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Playdate
You leave your kids with a friend. Everyone does it. Until the day it goes wrong.
Single mother Callie has come to rely heavily on her best friend Suzy. But Callie suspects Suzy's life isn't as simple as it seems. It's time she pulled away - going back to work is just the first step towards rediscovering her old confidence. So why does she keep putting off telling Suzy about her new job?
Single mother Callie has come to rely heavily on her best friend Suzy. But Callie suspects Suzy's life isn't as simple as it seems. It's time she pulled away - going back to work is just the first step towards rediscovering her old confidence. So why does she keep putting off telling Suzy about her new job?
373 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 443 reviews
July 9, 2015
These books! They're like a bag of donuts. You look at them, you know they won't do you any good or even be particularly satisfying, but one bite and you can't help but devour the lot. Then afterwards you feel a bit dirty, and say to yourself that you won't have any more. Ever. But one day you spot one, and think, why not? Treat yourself!! and it happens all over again...
The Playdate has a very typical formula which seems to be hugely popular these days (chick lit dressed up as a psychological thriller, or vice versa - somebody needs to come up with a name for this genre). The central character is Callie, a 'normal' put-upon single mother with a run-down flat, a cute five-year-old daughter and a standoffish, mostly absent ex-husband. We know she's the main character because she's the only one to get a first-person narrative, and it's obvious the reader is supposed to sympathise with her. There are two other protagonists, though: Suzy, Callie's well-off, beautiful neighbour and best friend, whose perfect family life (big surprise here) isn't all it seems; and Debs, a new neighbour of the pair who appears to be quite odd and disturbed and has (another big surprise) dark secrets. The book is primarily a thriller focused on untangling the secrets of the three women and how their lives are linked, but there's also a bit of ordinary-life stuff about how Callie balances going back to work with looking after her daughter, and a bit of romance.
I knew from more or less the first page that . I'm not sure why, I just knew. However, that didn't make the journey to the book's climax and conclusion any less gripping. There are loads of cliffhangers - a cheap trick, but it works. Some of the twists are easy to guess, others are less obvious. I particularly liked the progression of Debs's story and was very pleased about how it was resolved. It goes without saying that the plot isn't exactly watertight: there's quite a few coincidences that are far too big to be in any way plausible. The plot and style aren't executed with much finesse, and as other reviews have pointed out, there are plenty of clumsy sentences.
Like a bar of chocolate, or indeed a bag of donuts, The Playdate is the literary equivalent of a quick, sugary fix. I started reading it on my lunch at work yesterday and had finished it by the time I fell asleep. I couldn't put the book down, which doesn't mean it's actually good, but at the same time, it shows that there is obviously something compelling and addictive about the way it's written. I actually thought this was better than most others of its ilk, so if you fancy 'treating yourself', you could definitely do worse.
The Playdate has a very typical formula which seems to be hugely popular these days (chick lit dressed up as a psychological thriller, or vice versa - somebody needs to come up with a name for this genre). The central character is Callie, a 'normal' put-upon single mother with a run-down flat, a cute five-year-old daughter and a standoffish, mostly absent ex-husband. We know she's the main character because she's the only one to get a first-person narrative, and it's obvious the reader is supposed to sympathise with her. There are two other protagonists, though: Suzy, Callie's well-off, beautiful neighbour and best friend, whose perfect family life (big surprise here) isn't all it seems; and Debs, a new neighbour of the pair who appears to be quite odd and disturbed and has (another big surprise) dark secrets. The book is primarily a thriller focused on untangling the secrets of the three women and how their lives are linked, but there's also a bit of ordinary-life stuff about how Callie balances going back to work with looking after her daughter, and a bit of romance.
I knew from more or less the first page that . I'm not sure why, I just knew. However, that didn't make the journey to the book's climax and conclusion any less gripping. There are loads of cliffhangers - a cheap trick, but it works. Some of the twists are easy to guess, others are less obvious. I particularly liked the progression of Debs's story and was very pleased about how it was resolved. It goes without saying that the plot isn't exactly watertight: there's quite a few coincidences that are far too big to be in any way plausible. The plot and style aren't executed with much finesse, and as other reviews have pointed out, there are plenty of clumsy sentences.
Like a bar of chocolate, or indeed a bag of donuts, The Playdate is the literary equivalent of a quick, sugary fix. I started reading it on my lunch at work yesterday and had finished it by the time I fell asleep. I couldn't put the book down, which doesn't mean it's actually good, but at the same time, it shows that there is obviously something compelling and addictive about the way it's written. I actually thought this was better than most others of its ilk, so if you fancy 'treating yourself', you could definitely do worse.
October 1, 2012
In this case, the stars say it all. Millar's book is billed as a psychological thriller. Based on what I expected from the description on the back, it was OK. Not horrible, definitely not great. With a book like this, it's easier to point out the problems, so I'll take the easy road first. The biggest problem I had was really basic. We have only 3 main characters, which leaves us with only two potential "bad guys." According to standard plot mechanics, one will be a red herring. With that logic in hand, I pretty much knew who the real "bad guy" was going to be about a quarter of the way into the book. I also knew some other important stuff that I'm pretty sure I wasn't supposed to suspect quite that early - but maybe I'm wrong and Millar meant what I took for a big reveal to merely be confirmation of something we were supposed to have figured out long before the reveal . . .
I agree with another reviewer who pointed out that the plot required some coincidences and contrivances that, while not necessarily out of line for a book of this sort, somehow felt hard to believe, suggesting that the author could have done a better job of setting them up. I was never able to become emotionally invested in the main character, or to really connect with her in any way - even though I was a single parent myself. Finally, the really scary stuff - the part of the book that should have had me turning pages into the night - happened late, was very short, and was on its way to being resolved even as it happened. So the "thriller" aspect felt very foreshortened.
