Melanie, kicked off her show and was forced onto the Late Night Show, the undesirable slot. Hoping to cheer her up, her friends take her to a bar, promising to set her up with a blind date. When that date turns out to be Malik, a man that Melanie just can't resist, they enter into a relationship. But then, when she thinks everything is going so well, a number begins ringing her show, True Confessions. The woman confesses that she thinks her husband killed someone, and from there, things begin to do downhill; getting more and more dangerous for Melanie.

This book was a slow burner, to begin with, focusing a lot on Melanie's radio, her friendships and, of course, her relationship with Malik. Although these parts were very enjoyable to read, all the same, it was only until about halfway through that I began to see the real mystery emerge. When the real action did kick off though, it was intense, gripping and always leaving me wondering what would happen next. As much as it annoys me, I have to admit I did not see the ending to this one coming and found it a brilliant reveal.

Some other notable things I enjoyed about this book was the relationship that bloomed between Natalie and Melanie which really showed the dangers of getting too invested in someone, especially a stranger. Also, I think the characters were very relatable and well developed which made it easier to get invested in them and the story as a whole.

I will definitely be reading more from Wendy Clarke.

4 out of 5 stars.

Thank you, NetGalley for allowing me to read this.

Wow, what a ride!! I enjoyed all the twists and turns of Blind Date by Wendy Clarke She is a new author to me and I look forward to reading her again in the future. The setting was appropriately eerie and I enjoyed the radio host aspect of the book-all those "true confessions" shows are fascinating to me!

This dark and unsettling story is about deception and makes readers pause to consider how much they trust the people they love.

Although the start is agonizingly slow, Clarke does a thorough job of creating a backstory for Melanie Abbott, the 38-year-old recently divorced protagonist. Melanie recently moved from co-hosting a morning radio show to working graveyards at Lock Radio where she hosts a late-night talk show. A woman at a turning point in her life, Melanie makes some rash decisions that she’d never otherwise make and finds herself in a difficult situation. Her friends, who also happen to be her former co-hosts, set her up on a blind date. Then strange things start happening and soon Malik, her date, is wanted for questioning by the police. Add to this, an obsession on her first night at work develops with a caller who shares a secret on Lock Radio’s ‘True Confessions’ segment. Can Melanie dig herself out of her problems before it’s too late?

I love the atmospheric setting - a willow-fringed canal and brightly coloured canal boats juxtaposed against overgrown towpaths, dilapidated buildings and brackish water! Add to this the eerie setting of working alone in a dark building where every faceless person calling into the show is as unknown as a blind date. Everyone becomes a suspect as the tension increases and you’ll be frantically turning pages to see what happens next. Clarke is adept at pacing and ramping up the tension.

How well do we trust our instinct? Clarke wants us to recognize the danger of thinking we know someone when in fact they are a stranger to us. It might be as simple as a first meeting, not even a blind date, where we think we know more than we actually do know about someone.

Known for her psychological thrillers and her instantly recognizable Wendy Clarke brand of familiar font and strong cover motifs, this author’s work is not to be missed. Readers can look forward to book 6 in 2022.

Publishes October 29, 2021.

I was gifted this advance copy by Wendy Clarke, Bookouture and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

I absolutely love this authors books and this one was no exception I ended up reading late into the night to finish it as wanted to know what had happened. It has a lot of Twists and turns and also makes you question whether or not you know your friends as much as you think you do. I love the eery setting of the radio station as well as the descriptions made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end and were tense to read especially as the tension was mounting up.

This book kept me guessing and on my toes throughout and the characters were not as they originally seemed loved how they all had hidden depths.

Already looking forward to this authors next book.

#BlindDate #NetGalley
An ok read.
The story revolves around Melanie, an ordinary woman whose marriage is almost over with her husband, Niall and who works at radio station. She has two best friends Simon and Chris who also work there. Then one day someone calls there and tells her something and after that one after the other sinister things start to happen to Melanie. Who's doing this and why?
Well, the author has little to offer with this psychological thriller. While reading it, I didn't feel connect with any of the characters. One after another things happening and my reaction was "ohh ok, so what can I do?" I didn't feel connect. The story slowly turned into a revenge drama and the final antagonist reveal was ok.
What I Like? :-
1 The premise.
2 The length of the book.
What I Don't Like?:-
1 Characters.
I wasn't interested in knowing what's going on after 60% of the book was completed.
Overall it's an ok read and the author's fans can read it one time.
Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for giving me an advanced copy of this psychological thriller.

