I couldn’t put this book down. Libby’s character is intriguing and we are immediately plunged into her surreal situation,

I loved how the truth unravelled throughout and had no idea who could and could not be trusted.

If you are a fan of genuinely good psychological thrillers where you are left dumbfounded at the end, then Samantha Hayes is the author for you. She has a way of telling the story that leaves you to guess what is implied. Her twists and shocks are not straightforward and that is what I like about her books. Like many authors nowadays she doesn’t assume the readers to be stupid and does not chew everything for them.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Date Night was the first book I read from Samantha Hayes and I absolutely loved it. The first person narrative really added to the suspense. Was Libby telling us the truth? Did she believe what she was telling us? There were so many constant questions to ask throughout reading that it really managed to keep me interest. I cant wait to read more from this author.

Date night by Samantha Hayes
I give this book 3.75 stars
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.
Is Libby and Sean's relationship all it seems,one of them is keeping a dark secret,that's going to come out with devastating consequences,the trust is shattered......
As you read the twists and turns gradually reveal themselves,a psychological thriller you will want to keep reading right to the very end!
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for my advanced copy

First, let me thank netgalley and the publishers for approving my request for an early release of this book. All reviews of my netgalley books can be found on goodreads and youtube. Please be sure to check out the links attached.

It's been a while since I read a book by Samantha Hayes and I was really looking forward to diving into Date Night. It hasn't disappointed, I was gripped from page one and it's been a fast and furious journey through a story that is very well-written, with an intriguing plot and lots of twists and turns to keep the reader gripped.

Libby and her husband Sean arrive home after a night out in a local restaurant to find that the babysitter has gone and their four year old daughter is alone in the house.

This is a psychological thriller that works best going into it blind-the blurb above tells you all you need to know really! Which makes it EXTREMELY difficult to explain exactly why I found it such a brilliant read. Let’s just say if the idea of having unreliable narrators who make you so frustrated that you think you could burst from not knowing what the hell is going on appeals, then this is the book for you! Told in a “Now” and then making sure you are flashed back to a “Then”, to balance the narrative and try to fool you with possible clues, this is a full on “who, what, when, where and why” thriller that keeps you guessing until the final few pages.

Samantha Hayes has incorporated so many issues into Date Night. It is packed with characters who are damaged and damaging. With themes of loss, guilt and darker issues that are quite unexpected, this is a story that keeps the reader on their toes. Despite the many storylines and the multiple characters, Date Night is easy to follow and paced quite perfectly. Each new chapter brings another surprise and there are so many red herrings and misplaced clues along the way, I defy anyone to work out the ending before they turn the final pages.

I was totally hooked, very intrigued and most impressed by the writing style, the character creation and the wonderful sense of place. Great psychological thriller and recommended by me.

This started strong with the mysterious note but quickly fell off for me. I was really hoping more clues were going to be left. The back and forth mechanic near the end went a different way that wasn’t exactly clear and wasn’t fair to the audience. The ending was pretty guessable and not overall satisfying. I would recommend with caution

I have had this one on TBR list for awhile and now I don't know why I waited so long to read it. I was pleasantly surprised by this one and longed for more when it was done. Samantha Hayes definitely knows how to write a book that will keep you on the edge of your seat and will surprise you at every turn.

Libby and Sean have had a rough patch in their marriage and are going on a dinner date to try and patch things up. When Libby can't let go of something that is bothering her though, will they be able to have the dreamed of date night that they needed? Things just begin happening and don't stop. I never saw some of the surprises coming and when I read them I just wanted to read faster and faster.

Libby and Sean have a little girl named Alice. When Alice's baby-sitter goes missing while Libby and Sean are out on their dinner date, little Alice keeps saying crazy things about stuff that she thought she saw while they were gone. What is she talking about?

This one is too good to give away much at all in my review. Just know that you will enjoy it so much! I read forever one night because I could not put this one down. So good. All I can say is that I now want to go back and read all of Samantha Hayes books and I hope that she has more planned in the near future for us to read! Great job!

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book and all opinions are my own. Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for a copy of this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for the free review copy!

2 stars. This novel started out promising for me: the babysitter disappears and it appears that the mother who hired her is the prime suspect . The pace was a bit slow for me and the big reveal was so astonishing it didn't feel plausible. It truly came out of left field for me. Overall, this one fell flat for me due to the tedious pace and convolution of the ending.

Another book that was hugely gushed about, and one that I regularly reminded myself I had to get to. It is the story that again starts with a note, this time we're told that Libby, our lead, is being cheated on. We also see that she's being arrested for murder.

