I absolutely loved and adored this book. It is so well written and there are twists in the plot all the time. Samantha Hayes for sure never disappoints. She has become one of my favourite authors. Whenever I need a good mystery/thriller book, I simply choose one of hers.

This started out really strong and then at the end, I felt really let down.

The book revolves around a family, Libby being the protagonist and POV. It starts in the present moment and then the book flips between past and present (which I do enjoy). Libby finds a note on her windshield that states, "Sean is having an affair" and the plot kicks off immediately from there. The plot being the family's babysitter goes missing while they are out at dinner trying to reconnect after the fall out from the note.

I saw similarities between this and B.A Paris' book, "The Breakdown." I felt like her husband, Sean, was trying to make Libby seem crazy for believing the note and after so long of hearing Sean saying she was acting crazy, she in turn starts acting "crazy.". The timeline of the story is set over the course of 24 hours or so and it is filled with tension and drama. I did enjoy that aspect of it a lot; Samantha kept you on your toes.

Without giving anything away, what disappointed me was that you find things out at the end, that were not made know at the time of the event. The story was wonderful and gripped you from the beginning, kept you guessing as to what was really going on but with the missing pieces and the lack of information needed to understand the ending; It felt a bit rushed.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

I have enjoyed all of Samatha Hayes work so I was excited to read her newest book Date Night! This book was super easy to get into .... than it just sort of lost me ... I think this book could have had great potential but it fell flat to me.

Date Night by Samantha Hayes was an enjoyable and easy read. The story is told by Libby in two different timelines, when she has been arrested for the murder of Sasha and the events leading up to her arrest. I was hooked from the first chapter and this book kept me guessing to the very end. I’ve read one other Samantha Hayes book and have a few in my TBR pile so will definitely be reading those soon.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a copy of this ebook in exchange for my honest review.

I loved Samantha’s last book, so I was really excited to read this one. Unfortunately I had to abandon this one early on. I just found some of the actions/emotions and escalation thereof not believable and it drove me crazy. I will try to finish this at a later date, but putting it aside for now. I do appreciate this arc and thank the publisher and netgalley for it in exchange of an honest review.

Read all my reviews at https://brainfartsandbooks.wordpress.com

Libby and Sean's marriage is on the rocks. Sean suggests just the two of them going out to dinner on a date night. They hire their regular babysitter, Sasha, to come and babysit their daughter Alice. But the evening ends in disaster as Libby and Sean get into an argument at the restaurant and they return home before the night is over only to find that Sasha is gone. Her school books and phone and other personal belongings are all there but there is no sign of Sasha. Alice, however, is safe and sleeping in her bed.

This book is a fantastic read with some really questionable characters such as Sean's ex wife, Natalie, and even his mother and father. I thought Sasha's parents also acted a bit strange seeing that it was their daughter who had gone missing. This book kept me guessing until the end. Extremely well-written with a fantastic twist at the end.

Thank you to Netgalley, Samantha Hayes, and Bookouture for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Holy moly! This book was intense, in the best way!

Date Night follows Libby who has a date night with her husband, Sean, after she is left a note leaving her questioning her marriage. When they return, their babysitter is missing. Questioning her marriage, the disappearance, and everyone around her, Libby starts to lose control and struggles to find who is keeping secrets and who is telling the truth.

This entire book kept me guessing from the beginning until the very end. Well written and thoroughly engrossing, I very much enjoyed this mystery novel, where it seems that no one can be trusted.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book.

Rating 3.5 stars

Life is good until Libby finds a note stuck to her car window saying husband Sean is having an affair. Sean denies this and to help smooth things over they set a date night at the local pub. They organise for a babysitter to come as Sean's mother is busy that night.

After returning early from a disastrous date night with Sean, Libby knows something is wrong the moment that they arrive home. Sasha is no where to be found though their daughter is still asleep upstairs. They contact her boyfriend to see if she is with him, then her mother. But no-one has seen her and they call the police to report a missing person.

