Jodie Garrow is a teenager from the wrong side of the tracks when she falls pregnant. Scared, alone and desperate to make something of her life, she adopts out the baby illegally - and tells nobody.
Twenty-five years on, Jodie has built a new life and a new family. But when a chance meeting brings the adoption to the notice of the authorities, Jodie becomes caught in a nationwide police investigation, and the centre of a media witch hunt.
What happened to Jodie's baby? And where is she now? The fallout from Jodie's past puts her whole family under the microscope, and her husband and daughter must re-examine everything they believed to be true.
Potent, provocative and compulsively readable, The Mistake cuts to the heart of what makes a family, and ask us whether we can ever truly know another person.
Praise for The Mistake
'Sharp, incisive and compassionate . . . full of insight, humour, intelligence and honesty. A profoundly satisfying read.' Sun-Herald
'With strong characterisation and a whack of psychological suspense, it is the kind of novel that will have you second-guessing your own reactions . . .' The Age
'James's pacing of her plot is masterly.' Adelaide Advertiser