bousqueta's review against another edition
2.0
It was a fairly quick read for me. The playdate was not awful I just did not like the ending, it left me questioning more than I had answers to. The book left me craving more after the last page which made me not like the entire book too much. The beginning of the book was a bit slow and took a little while to get into but went quick as the middle of the novel came along.
always_need_more_books's review against another edition
4.0
Loved it - not what i thought it would be about but was thrilling and made me think twice about who I would trust to look after my children!
nevemac's review against another edition
3.0
This book was NOT a psychological thriller... The first 200 pages are all leading up to about 100 pages of somewhat excitement. There was way too much build up and the beginning of the book was very very vague that it almost left me not wanting to read it. But alas, I finished it and I was very underwhelmed. Nothing really surprised me with this book. I sort of saw everything that was coming. I was highly disappointed.
books2pineapples's review against another edition
3.0
If anything, this book definitely makes me look at my friends and neighbors a little more closely. I rated the book three stars, mainly because I was expecting something entirely different based on the description. It wasn't terrible, but not worthy of anything more than three stars.
kkilburn's review against another edition
2.0
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.
jshettel's review against another edition
3.0
A little uneven, but I'm glad I didn't abandon this one. Unreliable narrator(s), plot twists, crazy stuff.
sarahmacp's review against another edition
4.0
Great characters really dimensional and not easy to categorise into goodies and baddies. Good few twists and turns that I really didn't see coming.
rachel2325's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
niaforrester's review against another edition
3.0
I love books where nothing and no one is what or who they seem to be. This book delivered that in spades. First appearing to be about the uneven friendship between a well-off homemaker and a single mother down on her luck, The Playdate turned out to be a psychological thriller, where none of the narrators are quite as reliable as they first appeared to be. Enjoyed this one on Audible.