Member Reviews
A great read. Twists and turns at every opportunity. If you like suspense then here is a book for you.
Babysitter has gone missing and Libby (wife) is arrested for her murder. But is it really as clear cut as that. Is it that simple?
Secrets are uncovered, hearts a broken. But there is so much more to this,
Thank you to both NetGalley and Bookoutre for gifting me this book in exchange for my honest unbiased review
Flippin Fantastic! Date Night is so insanely twisted you'll never see the ending coming! Compelling, twisted and fast-paced, this book was one I did not want to stop reading! Starting out, I thought this would be just another thriller in a sea of thrillers with similar themes, but no! As I got deeper into the story I found this one to be very hard to put down!
Libby and Sean Randell are living the perfect life with their daughter Alice till one day Libby receives a note on her car telling her that her husband Sean is having an affair! At first, Libby laughs it off as a prank by local kids, but as time passes, Libby notices the small changes in Sean's behavior. Is it the stress of being a vet on call constantly or is Sean having an affair. Sean assures Libby that there's nothing for her to worry about. To put matters to rest, Sean and Libby go out on a Date Night and arrange to have Sasha babysit Alice for them. Sasha is a sweet, responsible teenager who also helps out Libby with her business most of the days. Over time Libby and Sasha have developed a close relationship with Sasha looking to Libby as a maternal figure in her life. So when Libby returns home to find Sasha missing, she's shocked that the responsible girl she's come to trust so much would just disappear leaving Alice alone in the house! Over the next few days with the police going through every single detail of their lives, Libby finds herself being suspected of Sasha's disappearance. Is Libby really innocent? And where did Sasha really go?
The characters of this book are brilliant. Their responses to certain situations are so realistic and natural this does not feel like fiction. The plot is incredible and layered with so many twists that are unraveled slowly and it sheer joy to watch them unfold. It makes this book very unputdownable. What a fantastic book! Highly recommend!!
This is my first book by Samantha Hayes and I'm very impressed with her work. I will be picking up other thrillers by Sam for sure!
Thank you, NetGalley, Bookouture and Samantha Hayes for an arc!
Oh my gosh what a wild ride this was. The wife is blamed for the murder of the babysitter and no one will believe she is innocent so many secrets in this book. Samantha Hayes books are always must reads for me and I have enjoyed them all. Thank you NetGalley.
I was happy to read Date Night in exchange for an honest review as I was intrigued by the description. Being in the mood for a fictional beach read, I grabbed Samantha Hayes book and dove in. The notion that one would come home and find their babysitter missing and then be arrested for the crime has a juicy read feel to it. I liked the short chapters and the way the author changed the time period from before the event until after, bouncing through the chapters. I did find it confusing, however, when she threw in another time period into the mix which caused me to stop and figure out where in the story I was at the time. I felt that I was bite fed pieces of the story to get my attention focused on potential suspects which I enjoyed. I was looking forward to the ending to finally discover which one was the perp only to have a twist from left field thrown in. Character development was off mark in spots and our lead was at times pathetic and unbelievable. Overall, a good read!
The premise of this novel was intriguing and I was hoping for gut-punching twists and a tense read but unfortunately it didn’t measure up to my expectations.
The writing was overall okay but some aspects of it annoyed me. I was mainly confused about the ‘now and then’ style of the narration. The two time-settings were sometimes mixed up and it often misled me. I had to go back at some point to make sure of the time-frame of the narration. I also felt like the author was trying too hard to misdirect her audience. The plot dragged on at times.
When the double mysteries unfolded, I felt a bit let down because nothing was leading up to that conclusion. There weren’t enough hints for the reader to guess the twists.
The revelations dropped unexpectedly and I wasn’t convinced by them.
The characters were not likeable. Libby was whining most of the times. She isn’t a reliable narrator. I thought that she often overreacted and acted crazy.
Sean’s was a huge ‘No’ for me. I hated him; he appeared to be a cold and brutal husband, neglecting Libby’s wellbeing for his own good. The reasons behind his acts were not convincing.
Sasha’s disappearance was not heart-breaking because we didn’t get to know her that much and that’s a pity.
I didn’t connect with any of the characters and I didn’t really care to what happened to them.
The last chapter was not enough to wrap things up, I was missing some reactions from other characters.
Overall, this is a basic domestic thriller, quite forgetful. I wasn’t kept on the edge of my seat. I wish I would have liked it more.
Thanks to NetGalley, publisher and author to allow me to get a free copy of this book for review. This story shocks from the start, when the police arrested a woman for murder. Turns out this is Libby, a previously happy wife and mother, owner of a booming catering business. She loves her husband, their daughter and her work. One day somebody leaves a note on her car that says her husband is cheating on her. This event started a spectacular chain of events that kept revealing twist after twist. I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more from the author.
I really enjoyed this story although it took a bit of time to hot up. I was intrigued through out and it kept my attention. I would recommend this book and the author to other readers.
*Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.* What a deliciously thrilling book. 'Date Night' kept me absolutely enraptured from the very start, right until the thrilling conclusion. Libby and Sean head down to the local pub for a date night, leaving teenaged baby-sitting Sasha at home to look after their four-year-old daughter, Alice. When they get back after dinner, they find Alice home alone, with Sasha nowhere to be seen. They search the house and surrounding area frantically, to no avail. Fast-forward a few days and despite the lack of body, Libby finds herself arrested for Sasha's murder. Each chapter brought fresh intrigue and plenty of twists and turns.
Libby and Sean are madly in love, or so she thinks until she finds a note announcing his infidelity. Eventually they go on a date and leave 17 year old, Sasha, babysitting their young daughter but when they get home, Sasha, has disappeared. Soon Libby is arrested for murder but is everything as it seems!