All that having been said, I still found myself enjoying parts of the book. I quite liked Rae, Callie's daughter. And of the three adult women, I enjoyed Debs the most. I thought Millar built her character with skill and subtlety; in the end, she was the most fully realized, nuanced, and interesting character in the book. In fact, my primary motivation in finishing the book was to finish her story.
For the record, I'd suggest that anyone interested in a psychological thriller that involves a woman who suffers from mental illness should check out Folly by Laurie R. King.
I agree with another reviewer who pointed out that the plot required some coincidences and contrivances that, while not necessarily out of line for a book of this sort, somehow felt hard to believe, suggesting that the author could have done a better job of setting them up. I was never able to become emotionally invested in the main character, or to really connect with her in any way - even though I was a single parent myself. Finally, the really scary stuff - the part of the book that should have had me turning pages into the night - happened late, was very short, and was on its way to being resolved even as it happened. So the "thriller" aspect felt very foreshortened.
All that having been said, I still found myself enjoying parts of the book. I quite liked Rae, Callie's daughter. And of the three adult women, I enjoyed Debs the most. I thought Millar built her character with skill and subtlety; in the end, she was the most fully realized, nuanced, and interesting character in the book. In fact, my primary motivation in finishing the book was to finish her story.
For the record, I'd suggest that anyone interested in a psychological thriller that involves a woman who suffers from mental illness should check out Folly by Laurie R. King.
June 1, 2012
The Playdate focuses on the lives on 3 women, in the same London street, and their relationships.
Callie is a single mother to Rae, a child with a heart condition, dealing with the stresses of trying to be a good mother but also trying to work and be a seperate person from her daughter. Suzy is an American mother both homesick for her native country but also the long abscences of her husband. Debs is the new neighbour with strange behaviour and a past that is coming back to haunt her.
I very much enjoyed this book, it was like an English version of Desperate Housewives. Despite the closeness of Callie and Suzy, there are secrets galore and not everything is as it seems. I think Millar really captured the loneliness of living surrounded by people but not knowing any of them. Of being friends with people you wouldn't normally associate with because you both have children. The playdate is well written and uses the 3 main character's points of view to allow the story to be told.
Callie is a single mother to Rae, a child with a heart condition, dealing with the stresses of trying to be a good mother but also trying to work and be a seperate person from her daughter. Suzy is an American mother both homesick for her native country but also the long abscences of her husband. Debs is the new neighbour with strange behaviour and a past that is coming back to haunt her.
I very much enjoyed this book, it was like an English version of Desperate Housewives. Despite the closeness of Callie and Suzy, there are secrets galore and not everything is as it seems. I think Millar really captured the loneliness of living surrounded by people but not knowing any of them. Of being friends with people you wouldn't normally associate with because you both have children. The playdate is well written and uses the 3 main character's points of view to allow the story to be told.
February 6, 2017
Libro entretenido,mantiene la tensión hasta el final y no logras discernir quien es el bueno o el malo.
Contado a tres voces se hace una lectura amena.SerÃa un buen libro para hacer una pelÃcula de sobremesa.
Contado a tres voces se hace una lectura amena.SerÃa un buen libro para hacer una pelÃcula de sobremesa.
April 3, 2019
Ik heb het boek niet uitgelezen. De eerste 120 pagina’s gaan over het gezeur van 3 vrouwen met problemen. Saai...
March 30, 2017
This story was very easy to listen to. Told in a chatty way by a pleasant narrator (Clarence Corbett, one of my favourite readers). But very little happened!
The first half of the book set up the scene without managing to build any air of suspense. When the bombshell reveals finally came, they were clumsy at best and didn't ring true.
I'm making it sound like a truly awful book which it wasn't, it just wasn't what I was expecting. This book is a great description of the daily struggle it is to a single parent. If you work there's the remorseless guilt for abandoning your child to strangers to care for and the constant juggling act we all perform to keep a flout. If we stay at home we loose our friends, become boring (in our own eyes), bored and frustrated. It's a no win situation for any parent and I couldn't imagine doing it on my own.
This novel portrays the battle faced by single parents very well and I highly recommend the audio version.
The first half of the book set up the scene without managing to build any air of suspense. When the bombshell reveals finally came, they were clumsy at best and didn't ring true.
I'm making it sound like a truly awful book which it wasn't, it just wasn't what I was expecting. This book is a great description of the daily struggle it is to a single parent. If you work there's the remorseless guilt for abandoning your child to strangers to care for and the constant juggling act we all perform to keep a flout. If we stay at home we loose our friends, become boring (in our own eyes), bored and frustrated. It's a no win situation for any parent and I couldn't imagine doing it on my own.
This novel portrays the battle faced by single parents very well and I highly recommend the audio version.
March 14, 2013
If you like Sophie Hannah (as I do) then you will LOVE this book. It's about a woman named Callie, who worries a lot about her daughter, her friend Suzy, who has money and three kids and a great life, and a newcomer to the neighborhood, Debs. The book is told through the voices of all three women and let's just start to say when you think you've finally got a handle on things, BAM! If you like your stories psychologically intense and enjoy saying "Wait, WHAT?" then you'll love this one.
PS Sophie Hannah blurbed this book, so in my mind that pretty much says it all.
PS Sophie Hannah blurbed this book, so in my mind that pretty much says it all.
August 2, 2021
Callie est mère célibataire et Suzy est mariée avec 3 enfants. Toutes les deux sont amies et voisines. Suzy incarne la famille parfaite et aide beaucoup Callie au quotidien.
