Wow! My jaw is still dropped from the ending to this book. It all starts when Libby gets a note on her windshield saying her husband is having an affair. It starts an unfortunate and unexpected domino effect of events she never could have predicted. When her husband insists they go on a date night to rekindle their love, they get back home to find the babysitter they hired for their four year old daughter is missing. From then on, suspicions and secrets are EVERYWHERE. You start to question is Libby even in her right mind? Did that note really exist? If so, is it true? I loved this book. It was unpredictable and I rushed to finish it as I had to know the truth! If you want a good twisty thriller, pick this up!!

The prologue begins with Libby Randell’s arrest for suspicion of murder. The story is told in chapters of ‘before’ and ‘now’, leading up to the arrest. A teenager goes missing, which creates turmoil and suspicion among family, friends, and neighbors. The storyline, complete with lots of red herrings, was compelling and kept me turning pages. Recommended!

When Libby and Sean arrive home from their date there is one major problem, the babysitter is missing. Their daughter is okay, but the girl has disappeared without a trace. A few days later Libby is arrested for Sasha's murder, yet there is a lot the police don't know, and some of it Libby isn't telling them.

This book is another mystery with an unreliable narrator, which may intrigue you or not. I personally found myself getting frustrated with Libby at multiple points during the novel for what she knew, and what she wasn't telling other people.

This book is told in two timelines, just a week apart as we are dealing with the immediate aftermath of Sasha going missing, and the other right after Libby is arrested. As the two timelines creep closer we learn more and more what happened on that fateful day (and the days leading up to it) and the mystery starts to be revealed.

I found that this book dragged a little bit, but by the end I was definitely surprised by the conclusion as it took me very off guard.

I quite enjoyed reading this book, though I am very very annoyed by the main character.
The story itself was interesting and I liked the character dynamics a lot.

However, I couldn't help at times that I really wanted to shake the main character because she was just so unbelievably dumb.

Took a lot to get into this one seemed very slow. There was finally a twist but took so long to get to it.
Was an ok read not something that i would run out and buy.


Thanks to net galley and the publisher for an early release of this book.

This book was better than i thought, though the ending wasn't as strongly written as it could have been, i liked the rotating chapers, present and short time ago and there were a few thoughts, hm is she an unreliable narrator is that where it is going but then it veered elsewhere. i guessed the secret before we got there but still was a pretty good read

Wow, what a jaw dropping, can’t put down, wonderful book this was. I was really looking forward to reading this book as I had read The Reunion by Samantha Hayes and that was such an amazing book with a shocking ending. This book did not disappoint as well.

This book was about a girl who got caught up in a middle of a bombshell of a lie that went back many years. Someone wanted it to stay a secret and was even willing to kill her over it. This lie would’ve wrecked the lives of all the people involved and they would’ve never been the same if this lie got out.

I have to say since I read The Reunion by this author, which was excellent, I had high expectations for this book. I’m so happy that she didn’t let me down with this one. As each chapter went on the author gives the reader clues that something is not right and there is more to the story than we are getting. We finally get the full story by the end and It was an OMG moment. The whole book had a roller coaster of emotions. I just couldn’t put down this book. As each chapter went I wanted more and more. I just devoured this. Also, I felt this had to do with the fact that it nicely flowed with all the characters and the many twists and turns that it brought to the table. I absolutely loved this book.

Between the plot, characters and all the twists in this book it made it an easy and fast read. I would definitely recommend it and happily give it 5 Hearts❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Today’s review is below for ‘Date Night’ and next up is Karen Osman’s ‘Perfect Lie’ which was out last month

This book, for me, is all about the ending, which I hadn’t guessed at all ( I had thought of lots of scenarios leading up to the reveal, turns out all were wrong 😎😃😃 )
The ending is superb, what a psychological thriller really should be, a ‘shock’ moment and indeed if was!
But enough about the ending, to get to any ending there has to be a story.....
Libby and Sean are madly in love, they have their daughter, their businesses,,their little dream cottage, all is well
Until one day Libby finds a note under her windscreen saying Sean is having an affair......after much argeuing, denials etc the pair leave Sasha babysitting, to go on a ‘Date Night’ only to return to find her missing!
The rest of the story is told alternating from the recent past to the present leads up to the big ‘finale’ and this includes the usual array of lies and secrets all carried off by a sturdy cast, although have to say Libby at times ‘got me down’ with her ‘breakdowns’....the book cleverly opens up what really happened that night chapter by chapter and you are led along a ( false ) path, it really was a clever way of telling the story
The writing, as always, by this author was a breeze to read and you are immersed as soon as you start
I have to go back to the ending and again say for me the best part of this well thought out, rounded thriller
8/10
4.5 Stars

Never in a million years did I see the way this fast paced, taut and twisty whodunit would unfold or its shocking conclusion.

