Member Reviews
I know dating can be rough, but wow what poor Caz goes through in this one. She finds a guy dead that she met and dated from a dating app. If that isn’t traumatizing enough, she’s housesitting for a while as a break from life and that owner/friend appears to be missing. Eek! I’m glad I am not friends with her. Due to a mysterious event in her past, she is not wanting to contact the police with all the weirdness in her life. And there are either really weird things happening or many coincidences.
Because of the tone of the writing, I wasn’t feeling very sympathetic for Caz, but I was terribly interested in finding out if my guess of what was happening was correct. I jumped right onto something that felt off for me and while I had the correct suspect, I was so far off in my reason why. But isn’t that what makes a good thriller?
At times I was reading and other times I was listening to this one and really liked Sarah Durham’s narration of the story. She kept me engaged and still focused on the story.
It’s a little bit of a cat and mouse game as the villain sends her notes and has her surveilled. There are multiple men in her life that are advising her and I couldn’t decide who was helping her and who was in it for themselves. It really was a enjoyable read to see if Caz would find the man of her dreams or maybe end up six feet under.
Crouch is a new author to me, so I wasn't sure what to expect from her, but after reading The Perfect Date, I look forward to reading more from her as I really enjoyed the book and inhaled it in one sitting.
Creepy or coincidence? You meet the perfect man - the following day you're out walking the dogs for your clients and you find a body - it's him!
Flipping 'eck, the author certainly knows how to grab your attention doesn't she? What a storyline, twisted, full of suspense and guaranteed to get your pulse rate racing.
Caroline was a little frustrating, but I quickly became emotionally invested in her character.
Brilliant story, definitely worth the read!
What a gripping psychological thriller
With her last two dates both fatally meeting a killer.
She has no idea if the killings are linked in another way
But wonders if it's her fault some way.
With Joe, her dog, to help her through
She's unsure who to trust or what to do.
A riveting read full of twists and surprises galore
With secrets and lies as well as clues she's looking for.
This is one of those stories where the least said the best
As I don't want to preempt you discovering the rest.
Enough to say this is a page-turner read
Which keeps you guessing but gives the clues that you need.
For my complementary copy of this book, I say thank you -
Such an intriguing read - as I share my honest review.
Well this one had some fun twists in it. I couldn’t stop reading to this one. I needed to know who the killer was. And once I had it figured out I had to know who else was going to die and how things were going to wrap up. I liked Julia’s writing style. It was easy to connect with Caroline and Ruth. I understood Caroline’s distrust in the police and so many of the men she came in contact with.
Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for my ARC of this book.
This book was the perfect way to introduce me to this author. Crouch writes a book that is full of suspense and mystery. It is fast paced, with short chapters and it will keep you guessing until the very end. While it did start out a little slow for me, it quickly picked up and I couldn’t stop reading. There are a lot of twists and turns that you’ll never see coming!
All of the characters in this book were very distinct and each one had a part to play. It’s hard to know who to trust because it seems anyone can have a motive to kill. The plot is well thought out and the ending is cleaned up nicely, not leaving any questions about what happened. This is the type of ending I prefer!
Any thriller lover will enjoy this book, therefore I highly recommend it!
Gripping , exciting, full of suspense… lots of twists and turns along the way…
Thanks netgalley for share this book
What a great well written psychological thriller. I really just did not want to put it down. The twists snd turns had you second guessing all the way through. I loved the way the author captured the characteristics of the dogs so well and had Joey interacting with Caz and their surroundings all the time. As in many books like this it all got wrapped up a bit quick at the end but I can forgive that as all the loose ends were dealt with satisfactorily.
I wasn't sure what to expect after I read the description to The Perfect Date but once I started reading I was pleasantly surprised. I was hooked immediately and could not put it down. It had plenty of twists and turns which I loved and quite a surprising and satisfying ending.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for my ARC.
Thank you to netgalley for the opportunity to read and review!
I really enjoyed this thriller, my wheels were turning the entire time but I can honestly say the plot twist did surprise me! If you like thrillers, definitely give this one a try!
I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The book exceeded my expectation as I thought it would be a quick formulaic thriller from the description, but the story was fascinating. The mother- daughter relationship, her deep bond with her dog, the complicated female friendship all made a very compelling story. The characters were complex and three- dimensional.