Another cracker from Samantha! I bloody love her books and this was brilliant! Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for this arc in exchange for my honest review.
⭐⭐⭐⭐ 1/2
Libby and Sean go on a date night to resolve their differences in marriage but the night doesn't go as planned and they end up arguing and leaving early. Things go bad from worse when they get home to find their daughter all alone and the babysitter Sasha is nowhere to be found . Days later, Libby is arrested for Sasha's murder, and although she insists that she is innocent no one believes her. She tells them she didn't hurt Sasha .. but no one is listening to her. What really did happen that night and does Libby know more than she is letting on ?
Date Night by Samantha Hayes is a fast paced novel with great characters and is an excellent psychological thriller with lots of secrets and twists and turns to discover that keeps misleading the reader. I thought I had guessed the ending but I couldn’t be more wrong and never saw it coming . Highly recommend!
I would like to thank Bookouture & NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest and fair review.
Couple goes out for a date, hire their usual babysitter, then get home to find her stuff but she's nowhere to be seen...
Well written, interesting storyline and characters, kept me guessing until the end. Not one I could guess everything so I loved it!
Goes from past to present, you get to learn little to little, very clever. More things, secrets, are revealed as the story progresses.
Secrets... good plot, you don't know who you can trust...
I loved the summary, and the mysterious cover.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC of this book. This is my honest review. All opinions are my own.
Samantha Hayes is a new author for me and after reading Date Night I'm looking forward to reading more of her work.
Libby finds a note on her windscreen that rocks her idilic world apart "your husband is having an affair ".
Set in a village deep in the country side Sean her husband is a vet and she runs a small private catering business. Sean adamantly denies the affair and they decide to go out for dinner to put the rumour to bed. Date Night is a disaster and when they return home the babysitter is missing having left their young daughter home alone.
Great storyline unfolds with a twist to end all twists.
Thank you for the opportunity to read this book and I really enjoyed it, I didn't know who to trust or what to believe and wow what a ending kept me. Guessing all the way through
Wow, what a fantastic read! I have been a fan of Samantha Hayes for a number of years and I think this book is one of her best. Libby’s world is shattered when she finds a note on her car windscreen that accuses Sean, her husband, of having an affair. After challenging him, he denies it and arranges a date night leaving their daughter Alice with Sasha, a teenage babysitter. The date night doesn’t go as planned and after arguing they leave the restaurant early. On arriving home they find that Sasha has disappeared leaving Alice alone in the house in bed and leaving her phone and bag behind. Libby goes out looking for her but in the end the police are called in and Sasha is declared a missing person. A few days later, after investigating the case, Libby is taken in for questioning pending a murder charge. The book is told in two timelines the present and the past and is narrated by Libby and involves secrets, lies and jealousy. It is a rollercoaster of a read with so many surprises, twists and turns and a totally unexpected ending. A fabulous read.
Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.
A well plotted good read. When I tried to explain the book to my husband I realised that the essential part of the story didn’t really stand up but I liked the fact that this information was withheld until the end which did give me a WTF moment, I still felt the ending was too rushed and I didn’t particularly like or care about any of the characters.
Sadly, this book didn't work for me. I was confused for half of the book, everything was going anywhere, assumptions were made and refuted... I was so lost, I didn't enjoy how the plot unfolded. And this plot! It's something. Sooooo far from being what I was thinking. I'm happy to have finished it, though. I really wanted to know how it was going to end....
Many thanks to Bookouture for the e-copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Libby & Sean are busy people. They live in a chocolate box cottage & have a beautiful daughter. Sean is a busy vet & Libby is a chef, catering for dinner parties & the like. Often they have little time for themselves. After Libby finds a note saying Sean is having an affair they have some talking to do. Going out for a dinner together seemed a great idea but the night is cut short by another row. When they return to the house there is no sign of the babysitter.
The author keeps you on your toes by switching timelines gradually revealing clues. This ensures that you are going nowhere until know what really happened. I was not expecting the end at all. I finished it by yelling at the book- "You can't just stop there!!!"
I'm a great fan of Samantha Hayes & this one definitely doesn't disappoint. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book.
Date Night takes a common story - a relationship on the rocks - and turns it into a murder mystery/thriller with a truly surprising ending.
Throughout the book, I put several of the pieces together. However, I had no idea what the final twist would be, nor did I figure out one of the key players in the murder of Sasha, a teenage babysitter.
Is the husband really cheating? Is he responsible for the murder? Is the wife an unreliable narrator? And what’s up with the ex-wife? These questions and many more will swirl through your head as Sasha’s fate is slowly revealed.
Date Night is a page-turner that will keep you guessing. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing a copy. This review contains my honest, unbiased opinion.
Great book. Had me guessing all the way through. Goes back and forth from present to past. I certainly did not see the ending coming. Secrets kept by family members are revealed as the book goes on, paving the way for the final shocking ending !
I loved the premise of this book. It starts off with Libby being arrested for the possible murder of her babysitter Sasha. Intrigue!
The book jumps back and forth from the past to the present, building up through Libby's point of view of what happened and then going back to Libby being interrogated by the police.
At first I really enjoyed this book. I couldn't figure out how on earth Libby could be arrested for the murder but I couldn't stop moving through the novel because I had to figure it out.
Unfortunately, as the novel went on I began to really dislike Libby. She's just... annoying. She lets her husband push her around and tell her what to do, and I felt like she had no backbone and no way to make any decisions for her own. Just once I wanted her to do the right thing but she kept doing all the wrong things.
I ended up skimming over the last part of this book, simply wanting to know the answer to what really happened. I think my dislike for Libby really got in the way of me enjoying this novel. It was just so so.
Maybe next time.