Two mothers. Two daughters. Two sides to the story. When Sara leaves her high-flying London life to move to Dublin, her only concern is her nine-year-old daughter, Lexie. For Lexie's sake she tries to get to know other mothers at the school gates, but they appear uninterested - particularly their leader, the beautiful and charismatic Vanessa, whose daughter rules the playground. After a simple misunderstanding between Vanessa and Sara, none of the other kids at school want anything to do with Lexie. Desperate to mend fences, Sara offers to look after Vanessa's daughter one afternoon. But when the playdate ends in catastrophe, Vanessa is convinced that what happened wasn't an accident. With allegations flying in all directions, Sara is forced to ask herself what she has unleashed? And how far a mother will go to protect her daughter? What I thought of the story There are some very strange people in this world and sometimes facts are stranger than fiction. This is a fantastic domestic noir. For those people like me that doesn't know what that means. It means it's a family drama with no happy ending. I can go on and on about the characters and how well rounded they are and how the book is written in the same style as some other author, but I'll keep it simple. It is a very good book. It kept me turning the pages.

Sara and Adam Carey move to Ireland to give their daughter Lexie a better life. Sara wants to be friends with the other school mums but Vanessa Mayhew, the leader of the so-called ‘beautiful mums’ only speaks to her when Sara offers to have her daughter Polly on a playdate. When the playdate ends with Polly having an accident Vanessa blames Sara and sets out to make her life a misery. ‘The Playdate’ is an unusual novel as it’s been written in the form of Sara narrating to Adam what’s been happening during his absence in London on business commitments. The characters were a mixed bunch, some I liked and some I didn’t, and as the plot progressed there were twists and turns and a few surprises. I didn’t like the bullying which, although was part of the story, was hard to stomach but generally it all fitted together well and made for an interesting read.