Quand Debs emménage dans la rue, des incidents commencent. Debs semble fragile, bizarre... que cache-t-elle ?
Le roman est présenté comme "un polar chez les desperate housewives à Londres"
On a bien les desperate housewives mais le côté polar est trop léger.
La fin est bien, le suspense est maintenu jusqu'au bout. J'avais soupçonné une partie des révélations mais pas toutes.
Par contre, la route a été longue pour arriver à cet épilogue ! Il faut beaucoup de temps pour que l'intrigue se révèle et je me suis ennuyée pendant les 300 premières pages sur les 450 du roman.
Ce roman met en avant les faux semblants, les mensonges.
L'écriture est fluide, on enchaîne les pages en se demandant où tout ça va nous mener, l'auteure nous fait miroiter des fausses pistes, c'est habile, mais cela manque de rythme, d'action.
Quand Debs emménage dans la rue, des incidents commencent. Debs semble fragile, bizarre... que cache-t-elle ?
Le roman est présenté comme "un polar chez les desperate housewives à Londres"
On a bien les desperate housewives mais le côté polar est trop léger.
La fin est bien, le suspense est maintenu jusqu'au bout. J'avais soupçonné une partie des révélations mais pas toutes.
Par contre, la route a été longue pour arriver à cet épilogue ! Il faut beaucoup de temps pour que l'intrigue se révèle et je me suis ennuyée pendant les 300 premières pages sur les 450 du roman.
Ce roman met en avant les faux semblants, les mensonges.
L'écriture est fluide, on enchaîne les pages en se demandant où tout ça va nous mener, l'auteure nous fait miroiter des fausses pistes, c'est habile, mais cela manque de rythme, d'action.
August 15, 2012
This book is billed as a pyschological thriller, but for me it was a real disappointment and not worthy of this label. It comes highly recommend by Sophie Hannah � one of my favourite authors and someone who writes truly riveting psychological thrillers herself � and has predominantly positive reviews on Amazon, but it’s not a book I’d particularly recommend.
The narrative is split between three women living on the same street in north London: Callie, a single mum whose daughter has a heart condition and who wants to get back to work; American-in-London Suzy, who has three kids and a strained relationship with her husband Jez; and Debs, an older lady who’s just moved onto the street with her new husband Allen and who suffers from severe anxiety issues. Their lives intertwine � or perhaps collide � with dramatic consequences.
There are four main things that really put me off The Playdate.
First, each woman has a secret - and boy do we know it. Louise Millar presumably tries to build up suspense and hint at future revelations. Unfortunately, she’s a bit heavy-handed: almost every chapter ends with some kind of ‘dramatic� cliff-hanger, and it very quickly started to grate on me. If you have to force the ‘suspense� in there every couple of chapters, you’re probably not really writing a suspenseful thriller.
Second, there really isn’t a single likeable adult character. I didn’t warm to any of them � male or female. I don’t think they are particularly three-dimensional, and it’s just not enjoyable reading a book when you struggle to care about any of the characters!
Third, the whole story turns out to built on one quite enormous coincidence about how the women came to be living in the same street. An explanation is provided, but it’s a bit thin, and didn’t really hold together for me. As I was reading The Playdate, I wasn’t comparing it to other psychological thrillers like Before I Go To Sleep or those of Sophie Hannah. Rather, it felt like a poor attempt at a literary version of Desperate Housewives. The problem is that the TV show can get away with slightly outlandish plots because the characters are rounded and likeable and because the stories hang together so cleverly.
And fourth, The Playdate is Louise Millar’s first novel, and perhaps her writing style will develop over time, but I found it very clunky and hard to read in places. I had to read this sentence about three times to make sense of it: ‘I bumped into him when he was talking to Maddy in our class’s mum�. And this sentence made me laugh out loud: ‘A single lamp continued to perform its duty of waiting for Jez for come home.�
So that’s what I didn’t like. In its favour, The Playdate is not overly predictable. It’s clear early on what you’re supposed to expect, so I realised that that’s exactly what wouldn’t happen. But I didn’t predict what actually did unfold. For this reason, I did keep reading to the end and in spite of everything I actually got quite into it in the last quarter of the novel.
I read this on my Kindle and at the end there’s a note from Louise Millar about her motivations and intentions in writing it. The Playdate is supposedly an exploration of the consequences of increasing numbers of people moving away from their family and into cities, making friends based on convenience and necessity. Intertwined with this is the question of who we trust our children with and why. I’m sure these issues were in her head as she wrote, but unfortunately the two-dimensional characters and the coincidences undermine them: it’s very hard to seriously relate it to your own life and take lessons from it when the characters are so extreme and the situation is so unlikely.
Overall, I wouldn’t recommend this highly, but the story did at least keep me engaged so I suppose it wouldn’t be a bad addition to a holiday reading list.
The narrative is split between three women living on the same street in north London: Callie, a single mum whose daughter has a heart condition and who wants to get back to work; American-in-London Suzy, who has three kids and a strained relationship with her husband Jez; and Debs, an older lady who’s just moved onto the street with her new husband Allen and who suffers from severe anxiety issues. Their lives intertwine � or perhaps collide � with dramatic consequences.
There are four main things that really put me off The Playdate.
First, each woman has a secret - and boy do we know it. Louise Millar presumably tries to build up suspense and hint at future revelations. Unfortunately, she’s a bit heavy-handed: almost every chapter ends with some kind of ‘dramatic� cliff-hanger, and it very quickly started to grate on me. If you have to force the ‘suspense� in there every couple of chapters, you’re probably not really writing a suspenseful thriller.
