First Date: An absolutely jaw-dropping psychological thriller

by Sue Watson

  But, as I said to her, ‘Just because you were right about Alex doesn’t mean every relationship I start will end in murder and mayhem. I mean, this is Harry we’re talking about.’

  I realise now, she says these things because she finds it hard when I’m in a relationship and she isn’t, she doesn’t want to lose her best friend. And she won’t, I’ll always be there for her like she’s always been there for me.

  ‘I don’t want to be presumptuous, but I wondered if – on Friday, you’d like to try that new Indian restaurant on Foregate Street?’ Harry’s saying now, with a twinkle in his eye. ‘If you’re free?’

  ‘I am,’ I say feeling a familiar rush, like I’m about to embark on an exciting journey. My head’s telling me to hold on tight, but my heart is jumping right in. After everything, you’d think I’d be reluctant to start another relationship, but this just feels right to me. As if to confirm this, Harry reaches over and squeezes my hand.

  ‘Who’d have thought it?’ He sighs. ‘Both with other people, getting on with our lives, we didn’t even notice each other – and yet, here we are.’

  ‘Yeah, and we had to go through quite a lot to get to this place,’ I say.

  ‘Do you think we’ll tell our four kids about everything that happened to lead us to this?’ he asks.

  ‘Perhaps not everything.’ I pull an alarmed face, and he laughs.

  Then my phone starts to beep.

  ‘It’s the hospital,’ I say, ‘must be Chloe.’

  He looks at me anxiously as I answer the phone, I can see he’s as desperate as I am for news, both praying for her to be awake and well again.

  ‘What?’ he’s mouthing, as I nod into the receiver.

  ‘I’m on my way,’ I say, into the phone, as he stares at me desperate to know.

  ‘You’ll never guess…’ I start, as he stares at me, unsure if the news is good or bad, not knowing how to react.

  ‘Chloe’s woken up, and…’ I pause. ‘She’s talking, Harry.’

  The blood has drained from his face, and I can see it’s been as big an ordeal for Harry as it has for me.

  ’It’s okay, the police are with her,’ I add breathlessly. ‘Apparently she knows the guy who gave her the drugs, he was the one she’d slept with – and right this minute, she’s telling them everything.’ I look into his eyes and melt to see tears.

  ‘Come on, you old softie, let’s go and see her,’ I say. I’m unable to wipe the smile from my face as I get up to leave. ‘Harry, we’ve got our miracle!’

  If you were utterly gripped by First Date, don’t miss Sue’s unputdownable novel The Sister-in-Law, where a family is torn apart by a woman seemingly intent on destroying everything they hold dear.

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  The Sister-in-Law

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  ‘You don’t think Jamie and I have secrets, do you? No, we tell each other everything.’ She smiled. ‘Including your dirty little secret. So maybe it’s time to start being nice to me?’

  THE WIFE: Clare is ready for a break. It’s been a tough year and now she wants to put her feet up. Arriving at the Italian villa for their summer holiday, she decides it’s high time her husband and his family did some of the work. After all, her husband owes her…

  THE HUSBAND: Even though Dan had his head turned by someone else, he’s realised the error of his ways. He’s here now, and he says it’s for keeps. Clare can trust him, can’t she? At least he’ll have his brother there, to keep him in line…

  THE BROTHER: Jamie is the prodigal child, back in the family fold again after years of travelling abroad. But when he gets to the villa, he’s not alone. He’s brought a wife, someone none of them have met before.

  THE SISTER-IN-LAW: Ella is everything Clare isn’t. Glamorous. Young. Influential. But she knows a secret about Clare. Something that has the power to break the whole family apart.

  And there’s someone who will do whatever it takes to make sure that this deep secret never comes to the surface.

  An utterly unputdownable, gripping, twisty psychological thriller, perfect for fans of Before I Go To Sleep, The Girl on the Train and Date Night.

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  Hear More From Sue

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  Books by Sue Watson

  Psychological Thrillers

  First Date

  The Sister-in-Law

  The Empty Nest

  The Woman Next Door

  Our Little Lies

  Romantic Comedies

  The Love and Lies Series

  Love, Lies and Lemon Cake

  Love, Lies and Wedding Cake

  The Ice-Cream Cafe Series

  Ella’s Ice Cream Summer

  Curves, Kisses and Chocolate Ice-Cream

  Snowflakes, Iced Cakes and Second Chances

  The Christmas Cake Cafe

  Bella’s Christmas Bake Off

  Summer Flings and Dancing Dreams

  Snow Angels, Secrets and Christmas Cake

  Fat Girls and Fairy Cakes

  Younger Thinner Blonder

  We’ll Always Have Paris

  AVAILABLE IN AUDIO

  The Sister-in-Law (Available in the UK and the US)

