The Casual Date

by Alan Petersen

He only wanted something casual. What he got was a living nightmare.

Freshly divorced, Ethan Hall relocates to a quiet mountain town in Northern California to be near his eleven-year-old son. It’s a far cry from the chaos of Los Angeles—and a lonely place for an outsider.

Looking to ease the isolation, Ethan tries online dating for the first time. He’s upfront about what he nothing serious, just casual, no-strings-attached companionship.

But when one of his dates becomes obsessed, things take a dark turn—and Ethan and his family are suddenly caught in the grip of a deadly love triangle.

The Casual Date is a chilling psychological thriller about trust, obsession, and the terrifying consequences of letting the wrong person in.

Perfect for fans of Freida McFadden, Kiersten Modglin, and John Marrs.

Inspired by true events.

Genres: Thriller

318 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 20, 2025

Reviews

[Katy Wright · Rating 1 out of 5]

Cari Farver: Lover, Stalker, Killer

This was literally the Dave Kroupa story from 2012. If you have watched the news shows and Netflix that covered this crime, there are no surprises in the book. Maybe I missed the reference where the author gives credit to his recap of the events? This is not an original work of fiction.

[KTate · Rating 2 out of 5]

Predictable

I was going to stop reading but the positive reviews compelled me to finish-Some big twist you never saw coming. I should have stopped. I guessed the ending from the first few chapters.

[Mélanie Gagné · Rating 2 out of 5]

The premise had potential, but the storyline felt incredibly predictable from start to finish. Every twist was easy to see coming, and the character decisions followed a very formulaic pattern, very naive main character haha.

[Donna Mallery · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fast paced thriller. The only problem is that it is glaringly obvious whom the culprit is. I wish the author had kept us guessing. So, I felt anxious. Maybe because I don’t like stalkers. Even so, the author holds your interest throughout.

One thing that greatly irritated me is the protagonist sneakily looking in the date’s medicine cabinet and instantly judged her for having lithium! Mental heath people aren’t crazy, and a lot of the symptoms are controlled by the medication. So to judge someone for getting help with a medical problem is inexcusable and is a big shame on the author.

[Brandy Padgett · Rating 1 out of 5]

True crime presented as fiction

I hated that as I was reading this, I began to recognize it as a true story. I kept hoping it would change and that i was wrong, but alas, it WAS the story. No creativity, just a stolen tale. Disappointing. I hope the victims are getting some kind of royalties for this.

[Mike Bowling · Rating 3 out of 5]

good read

Good, quick read. I had it figured out about 1/2 way through but still suspenseful and kept my interest through to the end.

[Ashley Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I saw the "twist" coming from the very beginning. But, it still kept me interested and had good suspense.

[ryleigh eubank · Rating 4 out of 5]

while this book isn’t best selling author material, i was still deeply into it. i knew the plot twist before it even happened, but honestly i still can admit that the book was worth the read

[Kelly Francisco · Rating 4 out of 5]

The plot twist was predictable but I don't remember the last time I read a book in one sitting. Jade is nuts.

[Damaris Felix · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed

I really liked this book even though it was clear early on who the killer was it still kept me interested. Enjoyed this one

[Ashland Lindsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like this book was so obvious. The “twist” was there from the beginning. I’m shocked that some readers didn’t see the twist from the beginning.

[Ines Parrish · Rating 2 out of 5]

such nonsense

Really awful stuff going on here. From the stupidity of the main character to the unbelievable plot line. I just wonder where the editor was. Not a gripping psychological thriller at all. Won’t be reading this author again

[Maddie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Update to my rating: I realized this book is almost IDENTICAL to the Cari Farver tragedy. I originally rated this book 3 stars, but upon realizing this book had almost no uniqueness, I changed my rating.

[Emily]

What a dope!

It started out okay but then it became super obvious what was actually going on while the protagonist remained oblivious. Also there were some major inconsistencies.

[Lexi Bennett · Rating 3 out of 5]

predictable

spoiler!!!!!!
the book sounded good but almost immediately you figure out who is behind everything. then the rest of the book you’re waiting for a twist and nothing happens. if they didn’t have different povs and only had ethan’s then maybe it could’ve been better but everytime it went to jade’s pov it revealed more and more of how unhinged she was. a good twist maybe could be that christina was alive the entire time but her “actions” were too similar to jade for it to be anyone but her

[Jade · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay. So, I agree with what a lot of other people said, which was that the main character was oblivious to who was guilty... However, the level of crazy did keep getting upped, which to me made for an exciting read. There was another twist I didn't see coming before the finale.

