BLOG TOUR,BOOK REVIEW - The Playdate by Victoria Jenkins

 

                                                                  BOOK DESCRIPTION

Arranging the playdate was easy. Child’s play. Preparing the house was more difficult. It was only now she realised 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…

Dani works in a hair dressers and is a single mum to two year old Layla who she loves with all her heart but also admits that there are days when she could quite happily run away and never come back. They lived with Dani's mother Caroline with whom Dani had a bit of a tempestuous relationship. One morning whilst attending Layla's playgroup, Dani is introduced to Adele who also had a young daughter called Eve and they soon find themselves developing a close friendship. Soon Dani has taken Adele into her confidence and feels comfortable sharing some but not all her secrets with her. Adele lives with someone called Callum and appears to be in a controlling, abusive relationship. But, as very often happens both in reality and in the world of fiction, things are not as they appear to be, both women are harbouring secrets and after Dani becomes the victim of a terrifying campaign of harassment and intimidation, she begins to suspect that someone knows about the events from her dark past. What secrets are the women hiding? Who was Scarlet and how did she fit into the story? Will Dani be able to figure out the identity of her cunning tormentor before time runs out for someone she cares about?

This enthralling thriller is written from the alternating perspectives of Dani and Adele and the story is predominantly set in the present day although there is also segments where Dani takes the reader back into her past. Dani was a feisty individual who had a bit of a short fuse at times especially when she was dealing with her daughter's temper tantrums. I remember only too well the clique atmosphere and how difficult it could be to fit in with the other parents when my children were at playgroup so I could fully empathise with Dani during the scenes that were set at Layla's playgroup. We all like to have friends and it was easy to understand how she became attached to Adele so quickly. I really liked and felt a connection with Dani and therefore felt a lot of sympathy for her when her life started to fall apart around her. Adele was a very complex character who's parts of the story were chilling, very cleverly written and deceptive.

The Playdate is a extremely well written tale of parenting, families, friendships, relationships and deception that hooks the reader in from the first page, keeps you guessing and glued to your kindle. The story builds in intensity, your feelings of anxiety intensifying until you are a bag of nerves perched on the edge of your seat. The author masterfully manipulates the reader into believing one version of a character's narrative and then suddenly reveals that things are not as they appear to be. The story doesn't have a very large cast of characters but the individuals who do appear are well developed and realistic. A very enjoyable, addictive, gripping thriller and very very highly recommended. 

                                                          Author Bio:

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 10^th 2019 and The Accusation was published June 9th 2020. Her latest novel, The Playdate is out now.

 

Author Social Media Links:

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

Twitter:      @vicwritescrime

https://twitter.com/vicwritescrime

Publication day: May 21st 2021

 

Buy Links:

 

Amazon: https://geni.us/B08XWFWZMHsocial

Apple: http://ow.ly/1l3v50DOGlR

Kobo: http://ow.ly/OonD50DOGim

Google: http://ow.ly/vEKn50DOGoU

 

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