Blind Date by Wendy Clarke
Genre: Psychological thriller, Suspense
Read: 28th October 2021
Published: 29th October 2021
★★★ 3 stars
DESCRIPTION:
When Mel is set up on a blind date by her best friends Chris and Simon, she’s as anxious as any woman would be. Her divorce came as such a shock and she’d been feeling lost and lonely, but that didn’t mean she was desperate to date again. It was a terrible day at work that made her say yes: it could be a bit of fun, a distraction at least. What did she have to lose?
When Mel meets Malik, she knows instantly that they could have more than just a fling. She tells him her deepest, darkest secrets and it doesn’t make him run away. He makes her feel wanted for the first time in years, and when she wakes up in his bed in the early hours she feels completely content.
Until she notices that he’s no longer lying beside her.
She’s tangled up in his sheets alone in his bedroom and she can’t remember how she got there.
And then she hears the metallic scrape of a key in the door and realises that Malik has locked her in. Is her dream man going to turn into her worst nightmare?
Thrilling and gripping until the final page, Blind Date is a dark and unsettling story about deception and how much we can trust the people we love. For fans of Gone Girl, The Girl on the Train and anything by Lisa Jewell.
MY REVIEW:
I am excited to be taking part in the #BooksOnTour #BlogTour for Wendy Clarke's latest thriller BLIND DATE.
Definitely a slow burn psychological thriller, BLIND DATE never really picks up for me. It just sort of meanders through Melanie's somewhat haphazard life leaving a trail of questions in its wake. Slow burns generally bore me but I have to say this one didn't although it didn't get much better than how it started either. It is rather dark and unsettling at times but it also leaves the reader questioning Mel's actions, a 38 year old recently divorced woman who really should know better.
Melanie Abbot works as a morning co-host for Lock Radio alongside her two best friends Simon and Chris. But on this particular morning she discovers in the after show briefing that she has been pulled from the breakfast slot - due to a plummet in ratings - and is moved to the late night programme - aka the graveyard shift (cue creepy atmosphere, dark shadows and maybe a stalker to add to the tension of a 2am finish). We just know when she is given that timeslot that something very definitely is going to happen. But it doesn't begin there. First comes the blind date...which isn't actually a blind date. So what exactly is it?
Harangued by her co-hosts (now formerly) to join them on a night out on the town, Mel reluctantly agrees but mainly due to the fact she doesn't want to return to the marital home she still shares with her now ex-hubby who has brought his girlfriend home to share the bed that Mel once shared with him. Awkward and insensitive much. Chris had been hounding her about this guy he wanted her to meet anyway but Mel couldn't think of anything worse. But when she sees the stranger across the room and feels the weight of his stare, she is instantly attracted. And from thereon-in she begins to make some pretty stupid decisions.
Waking the following morning to an empty bed and locked in a room, Mel is confused as to what happened the night before. She remembers meeting Malik, kissing him and going home with him...but nothing else. When Malik returns to the room, Mel is reassured that all is well and she must have been imagining things. And despite knowing next to nothing about the man, she continues to meet with him and sleep with him. Why, I've no idea. Because the man seems to blow hot and cold with her that she has no idea where she stands with him. And yet still she goes home with him again and again. Until one morning, she awakes to an empty bed once again and locked in the room. Feeling a bit too weird about it, she manages to pry open a window and makes her escape without so much as a word to Malik.
But Mel's troubles don't stop there. Since taking over the late night radio show, she has been receiving calls from a woman who appears to be frightened of her partner who locks her in the room and all at once she begins to draw similarities to her own situation. Could this woman be talking about Malik? Suddenly she feels afraid to leave the station after the show in the early hours, especially when finding her tyre slashed one night and the feeling of being watched. But despite all warnings, Mel continues to make stupid decisions.
And then the threatening messages start... Who is doing this and do they know her darkest secret?
Despite the agonisingly slow start, BLIND DATE doesn't really pick up much more and yet you find yourself unable to stop reading. And I'm glad I stuck at it because while I figured out some aspects, there was a final twist at the very end which I found to be a delicious note to end on.
I'm not sure what I expected from BLIND DATE because I find the author's thrillers to be a bit hit and miss at times but it was still a relatively enjoyable read on some levels. For non-stop thrills and action, this isn't the book but it certainly keeps you guessing throughout.
Overall, a tense read that was equally unsettling at times, BLIND DATE is perfect for fans of slow burn thrillers.
I would like to thank #WendyClarke, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #BlindDate in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
Wendy has two children and three step-children and lives with her husband, cat and step-dog in Sussex. When not writing, she is usually indulging in her passion for dancing, singing or watching any programme that involves food!
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