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Thanks to netgalley and Head of Zeus for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.
The Playdate by Alex Dahl had me on the edge of my seat right from the first page all the way to the last page. I even had to tell my husband not to talk too me at one point while i was reading one of the many twists I also started and finished it in one sitting because I couldn't put it down
I could feel every emotion and personality from every character. I even felt bad for the kidnapper.
Playdate is a gripping,twisty thriller that will have you wondering whats next and will keep you reading til the end.
The Playdate by Alex Dahl had me on the edge of my seat right from the first page all the way to the last page. I even had to tell my husband not to talk too me at one point while i was reading one of the many twists I also started and finished it in one sitting because I couldn't put it down
I could feel every emotion and personality from every character. I even felt bad for the kidnapper.
Playdate is a gripping,twisty thriller that will have you wondering whats next and will keep you reading til the end.
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Pleasantly surprised by this one!
This was a book club suggestion - someone discovered that my work is being used as a filming location for a police station (exciting!). It has only just been commissioned, but quite excited to be ahead of the curve and looking forward to watching the adaptation to see how it stands up!
In not knowing much about the book beforehand, my internal biases were at play with this one. a child abduction story written by a man was not filling me with great confidence in capturing a mother's emotions accurately, and I was expecting at best a cheap american holiday thriller. Within the first few pages I dive into the deep nordic setting (written by a woman!) and knew I had missed a trick. That showed me!
Note I wanted to raise: It is easy to wonder how this kidnapping could even happen - to a non-scandinavian reader it feels so negligent! I would advise all readers to consider the culture context of this book first before pulling judgement - Dahl wrote a fascinating article about the "surprising scandinvian approaches to child-rearing" here: https://www.frostmagazine.com/2020/10/the-surprising-scandinavian-approaches-to-child-rearing-by-alex-dahl/
Things I loved about this book:
This was a book club suggestion - someone discovered that my work is being used as a filming location for a police station (exciting!). It has only just been commissioned, but quite excited to be ahead of the curve and looking forward to watching the adaptation to see how it stands up!
In not knowing much about the book beforehand, my internal biases were at play with this one. a child abduction story written by a man was not filling me with great confidence in capturing a mother's emotions accurately, and I was expecting at best a cheap american holiday thriller. Within the first few pages I dive into the deep nordic setting (written by a woman!) and knew I had missed a trick. That showed me!
Note I wanted to raise: It is easy to wonder how this kidnapping could even happen - to a non-scandinavian reader it feels so negligent! I would advise all readers to consider the culture context of this book first before pulling judgement - Dahl wrote a fascinating article about the "surprising scandinvian approaches to child-rearing" here: https://www.frostmagazine.com/2020/10/the-surprising-scandinavian-approaches-to-child-rearing-by-alex-dahl/
Things I loved about this book:
- Mental Health representation: there is some Excellent coverage of mental health within this book, one specific character is established almost immediately to have ADHD, and is possibly the most prominent and accurate account of a character with this that I have read so far. It was nice to resonate with her excessive hyperfocus and burnout, decision paralysis, dealing with rejection sensitivity, and unquavering sense of justice. Other characters present (unlabelled) OCD/Anxiety which also came across to me as a good understanding of these conditions.
- The Book Structure: This book jumps between a number of narratives to view the incident through different perspectives, which keeps the story incredibly addictive and exciting! This pieces together in a satisfying way.
- Character Psychology : I was so pleased to see the women in this book all incredibly unique, with their own very human flaws and sympathy. No woman was fully demonised, and the characters all had a thoughtful psychology that left you disagreeing with them often, but understanding their rationalle behind what could appear to be a bad decision.
- The Location and Setting : Dahl's wanderlust was very apparent to me, her loving and detailed descriptions of the various locations she knew well were very obvious and well researched.
Things I am hesitant about:
- Lucia's POV - Although Lucia's POV chapters were much needed and an interesting perspective, I felt they didn't really read like how a child would write the chapters? It felt very much like someone obsessed with her was writing about it, which led me to the wildest theory of all -
that perhaps Selma in her obsession in the case was writing the whole story how she felt it had happened. . - Selma - As much as I loved Selma's character and ADHD representation, there were a lot of fears with where her character was going.
Ultimately this was okay in the end, but there are so many books ending with the disabled character being in the wrong and this was constantly a worry when reading this, as possibly her characters obsession was pushed slightly too far? - Pacing - for the most part, the book was very difficult to put down. but I did feel a dip around 3/4's through where it felt like some of the story could have been shortened slightly. however after this the pace immediately raced forward again and I was reading for hours!