The book jumps between present, her arrest, and past, where we see her picture perfect life as the owner of a culinary business. She has the now beautiful house, husband Sean and little girl Alice. I really enjoyed the laying of the story, where your mind fills in some blanks and tells you what has happened as everything starts falling apart as all trust goes out the window. I literally could not put this down, although at times I was slightly put off by sudden information being planted into flashbacks that had been played before without thar information. It was an extremely unputdownable book with a nervous, unreliable lead in Libby, an ending that had it's stunning and yet also  bad parts, making it, for me, one that some will love and others might not! Thanks to Bookouture for the book in return for an honest review.

Rating: 4/5

Well, what a books full of fantastic twists. Loved samanthas previous book the reunion and this one was equally captivating if not more so. Thankyou to the publisher and netgalley for the arc.

3-3.5 stars

So I liked this book, the story was good and I was surprised by the ending (didn’t see that coming until really close to the end)! But I just feel like the story was a bit confusing at parts. The first “before” was the distorted truth, but then you find out later it wasn’t what actually happened at all. Or at least not the complete truth. So that was a bit confusing for me and a little frustrating. I don’t want to give too much away and ruin the entire book for anyone who reads it.

The storyline was good and like I said, I did like the ending. But I just feel like it fell short. I would still recommend Date Night to anyone who likes a psychological thriller because it was still overall a good read.

Samantha Hayes has masterfully woven a story that keeps the reader trying their best to stay one step ahead, but ultimately keeps the surprises coming in Date Night.

A seemingly perfect family unit is ripped apart by something as small as a note left for the wife, Libby, to find. When their babysitter, Sasha, comes up missing after what should have been an uneventful night out for husband and wife, the psyche starts working in overdrive for Libby (and the reader). Just when you think you know what happened, the twists to take you to the very end of this one.

A exhilarating high excitement book about Libby, a mother of one, whose babysitter is found missing.....twists and turns as the story unravels.....I thoroughly enjoyed !!!!! A fab read !

The writing wasn't that great, the whole story was boring and slow and unbelievable. The characters were unlikable. Libby needed to grow a backbone. I started skimming just before the halfway point. Should've stopped reading altogether. Lame ending. Ugh.

Good thriller, kind of slow at some points but hang in there because the punch it packs at the end is WOW! I overall really enjoyed this book, and totally would read more from this author.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley..

This was my first book by this author.
Date Night was FOR SURE a page-turner. I did NOT SEE the last twist that hit! I had pretty high expectations for this book honestly, and it came close to meeti gthem. Well worth the read.

3.5 stars from me - the extra .5 star is due to the fact that I totally did not see that end twist coming. I was pretty convinced I knew who dunnit (and was right), but not for the reasons I suspected. For most of this story, I had no idea what was going on. I was thoroughly confused and had no idea what the real story was. The characters would show you one thing, and tell you something different. I just kind of hung in there, figuring it would all make sense by the end, and it did. It was very readable, even if a little far-fetched.

Book 53 just finished. Don’t know if I’ll squeeze in another one before the end of the year or not?
This was a great read. I give it four stars overall. Really liked the nice little twist at the end, but it was just a tad slow and characters making dumb decisions every now and then. Nice thriller tho!
Thanks to #netgalley for the review copy!

Oh my God! Don't you love it when you read a book and the ending just completely blindsides you? This was one of those "what in the hell just happened" books for me but in the best way possible!


As you can read in the blurb, Libby and Sean (married for 6 years with a 4-year-old daughter, Alice) go out on a date night. After Libby finds a disturbing note on her windshield one morning, she starts to question her and Sean's relationship. He takes her out for a night on the town to smooth things over. The problem? When they get home, their babysitter, Sasha, is gone and their daughter is upstairs sleeping all alone. 


This novel is told from Libby's POV alternating between before and after her arrest for Sasha's murder. Trying my best not to include any spoilers, author Samantha Hayes instilled a huge amount of doubt in several characters throughout this one. She had me doubting numerous characters for a great deal of the book. But guess what? I was sort of right, but then I was oh, so wrong. My preferred genres are romance and women's fiction, but I get onto these kicks where I only want to read suspense/thrillers. This one totally did it for me. This book is wonderfully sinful, but I never, ever, saw the ending coming. Isn't that what makes the best suspense/thrillers? According to my Kindle app, I was at 97% in my reading when I figured out what was going on. Yay, Samantha Hayes! I was completely hooked, had several theories - but no, never even imagined what was coming.


Libby was the absolute worst unreliable narrator of all time. Nothing added up, especially once she started talking to the police, but yet, I was completely surprised. This was one of my most fun reads this year. There are parts that aren't pretty and made me feel uneasy, but nevertheless, a wonderful novel. 


*Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for providing this review copy in exchange for my honest opinion.