This was quiet the thriller and started off strong and interesting but in the middle started to drag and I sort of lost interest unfortunately. I do always recommend the thrillers I read to people though because we all have different tastes!

It is a fantastic story, exhilarating plot, well developed characters, and a well executed shocking ending. I read in one day, unputdownable and very addictive. Recommend to every thriller reader.

I waited to read this one for Valentine’s Day but there was definitely no lovey dovey stuff in this one! A good read, I rated this 3/5 stars and am glad to have read it so thank you NetGalley for this! I didn’t see the twists that were coming even though I had a general idea. I'm a big animal person so it was nice to read a book that had animals play a part in it, I love me some doggies <3

I really struggled to connect with the characters in this one. It heavily influenced my rating. What I did like was the mention of a dog in the book. It was just a bit too predictable for me.

It was an ok story. There were a lot of things that were unnecessary. Unfortunately the ending was predictable so not much of a plot twist. I liked Caz though, very lovely! Also Joey was amazing! I could recommend this book to someone that’s getting into psychological thrillers!

"The Perfect Date" by Julia Crouch provided an okay reading experience, delivering a psychological thriller with a mix of compelling and lackluster elements. The story's premise holds promise, revolving around the complexities of online dating and hidden secrets. However, the execution occasionally falters, with the plot twists feeling somewhat forced and predictable. Crouch's writing is competent, but the characters lack the depth needed to truly engage the reader. While the novel maintains a decent level of suspense, it doesn't quite reach the heights of a gripping psychological thriller, resulting in an okay but forgettable addition to the genre.

I was really intrigued by the description of this one and it had me hooked until about halfway through when I started to lose a little interest. It just felt like things were not moving along in the plot and I was having a hard time connecting to any of the characters. The ending was okay but didn't shock me all that much. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Caz appears to be a magnet for death and misfortune. Instead of finding love from a dating app, she finds death. One time is unlucky, but what about when it happens a second time? Secrets, lies, and betrayal prove to be a deadly and dangerous combination. This is a fast-paced, entertaining thriller that kept me interested and intrigued. Although some of the plot points were slightly predictable, I was always engaged and invested in the satisfying conclusion. Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for my copy.

Very interesting read! I really enjoyed the beginning, but I felt there were a few times during the middle where it dragged and I found myself ready for the end. I think this was mainly because the main character seemed so ditzy. The ending it picked up again, and it made up some for the slow middle. I will be reading more from this author!

I was hopeful this was going to be a good story based on the title and description but quickly the feeling started to fade as everything was far fetched (dog pun) and I was ultimately struggling to get through it. I would not recommend this to anyone.

I love Julia Crouch's novels and could not wait to read The Perfect Date.

We meet Caz, who is a dog-walker, she has recently moved back home after being arrested for a man's death after having been on a date with, she was the police's main target. But the charges have been dropped and she is ready to start afresh somewhere else and try and leave the past behind.

Unfortunately, this happens again and Caz realises that someone is framing her or trying to get their revenge. The novel held my attention and I really enjoyed the characters in The Perfect Date.

Julia Crouch really knows how to tell a story and find her stories interesting and holds my attention.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publishers and the author for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a mixed bag for me! Having read some of the more unfavourable reviews, my expectations were a bit lower than before.
I was pleasantly surprised - I found it easy to read, very funny at times, and for the most part I found it a 5 star read!
The only things that dropped out a star at the following!
Joe is a dog - he isn’t lassie - he hasn’t got the intuition to place his paw on caz’s hand to stop her walking into danger.
And secondly it was so far fetched the murdered “dates” may as well have been murdered by aliens!! I found myself shaking my head in disbelief at the end! That being said, it didn’t detract from what was a bloody good read!!

This book started off so interesting. Caroline (Caz), who is a dog walker finds the gruesome dead body of a guy who she was recently seeing. She had met him on a dating app called See Me. But this was not the first dead body that she has found of a person who she was romantically involved with. Was this a coincidence?

Although the beginning of the story was a banger, the rest of the book dragged on too long, and had too many characters. It took me a long time to finish the book because Caz was so unlikable and extremely slow to connect the dots. However, I did enjoy the plot twists because I absolutely did not see them coming. Great job with that!

Overall, the book was a 3 star read for me. Thank you NetGalley and publishers for The Perfect Date.

The Perfect Date
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Author: Julia Crouch

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley, Bookouture and Bookouture Audio and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: I thought I’d found the one… But then I found him dead.

The last time I saw Harry, he was smiling at me over a candlelit table. It felt like I’d known him forever. I sipped my wine, and let myself hope for a second perfect date.

But this morning, out on a bright sunny walk, my rescue dog starts barking. I follow to see what he’s found. That’s when I see Harry’s body. His handsome face is cold and still. I back away, trembling.

It should be the worst thing that has ever happened to me. But it’s happened to me before.

The last two men I dated are dead.

I can’t tell the police I knew them both. I’d be their number one suspect.

But I need answers. Am I going mad, or is this my fault? And if I don’t find out who is doing this, will I be next?