Second, there really isn’t a single likeable adult character. I didn’t warm to any of them � male or female. I don’t think they are particularly three-dimensional, and it’s just not enjoyable reading a book when you struggle to care about any of the characters!
Third, the whole story turns out to built on one quite enormous coincidence about how the women came to be living in the same street. An explanation is provided, but it’s a bit thin, and didn’t really hold together for me. As I was reading The Playdate, I wasn’t comparing it to other psychological thrillers like Before I Go To Sleep or those of Sophie Hannah. Rather, it felt like a poor attempt at a literary version of Desperate Housewives. The problem is that the TV show can get away with slightly outlandish plots because the characters are rounded and likeable and because the stories hang together so cleverly.
And fourth, The Playdate is Louise Millar’s first novel, and perhaps her writing style will develop over time, but I found it very clunky and hard to read in places. I had to read this sentence about three times to make sense of it: ‘I bumped into him when he was talking to Maddy in our class’s mum�. And this sentence made me laugh out loud: ‘A single lamp continued to perform its duty of waiting for Jez for come home.�
So that’s what I didn’t like. In its favour, The Playdate is not overly predictable. It’s clear early on what you’re supposed to expect, so I realised that that’s exactly what wouldn’t happen. But I didn’t predict what actually did unfold. For this reason, I did keep reading to the end and in spite of everything I actually got quite into it in the last quarter of the novel.
I read this on my Kindle and at the end there’s a note from Louise Millar about her motivations and intentions in writing it. The Playdate is supposedly an exploration of the consequences of increasing numbers of people moving away from their family and into cities, making friends based on convenience and necessity. Intertwined with this is the question of who we trust our children with and why. I’m sure these issues were in her head as she wrote, but unfortunately the two-dimensional characters and the coincidences undermine them: it’s very hard to seriously relate it to your own life and take lessons from it when the characters are so extreme and the situation is so unlikely.
Overall, I wouldn’t recommend this highly, but the story did at least keep me engaged so I suppose it wouldn’t be a bad addition to a holiday reading list.
March 16, 2023
Un thriller cuyo argumento transcurre en 11 dÃas. Desde un viernes hasta el lunes subsiguiente. Trata sobre tres mujeres, vecinas de una calle de Londres con las rutinas de las dueñas de casa, cada una con una preocupación o un problema: Callie, madre de una niña que tiene una enfermedad congénita y cuyo marido trabaja lejos de casa; Suzy, madre de tres niños, desesperada por recuperar la atención de su marido y que espera embarazarse una tercera vez (los dos últimos son gemelos) para intentar tener una niña; y Debs, una extraña mujer cercana a los cincuenta años, nueva en el barrio.
las tres mujeres tienen secretos y la autora se encarga de esparcir las dudas en forma más o menos equilibrada entre las tres, además de sus maridos.
Se divide en 58 capÃtulos, la mayorÃa muy cortos, que van desarrollando los misterios con lentitud, pero inequÃvocamente. Desde el principio uno se da cuenta que hay cosas que no están del todo bien.
La autora va dejando pistas por aquà y por allá, pero como es usual, da la impresión que los que más tienen apariencia de culpables podrÃan no serlo. ¿O esta vez sÃ? No quiero decir que sea una novela previsible, pero tampoco es especialmente sorpresiva en ese aspecto. Digamos también que hay un giro argumental en los últimos capÃtulos difÃcil de prever y que explica muchas cosas.
Me pareció una novela que cumple con los clisés tÃpicos de las novelas del género, pero que me pareció en general bien escrita, con un argumento que se desarrolla in crescendo, estableciendo los temas, los misterios, el desenlace, todo en forma apropiada. En el último cuarto del libro los eventos se desarrollan en forma trepidante y cuesta dejar de leer.
Una novela entretenida, especialmente para los amantes de las novelas de suspenso sicológico.
Errata
Falta de preposición:
Y ahora Rae estará hecha polvo por lo de no ir casa de Hannah
Y ahora Rae estará hecha polvo por lo de no ir a casa de Hannah
Error de traducción
En la versión en español de Xenia Dyakanova y José Mateo hay una confusión con el nombre de uno de los niños:
Página 21, capÃtulo 2
y dejó a Peter y a Tom en el suelo después de haberlos llevado en brazos desde el coche.
y dejó a Peter y a Otto en el suelo después de haberlos llevado en brazos desde el coche.
Este imperdonable error me tuvo confundido por varios capÃtulos; no era un acto fallido del personaje ya que el error no aparece en el habla directa sino en la descripción del narrador. La consulta del texto original en inglés me confirmó que era un gazapo de los traductores.
las tres mujeres tienen secretos y la autora se encarga de esparcir las dudas en forma más o menos equilibrada entre las tres, además de sus maridos.
Se divide en 58 capÃtulos, la mayorÃa muy cortos, que van desarrollando los misterios con lentitud, pero inequÃvocamente. Desde el principio uno se da cuenta que hay cosas que no están del todo bien.
La autora va dejando pistas por aquà y por allá, pero como es usual, da la impresión que los que más tienen apariencia de culpables podrÃan no serlo. ¿O esta vez sÃ? No quiero decir que sea una novela previsible, pero tampoco es especialmente sorpresiva en ese aspecto. Digamos también que hay un giro argumental en los últimos capÃtulos difÃcil de prever y que explica muchas cosas.
Me pareció una novela que cumple con los clisés tÃpicos de las novelas del género, pero que me pareció en general bien escrita, con un argumento que se desarrolla in crescendo, estableciendo los temas, los misterios, el desenlace, todo en forma apropiada. En el último cuarto del libro los eventos se desarrollan en forma trepidante y cuesta dejar de leer.
