Her First Mistake

Noelle Marshall, Book 1

By: Kendra Elliot

Narrated by: Stephanie Németh-Parker

When a very personal cold case murder is reopened, a detective’s secrets come to light in a novel of shocking twists and suspense by a Wall Street Journal bestselling author.

Thirteen years ago, Assemblyman Derrick Bell was murdered in his home by an intruder. His wife, Noelle Marshall, was left for dead. The crime was unsolved, but it wasn’t forgotten.

Today the FBI is tackling a fresh perspective on the case and looking to Noelle, now a detective for the Deschutes County sheriff’s office, for new clues. It is reopening everything Noelle thought was behind her. Memories of her escape from a traumatic childhood. A marriage that wasn’t the perfect love story she’d been promised. And a husband whose charm and privilege hid a dark side. But Noelle has been hiding something too: a secret about the night Derrick died that she has never told anyone.

As past and present and leads and misleads collide, one thing is frighteningly clear. Derrick’s murder wasn’t just unsolved. It’s unfinished. And only the truth—no matter the risk—can save the next victim.

©2025 Oceanfront Press LLC. (P)2025 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“This will satisfy…”—Publishers Weekly

“As in any good thriller, the narration, the dialogue and the action draw us deeper and deeper into the life of the main character.”—Bookreporter

“Cold cases inevitably provide great fodder for crime thrillers, and Kendra Elliot proves remarkably adept at mining that trope with her latest sizzler of a story, Her First Mistake.”—Jon Land, BookTrib

Can’t wait for the next book

Love anything Kendra Elliot! I was so excited for this book and a new series. I thought it was a great book and I can’t wait to see what’s next for this series.

Deceit

Story of love, friendship, how drugs change people, murder, how one can doubt themselves, and most of all deceit of someone you think you can trust.

good plot

great story and a better plot. the characters were very believable there was a lot of drama

Goodbye Reading Slump!

For this to be the first book in a new series, it was thoroughly enjoyable. I was pretty much riveted from start to finish. Even when I had a good idea of who was involved and what happened, I was still fully engaged in the story waiting for the confirmation as to whether I was wrong or right. I was in a reading slump and this book pushed me right out of it. The book was full of twists, turns, and suspense.

I liked Noelle's character and was keeping my fingers crossed that she wouldn't completely lose herself based on her situation. I also liked Max's character. I thought he was a pleasant surprise. I wasn't sure how that relationship was going to develop. I enjoyed that we were introduced to new characters and we also got to revisit characters from a previous series.

I listened to the audiobook and enjoyed the narration. I really only had a few issues with this book. The first issue I don't care for too much in any book. I had to find my rhythm because the scene would switch from thirteen years to present day to five years before the murder. Not my favorite way to read and it was definitely not enough to keep me from reading this book.

The other thing was that I felt like getting the exact details about the murder was like pulling teeth. I knew what I thought, but I needed confirmation. I had to hold on to almost the very last page for that information. Again, not terrible, but frustrating.

Last thing was that I would have loved to have been able to read about some reactions from people close to Derrick when things were revealed. I'm kind of sad I finished this book. Now I have to wait for the next book to come out. Rating: 4.5 stars

Didn’t want to finish

This is a wonderful quick mystery best enjoyed after binging Mercy Kilpatrick(and even better by starting with the Bone Secrets series). This new series can also be read alone but it is nice to see old favorites. The was heavy on mystery, a little suspense and the start of a romance. Fmc is 42, which I loved! Good narration, the story flowed easily without extra filler. I wanted to hear the end but was sad that it would be over, can’t wait for the next book!