Did I guess the mystery correctly? I guessed everything that was revealed- but there were some wacky theories that were completely wrong! In the end everything ties together in a wonderful way.
Spoiler question about this:
Questions for Reading Club:
- What could have been the best case scenario for Lucia?
- How would this storyline change if based in another country?
- What does "playdate" suggest about the effectiveness of crime and punishment institutions? What does it suggest about criminals and those who are involved in crime?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Death of parent
Minor: Alcoholism, Bullying, Cancer, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Infertility, Terminal illness, Abortion, Pregnancy, Alcohol
Minor items listed are only briefly mentioned without detail, have little reference to the overall plot. Moderates are mentioned slightly more but not in depth.
The areas most of concern would be:
trafficking of a child along borders,
references to organised crime, harmful organised religion (details of group and situation) estrangement from family who are emotionally abusive and jehovas witnesses, ,
mental health and hospitalisation due to grief loss of child and husband in a car crash ,
emotional impact of death of family members Young daughter, husband, father (in less detail)
(details of death)
1 car crash
2 car crash
3 cancer
Fire includes adults, children, and animals, detail: at the end of the book, a man dies in a house fire with graphic detail. A child nearly dies but is saved and has minor injuries. Animals in a barn also are injured but survive
The book is in multiple perspectives including the mother, missing child, and kidnapper.
Does the girl survive at the end? yes, although she has likely emotional trauma.
Is there any sexual content or sexual abuse regarding children? no, there is none within this book.
Other trigger areas not listed in the list: social media/stalking, indirect animal endangerment (without death or injury), mind control (?) kidnapper forces child to believe she is her child and has a different identity
A good book about a child that was abducted. It was slow paced in parts and I was not gripped like I usually would in other books. The ending gave it the 4 stars.
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Well, at first it was just okay for me. I found it quite strange that any mother would allow their young child to go on a playdate, then sleepover, the house of a women she never met and claims to be new to town. Uhh what?? Sounds like a recipe for disaster. BUT as I got deeper into the story I would of never imagined the plot twist that started to make everything fall into place. From there on I could not put the book down
The story is told in multiple perspectives. I enjoyed getting to know all the characters, what secrets they held, and how this all spiraled into the child going missing. I was left confused by how one character in particular fit into the storyline. I assumed they would be a juicy part of the story so I just dealt with it and boy oh boy I'm glad I did!
The story is told in multiple perspectives. I enjoyed getting to know all the characters, what secrets they held, and how this all spiraled into the child going missing. I was left confused by how one character in particular fit into the storyline. I assumed they would be a juicy part of the story so I just dealt with it and boy oh boy I'm glad I did!
This book gave me the CHILLS. I honestly am fascinated when it comes to child kidnappings - and women who kidnap them especially - as there’s something in the psyche that’s so twisted yet I can also see where they are coming from.
The writing was great and honestly I was sucked in from the first page. I didn’t want to put this book down & the fact it was fast paced was great.
Alex clearly thought the plot out well and did their research regarding the matter. I thought the story was well done & I felt eerily satisfied with the ending.
I liked reading from the different points of view & I liked how it was all summed up at the end and all made sense. At one point, I did question it but it worked out overall.
This is definitely a chilling thriller that will get you thinking!
The writing was great and honestly I was sucked in from the first page. I didn’t want to put this book down & the fact it was fast paced was great.
Alex clearly thought the plot out well and did their research regarding the matter. I thought the story was well done & I felt eerily satisfied with the ending.
I liked reading from the different points of view & I liked how it was all summed up at the end and all made sense. At one point, I did question it but it worked out overall.
This is definitely a chilling thriller that will get you thinking!
Picked this up in the library on a whim - I am a sucker for a thriller and this one sounded great.
It went off in a different direction than I expected but I couldn’t put it down and really enjoyed the author’s writing style (split narrative, multiple viewpoints) and the plot. It kept me guessing and was well rounded off. Would definitely read more from the author!
It went off in a different direction than I expected but I couldn’t put it down and really enjoyed the author’s writing style (split narrative, multiple viewpoints) and the plot. It kept me guessing and was well rounded off. Would definitely read more from the author!
Loved it!
Couldn’t put it down and so clever! Sad the ending ended where it did though! Would have loved a final chapter on how life returns to be for the main characters.
Couldn’t put it down and so clever! Sad the ending ended where it did though! Would have loved a final chapter on how life returns to be for the main characters.