Una novela entretenida, especialmente para los amantes de las novelas de suspenso sicológico.
Errata
Falta de preposición:
Y ahora Rae estará hecha polvo por lo de no ir casa de Hannah
Y ahora Rae estará hecha polvo por lo de no ir a casa de Hannah
Error de traducción
En la versión en español de Xenia Dyakanova y José Mateo hay una confusión con el nombre de uno de los niños:
Página 21, capÃtulo 2
y dejó a Peter y a Tom en el suelo después de haberlos llevado en brazos desde el coche.
y dejó a Peter y a Otto en el suelo después de haberlos llevado en brazos desde el coche.
Este imperdonable error me tuvo confundido por varios capÃtulos; no era un acto fallido del personaje ya que el error no aparece en el habla directa sino en la descripción del narrador. La consulta del texto original en inglés me confirmó que era un gazapo de los traductores.
February 12, 2025
Could NOT put this book down! It mixed my 2 favorite genres, suburban life and thriller🤪if you’re looking for a ride to go on, this may be the book for you
July 1, 2019
Not a bad summer read. However, the authors pervasive use of the word “murmur� drove me crazy.
November 5, 2012
I bought this book for all the wrong reasons. I liked the cover, it was displayed prominently on the front table in my local book shop and (or because) it's set in Alexander Palace which is just down the road from me. I didn't really fancy the story and, on leafing through, didn't get a sense that it was my kind of thing. But what the hell? I've got a bit of a closed mind when it comes to selecting books so decided to open it for once.
And what a pleasant surprise. Briefly, the book follows three neighbours: protagonist Callie, a single mother with a sickly child who yearns to escape frugal domesticity and return to work; Suzy, Cal's erstwhile American best friend, a mother of three married to the enigmatic and difficult Jez and; Mel, the apparently nutty teacher, married to long-suffering but loving Allen. Callie's voice is first person present tense, while Suzy and Mel's stories are third person past tense (if I'm not mistaken - my English is pretty hot but I'm not much cop at grammatical classification!) The chapters alternate between the three women's stories, so we get differing and often surprising perspectives on the same incidents. The prose is intelligent and unfussy and maintains the momentum, while the dialogue is authentic. Secrets are hinted at then revealed at just the right moments and there is a satisfying dovetailing of storylines at the book's conclusion.
This is a classy take on the complexities of friendship, familial secrets, relationships and parenthood. It is nicely paced, often stark and always gripping. Just as well I liked the cover.
And what a pleasant surprise. Briefly, the book follows three neighbours: protagonist Callie, a single mother with a sickly child who yearns to escape frugal domesticity and return to work; Suzy, Cal's erstwhile American best friend, a mother of three married to the enigmatic and difficult Jez and; Mel, the apparently nutty teacher, married to long-suffering but loving Allen. Callie's voice is first person present tense, while Suzy and Mel's stories are third person past tense (if I'm not mistaken - my English is pretty hot but I'm not much cop at grammatical classification!) The chapters alternate between the three women's stories, so we get differing and often surprising perspectives on the same incidents. The prose is intelligent and unfussy and maintains the momentum, while the dialogue is authentic. Secrets are hinted at then revealed at just the right moments and there is a satisfying dovetailing of storylines at the book's conclusion.
This is a classy take on the complexities of friendship, familial secrets, relationships and parenthood. It is nicely paced, often stark and always gripping. Just as well I liked the cover.
July 27, 2012
3.5 Three women living in a suburb of London, none as they appear as they all have secrets. A chilling look at the trust one places in their friends and acquaintances. trust that may not be warranted. Anyone with kids will find this book frightening, questioning can one really trust the people who are watching their children. Fast paced, intriguing, though I can't say I actually liked any of the characters, I could definitely identify with a mother wanting to return to work, trying to have a life of her own despite the responsibilities of a child. Good psychological read.
September 5, 2012
I had a hard time rating this book. I didn't actually dislike it but I felt the synopsis led me to believe it was going to be something it was not. It was a decent story overall but it took so long to get going that I lost interest early on and it was very slow to return. I was expecting a chilling psychological thriller and I don't think it was chilling or a thriller. I might give this author another chance but I wouldn't personally recommend this book to anyone.
October 31, 2021
This was perhaps the most boring thriller on earth. Also, why didn’t Callie just get a part time job? And why did she keep sending Rae to after school care even though she got fired from her job after like 3 days? Why doesn’t Callie have her own computer? What’s the point of Suzy being American except to show she’s the villain lol
May 7, 2013
An amazing book... I really enjoyed reading this and it goes to show that you really don't know people as well as you think you do... I loved the twist it was quite unexpected... I can't wait for the next book to be released, I will certainly be reading it :) x
March 22, 2016
an enjoyable thriller with many turns and it didnt always look like it at face value until you know the background. this book took a little while to get going but once the flow of the story got going was a good read
August 15, 2018
I enjoyed this. Louise millar is a fantastic author, she writes with love, compassion and her books are full of suspense.
Having a child with a heart condition (VSD) I fully understood Callie and her protection. It was a good story, the ending once again running at 100mph. Well done Louise, another cracking story.
Having a child with a heart condition (VSD) I fully understood Callie and her protection. It was a good story, the ending once again running at 100mph. Well done Louise, another cracking story.
April 27, 2021
Heel goed boek. Je blijft je het hele verhaal afvragen hoe het zit.
February 12, 2021
This was a great twisty little ride where absolutely no one is what they seem to be. I had serious trouble putting this one down and I was on edge throughout most of this book. Female friendships and minds are far creepier than you think.
May 6, 2012
'You never know who you can trust with your own kids.'
