The Playground : A totally gripping psychological thriller with an unexpected twist
SD Robertson
318 pages
Bookouture
published September 26, 2023
About the book
He saved my little girl when I couldn’t. I invited him into our lives. But I had no idea he knew my darkest secret…
It is an ordinary September morning when I nearly lose my little girl. My mouth is dry, my hands shake when I see that she has darted unexpectedly into the playground…
The place where my own childhood ended.
Where I can’t set foot inside.
As she wobbles on top of the climbing frame about to fall, a silent scream freezes in my throat. So when a stranger hears her cries and rushes to help, I feel weak with relief.
I thank him as my daughter presses her tear-stained face into my skirt. Looking into his warm brown eyes and gentle smile, I feel an instant connection. When our paths cross again, I invite him for dinner. I’ve been so lonely since the breakdown of my marriage. What harm could come of it?
Soon we are seeing each other daily and I feel a spark grow between us. But then he says something that makes my heart beat fast in my chest. Something that makes me think he knows my secret.
That he knows what really happened at the playground all those years ago.
And if he knows that, he could destroy my precious family in a second…
A completely unputdownable page-turner about the terrible secrets that any family can hide. Fans of Lisa Jewell, K.L. Slater and Gillian McAllister will be hooked on The Playground!
My Review
I know this has thriller in the title, but up until the end, this reads a little more like a domestic suspense book. It’s like a slice in the life of a family. All of them have secrets and all of them are going about their lives hiding their secrets and because I know the type of book, I was trying to work out how any of their issues and secrets might intersect. Beth, the mom, won’t step foot on a playground. She’s estranged, but not divorced from, her husband Rory. Her son Ethan is up to something. And Billy has conveniently entered their lives and I was sure he had some type of trick up his sleeve but had no idea what it could be.
As I read, this felt like the narrators might not be truthful to themselves or the reader, but I had no idea if any of them were unreliable. This moves along with a few surprises along the way. Once their secrets started to surface, I had a slight idea where this might be headed but did not guess the ending. So many moving parts and so many layers to the story, that the author does a good job of tying up in the end.
While this one isn’t a pulse pounding thriller, but it hooked me from the start, and I wanted to know what everyone was hiding. I was entertained from start to finish.
About the author
Former journalist S.D. Robertson is a USA Today and #1 Kindle bestseller. He quit his role as a local newspaper editor to pursue a lifelong ambition of becoming a novelist – and he’s never looked back. Stuart, whose work has been translated into ten languages, is a reluctant DIYer and unofficial tech support provider for his family. He lives in a village near Manchester and is married with one daughter. There’s also his cat, who likes to distract him from writing by any means possible.
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