Date Night by Samantha Hayes

This is one seriously messed up psychological thriller/domestic drama -- and I mean that in the nicest way.

What it's about: A marriage doesn't sour overnight, but when Libby finds a note on her car windshield stating that her husband of 5 years, veterinarian Sean Randell is cheating on her, things start to fall apart quickly. She doesn't mean to be a jealous shrew. But that happens. He can't reassure her enough that it isn't true. In an effort to get themselves back on track, because Libby really does love him, they plan an evening out at a local restaurant. Sean's mom, Marion, typically babysits their four-year-old daughter, Alice, but she has a meeting at church so they ask Sasha, a 17-year-old girl who sometimes works with Libby in her catering business, to come over for the evening. The "date night" doesn't go quite as hoped. They argue, Libby accuses, Sean is checking his phone constantly. They call an end and head home only to find that Sasha is missing and Alice has been left alone in the house. What follows is the epitome of unreliable narration as the police get involved and question Libby and Sean. NO SPOILERS.

Why you should read it: There is so much going on in this book that it's hard to make any kind of determination as to what has happened to Sasha. Libby is a catastrophic mess and is either crying or blabbering on about this or that and can't seem to answer any questions. Since she's the main character and the one who's telling the story in different time shifts, it takes awhile to figure out what's gone on. Without giving it all away, I really can't say too much about the other characters in the book but there are many, some more likeable than others. I like the writing even as the style made it a bit more difficult to read but I think that was purposeful in that it is probably meant to prevent the reader from making the leap necessary for the conclusion to work and be a surprise twist. I like guessing games with psychological thrillers and enjoy them more if I'm made to work for it. This one strung me along longer than others!

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for this e-book ARC to read and review. I've read other books by this author and will definitely keep an eye out for future releases.

This is a standalone and is not part of any series.
Genre - domestic drama/psychological thriller