Callie and Suzy are neighbours on Churchill Road in north London, close to Alexandra Palace. Callie's daughter Rae has a heart condition and she has to be careful not to over exert herself. American Suzy has a son, Henry, who is friends with Rae, and also she has twin sons. New neighbours Debs and her husband Allen move into the street, next door to Suzy. Callie is separated from husband Tom, whilst Suzy's husband Jez seems to spend every hour of the day working, with little time for her or the children. Callie and Suzy have formed a kind of friendship through the friendship of their children Rae and Henry, offering support to each other and often sharing childcare duties.
Callie hasn't found many of the other mothers at Rae's school to be at all friendly, feels left out, and so has found that she has come to rely on Suzy and her support more than she would perhaps like to. As the novel opens, we meet Callie trying to prepare herself to draw back from her reliance on Suzy.
The lives of the three neighbours become linked, but what is lying underneath this calm facade? Who is genuinely to be trusted? You know that you can expect something, but what?
I found myself immediately drawn into the story and interested in the characters, and I stayed interested throughout. It's a page-turner, a quick read with fairly short chapters, alternating between the three neighbours Callie, Suzy, and Debs. Callie's story, her life with Rae and her secrets, are at the centre of the novel and her story is told in the first person. The everyday concerns of the school run, friendships, relationships are portrayed, characters are established, and the story builds slowly and steadily. But there is a darkness lurking somewhere, only hinted at, and towards the conclusion, the author really ratchets up the tension, and as we learn more about each of the three characters' pasts, we being to piece together where the danger really lies, as the truth slowly emerges, and the tale builds to a tense finish.
This novel makes you think about your friendships, how you judge people, whether someone is really a friend or a stranger, and who has your best interests at heart. It gives an insight into the psychology of how a controlling, manipulative person behaves, and is a stark reminder that you really never know who you can totally trust.
I enjoyed this book, and would read more from this author in the future.
Callie and Suzy are neighbours on Churchill Road in north London, close to Alexandra Palace. Callie's daughter Rae has a heart condition and she has to be careful not to over exert herself. American Suzy has a son, Henry, who is friends with Rae, and also she has twin sons. New neighbours Debs and her husband Allen move into the street, next door to Suzy. Callie is separated from husband Tom, whilst Suzy's husband Jez seems to spend every hour of the day working, with little time for her or the children. Callie and Suzy have formed a kind of friendship through the friendship of their children Rae and Henry, offering support to each other and often sharing childcare duties.
Callie hasn't found many of the other mothers at Rae's school to be at all friendly, feels left out, and so has found that she has come to rely on Suzy and her support more than she would perhaps like to. As the novel opens, we meet Callie trying to prepare herself to draw back from her reliance on Suzy.
The lives of the three neighbours become linked, but what is lying underneath this calm facade? Who is genuinely to be trusted? You know that you can expect something, but what?
I found myself immediately drawn into the story and interested in the characters, and I stayed interested throughout. It's a page-turner, a quick read with fairly short chapters, alternating between the three neighbours Callie, Suzy, and Debs. Callie's story, her life with Rae and her secrets, are at the centre of the novel and her story is told in the first person. The everyday concerns of the school run, friendships, relationships are portrayed, characters are established, and the story builds slowly and steadily. But there is a darkness lurking somewhere, only hinted at, and towards the conclusion, the author really ratchets up the tension, and as we learn more about each of the three characters' pasts, we being to piece together where the danger really lies, as the truth slowly emerges, and the tale builds to a tense finish.
This novel makes you think about your friendships, how you judge people, whether someone is really a friend or a stranger, and who has your best interests at heart. It gives an insight into the psychology of how a controlling, manipulative person behaves, and is a stark reminder that you really never know who you can totally trust.
I enjoyed this book, and would read more from this author in the future.
April 16, 2014
Three women are neighbours on an ordinary street in London; this novel is about how their lives become connected.
Callie, a single mother whose small daughter Rae has suffered health problems in infancy and is somewhat fragile. She is obsessively over-protective, irritatingly so, which has a detrimental effect on Rae who just wants to be a normal little girl.
Suzy, an American woman who annoyingly addresses Callie as "hon" at every opportunity (I've lived in North America and have yet to meet anyone who used this annoying word as often as this character) lives across the road from Callie and since their friendship began a couple of years previously they have become dependant on each other. Suzy is married to stiff, formal Jez and is the mother of his three sons; the older one Henry seems to have some sort of behavioural problems. Maybe this is why Suzy is desperate to have another baby - preferably a girl.
Next door to Suzy is Debs, the new arrival to the street and the Crazy Lady, prone to bouts of paranoia and other craziness, and so obviously the one we're sure is The Bad One.
This novel is reasonably well written but it takes sooooo long to get to the point. I wasn't so much bored with it as frustrated; the blurb on the back cover leads one to believe that this will be a psychological thriller....."the book that will haunt mothers everywhere"...... it isn't. It's a tale of three women, none of whom is particularly likeable, who live fairly ordinary lives in an ordinary street. I was waiting for Something to Happen.....roughly 50 pages from the end it finally does, and even then it's quite predictable. The explanation for Debs strange behaviour is just plain ridiculous, and the loose ends are tied up just a little too neatly. I also think the title and front cover are misleading, as is the blurb on the jacket, as one is lead to believe there is far more to the book than is held between its pages. I would say that it's easy reading for a wet weekend, or once again that ubiquitous deck chair on a sunny day, but on the whole I found it a let down, and would have given it two and half stars had that option been available.
Callie, a single mother whose small daughter Rae has suffered health problems in infancy and is somewhat fragile. She is obsessively over-protective, irritatingly so, which has a detrimental effect on Rae who just wants to be a normal little girl.