  The Empty Nest (Available in the UK and the US)

  The Woman Next Door (Available in the UK and the US)

  Our Little Lies (Available in the UK and the US)

  Love, Lies and Wedding Cake (Available in the UK and the US)

  Snowflakes, Iced Cakes and Second Chances

  A Letter from Sue

  I want to say a huge thank you for choosing to read First Date. If you did enjoy it, and want to keep up to date with all my latest releases, just sign up at the following link. Your email address will never be shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

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  I loved writing First Date. As an author who also writes romantic comedies, I wanted to explore how something that seems on the surface like the perfect romance can, when peeled back, be rotten inside. My editor came up with the idea of a woman meeting her perfect man on a dating app. and discovering on their first date they share the same likes and dislikes even the same dreams. It seems almost too good to be true– but in psychological-thriller style, it isn’t long before happiness fades and darkness creeps in.

  So if you go online dating, I wish you every success, and I hope it leads to wonderful earth-shattering love, and a big happily ever after. But don’t be swept away too quickly, think of Hannah, and always remember, if it seems too good to be true, it usually is…

  I hope you loved First Date and, if you did, I would be very grateful if you could write a review. I’d love to hear what you think, and reviews make such a difference helping new readers to discover one of my books for the first time.

  I love hearing from readers, so please say hello! You can get in touch on my Facebook page, through Twitter, Goodreads or my website.

  Thanks,

  Sue

  www.suewatsonbooks.com

  The Empty Nest

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  ‘Sometimes we can’t see what’s right in front of us, Kat. Everyone has secrets, even the people we love, the people we live with…’

  Kat remembers the days when her only daughter Amy wouldn't leave her side. Amy was the baby who cried when you walked out of the room, the toddler who was too shy to speak to strangers, the small child who clung to Kat's legs in the school playground.

  But now Amy is grown up, and Amy is gone – to university in a town several hours away. Kat's house – which once felt too full, too noisy, too busy – is deathly quiet, and Kat awaits the daily phone call to tell her that her beloved daughter is thriving and happy.

  But one day Amy doesn’t call. Kat’s husband and friends think she is being paranoid – surely Amy is just out, having fun with her friends.
But Kat knows right away that something is very wrong. Her daughter would never forget to call. She would never just disappear... After all, Amy has nothing to run from. Or does she?

  A gripping and suspenseful psychological thriller with more twists and turns than a rollercoaster. Fans of The Wife Between Us, The Girl Before and Gone Girl will be gripped by this unputdownable story about a mother’s obsessive love for her child.

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  The Woman Next Door

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  I suppose everyone has regrets, wonders what if? People all have their reasons for living here. Who knows what lies behind the pretty curtains and the well-groomed lawns of Mulberry Avenue?

  Lucy has a lovely husband, a job she adores as a teacher, and a house on Mulberry Avenue that she’s decorated just the way she wants – from the floaty curtains and the softest bed linen, right down to the perfectly-chosen velvet cushions on their comfortable sofa. Life isn’t perfect, but it’s pretty close.

  She’s also got Amber. Her newest friend and neighbour. They’ve got so much in common. Even if Amber’s life sometimes seems a lot more glamorous and exciting, she shares Lucy’s down-to-earth sense of humour, and Amber seems so interested in Lucy and her life, it’s like they never run out of things to talk about.

  But then Amber starts acting strangely, claiming her life isn’t all it seems, talking about how she thinks she might be pregnant, and confiding in Lucy that she’s started getting threatening messages.

  She’s scared, and the only person she can turn to is Lucy. She wants to stay at Lucy’s house until things calm down.

  Lucy wants to protect her friend. But can she really trust Amber? Because sometimes other people are not all that they seem. Sometimes they have secrets. And they’d do anything to keep them…

  Gripping and unputdownable, The Woman Next Door tells a story about the dark side of friendship, and has a final twist that will shock every reader. Perfect for fans of The Girl on the Train, Friend Request, and Clare Mackintosh.

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  Our Little Lies

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  How far would you go to protect your perfect life?

  Marianne has a life others dream of. A beautiful townhouse on the best street in the neighbourhood. Three bright children who are her pride and joy.

  Sometimes her past still hurts: losing her mother early, growing up in foster care. But her husband, Simon, is always there. A successful surgeon, he’s the envy of every woman they’ve ever met. Flowers, gifts, trips to France: nothing is too good for his family.

