Gripping , exciting, full of suspense… lots of twists and turns along the way…
Thanks netgalley for send me this copy

Excellent narration and a wonderful book! The character development and plot are both great. I love how listening to this helped me easily picture the story in my head. The story does seem a little unoriginal at parts, but I still loved it.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review. Cass is a dog walker and one morning her and her dog come across a gruesome discovery and this is not the first time this has happened in Cass's life. This was a good read with lots of hidden secrets from the past that all come together when Cass realizes she isn't sure who she can trust. Enjoy!!!

4⭐ (audio) The narrator does a good job telling the story. I listen to A LOT of audiobooks, and this narrator didn't stand out to me, but she didn't get in the way of the story, either. She got the job done. 🙂

4⭐ (story) Caz is a dog-walker for rich people, and when she's out walking her furry friends, they lead her straight to a dead man. The man she was dating from a dating app. The funny (not funny!) thing is, this has happened to her before. Caz decides she needs to get to the bottom of this so the cops don't start looking at her.

This is a fascinating premise, and it was mostly well-done. The writing was fast-paced. It kept me engaged from the very beginning. It was somewhat predictable (maybe because I read too much! 😂), but there were enough surprises to keep me guessing. I would definitely recommend this if you enjoy thrillers, just make sure you give yourself enough time to finish it, because you won't want to put it down! 😂😂

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced digital reader's copy (ARC) in exchange for an honest review!

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.

What a ride!
So we start out with Caz (Caroline) talking about her date last night, and how she thinks he might just be the one…
She is out walking her dogs, Joe (her dog), as well as multiple other dogs from the neighborhood…as she’s a dog walker…. and she loves her dogs!
All of a sudden, Joe is off leash and running away…and barking.
This can’t be good. Joe doesn’t do this.
As a matter of fact, he only did this once before…
Oh no!
Caz follows Joe to find Harry, (the guy from last night), dead on the ground…and quite a mess.
NO!! Not again!!
What do you mean?? Not again??
Oh yeah, the last guy she went out with and really liked ALSO turned up dead. And Caz found him too!
So she calls the police…although she really doesn’t want to, because she doesn’t want to go to jail. And what’s it going to look like?
And so the story begins…
Caz moved back home to take care of her Mom after an accident. And, after the last incident…
Now, Caz’s old friend Marcy reaches out to her to ask her to move into her house while she goes home to take care of her parents. Would she mind moving into her home for a week? She’ll pay her to house and dog sit.
Caz jumps at the chance. Marcy’s house is sick! With a pool!
And then it all starts to go wrong…
Caz meets all her neighbors and seems to fit right in. But are they all that they appear to be?
And weird things keep happening…
And people start to disappear…

Well, you will not be able to put this one down!

4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for me!

#ThePerfectDate…by #JuliaCrouch.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #BookoutureAudio for the ARC of the audiobook which releases today, October 6th! Look for it on shelves now!

If you liked my review, please “like” it! 😁

And, feel free to follow me on my new Instagram account at BookReviews_with_EMSR for more book reviews! Thanks!!

🎧Audio Book Review🎧

The Perfect Date
Julia Crouch

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This could be the shortest 5* review I've ever written because I just can't work out how to say much about the plot and storyline, without giving away any spoilers!

There was so much going on and it was all brilliant!

After a traumatic event, Caz moves back home with her mum in Brighton and starts a dog walking service for the local owners.
When out with the dogs one morning she finds a dead body - not only that, she knew the man she found! And it's not the first time....

We follow this story from the present time, but as we read, more information from the past, comes to light.
These storylines weave together beautifully leaving us wondering what's going on and why!?

Whilst house sitting for an old friend and current client, strange things start happening to Caz and as she explores each of the neighbours and recent acquaintances, we discover that there's much more to each of them and end up with multiple possibilities for who is the murderer.

With the large cast of characters and the different threads of story, it might seem that this would get over complicated, but it really doesn't!
Everything is clear and concise and the book flows with increasing tension building.
Each character plays their part in the mystery perfectly.

I loved the writing style which had me gripped from the start.
I did suspect who the killer was fairly early on - but had no idea why until much later - and the journey to get there had me questioning whether I was right or not?
Once the big reveal came - we raced to the end which still managed to surprise me.

I listened to this on audio book and really enjoyed the presentation. The narrator was great at portrating each character (especially given the large cast) and infusing it with tension, excitement and even some humour too.

A really great read - my first (but definitely not my last) from this author






💕Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for my ARC copy - this is my honest review 💕

3.5
The title doesn’t really fit the story since the dates are brought up but not the main focus.

Caz and pretty much the whole characters didn’t really grow on me. Caz decisions were rather questionable at times.
As for the narrator, I feel like she didn’t fit the character and at times it was hard to distinguish who was talking.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.

Wow! What a story! Lots of intertwining characters leaving you wondering who is behind what? Who's behind the killings and are they related to the notes and cards? A week house sitting her back from the best friend's house and dog Carolyn's life takes an unexpected turn as bad things keep happening around her.
Although I guessed the twist at the end I really enjoyed the journey Julia took me on as I listened to this story.