And then, my one thing that was not congruent- was in the end, the epilogue, it said that Jade killed Christina after the first date with Ethan but that wasn't true, because earlier in the book, Ethan had been at Christina's house the day before she went missing... So that part confused me.

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book I will say was well written but it’s obvious the author saw the same ID channel show that is pretty much identical. The only thing missing was the Jade in real life killed the Christina and stowed her in her own SUV. The book was entertaining but the fact it was a knock off was a bit disappointing. I actually like this author so the fact this book wasn’t really impressive I won’t hold against him

[Christy Frear (new account 2025) · Rating 3 out of 5]

How to rate this….the guilty party was so obvious. I kept thinking there HAD to be a twist—but nope, the “bad guy” was obvious the whole time. This book had several typos—including misspelling a main character’s name incorrectly towards the end of the book. I feel like it deserves a 2….but I did like the author’s writing style and the quick pace of the book. I just do not see anyone NOT knowing who the perpetrator is in this story.

[Ang Fleming · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick Read…online dating nightmare!

Casual Date turned into a nightmare. This was a quick read for me. Enjoyable enough. A bit too easy to figure out the twist early into the story. But it kept me interested. Very likable main character Ethan.

Really could have used another editing session before publication (grammar, punctuation and overly wordy phrases could have been cleaned up) Petty - maybe but I found it a bit annoying.

[Christine Abruzzi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good read

Ethan is divorced and moving from LA to a small town that his ex-wife grew up in. He was following so that he could spend more time with their son. He was happy that they had moved so that his son could grow up in a small, quiet town. One night, Ethan went on a dating app. He was tired of being alone and just wanted to date, see a movie, go to dinner with someone. He was not looking for a commitment, just company. Read the story to find out where this led to!

[Stephanie Stander · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great Thriller

I really enjoyed this book and the story kept me constantly second guessing my suspicions until the last few chapters. This story definitely played into the suspicions we all sometimes have about meeting people online or through apps, and that only makes it more entertaining. I will absolutely be reading more books by Alan Petersen in the future.

[kimberly bledsoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Suspense and Mystery on Steroids

I haven't stayed up late to finish a book in a long time. I was so hooked on this story that I just had to keep reading. Great depiction of all the characters. I love a good suspense like this! I figured it out close to the end but getting there was a ride!!

[Kristen Root-Walters · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can’t remember the last time I read a book in one day. Maybe the end could be better. I was hoping he’d get back with his ex wife. Other than that it reminds me of some truths ..: when you want too find dates online, it’s just similar too people making up multiple Facebook accounts and pretending to be someone else.

[Jennifer Sweeney · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another one I’d give 2.5 stars if it were an option. This was a quick, easy read, and it was entertaining. It was obvious from the beginning what the plot was- no unexpected twists here. The story was written predictably and it was also very similar to a true crime story I’ve watched before. I would try another book by this author for a quick no brain read.

[Kayleigh Struchen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m torn because this was a pretty well written book and a good read but the plot was so obvious if you watch the Lover, Stalker Killer documentary that it was pointless to finish because you knew EXACTLY what was going to happen. It was an exact replica of the story with different names, rather than being loosely inspired. I would definitely try another book by this author though.

[Dakota Gryffin · Rating 2 out of 5]

The main character was the stupidest dummy to ever stupid. My jaw was dropped at his sheer stupidity. One example is when his gun was stolen from inside his locked house inside a locked safe and despite being cyber stalked, with direct access to the detective on the case, he waited overnight to report it. Just a silly guy!

Jesus fuck he was stupid.

[Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the way this book was written and the fast-pace, however it was sooo obvious who the culprit was & there's no way the police would've continued to just believe whatever the male told them regarding who it actually was. The way the police didn't look into ANYONE else for the longest time was so unrealistic.

[Deni Tipuric · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought I figured it out ( kinda did) but then the book took a complete U-turn. This was a wild roller coaster of a book. Lots of twist twists and turns towards the end.
Unexpected and great book!
A little far fetched but that’s how story’s are sometimes

[Lauren Speringo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the beginning but then the plot became so obvious I felt like I was just rushing through to see all the details wrapped up. It read like a somewhat repetitive and far fetched Dateline episode.

[Kari Corbett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slow start but gradually picked up to a twist ending. A slower reading time as I didn't get caught up in the story until the last few chapters. Ending was not predictable and a bit twisty. Would recommend if looking for something interesting to casually read.