Weeks later, after the police have searched their house and the surrounding countryside, Libby is arrested for Sasha’s murder, even though she was out with her husband at the time she disappeared.

I enjoyed the book and whilst I didn't see that ending coming I thought that this one person was involved - I won't say too much as don't want to give it away. However at times the over novel felt a little jumbled as the story kept changing as the days passed, showing the holes in the original story and kept flicking between the past and present too. Normally I don't mind this flicking but it felt a little disjointed in this case. Plus during the police interviews, Libby kept floating off into the past which broke the story off. And finally few times there was repeated descriptions over a quick succession of pages that stood out.

I received this book from Netgalley in return for a honest review.

'Jaw Dropping Twist' this book was advertised as, so here was me thinking I was in for a treat.

The book is written in the style that focuses only on the ending, each chapter past and present until both time lines meet.

The book itself was a steady read, I thought the characters were fine , we had the normal ' woman crying too much' and 'man acting like an idiot' characters but it wasn't too annoying.

The ending was dreadful and shouldn't be described as jaw dropping, it was one of the worst endings to a book I have ever read, the biggest disappointment.

What a waste of my time this book was, please don't bother reading it.

Date Night is a really good psychological thriller that had me hooked from beginning to end.
Libby and Sean with their daughter Alice live a pleasant life, Sean owns his own veterinary practice and after having Alice, Libby is building her own business up by providing catering for people. Life is good until Libby receives a note stuck to the front of her car window saying Sean is having an affair. Sean denies this and to help smooth things over suggests a date night. Sasha who helps Libby sometimes in her catering business and babysits does so that night but when they come home Sasha is missing.
This was a book that had a bit of everything, the story is told from Libby’s perspective and works well bouncing from before and after the event. I devoured this in a day and the ending was something I never ever saw coming!
I would like to thank Netgalley and Bookouture for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

A cracking read with a huge chunk of insanity to nudge the story along - as if author Samantha Hayes needs any help!

This new-to-me author has crafted a wonderfully chilling plot, executed perfectly with just the right amount of pace. You won't find any boring chapters here! Samantha Hayes’ writing style was flawless and everything just flowed, the short, snappy chapters allowing for an undemanding and enjoyable read.

The characters in this story were well drawn and very believable and Samantha Hayes has done a grand job at bringing them to life on the page, though they were not particularly personable, giving me cause for wariness. Date Night was very hard to put down and I found myself thinking about the story even when I wasn’t reading it, This was one of those books that had me guessing all the way through and I had my own suspicions as to what might happen next only to discover that I was barking up the wrong tree completely. This book had an incredible twist that I didn’t see coming at all.

Totally gripping throughout, I hope it won't be long before there is another offering by this outstanding author.

I received a complimentary digital copy of this novel, at my own request, from Bookouture via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

What’s it about: Libby and her husband are having marital issues and go on a date night to patch things up. They come home and the babysitter is missing.


What I liked about this book: The book caught my attention in the beginning and I found the characters interesting. I enjoy books with unreliable narrators and this offered that.

What I disliked: Although the beginning was interesting, the book felt slow at times. I expected more shocking reveals throughout the book and the plot was pretty predictable.

Overall impression: I’d classify this as a “middle of the road” type of thriller. It’s not bad, by any stretch of the imagination but isn’t overly great. 3/5 stars.

Special thanks to NetGalley for providing advance review copies in exchange for my honest review.

Prepare to be shocked with this one! I was going in circles this entire book trying to figure it out, and I was still so surprised! This story is so well developed and the premise is so twisted that you might as well just quit trying to figure it out. What was meant to be a date night to get things back on the right track for a couple ends up being a web of nightmarish events that could end up being the end of them. What in the world really happened and who is not being completely honest. Don't be so quick to believe everything in this book and be prepared to be glued to the pages in this twisted thriller!

I preferred this second read of Hayes than the first (The Liar's Wife), there was something more real about this one, and the writing felt more emotive. I really enjoyed it!