Narrator did well for this storyline. If you enjoy a good listen that you can finish quickly while the author still gives a good lead up to the twist, this audio book is for you.

Thank you Netgalley, Bookouture Audio, and Julia Crouch for this amazing audiobook!! A fun listen to a thrilling story! A singleton middle aged woman back home with her mom to take care of her (and get her life back on track after who she thought was the love of her life decided to leave her for her best friend years ago). She starts a dog walking business which is going pretty well and starts to date online. She comes across a dead body which isn’t the first time and although I won’t giveaway who the body belonged to but things just start to go array. I couldn’t even guess the outcome of this book! Twists that’ll make your head spin!!

Thank you to Netgalley and the author for allowing me to review this book This is NOT a paid review and this is my honest review.

I would give this book a solid 3.5 (rounded up to 4). I felt like this book was pretty slow and predictable until I got about 3/4 the way in this book. It definitely took a turn I would have never guessed in a million years.

This is my first time reading from this author and I would definitely read more of her books and recommend this book to others!

The story opens with Caz having found a dead body on her dog walking trip and she recognises him. But as the story unfolds this isn’t the first time! The pace of the story ups when she is asked to dog sit for a former friend, the friend who stole Caz’s partner. Then the anonymous letters start arriving and the plot really does thicken…
This was a great story, interesting characters all individual enough that they don’t get confusing. And the plot-line is cleverly thought out.
I listened to the audio version of this which on the whole was great. One negative was that whenever the narrator voiced male characters she brought to mind the Julie Walters character of Mrs Overall in Acorn Antiques - I’m guessing that wasn’t the intention.
A solid 4/5 - lost a point as I guessed the villain very early on.

With thanks to netgalley, the publisher and author for this advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest, personal review.

🌟🌟🌟💫
After moving home to help care for her mother, Caz started a successful dog-walking business. And it’s during one of those morning walks that her dog Joe comes across a dead body. After a closer look she realizes this is the man she just started dating. How could this happen…again! She just recently came across the body of her previous boyfriend just before moving home.

One dead boyfriend is a tragedy. A second dead boyfriend is a massive coincidence. And no one believes in those! Right!?

At times it was extremely difficult to warm-up to Caz, she seemed rather scattered. It was beyond the realm of believability when people are dying and missing around her and she shows no sense of alarm. She simply confides in all the wrong people, leaving those who want to help out in the cold.
The sheer number of characters is a bit overwhelming, at some point leaving me confused as to which named matched what neighbor.🤪

The highlight of the book for me was her border collie, Joe. (Well, I am a bit partial to border collies🥰.) Absolutely stole the show! And I imagine all dog lovers will feel the same.🐶

The narration was provided by Sarah Durham, who did a fabulous job!🙌🏼

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio

‘She thought she’d found the one… But then she found him dead…’ - cover tag line.

My thanks to Bookouture Audio for a review copy via NetGalley of the unabridged audiobook edition of ‘The Perfect Date’ by Julia Crouch. The audiobook is narrated by Sarah Durham. 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.

With respect to the audiobook, British actor Sarah Durham has narrated a number of titles, many in the mystery and thriller genres and I have enjoyed her readings of a few. She has a versatile range that infused the characters with distinctive voices.

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.

Thanks NetGalley for the arc of this audiobook. As much as I wanted to love this book the narrator wasn’t for me. The unfortunate thing about only listening to the narration of the book that is 50% of the experience and this experience wasn’t a great one for me,

I really enjoyed this book and I listened to it in two days as I just had to find out what was going to happen to Caz theain character. The narrator did a really good job of keeping you engaged and that makes a huge difference to an audio book ! I also loved the dog references as a huge dog lover myself and trying to work out who was caz's stalker has you guessing until the very end. Huge thanks to netgalley for sending me this arc.

As I listened to this terrific tale, I found myself as confounded as protagonist Caz. Every time I thought I had put my finger on what was happening and who was responsible for it I ended up being thrown off in another direction entirely and changing my entire train of thought, only to return to my previous ideas a few chapters later.

My affinity for Caz ensured The perfect Date was thoroughly enjoyable.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Perfect Date by Julia Crouch, an audiobook narrated by Sarah Durham was an intense story with many thrilling elements and a twist that you would never guess! I even don't know how to process this book! This was like binge-watching a whole season of the TV program! There was so much in this book! And things kept happening and happening and there was no end of happening!
Sarah Durham definitely delivered this book so nicely! Perfect choice!

It will be challenging to summarize this book (as I mentioned there is so much happening) but if I try, it will be like this:
The last two men Caz dated are dead. Coincidence? No one knows! Can Caz trust the police? No one knows! Does she have a stalker? No one knows! The only thing Caz knows is her life becomes more complicated every single day and she has no idea why this is happening!

Twist after twist, action after action. Everyone looks suspicious! The end was just mind-blowing!

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for this fantastic thriller!

This was a good read and kept me on my toes. & i never knew who the stalker/killer was. Very well written. The audioboook was amazing. It kept me interested the entire time listening.

An interesting psychological thriller. What is happening? A cat and mouse chase.

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?