Skip to main content

THE PLAYDATE

 



SYNOPSIS

Arranging the playdate was easy. Child’s play. Preparing the house was more difficult. It was only now she realized how many photographs there were: the picture-perfect unit. Wife, husband, child. All of it a lie.

I made a new friend at playgroup today. She’s different from the other mothers. She feels like someone I can trust. Someone I can confide in.

But there are some things I can’t tell her. Things I can’t tell anyone.

Because I have a secret that no one else knows. One that still haunts my dreams, wakes me up in a cold sweat at night.

Even another mother would never understand. Unless, of course, she’s hiding something too.

Title: The play date
Author: Victoria Jenkins
Publisher: Bookouture
Publication date: May 21, 2021



Victoria Jenkins lives with her husband and daughter in South Wales, where her series of crime novels featuring Detectives King and Lane is based. Her debut novel The Girls in the Water is an Amazon UK top 30 bestseller, and top 5 bestseller in the Amazon US chart.

Her first psychological thriller, The Divorce, was published in July 2019. The second, The Argument, was published December 10th 2019 and The Accusation was published June 9th 2020. Her latest novel, The Playdate is out now.
 

Buy Links

Amazon: https://geni.us/B08XWFWZMHsocial

Apple: http://ow.ly/1l3v50DOGlR

Kobo: http://ow.ly/OonD50DOGim

Google: http://ow.ly/vEKn50DOGoU



Social Media Links


Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/victoriajenkinswriter/

Twitter:      @vicwritescrime

https://twitter.com/vicwritescrime

 



REVIEW


RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐


There’s a Spanish saying that says that man is the only animal to stumble twice on the same stone (I don’t know what would be the English equivalent). Well, it must be true cause now I’ve “stumbled” thrice with Victoria Jenkins’ twists and have been caught completely unaware once again. Did I not learn anything after the shocking twist in The argument? Apparently not, cause halfway through The playdate I had one of those “Wait! What??!!” moments that forced me to go backwards and re-read some chapters. Well done once again with the misdirection! I’ve always thought that making the reader think one thing while actually reality is nothing like that must be terribly difficult.


I could not help but feel some sympathy for Dani. Yes, she might have done some not so great things in the past, but being a young single mum with so little support network must be overwhelming. I know I got overwhelmed when Dani’s daughter, Layla, had one of her tantrums. When she meets Adele at a playgroup it looks like she has finally found a friend, but Dani isn’t the only one with secrets.


Although the story took off at a slower pace I found myself completely engrossed from the beginning. Who is targeting Dani in that smear campaign? A little bit into the story the pace picked up and didn’t let go until the very end. The ending was satisfying although I would have liked to know a bit more about Adele’s background.


A really enjoyable domestic thriller, well written and with several turns you won’t see coming. You might think you have it all figured out but…wait for it! cause once the unexpected happens you will not be able to stop reading.


Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.







Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

AN ESCAPE TO REMEMBER

  SYNOPSIS When Louise surprises her boyfriend by returning early from a work trip, safe to say she wasn’t expecting to see him in flagrante delicto with another woman. Heart-torn and vowing to stay away from men, when Louise’s next project involves restoring an ageing hotel in Italy, she leaps at the chance to get away. Managed by a crew of sextagenarians, the Grand Hotel del Monferrato needs all the love and care Louise can give it. But it’s hard to stay focused on the job when her thoughts keep straying to Vito, the reclusive and mysterious owner of the hotel. With his tragic past and her no-romance policy, Louise knows they can’t have a future. Yet something keeps pulling the two together. Title: An escape to remember Author: T.A. Williams Publisher: Canelo Publication date: March 24, 2022 I’m a man. And a pretty old man as well. I did languages at university a long time ago and then lived and worked in France and Switzerland before going to Italy for seven years as a teacher o...
Post a Comment
Read more

TERROR DE ESTADO

SINOPSIS Terror de Estado sigue la trayectoria de una secretaria de Estado novel que se incorpora a la administración de su rival, un presidente que llega al poder tras un mandato que relegó a Estados Unidos a un segundo plano en el tablero internacional. Cuando una serie de ataques terroristas dinamita el orden establecido, esta mujer será la encargada de aglutinar al equipo que descifre aquella conspiración letal, un plan calculado al milímetro para sacar provecho de un gobierno estadounidense débil y desconectado de la realidad. Título: Terror de estado Autor: Hillary Rodham Clinton & Louise Penny Editorial: Salamanca Fecha de publicación: 4 Noviembre 2021 RESEÑA VALORACIÓN: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Gracias a Salamandra por el envío del ejemplar. Nunca había leído nada de Louise Penny ni de Hillary Clinton, y el thriller politico no es de ni de lejos unos de mis géneros habituales, pero “Terror de Estado” llamó mi atención desde que leí la sinopsis por primera vez, y tenía mucha curiosidad por ver...
Post a Comment
Read more

A ROYAL MURDER

  SYNOPSIS At the royal boat race there are beautiful barges, plenty of bunting, a handsome prince and… is that a body in the water? Lady Swift is on the case! Spring, 1923. One-time adventurer and now amateur sleuth Lady Eleanor Swift is attending the annual royal regatta with her new pal Tipsy Fitzroy. Tipsy has Eleanor trussed up like a debutante in a new dress, determined to turn her into a proper society lady. Even Eleanor’s favourite companion, Gladstone the bulldog, has a new outfit for the occasion. But the sparkling prize-giving ceremony is interrupted when the devilishly handsome host gulps his glass of champagne on stage and collapses to the floor. The victim is none other than the king’s cousin, Lord Xander Taylor-Howard. He was rumoured to be entangled in a rather dubious gambling ring, but did someone kill him instead of collecting his debt? Or was this simply an ill-timed tragic accident? Either way, a right royal scandal is afoot… Sir Percival, the head of the royal...
Post a Comment
Read more