Five stars!
I didn’t know what to expect but I am glad I gave this book a shot. I really enjoyed this book and I already recommended it to a few book friends.
Am I the only one who thought this book was misnamed? I mean,. in hindsight, I guess…
The thing is, the book was fairly frun of the mill and the main character was annoying. I mean, the main character seemed to have main character syndrome. That made it incredibly hard to believe that she didn’t see what was happening sooner. I just found the whole thing unbelievable and ridiculous. Everfy single part. From someone going from a teacher to (an apparently certified) dog walker to every man in the entire book trying to sleep with this basket case. The ending was just beyond belief.
I tried reading this but switched over to the audiobooks version just to get through it.
After Cassie finds the dead body of the guy she has been seeing she moves back home to leads to be with her disabled mother it really freaked her out but when she ran across the new guy she’s been dating and he’s also dead, she not only swears off dating but also lies to the police so unlike last time she won’t be arrested. So when her childhood friend Marcy who she had a falling out with recently reunited with calls to ask if she can housesit while she goes to take care of her mom who broke her hip caS feels like this may be the break she needs a week in a lavish home, rent free and she’ll be paid well. Plus where Marcie lives all the dog she trains and walks lives close around there so it is a win-win. The day she moves and she meets the neighbor who insist she go to the dinner the next day to introduce her new live-in boyfriend John to her friends in the neighborhood this is where she meets Peter who Cass find to be a very nice man but sergeant Collins shows up at Marcie’s to ask did she know the dead guy she found in the park Cass kind of comes clean but just wants him to leave. When strange things starts happening however she will hope Sergeant Collins comes back. There is so much I did not put in my review and it it’s a lot and it’s so good and so twisty and a book I definitely highly recommend. I love the books by this author in this one had me guessing until the big reveal and OMG I was not expecting it I do want to say when Cass lost Joey at the end that made my heart start palpitating so the finale really had my blood going this was an awesome god and when I thoroughly enjoyed. I want to thank Bookoucher and Net Galley for my free arc copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.
I was definitely hoping for bad dates dates gone wrong or serial stalker vibes on this book! The premise of this storyline was unexpected and honestly makes you not want to try dating anyone. 😂 But what started off as a plot following the book title, eventually went a different direction and I felt like they no longer pertained to each other. Yes, there was still the bad vibes Caz (FMC) was getting from all the men she came into contact with, but I was hoping for another actual date to go wrong.
However, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and that it was a single POV with great details and wonderful dialogue. I kept hoping that Marcy was actually the one messing with Caz as another way to mess with her life. But then it seemed way more likely that another person was stalking her from the dating app. I especially enjoyed that the author threw several different people in the mix as a way to throw you off your guess of who the killer/stalker actually is.
I definitely didn't even suspect who the real killer was until Caz’s mom, Ruth, talks about her past. They knew who they were looking for after that moment, but didn’t know when he’d strike. So when the twist happened, I actually was so disturbed by which character the killer actually was and his motive, but I really enjoyed it still! Definitely would recommend this book to others who want a quick read!
Thank you NetGalley, Bookouture and author Julia Crouch for this gifted copy in exchange for an honest review!
‘She thought she’d found the one… But then she found him dead…’ - cover tag line.
My thanks to Bookouture for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘The Perfect Date’ by Julia Crouch. I was also invited to take part in the publication week blog tour.
Well, my attention was certainly snagged by that tag line! Caroline (Caz) Sessions has recently returned to Brighton to look after her ailing mother, Ruth. However, there was another reason to leave London. The last man that she dated had been murdered and for a short time she had been the prime suspect! Recently she tried using the dating app again and met Harry with whom she had shared two successful dates. She has a good feeling about him.
Caz has started a dog walking business that keeps her busy. When out walking some of her charges, she lets Joey, her own dog, off his leash. He runs off, comes back and seems very agitated. Then she sees that he’s found a dead body! As Caz draws closer, she realises that it’s Harry. She faints …
What an opening! When the police interview Caz she doesn’t mention that she knew the victim. After all dog walkers are always coming across dead bodies! Plus, surely it’s just a coincidence that another man she was dating met a sticky end.
