully written and clever

—— Kate Mosse

One of Britain's brightest young writing talents

—— Nic Bottomley , Bath Life

Gripping

—— Glamour

A great thriller and a stirring love story

—— Grazia

A gripping narrative and a compelling lead character... This is an absorbing and accomplished novel

—— LittleReaderLibrary

A very human Cold War thriller

—— Good Housekeeping

Rooney is a novelist at home with life’s ambiguities, her plotting pleasingly intricate, her narrative richly textured

—— Lucy Beresford , Sunday Telegraph (Seven)

A captivating read

—— Choice

An exciting and intelligent novel... Rooney's re-creation of the politics of the day is brilliant

—— Kate Saunders , The Times

Particulary acute on the muddle of emotion, reason and morality that festers around betrayal...compelling, impressively detailed story, with thrillerish overtones...

—— Elizabeth Buchan , The Sunday Times

A wonderfully plotted spy drama full of intrigue and suspense… A fantastic read

—— UK Regional Press Syndication

Extremely readable

—— Mark Perryman , Hufffington Post

A brilliant spy novel, with an unlikely culprit and a deft, involving plot... Tense, beautifully pitched and very moving

—— Marie Claire

[A] polished, intricate novel… rich in moral ambiguity

—— Sunday Telegraph

This powerfully-written spy thriller is compulsive reading

—— Falkirk Herald

A gripping spy novel with an unlikely culprit and a thoroughly researched basis in fact... Perfect for fans of William Boyd's Restless

—— Absolutely Chelsea

Sadie Jones…enters new literary territory with a whimsical Edwardian farce that takes its lead from the darker offerings of Saki and JB Priestley...The novel's denouement is satisfyingly outlandish

—— Emma Hagestadt , Independent

With elegant ease, Jones spins a good old-fashioned comedy of manners

—— Katie Owen , Sunday Telegraph
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