I did find bits predictable but so what it worked, the start is a bit slow and sometimes I thought Caz really how can you do this- but the last part is great just works so well.

I was given an advance copy by Bookouture and netgalley but the review is entirely my own.

I’d like to thank Bookouture and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Perfect Date’ written by Julia Crouch in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Caz has her own dog walking business in Brighton and while out one morning she comes across a body who she recognises as Harry, the man she’s dating. It isn’t the first body she’s discovered as eight months ago when she was living in London she found Ash, another man she’d been seeing. She doesn’t tell the police about her previous experience, what she calls The Incident, as she was considered a suspect and doesn’t want them to connect the two cases as she knows she’s innocent.

‘The Perfect Date’ is a well-written thriller with an initial description that made me think I’d enjoy it but I found it slow and flat in places, and although the plot showed promise I would probably have enjoyed it more had I felt a connection with the main character of Caz who I thought came over as shallow. I liked the connection to dog-walking and how she was caring for her mum Ruth but I found it hard to keep involved in the story. This is purely my opinion and I’m sure other readers will love it but I’m sorry it just wasn’t for me.

Is there such a thing as "The Perfect Date"? Apparently not in this twisted psychological thriller that will keep you guessing all the way through! Well-developed characters, twists and turns all over and a surprise you won't see coming!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC!

Some many twists.

Bad things just keep happening in Cuz's life. Are they connected or just coincidences?

Someone she has gone on a few dates with ends up dead and she and her dog happen to find the body. This is just the start...

Caz has moved home and changed professions, she is a dog walker. She comes across a dead body on a walk, and is horrified that the body is that of the man she met through a dating site. She cannot tell the police that she knows him, because this has happened before, through the same app, and the guy ended up dead!
She house sits for a 'frenemy', Marcy, who stole her boyfriend, but is getting divorced. She hooks up with Mark, but strange things keep happening, and she feels as though she is being watched constantly.

Wow, twist after twist in this novel! It was a one sitting read for me, I just could not wait to find out who was behind the murders.
I certainly was not expecting that ending!

This is the second novel I had read by Julie Crouch, and I will certainly be looking for more.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was rather slow to start off, then it got enjoyable. They was plenty of twists and turns throughout that keep you on the edge of your seat. The ending was an unexpected surprise, the characters were good, the story was suspenseful and the style of writing was perfect. I have enjoyed all the books that I have read by this author and can’t wait for the next one. I would recommend this to anyone who likes reading psychological thrillers.
Thank you netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a honest review.

This is a slow burn for the first half of the read but the author is really just building the story and suspense and it’s worth the wait for the unfolding that takes part in the second half. Interesting storyline that has so much going on my head was in a spin. I was suspicious of everyone but each character had their own baggage to unpack. It was both engaging and page turning. Really well developed storyline and characters that were both likeable and unlikeable. How it all came together is a rollercoaster. Well worth sinking your teeth into.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read and review #ThePerfectDate

Description sounded good but sadly the book didnt live up to it. Sorry but this one isnt for me although I have enjoyed previous work by this author

An intriguing thriller that in the most part was good. Some nice twists that kept me gripped but the pace dropped off in some parts and was slightly predictable during the first half, although it did refer itself in the second half. I would rate this book 3.5 stars. Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and the author for the chance to review.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for granting me access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

What an emotional and suspenseful psychological thriller that kept me guessing to the very end. This is my first read by Julia Crouch and it did not disappoint! It is a dark and twisted whodunnit that is full of suspense, tension, drama, fast pacing, short chapters and unexpected twists and turns. It will have you questioning every characters motive and flipping the pages so fast to figure out who it is and why! I absolutely loved this book so much♥️♥️!!!

Caroline (Caz) has recently moved back home to take care of her disabled mother and for a fresh start in life. She nows runs a reputable dog walking business for upper class clients. While walking the dogs one morning, Joe, her Border Collie 🐶 rescue mutt starts barking and leads her to a body of a dead man! Shockingly, Caz quickly realizes that the dead man is someone she has been seeing and met on a dating app. This should be the most frightful thing to ever happen to her but its not! Why? Because it has happened to her before😬🫣. What are the odds of this happening twice to her? Is it a coincidence or is someone stalking her? Caz does not think the two incidents are connected. Does she tell the police she knows both men and risk being the main suspect? Is this her fault or will she be next? Is someone trying to frame her for the murders?🤷‍♀️

If your a dog lover you will enjoy this book! Joe stole the show for me 🐶🐾!! I will say at times I wanted to scream at Caz for what she was doing but I think it added to the suspense. Overall, it is an addictive and enjoyable read that I highly recommend! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book was an electrifying thriller that combines nail-biting suspense with an unexpected dose of entertainment. While the story kicks off with a shocking murder, it manages to be a thrilling rollercoaster that keeps you hooked from start to finish.
Yes, there are moments where you might anticipate the next twist, but just when you think you've got it all figured out, the author throws in curveballs that leave you astounded. It's this blend of familiarity and surprise that makes the story so engaging.
The characters in this book are a mix of enigmatic personalities, each with their own secrets and motivations. While some might appear one-dimensional at first, the layers peel away as the plot unfolds, revealing hidden depths and ulterior motives. It's this complexity that keeps you invested in their fates.
It's the kind of book that you'll want to devour in one sitting, and you'll find yourself stealing moments throughout the day just to read "one more chapter."