It starts with a note on Libby Randell's car one icy autumn morning, telling her that her husband Sean is having an affair. She doesn't want to believe it and tries to put it out of her mind as a malicious note or a sick prank, but she can't shake the unease and suspicion that's been unearthed. After weeks of denials, arguments and mistrust the couple decide to have date night as a way to get back on track. But it's a disaster and after having the same old argument the pair arrive home early finding the TV on and their babysitter, Sasha, missing. Sasha is dependable, she's Libby's employee and friend as well as their babysitter, and Libby knows she wouldn't just up and leave their daughter Alice alone and all her things behind. Something is terribly wrong...

Libby is a mess. She can't think straight, can't work and can't stop worrying about Sasha. She's also still convinced that Sean is having an affair. Sean tells her she has to get back to normality, not to worry and to trust him like she's always done and it will be ok. But then Libby is arrested for Sasha's murder. She vehemently denies any knowledge of her death or whereabouts but the police seem convinced she's holding something back. Is Libby hiding something? Could Sean be hiding more than another woman? Or could someone else be to blame?

This addictive mystery kept me guessing from the first page until the last. I could never decide what I thought had happened to Sasha, who was to blame or if I thought Libby or Sean were involved. I had a number of theories and not one of them came close to any of the bombshells the author dropped.

The story is told in dual timelines, both of which are narrated by Libby. Libby was an unreliable narrator and I often felt like she was leaving things out, though I didn't think it was deliberate some of the time. These things, alongside opening with her arrest, meant I was never quite sure if I could trust her despite her proclamations of innocence. She is a woman who has everything she's ever wanted and her world is rocked when she receives the note about Sean. After that she becomes almost obsessed with the idea that he's cheating, and most of his responses to her are far from helpful or reassuring. I found her easy to empathise with and relate to, particularly as the true nature of Sean's character became clearer.

I hated Sean. From the start he seemed unconcerned with allaying Libby's fears and instead is angry in a way that seems over the top and that's used to divert from actually talking about the issues.Though initially you don’t imagine it, he does become a great villain as over time his abusive personality and the way he gaslights Libby becomes more apparent. I won't say more about it as it would mean giving away spoilers, but I will say that I was definitely rooting the Libby to leave him or for him to be guilty and sent to jail.

One of the best parts about this book was the quality of the writing. Her vivid and imaginative descriptions brought the scenery to life and made me feel like I was seeing and feeling what Libby did. The author created a tense atmosphere full of mystery that made me want to not put this book down. Even when I was near the end I still couldn’t decide what the outcome would be, which is something I love in a book.

Date Night is a fantastic, tense thriller full of twists and turns and with a jaw-dropping finale that left me reeling. The more I read of Samantha Hayes work, the more I love her and she is definitely a must-read author for me now. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys this genre.

Thank you to NetGalley, Bookoture and Samantha Hayes for the chance to read this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

For the most part, I actually enjoyed this book. It was a sea of red herrings that kept me guessing, but around 64% I had most of it figured out. The final twist was well executed and unpredictable, but lazy. SPOILER WARNING - I feel that using sexuality as a plot device is ultimately a cop-out and the book could have ended in so many other tangential ways, as there were definitely plenty of branching opportunities. The characters weren’t in depth enough for me to get invested into any of them, and the ending was the nail in the coffin for a book that started out strong.

In summary, I enjoyed the way Date Night led me with twists and turns galore, but had figured out most of the story just over halfway through, and the parts I didn’t have figured out felt lazy and forced. With some finetuning, this okay book could definitely be incredible so I’m still going to keep an eye out for Hayes’ work henceforth.

This book opened with a couple returning from a date night to find the babysitter missing. What I loved about this story was nothing was what I expected! This story haunted me for a few days.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to preview DATE NIGHT by Samantha Hayes. Wow - I did not see that coming at the end.
A young couple with a small child have a great life - Libby and and Sean have a daughter, Alice, and family ties to their community. They are happy. Until one day Libby finds a note on her car that says that Sean is having an affair. At first Libby is stunned and does not believe it, and she struggles with telling Sean about the note. Finally she does and although Sean denies any wrongdoing, Libby feels strangely aware that Sean is not being truthful. They decide to get out one night - a date night - they haven't been out in so long away from Alice - the time alone will heal these bad feelings. So Libby gets Sasha, a young girl who works with her and loves Alice to babysit for them. Sasha and Libby are close but when Sasha comes to the house prepared to babysit, Libby gets the impression that something is wrong. Sasha is giving off vibes, looking at Sean, and acting differently. Could Sasha be the other woman?
When Sean and Libby get home after their disasterous date night, something is terribly wrong - Sasha is gone. No trace and Libby and Sean find themselves caught in the mddle of a missing person case and MORE...Something happened and soon the police will be knocking on their door - Sean says she better get her story straight...but Libby is very confused and she knows that life will never be the same after their date night.
The book goes back and forth in time - telling Libby and Seans story. I was immedialy taken in by this book and could not put it down. Excellent summer read (actually all year) Recommend - 5 stars.

Thank you so much for this ARC!

I loved the premise of this book and always love a bad guy husband situation. What a twist!