My Thoughts: This was a captivating and compelling psychological thriller. This is the first time that I have read a book by Julia Crouch and it will not be my last. Crouch held my interest and weaved an unpredictable thrilling experience. At its most simplistic form, this was a whodunit. However, there were unpredictable twists and turns and I was questioning every character and their motive. This book was so much fun and I devoured in a matter of days (audiobook). Caz (Caroline) is a dog walker, takes care of her mother, and her last two dates were murdered. Her dog, Joe, has an excellant nose for finding dead bodies. Caz does not believe that the two incidents were connected. Since she is the connection for these two murders, will she be a suspect? Or were these men murdered to get to her?

The story is narrated by Caz, an unreliable narrator, in her POV. There are a lot of characters and it takes a bit to make all of the connections and understand the path of the characters. However, once it clicks, it clicks. Caz has been through a lot recently, including being detained as a suspect in Ash’s death. She has made some questionable decisions and her behavior is eccentric. The characters were fleshed out well with depth, they were mysterious, and creatively placed throughout the story. The author’s writing style was complex, twisty, unpredictable, and really well written. The story starts out as a slow burn to build up the characters, lay the foundation, and set the tone. Then the plot is delivered in twisty layers, pulling the whodunit in different directions. Then an explosive secret is laid out and the story is wrapped up in an ending that I did not see coming. Very well written story. Personally, I think Joe (the dog) really steals the show.

I had the pleasure of having the digital and audiobook (ARC) of this story. The narrator was amazing in this audiobook. She had great voice distinction, with amazing voice pitch and really brought life to the characters. She really nailed the fear behind Caz. She really kept me invested in this story. This story was dark, compelling, captivating, twisty, and really kept me guessing. I had every character nailed as a suspect at one time or another. Probably one of the most unpredictable books that I have read this year. If you love dogs, you will love this story! I highly recommend that you go pick this up today.

The Perfect Date by Julia Crouch Narrated by Sarah Durham was a brilliant audiobook that was full of twists and turns throughout which is a brilliant twisted whodunnit, that was full of suspense, drama, that will have you guessing till the very end which was fast paced which nice short chapters.

The narrator Sarah was brilliant for this book and kept it alive.

I highly recommend this book I loved it!

Big Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for my E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Easy read, lots of people to suspect, although I imagine most people will be able to spot the 'baddy'. However, would still reccommend this as an enjoyable way to escape for a bit.

Definitely a thriller for dog lovers! This book had a great setup, and I was intrigued for about the first quarter. The middle seemed to kind of drag a bit and became a little monotonous, but it was still a fun read. The ending was surprising, and was happy with how it wrapped up.

This was not for me. I couldn’t get into it at all. The writing was very stiff and under-developed. No nuance or suspense. Lacks depth and visualization. I got 20% of the way in and had to stop.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the digital ARC!

This was a nice read as a palette cleanser between more dense books - a crime thriller that I'm sure will please most readers of the genre.

The premise is pretty unique - Caz and her dog, Joe, manage to find the guy she's been dating dead whilst on a walk...twice. First it happens in London, then in Brighton. The mystery continues on from there, and you can't help but feel like Caz must have the worst luck in the world.

I'll be entirely honest in that this was a solid, middle of the road read for me. It didn't do anything fantastic, but it also wasn't a chore to read. I read it in less than a day, and the writing was good enough to keep my attention for long periods of time. The story itself was pretty intriguing, and Joe the dog was the best character...even if he did seem to be a little too human sometimes.

I also really liked Damian, and I was sad he wasn't included much. His character couldve been fleshed out a bit more and he deserved it.

Caz, frankly, was an idiot of gigantic proportions. I disliked her the whole way through and did some major eye rolling at her decisions and thought processes. Boggles the mind that it took her over half the book to finally suspect that maybe she was the connection between the murders...like, come on. Two men you met on the same app in different areas of England both get murdered after going on a date with you? Never mind rose coloured glasses, she'd had rose laser surgery.

On top of that, she had a really annoying attitude towards Marcy and Mark. There were at least times when she recognised it and told herself off, but the amount of times she'd think 'this should've belonged to me'. Girl, it's been like 9 years...go to therapy. And get some friends, please.

I'd love to say I didn't figure out who it was, but I figured it out relatively early on so it wasn't a huge surprise. Still, it was a relatively enjoyable read if I ignored some of Caz's idiotic decisions.

Giving this book 3 1/2 stars. Caz recently returned home to care for her ailing mother. She established herself as a popular professional dog walker. One morning while walking dog, her dog, Joe, comes across the body of a deceased man. It turns out to be Harry, a man she met on a dating app. This would be quite a disturbing thing to find the man you are dating dead, except this is the SECOND TIME this has happened to Caz! Once is a coincidence, but twice is a bit of a pattern.

Now, one would think that this was enough of a mystery for one novel, but wait! Her friend, who she is house sitting for, has gone missing! But again, Caz doesn’t seem non plussed or concerned, which was infuriating at time!

I did feel that there were too many side characters involved in the story. Additionally, the plot just DRAGGED for the first half of the book. I was hoping that with discovering a dead body in the first chapter meant that this was a fast paced book, but alas, I was wrong.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookoture for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.