Wendy Clarke is a new author to me but I was very quickly pulled into the story and fully absorbed in the writing. Interesting characters that were not particularly appealing and a slow build up to a big climax.

Lead character Melanie is a morning radio host along with Chris and Simon who make up the team they call the three musketeers. Melanie is single after splitting with her husband and is now ready to meet the new man in her life. Feeling particularly low she is persuaded to go out for a drink with co hosts Chris and Simon who have arranged a blind date for her. Melanie meets Malik and immediately feels changed, all at once she feels lifted and loved but everything was about to change. Ratings are down for the morning show and Melanie is moved to the late night slot, her car tyre is slashed in the car park and she receives strange calls on the radio phone in. When Melanie stops at Malik’s she discovers that she is locked in leaving her unsure whether she can trust him. When a woman is attacked outside the radio station building, Melanie begins to question everyone’s innocence and fear for her own safety.

The finger of suspicion moves from person to person as everyone seems to have secrets. Slow build up and not particularly appealing characters but an entertaining read. I will certainly look at reading more of this author’s books.

I would like to thank both Net Galley and Bookouture for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you ever so much Bookouture, NetGalley and Wendy for this advanced ebook copy!

This was one of those totally absorbing novels that I didn’t want to put down! Having read another of Wendy Clarke's novels, The Bride, I was thrilled to be able to read this one too.

So this book is a total mind twisting thriller which had me on the edge of my seat trying to work out what was going on.
if you want a thriller that is creepy, tense and full of twists and turns, this is the one for you. The suspense literally had me missing a heartbeat because I just couldn't work out where this story was leading me. It made me doubt myself and had me had me hook, line and sinker till the very end. The ending really made this book and my eyes were on stalks reading the last couple of pages.
Wendy Clarke is such an amazing, talented, phenomenal writer! And I love her style!

I will post to my platforms closer to pub date!

On the whole, I really enjoyed reading this. I liked the writing style, the characters were good and I liked the radio station setting. The pacing of the book was good and I enjoyed the short chapters which kept the book moving along.

I did have to suspend reality a bit to accept the plot - the fact that three men are so enticed by Melanie that they are driven to creepy/criminal behaviour was a bit hard to swallow, but it was a fun read. I also couldn't work out where in the country the book was supposed to be set and it would have been nice to know and get more of a sense of the area.

Overall I found this to be a quick, easy and enjoyable read which held my interest throughout. I would recommend it.

Ps. I'm fuming that we never found out the real reason that Alan left the radio station, I was hoping we would discover the reason at the end.

What a great read! This does start of slowly and I did wonder where it was going but stick with it! A really thumping thriller that keeps you hooked!

Thank you Bookouture and NetGalley for an early copy of Blind Date. This book started off uncomfortably slow, the main character was unlikable, how many times would she drop her phone ????? BUT something kept me interested. Honestly it only got good from 85% on and the ending was WOW!!!! I wish the whole book was as good as the last 15%.

Mel has been working on the radio break fast show with her 2 good friends Simon and Chris. Out of the blue Mel is told that she will be being moved from the breakfast show to the late night show. Mel is completely devastated by this move and to her it feels as though this is the end of the world. Not only is Mel being moved from a job she loves but she’s also having difficulties at home living under the same roof as her ex husband who is looking to move his new girlfriend in.

As Mel starts off doing the late night show she finds it’s better than she first thought and finds that she comes to quite enjoy it. Mels favourite part of the show is true confessions where listeners call in and reveal any confessions they may have. One night Mel gets a call from Natalie who Mel feels instantly drawn to as Natalies confessions seem to mirror Mels current life and there are similarities between Natalies relationship and the new relationship Mel has recently started up with her blind date Malik.

Things become stranger and stranger for Mel as she does the late night show, her car tyres get slashed, Natalie keeps calling and she starts to receive threatening calls someone out there knows Mel has a secret and they clearly want her to confess it on true confessions and will stop at nothing to get her to make that confession.

I really enjoyed blind date the only thing I did find was it was a little slow in starting off but once it got going I was constantly wanting to read more and find out who was behind all these strange things that were happening to Mel. I guessed part of the ending but the part I didn’t get was a total shock and I always love a shock and a twist from a thriller.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publish and the author for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an open and honest review.