I found this book very hard to get into and keep track of. I get the thought process behind it, but it was very confusing and hard to follow all the way through everything was answered at the end but I feel the stuff before 80% of the way through could have been handled better. I felt like I had to wait until then to understand anything that had been going on. And not only that, the epilogue only explained Sean and how he ended up. I was dying to know what happened with Marion, Libby and Alice. The book had a lot of promise but I just dont feel that it lived up to it. I gave 3 stars simply because I never saw that twist coming and I actually gasped out loud.

Wow! Totally gripping, sick, and twisted. Leaves you guessing until the very end. What happened to Sasha, and why is Sean always acting so strange. Page turner of the year!

Wow, I was not expecting that!! What a book! Definitely a big twist. I had it as someone else. Booked from the start. Thank you so much!!

Date Night by Samantha Hayes captivated me! I loved this book which I read in recond time. It was a wonderful combination of setting, murder, mysterious characters and being in the wrong place at the wrong time AND a surprise twist. I also like when a book moves quickly and keeps the tension tight.

Returning early from a disastrous date night with my husband, I know something is wrong the moment the wheels crunch the gravel drive of our home. Inside, the TV is on and a half-eaten meal waits on the table. My heart stops when I find our little girl is alone in the house and our babysitter, Sasha, is missing…

Days later, when I’m arrested for Sasha’s murder and torn away from my perfect little family, I’ll wish I had told someone about the threatening note I received that morning.

I’ll hate myself for not finding out who the gift hidden inside my husband’s wardrobe was for. I’ll scream from the rooftops that I’m innocent – but no one will listen. I will realise I was completely wrong about everything that happened that night… But will you believe me?

It all starts with a note on Libby’s windshield warning her that her husband is cheating. Of course, she is worried and nervous though he insists he’s not cheating on her. Maybe going out on a nice date will help get them back on track. Only their date night is the beginning of things really going wrong- including their missing babysitter and a cast of characters who had reason to set Libby up for murder.

This one was an excellent read! It coming out on August 20, only $3.99 on Kindle.

Well, that was a fast paced wicked read! Libby and Sean have the perfect marriage and perfect baby in a perfect cottage in a perfect English town where she is a caterer and he’s the local vet. We learn Libby had a previous relationship where the man was controlling and jealous and always accusing her of having an affair. Now her life is perfect - until a few pages in, she discovers a note on her car saying Sean is having an affair....and now we are off and running with Libby narrating the story in an seemingly authentic voice,......until it isn’t. The Date Nate in Date Night is meant to reassure Libby and at the restaurant their world begins to fall apart and when they get home they discover their baby sitter missing, and their world explodes and we begin to see an unreliable narrator we are supposed to trust. Lots of red herrings, lots of twists and lots of fun.

Date Night by Samantha Hayes is a thriller about a date night gone wrong. Before that disastrous night, Libby found a note on her car's windshield, exposing her husband Sean for having an affair. Since, she has been obsessed with finding out who Sean is seeing behind her back, if he is. They decided to go on a date night to fix their marriage. But they came home to find their babysitter Sasha missing. Now Libby is accused of murdering Sasha. What really happened that night?

The story, told from the events leading up to the date night and after, is fast-paced. Overall, it was a good plot and the author did a great job in developing the plot enough that the reader has no idea what ride they'd be in for. However, I did find myself left with some questions. I also felt the ending was a bit too vague for closure. The last scene felt like a cliffhanger. There were introduction of characters that did not need to be part of the plot at all. But overall, the author bought me on a twisty ride and I did not come close to solving the mystery at all.

I read a lot of reviews of people comparing the book to the likes The Wife Between Us, Friend Request, or Gone Girl, but I did not think there were any similarities at all. However, I do enjoy the concept of an unreliable protagonist.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author Samantha Hayes, and publisher for providing me with an ARC, in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

Libby is left a note on her windscreen saying “Sean is having an affair”, she thinks nothing of it at first as she has to drop her daughter, Alice off at her mother in laws but as the day goes on, the note and what it says begins to fester and she can’t help but confront Sean who denies it completely…. Things start to go downhill and cracks appear in their relationship, Sean suggests a “date night”, so they go to the local pub and get a local girl Sasha to babysit. However dinner doesn’t quite go to plan as Sean keeps getting texts and phone calls and another fight ensues…. He storms off and orders a taxi cutting their “date night” short but what they find when they get home is about to change their whole future….. their babysitter Sasha is nowhere to be found, Alice is tucked up safe in her bed but Sasha’s things including her phone are still there, where is she, what happened to her?

The book flits between now and then, now when Libby is in the police station having been arrested on suspicion of murder despite no body and then, back to the date night and the days that followed. This was a quick read and a need to know what happened and where Sasha was grips you, it’s a case of WTF is going on, Libby is losing control and still suspects Sean which is not helping, they are supposed to be holding a united front, however, all is not what it seems…..

The big reveal is not what I expected, in fact far from it, I would never have guessed in a million years.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.