  Then Simon says another woman’s name. The way he lingers on it, Caroline, gives Marianne a shudder of suspicion, but she knows it’s nothing – she can’t entertain this flash of paranoia.

  In the old days, she’d have distracted herself by excelling at work, but Marianne left her glamorous career when she married. She’d speak to a friend, but she’s too busy with her children and besides, Simon doesn’t approve of the few she has left.

  It’s almost by accident that Marianne starts to learn more about Caroline. But once started, she can’t stop, because what she finds makes her wonder: is the question she should be asking not ‘should she be jealous’, but… ‘should she be scared?’

  Fans of The Girl on the Train and I Let You Go, who are looking for a dark, gripping psychological thriller with a final twist to put their jaw on the floor, will love Our Little Lies.

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  Love, Lies and Lemon Cake

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  Faye Dobson has lost her sparkle. Living on film star fantasies and vague memories of a marriage that once was, she can’t help feeling that life is passing her by. She dreams of being whisked to Paris for dinner, making three wishes at the Trevi fountain and having sex under the stars. But the wrinkles are multiplying, her husband’s passion is for plumbing, and the nearest she’ll get to Rome is a take-away pizza.

  So when Faye meets Dan the gorgeous Australian surfer guy working in the local deli she can’t help but wonder what it would be like to see the world. He is blonde, tanned, ten years younger and bakes the most amazing lemon cake. Unlike her husband, Dan actually listens to Faye, his smile makes her feel fizzy inside, and when he smiles… Oh. My. God.

  But is Faye being silly? What would Dan see in someone like her? Even if he did have feelings for her, could she give everything up to be with him?

  A laugh-out-loud, bittersweet comedy about taking your life back before it’s too late.

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  Love, Lies and Wedding Cake

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  Will Faye get her happy-ever-after or will bittersweet secrets ruin the recipe for love?

  Since Faye met her gorgeous Aussie boyfriend Dan, they’ve travelled all over the world to meet in amazing, crazy and romantic locations. They’ve eaten gateaux in a chateau, chocolate torte in a moonlit port, and even had stöllen kisses in a sparkling Christmas market. Neither of them wanted to settle down… until now.

  When Dan asks Faye to marry him and to move to Australia it throws a real spanner in the works. Faye’s daughter Emma needs her here, so moving to the other side of the world – even for a hunk like Dan – simply isn’t an option. Is it?

  Faye’s been down the marriage road before and it ended up with her having Ryan Gosling fantasies while her ex-husband obsessed about the plumbing. Is that what she has to look forward to? Is she ready to end her adventure? And even if she is, how can she be sure Dan is the right man for her?

  A delicious romantic comedy about secrets, second chances and following your heart. Perfect for fans of Cathy Bramley, Jill Mansell and Sophie Kinsella.

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  Ella’s Ice Cream Summer

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  Ella’s life just hit rock-bottom, but can a summer by the sea mend her broken heart? When life gives you lemons… make ice-cream!

  Life hasn’t always been easy for single mum Ella, but she has just hit an all-time low; she’s jobless, loveless, very nearly homeless and, to make matters worse, now the owner of a pocket-sized pooch with a better wardrobe than her.

  Packing her bags (and a bigger one for the dog), Ella sets off for the seaside town of Appledore in Devon to re-live the magical summers of her youth and claim her portion of the family ice-cream business: a clapped-out ice-cream van and a complicated mess of secrets.

  There she meets gorgeous and free-spirited solicitor, Ben, who sees things differently: with a little bit of TLC he has a plan to get the van – and Ella – back up and running in no time.

  Ella’s Ice Cream Summer is a heart-warming and hilarious romance that will scoop you off your feet and prove it’s never too late for a fresh start. The ideal holiday read for fans of Lucy Diamond, Abby Clements and Debbie Johnson.

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  Curves, Kisses and Chocolate Ice-Cream

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  Dani’s on a mission to get her life back on track by the end of the Summer. Running, rowing, aerobics and more, but perhaps all she needs are sweet treats and a second chance?

  Twenty years ago, Dani fled Appledore with a broken-heart and a suitcase full of shattered dreams. Only now is she brave enough to put her past behind her and return for a summer selling homemade ice-cream and getting fit by doing sit-ups by the sea.

  But the new-look cafe is filled with old memories of Jude, her teenage sweetheart-turned-sour. She thinks of him every time she swirls warm sauce onto a “chocolate-bockaglory” and even with the help of Chris, her gorgeous personal trainer, the urge to break her diet is everywhere she turns.

  When Jude makes an appearance at the cafe on the eve of Dani’s birthday party, history threatens to repeat itself. Is Dani strong enough to say no? And is the love she’s been longing for much closer than she thinks?