Then Marcy, one of Caz’s clients, sends her a message offering her a lucrative week long job as pet sitter for Bridget Jones, her pampered Maltipoo. Caz moves into Marcy’s luxurious home and fantasises that it could have been hers. We learn that years before Marcy and Caz had been best friends until Mark, Caz’s boyfriend, had dumped her for Marcy. Ouch! Since they are now divorced, Caz is trying her best to reconnect with her old friend. Yet she feels that something isn’t quite right at the house. No further details to avoid spoilers.
There’s a lot going on in ‘The Perfect Date’. At times I was concerned that it was too much though Crouch clearly knows her craft and brought together its various threads in what I found a satisfying conclusion. It was a very twisty journey.
I found myself quite invested in the narrative, even though Caz’s behaviour was sometimes frustrating. In addition, any thriller that contains animals, especially much loved pets, always provides an extra degree of tension.
Overall, I found ‘The Perfect Date’ a gripping psychological thriller, that was almost impossible to put down. While it was the first novel I have read by Julia Crouch, it certainly won’t be my last.
The book throws you into action right from the first chapter and the pace is never slow down.
Caz is a dog walker 🐶 So this is a morning walk, Caz working but thinking about the guy from the dating app, Harry. Even thinks he may be The One!
And then her dog Joe helps discover a body! And guess who is it? Exactly poor Harry 😨
But for Caz, it’s not the first time her date was murdered. She doesn’t think it’s linked tho, based on how differently they were killed. So Caz decides not to tell the police anything, even the fact she knows who the body is.
Right after that, her client/ex-friend Marcy suggests Caz move into her house for a week. And then the weird things start to happen…
I like the fast pace, the plot, and all the twists!
First half of the book couldn’t even guess what was going on, there were no clues! And the second half is a wild ride when everyone is suspected.
The writing is smooth and catchy. Love it!
But Caz herself didn’t make me sympathize with her a lot. I questioned some of her denials, reactions, and behavior. But it didn’t disturb me at all!
My favorite character is 100% Joe. Smart and protective, a dream dog!
Highly recommend “The Perfect Date” if you like fast-paced whodunit thrillers. And dogs 🐕
Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Caz is a successful dog walker in Brighton. One day, when she’s walking the dogs, one of them picks up a scent and leads her to a dead body.
Imagine her shock when she recognises the man lying dead on the ground. He is called Harry and Caz met him through the dating app. They’ve been on a couple of dates before and she really thought they had a future together.
The strangest thing is that minutes before Caz discovered Harry’s body, she got a message from him. How is that possible?
The police are soon investigating Harry’s murder. Caz is hiding a secret… While she was living in London, her dog also picked up a scent of a dead body. The man was called Ash and Caz used to date him. Because of how the police treated her in the past, she doesn’t want to disclose this piece of information. Would that be her downfall?
I enjoyed this psychological thriller.
I must admit that it went in the direction I wasn’t expecting. Caz is asked to house-sit for her friend Marcy, and then all hell breaks loose. I thought it would be more about the police investigation, but I was quickly sucked into Caz’s (and Marcy’s) past.
As a dog owner and lover, I was totally besotted with Joe, Caz’s dog, who was extremely intelligent and loyal. I also liked Ruth, Caz’s mum, who showed great strength throughout her not so easy life.
And that ending… Great!
This was a gripping read I breezed through in a few hours! It was easy to read, kept me engaged and wanting to read more. The reveal was also a surprise!
Every app dater's worst nightmare and every thriller lover's sweetest dream. Full of twists and turns starring a flawed and highly relatable protagonist, this one will have you guessing until the very end!
Heart stopping, nail biting suspense delivered in a nutshell. Caz has returned home to look after her mother and has also started a successful dog walking business. Caz has been dating someone who she met on a dating app but when he turns up murdered and strange things start happening, it seems like she is being stalked. This book is physcological thriller at it's finest and I felt myself looking over my shoulder while reading just to check that there was no one there. The dogs of course easily won me over as I LOVE dogs and Joe was my little hero! The twists in the plot left my head reeling and my nails bitten down and the characters personalities are flawlessly described to suit the needs of the story. If like me you love a good physcological thriller then this is one that I will be recommending.