This is a fast paced psychological thriller. The premise was great with a married couple going on a date night which doesn't go as planned. From there things become a nightmare situation. The story is told from the perspective of a married mom named Libby in 2 different timelines. She was annoying as a character nor did I like her husband or mother in law. There were a few surprises and the ending was unexpected. The chapters are short and the book is a page turner at times. I will definitely read other books by this author.

Exciting, Suspenseful, & Thrilling. A great story with a lot of twists & turns; that keeps you guessing.. Will highly recommend to others

There’s nothing worse than when you’ve been married for quite a few years thinking your marriage is pretty solid and secure, and then one day everything changes to make you wonder was your entire marriage a lie!

Libby was a great caterer and her husband a veterinarian. They shared a four-year old daughter, Alice. Life was really good for them. Both were living their best lives, until one morning when Libby found a note attached to her car windshield that changed everything. The note read, “your husband is cheating on you.” Hmm, was this some teen prank? Possibly a disgruntled employee trying to get even with her husband, Sean?

No matter how hard Libby tried to erase those words from her mind, they were forever burned in her memory bank! She called a good friend to discuss the note and what she should do about it? Of course, her girlfriend told her she shouldn’t worry about it because she and Sean had a great marriage and neither of them had cheated on each other before, and why would she want to rock the boat now?

She chewed on the advice her friend gave her, but no matter what, at the end of the day, she could not peacefully digest what the note said. So, what does Libby do? She places the note away for safe keeping and decides to confront Sean. Of course, Sean flat out denied an affair and told his wife she was being silly for even thinking he’d do such a thing.

Even though Sean denied the affair, Libby wasn't one hundred percent convinced. But, despite her misgivings about the whole thing, they decide that what they need was a good night out. A date night to be exact. They call seventeen-year old Sasha, their babysitter, to come over to watch Alice while the two wannabe love birds patch things up. When they arrive at the restaurant, everything was going smoothly until Sean’s phone began blowing up. Umm hmm, there it is! His lover is texting him while he’s having a supposed romantic date night out with his wife. Well, Libby had had it! That was the final damn straw that broke the camel’s back. Enough was enough, or was it?

The couple leave the restaurant early and head home to find that Sasha had all but disappeared and left four-year old Alice alone to her own devices, and that, readers, is where this story gets sick and twisted even farther.

Holy cow, Batman! Talk about a story with twists and turns? My goodness, I had no idea where this story was going to lead me. My mind was whirling all over the place, but I’m happy to say, I managed to figure out a couple of things along the way, but the ending did come as a surprise. Overall, I felt the story line was strong and managed to keep my interest, but at the same time, I felt the story dragged on too long and could have ended much sooner than it had. Many times, I felt myself yelling at my Kindle, “enough already, let’s get to it!” As my readers know, I like to get right down to it and I do not like when stories tend to drag on and on, but I realize that is the style some writers tend to use. Unfortunately, I’m not a fan of that, but having said that, this was still a damn good book though!

You can never go wrong with a book by this author! When Libby receives a note on her car’s windshield that her husband is having an affair the message couldn’t be clearer. And so begins Date Night where she and her husband try to work through some of their issues. But this is just the start of their issues because when they arrive home the babysitter is missing. Gone. As the investigation grows Libby finds herself arrested and pleading to be believed. Will anyone listen? Told from the Present Day to the weeks leading up to the penultimate ending this book will have you racing to the finish to find out what happens next. Special thanks to Netgalley and Bookoutre for my ARC.

Based on the synopsis I knew this book would be right up my alley! Date Night is a psychological thriller with so much suspense. It’s fast paced and exciting.

I was immediately sucked in, then the plot took a little while to build up, but I still felt the tension and suspense that I have come to love from this genre.

I definitely recommend this one!

Wow! I was not expecting this book to be so unique and so intense. From the very start to the very end it kept me hooked. There are so many twists and turns that you can never see coming. This book had every element that makes a book exceptional from well developed characters to an amazing plot to maximum suspense. I highly recommend this book.
Just wait until you find out what really happened to Sasha and why.