Another unputdownable Psychological thriller from Julia Crouch!

Caz is a young woman who has moved back to her quiet home town from London to recover from the trauma of discovering the murdered corpse of a man she was dating. Once in a lifetime freak experience you might think?! Not so for Caz, who has the misfortune to discover a corpse once again when walking her dog!! And yep, once again a man she was dating! Caz receives an unexpected text from the former best friend who stole her man asking Caz to house sit for her and during her time in the palatial pad, far from recovering from the trauma things take a turn for the worse as all sorts of craziness ensure! Won't say more for fear or spoilers but I will utterly guarantee there is not a dull moment!

All in all this book utterly delivers on a thorough entertaining plot and is highly worth of 5 stars in my humble opinion!

My thanks to NetGalley, author and publisher for the opportunity to review this book in exchange for an advance copy.

This book has an eye-catching cover and a super intriguing premise… what would you do if the man you met on a dating app and were starting to imagine a future with was suddenly murdered? Caz is confronted with that dilemma when her dog comes across a body on a walk and she has the shocking realisation that the deceased is familiar! Throughout the novel we learn that other strange things have happened to Caz and there are constant suggestions that something sinister is occurring.

Things I liked about this book:
- Caz is a dog walker and so I enjoyed how the book portrayed her love for animals
- The continuous theme of how much of the truth to reveal, and to who, was thought provoking and really made me question whether honesty is the best policy in such unusual situations
- It was a pretty quick read and I found myself racing through as I was super eager to find out the truth

However, I really didn’t warm to Caz as a character and though I didn’t predict the big reveal in the final quarter of the story, I found that I didn’t particularly care when it was revealed. I also found myself losing track of the multiple male characters and who Caz had told what to.

Ultimately, for me the promise of the premise was not fulfilled by the novel itself. If you’re looking for a quick thriller and you warm to the protagonist more than I did, you may enjoy this one.

As ever, I am grateful to NetGalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read this eARC.

This one ended up being SO far-fetched that I just couldn't take it seriously. I try ve4ry hard not to DNF ARCs, but I came close with this one. The first part was painfully slow, and when the plot started getting twisty, I had already lost interswt.

I did like the author's writing style, however, and will try another one of her books. Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for this early copy. This book will publish October 6,2023.

Thank you to #NetGalley, #Bookouture and Julia Crouch for the opportunity to read an advance copy of THE PERFECT DATE, to be published 6 October 2023. This was an interesting, cleverly written mystery novel about Kaz, who comes upon not one, but two dead bodies over a period of time. She distrusts the police because they immediately assume she is the number one suspect in the first body. She continues to engage a number of people in the story but not the police, even when her friend turns up missing. It took awhile (until 75 percent of the book) to come to any real suspicions about who the culprit might be. 4/5 Stars for this slow burn novel. #NetGalley #Bookouture #JuliaCrouch #ThePerfectDate

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for an ARC.
The premise is a young woman (Caz) who finds that two men she met through an online dating platform have been murdered. Worried that the police is suspecting her, she shuts down and starts withholding information while she tries to figure out what's happening on her own.
This book had a lot of promise but it didn't fully deliver. I found some of Caz's behavior downright bizarre. Treating the police as her enemy, not reporting her friend's disappearance, trusting the wrong people etc. I also think this book might have worked better in first person POV.
The reveal of her mother's back story was definitely engaging and something I didn't see coming. However I was left scratching my head at the person responsible for the murders. How could Caz had misjudged this person's physical appearance so badly?

This was an okay book, I liked the idea behind it .I wish I had liked Caz more she had some strange ideas and ways of reacting which made it hard to identify with her .The plot was reasonable ,but it just didn't click with me ,I am sorry and hope other readers enjoy it more.

This just wasn’t for me. It was so far fetched, both Caz’s responses and the situations she found herself in had me shaking my head.
Especially her suddenly finding an attraction to a character that was previously described as very unattractive and creepy. I get why the correlation between trust and attraction was raised but it was totally unbelievable.
But throughout I was exasperated by her behaviour.

This book had me HOOKED from page one! I read it in one sitting, definitely UNPUTDOWNABLE! The author’s writing style and plot development really set up this thrilling ride! I loved the main character, Caz. I could imagine myself in her shoes. The plot twist at the end had me FLOORED!

Thanks to the author, NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC! Highly recommend this thrilling read!

I enjoyed The Perfect Date, but I felt like the story was a little rushed and it also felt slightly unrealistic for me.

The main character Caz, reacted in strange ways throughout the book, I didn't think they were normal reactions to her circumstances. However, I still found it entertaining and the storyline itself to be clever and unique.

Overall it was a good read.

3 stars from me.