Suzy, an American woman who annoyingly addresses Callie as "hon" at every opportunity (I've lived in North America and have yet to meet anyone who used this annoying word as often as this character) lives across the road from Callie and since their friendship began a couple of years previously they have become dependant on each other. Suzy is married to stiff, formal Jez and is the mother of his three sons; the older one Henry seems to have some sort of behavioural problems. Maybe this is why Suzy is desperate to have another baby - preferably a girl.
Next door to Suzy is Debs, the new arrival to the street and the Crazy Lady, prone to bouts of paranoia and other craziness, and so obviously the one we're sure is The Bad One.
This novel is reasonably well written but it takes sooooo long to get to the point. I wasn't so much bored with it as frustrated; the blurb on the back cover leads one to believe that this will be a psychological thriller....."the book that will haunt mothers everywhere"...... it isn't. It's a tale of three women, none of whom is particularly likeable, who live fairly ordinary lives in an ordinary street. I was waiting for Something to Happen.....roughly 50 pages from the end it finally does, and even then it's quite predictable. The explanation for Debs strange behaviour is just plain ridiculous, and the loose ends are tied up just a little too neatly. I also think the title and front cover are misleading, as is the blurb on the jacket, as one is lead to believe there is far more to the book than is held between its pages. I would say that it's easy reading for a wet weekend, or once again that ubiquitous deck chair on a sunny day, but on the whole I found it a let down, and would have given it two and half stars had that option been available.
January 30, 2013
Excellent twisty psychological thriller with 3 deeply flawed female lead characters - loved it.
The story focusses on 3 very different female lead characters - all easy to relate to and extremely well constructed yet whom as we get to know them are all in different ways deeply flawed characters.
Callie is bringing up her daughter Rae single handed and is deeply protective of her rather fragile daughter. Both find it hard to make friends and be accepted so Callie has come to rely on the friendship of Suzy her neighbour and fellow mother, American and somewhat slapdash she brings up her 3 boys whilst her husband Jez spends more and more time at the office.
Into the picture comes the rather highly strung Debs and her husband, when they move into the neighbourhood next door to Suzy.
It's inevitable that the 3 womens' paths cross, and as their lives become entwined we are drawn deeper into each of their circumstances and a creeping feeling of unease begins to stir in the readers mind as we wonder who if any of them can be trusted and who has the most to hide.
I loved the way the story begins quite gently and semms like a nicey nicey chick lit/ aga saga then develops into something deep and dark and really rather nasty.
It took me a little while to get into it I really did think at first it wasn't going to be my cup of tea at all, but how wrong I was - and so glad I stuck with it. This is a masterful and convoluted plot handled with ease and superb authorship. If you have similar tastes to me do read this I don't think you'll be disappointed.
The story focusses on 3 very different female lead characters - all easy to relate to and extremely well constructed yet whom as we get to know them are all in different ways deeply flawed characters.
Callie is bringing up her daughter Rae single handed and is deeply protective of her rather fragile daughter. Both find it hard to make friends and be accepted so Callie has come to rely on the friendship of Suzy her neighbour and fellow mother, American and somewhat slapdash she brings up her 3 boys whilst her husband Jez spends more and more time at the office.
Into the picture comes the rather highly strung Debs and her husband, when they move into the neighbourhood next door to Suzy.
It's inevitable that the 3 womens' paths cross, and as their lives become entwined we are drawn deeper into each of their circumstances and a creeping feeling of unease begins to stir in the readers mind as we wonder who if any of them can be trusted and who has the most to hide.
I loved the way the story begins quite gently and semms like a nicey nicey chick lit/ aga saga then develops into something deep and dark and really rather nasty.
It took me a little while to get into it I really did think at first it wasn't going to be my cup of tea at all, but how wrong I was - and so glad I stuck with it. This is a masterful and convoluted plot handled with ease and superb authorship. If you have similar tastes to me do read this I don't think you'll be disappointed.
August 29, 2017
The premise of 'The Playdate' sounded quite a bit more exciting than the final product, still, it was nicely written and had me engaged till the end.
The story centers around the lives of three women, neighbors, in a London suburb. There is Callie, the single mum with a sickly daughter, trying to feel like a fulfilled adult, but finding it rather a challenge; Suzy, an American mother of three boys, stuck in an unsatisfying marriage; and Debs, a former teacher with a scandal in her past.
So far, so good. Unfortunately, none of them were particularly likable. i got the sense I was meant to really like Callie, but she was so whiny I almost wanted to shake her. Suzy was such a caricature of an 'American' and Debs, 48, was described almost as a senior citizen. I am 25, but I felt a closest affinity to Debs, say that what it may.
To get to the point, the characters were not strong or developed enough for me to care all that much, and given that this is supposed to be a bit of a psychological thriller/mystery/chick-lit, I was just expected something more. The plot was okay, but kind of predictable and the end did not deliver on the high tension needed to bump this up another half star in my rating.
I do want to say, as it is a debut, it is well written and there are no loose ends or anything untidy about the story. It is solid, but just not, for me, terribly memorable. I wish Millar success with future novels, because I think, there is certainly potential.
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The story centers around the lives of three women, neighbors, in a London suburb. There is Callie, the single mum with a sickly daughter, trying to feel like a fulfilled adult, but finding it rather a challenge; Suzy, an American mother of three boys, stuck in an unsatisfying marriage; and Debs, a former teacher with a scandal in her past.
So far, so good. Unfortunately, none of them were particularly likable. i got the sense I was meant to really like Callie, but she was so whiny I almost wanted to shake her. Suzy was such a caricature of an 'American' and Debs, 48, was described almost as a senior citizen. I am 25, but I felt a closest affinity to Debs, say that what it may.