I love the cover and the blurb sucked me in. A first read by this author… interesting thriller.

What did I like? The book starts out at a snail pace as we navigate through Melanie’s torn up life. She was absolutely depressing and she quickly begins to spiral when she loses her spot on the morning show. It’s a wicked battle once we learn her life spins out of control. I had to skip to the end because it was driving me crazy.

Would I recommend or buy? If your looking for a chilling thriller then look no further. The ending was absolutely diabolical. I’d definitely read more by this author! Four stars!

I received a complimentary copy to read and voluntarily left a review!

Unpredictable Suspense…
Who can be trusted in this unpredictable suspense? Dark secrets and lies abound, twists and turns aplenty, an intriguing premise and with a credible cast this is a compelling one sitting read exploring the more sinister side of human nature.

Melanie is the co-host of a morning radio show with her good friends, Simon and Mike. After 8 years together, she is told that she is being replaced and is moved to the late night show which she will host by herself. She is, of course, devastated by this. But her spirits are lifted when she goes for a night out with Chris and Simon and meets a mysterious man named Malik. She feels a strong romantic connection to him and can't get him out her mind.

Unfortunately Melanie’s late night show is not going very well. She has a segment in her new show called "True Confessions”. One night a lady named Natalie calls in to confess that her boyfriend killed someone. She begins to get a bit obsessed with this caller’s story. Strange things start to happen between her and Malik and she gets threatening text messages. Who could be doing this to her and why? Every one has a secret and they are all just waiting to be revealed.

This book takes you on quite a ride. You can't trust anyone! I loved every bit of it and I would say the last 20 percent kept me on the edge of my seat. I can't wait to read more books by Wendy Clarke, she is a highly talented writer!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This review will be posted to my Instagram Blog (@coffee.break.book.reviews) in the near future.

I COULD NOT PUT THIS BOOK DOWN i didnt even realise I hadnt eaten because i was too busy reading this book, and I am a girl who loves food. It was gripping it was tense, fast paced and full of twists, it was so unpredictable that i just didnt even know who i was anymore. I loved it

"I have a confession" and that's "I LOVED THIS PHENOMENAL , GRIPPING BOOK". I raced through it, it consumed me in it's pages. Mel the protagonist, certainly get's herself into some deep situations, which she only just manages to escape. She lives with her ex-husband which is weird in itself, then she meets Malik, a weird, dark character who she lusts after, until he starts locking her in his bedroom. She gets weird telephone calls from Natalie when she host the "True Confessions" radio show and she sort of becomes obsessed because she wants to help her. Her two co-host Simon and Chris are her best friends, but they have secrets of their own and when all the twists are finally revealed it comes to a shocking conclusion which left me gobsmacked. It's has a brilliant plot and the characters are relatable, even though a couple of them are rather strange. Wendy certainly knows how to keep the reader turning the pages and she puts the twists in at the right moment. I loved every page, every character and I can't wait to read Wendy's next book because this one in my opinion is her best yet. It's a stunning, deliciously dark, ominous read and gave me chills. HUGE CONGRATULATIONS TO WENDY CLARKE FOR WRITING A PSYCHOLOGICAL, TWISTY BOOK WHICH HOOKS YOU FROM THE START. LOVED IT! LOVED IT! LOVED IT!.

Another great read from this author. Quickly becoming one of my do-not-miss-new-books authors.

This was such a thrilling read, Malik is such a mysterious character. I kept reading long into the night to find out how it ended!

The twists are AMAZING!!

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the advance read of this book due to be published October 29th

Clever, twisty, and altogether spine-chilling! This book had intrigue, suspense, drama, and a decent storyline! There were definitely some twists and turns , I definitely recommend reading Blind Date! Its well worth reading! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Good book, this book had suspense, intrigue, murder and mystery! The storyline was definitely decent and I enjoyed reading this book! I will definitely recommend it but it wasn't one of my all time favorites?! It just didn't have that bite my nails, edge of my seat wow factor for me! Its worth reading but just ok for me! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

this book was suspenseful and i liked all the details about her job as a radio presenter. The actual secret was a bit anticlimatic for all the drama that resulted from it. But i did enjoy it