To get to the point, the characters were not strong or developed enough for me to care all that much, and given that this is supposed to be a bit of a psychological thriller/mystery/chick-lit, I was just expected something more. The plot was okay, but kind of predictable and the end did not deliver on the high tension needed to bump this up another half star in my rating.
I do want to say, as it is a debut, it is well written and there are no loose ends or anything untidy about the story. It is solid, but just not, for me, terribly memorable. I wish Millar success with future novels, because I think, there is certainly potential.
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December 16, 2012
From the beginning, you know that the three main characters have deep, dark secrets. Callie, unmarried mother of Rae, has a rocky relationship with Rae's father and it has become worse since she made the decision to venture back into work outside her London suburb. Suzy, transplanted American, is Callie's best and only friend. She passionately loves her three sons and is almost too possessive of her best friend; but she would do anything for Callie and Rae. Finally, Debs and husband Allen are new neighbors to the two women. It is obvious that Debs has issues and a past involving a child from her days of teaching, and yet, she is still working with children in the after school club at the local school. Rae is caught in the center of this triangle of main characters. As the story unfolds, there are several coincidences that are rather unbelievable that bring the dark secrets to light so that any doubt of which character is not to be trusted is erased. I was engrossed in this psychological thriller untili about midway when the truth began to be revealed and the believability of the plot began to wane. I felt that what started out to be a thriller, ran out of steam with a ending that was out of desperation to simply end the book.
June 20, 2012
I loved this book. It wasn't what I expected from the summary on Amazon and I am really glad I ended up buying it. It is the story of three women, all of whom are neighbours on the same London street and who, through both necessity and circumstance, find their lives entwined. Callie and her daughter Rae are the focus of the story. A single mom, Callie finds that she leans heavily on her neighbour Suzy after they both move into the street at the same time. Despite become close, neither are being completely truthful about their lives. Debs is older but not wiser. A woman with a lot of baggage, she enters their lives just as it reaches a turning point - Callie chosing to return to work. What follows this return keeps the reader guessing as you are led down one path and then another.
This is Louise Millar's first novel. I thought it was well written, with some really nice descriptive passages and turns of phrase and will definitely be reading her next book.
This is Louise Millar's first novel. I thought it was well written, with some really nice descriptive passages and turns of phrase and will definitely be reading her next book.
November 18, 2012
The Playdate is one of those books that really surprises you. When I picked it up, looked at the cover and read the blurb, I was expecting quite a light read, maybe something along the lines of Diane Chamberlain? I was very pleastantly surprised to find myself in the middle of a story that is at times very frightening, always very clever and for me, was totally compelling.
Narrated by the three main female leads; Callie, Suzy and Debs in quite short, sharp chapters - the story unfolds into a nightmare scenario for at least two of the characters. Louise Millar creates a cast of characters that are flawed but at times, brilliant and a storyline that captures the imaginations, takes the reader down a few twisty turns and delivers a punch at the end that I certainly didn't see coming.
An excellent read. Louise Millar's next Novel 'Accidents Happen' is due to be released early next year, I'm looking forward to reading it
Narrated by the three main female leads; Callie, Suzy and Debs in quite short, sharp chapters - the story unfolds into a nightmare scenario for at least two of the characters. Louise Millar creates a cast of characters that are flawed but at times, brilliant and a storyline that captures the imaginations, takes the reader down a few twisty turns and delivers a punch at the end that I certainly didn't see coming.
An excellent read. Louise Millar's next Novel 'Accidents Happen' is due to be released early next year, I'm looking forward to reading it
May 20, 2012
I enjoyed this one- wasn't sure whether it should be a 3 or 4*. It totally wasn't what I was expecting it to be, purely picking it based on the title and fluffy cover. It was a suspense story- who can you really trust to look after your children? Two neighbours often take care of each others children after school, at the park etc. All the other mums seem to be unfriendly with them. Another neighbour moves in- is she what she seems? Callies daughter gets hurt when Deb the new neighbour brings her home following an emergency.
Throw in an ex husband, an often absent husband and an ever suffering husband and you wonder who is the one with a secret to hide- and what IS that secret!
The author used to work on the magazine Marie Clare - and I liked her style. I would look out for her next book.
Throw in an ex husband, an often absent husband and an ever suffering husband and you wonder who is the one with a secret to hide- and what IS that secret!
The author used to work on the magazine Marie Clare - and I liked her style. I would look out for her next book.
July 31, 2015
Four and a half stars.
A gripping read, where one is transported fully into the lives of three women, struggling with themselves, with life, with their relationships.
This book was fascinating and real - except for the reveal - which seemed a little unlikely and a bit tawdry. That's my only gripe! Otherwise it would have been a five star read.
I found it interesting how two of the women were victims in one way or another, and that 'the baddie' seemed to do what she did due to the cruelty she had received at the hands of others - very sad. The protagonist however, I felt was definitely the most selfish, yet in the end it was her life that we were left feeling the most hopeful for...
Very enjoyable and well written. Tugs at the heart and captures the mind :)
A gripping read, where one is transported fully into the lives of three women, struggling with themselves, with life, with their relationships.
This book was fascinating and real - except for the reveal - which seemed a little unlikely and a bit tawdry. That's my only gripe! Otherwise it would have been a five star read.
I found it interesting how two of the women were victims in one way or another, and that 'the baddie' seemed to do what she did due to the cruelty she had received at the hands of others - very sad. The protagonist however, I felt was definitely the most selfish, yet in the end it was her life that we were left feeling the most hopeful for...
Very enjoyable and well written. Tugs at the heart and captures the mind :)
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