Wow, what a roller coaster ride this book was. I devoured it as fast as possible. Amazing characters and an original plot with interesting sub plots. I highly recommend it, one of the best I've read very recently. I will certainly be searching out more by this author. There's nothing more I can say except 5 stars.

First book I have read by this author what a fantastic story I loved the setting and all the diffrent places I love the characters and the story line and I loved the massive twist at the end thouroughly enjoyed it

Elisa has allowed her seven year old daughter to have a play date with a child of a family that has just moved into the area. She then let’s her daughter have a sleepover with them. The next day they have gone and taken her daughter.
I really don’t know why anyone would trust their seven year old child to a total stranger.
I really enjoyed The Boy At at the but this story was too chaotic for me and just didn’t hold my interest.
Thank you to NetGalley and Head of Zeus for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

A sincere thank you to the publisher, author and Netgalley for providing me with an ebook copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This is not my usual genre, I’m more into romance stories and girlie books therefore am extremely pleased and grateful to them for opening up my mind to something totally different.

I enjoyed this very much. 4 stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟

I really enjoyed this book and finished it over a weekend. It's full of mystery and gripping from the off. In the earlier chapters I was a little daunted by the number of POV characters, but they were so well written and the voice of each character stood out, making this easy to follow. In fact, it added so much to the story to take in all the mysteries and try to work out how they are all connected. Very emotional at times. A great thriller.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. If you want a thriller with twists and turns and great characters you will really enjoy this book. I loved it.

Alex Dahl is a new addition to the ever-growing category of proficient Norwegian crime fiction and her previous two psychological thrillers, The Boy At the Door and The Heart Keeper (for my full review click here), have won both the readers attention and critical acclaim. In her third book, Playdate, she follows the same pattern, as far as plotline and narrative style are concerned, and delivers a splendid, exhilarating crime/thriller that can be deemed her best book so far. The novel revolves around a case of kidnapping that sends the parents into a journey of self-exploration which will change them forever after. Even though one can claim that the storyline is rather common and -perhaps- over-used in many novels of the genre, what sets Playdate apart is the author's idiosyncratic writing style that aspires to delve deep in the protagonists' soul and inner thoughts and finally succeeds. I found the main characters to be compelling and three-dimensional while the plot is rich and keeps the reader glued on his seat, eager to turn the pages to see what happens next in, what is essentially a tragic story. The novel's pacing is even, nevertheless, the story picks up pace after the first third and builds the tension until the final pages where everything is resolved. The setting is Sandefjord a small town in Vestfold in Norway as it was in Dahl's first two books.

Elisa Blix is a young mother of two little kids, Lyden and Lucia, while she works as a stewardess in Nordic Lines. She leads a fairly ordinary life but everything turns upside down when she meets a woman named Line and her little daughter, Josephine. Line will convince Elisa to let Lucia come to a playdate with Josephine and stay the night in their house. Elisa will reluctantly agree and soon she will realize that this was, perhaps, the biggest mistake of her life. The day after, Lucia will disappear and Elisa, along with her husband, Frederik will have to face the unthinkable. Their precious daughter is kidnapped and taken somewhere far away by some truly nefarious, vicious people connected to an Eastern European child trafficking network. The Norwegian police, not used to such criminal cases in their quiet, peaceful country, will launch an enormous manhunt to find little Lucia. Elisa and Frederik quickly grasp that they will have to face their troublesome past, which is filled with secrets, and reveal everything to the authorities to have a chance in locating their offspring.

The author adopts the multiple perspective narrative, as we are watching the unraveling of the plot through the eyes of the main characters and the villains as well. The twists and turns are well-placed, plausible and efficient and the reader never feels tired or bored with the book's plot evolution. In a way, Dahl's writing style and characterization are reminiscent of another great Norwegian female crime author, Karin Fossum. Fossum has written many novels set in rural Norway, focusing on the characters' psychological state and thought process rather than relying on intricate plotlines or exhilarating action sequences. Her Konrad Sejer series is full of soul-searching expeditions and introspection for her protagonists and Alex Dahl seems to follow her tradition. There are some great psychological insights and observations on human life and nature scattered in the text. It was refreshing to read such a crime novel and I can sincerely admit that I am an Alex Dahl fan. I will keep my eyes open for her next writing attempts in the future.
I want to thank NetGalley and Head of Zeus publishing for providing a free ARC of this title.

Lucia is to have a play date with Josie, and later persuades her mother to let her stay the night. Her mum drops around her night things, kisses Lucia goodbye and never sees her again. When Lucia’s dad comes to pick her up later the next day he finds a completely empty house and Lucia gone. It turns out the home was an air bnb and had been rented for a week. Now the police have to find out who or why this elaborate plan was set up to take Lucia.
Selma is a journalist who is somewhat obsessed with the case and believes that Lucia is alive. She is sure that the family are hiding something and wants to uncover what it is. Told from several points of view, the mother Elisa, the missing girl Lucia, the abductor Jacqueline, the journalist Selma and Marcus....a guy in prison for 12 years. These characters hold the key but it’s working out the combination that will solve the puzzle.
A gripping, page turning tale.
#netgalley #playdate

I really couldn't wait to read this, given the plot line. It sounded really intruiging! I wasn't disappointed either, it's really well written, taut and twisty and full of menace! I have a lot of time on my hands currently and this filled the void nicely!

I’ll start by saying I really don’t get like Scandinavian fiction. I’ve read this authors previous story...which I didn’t like. At this point I know you’re asking why I requested Playdate, I didn’t know it was set in Norway and it’s impossible to keep up with every author I’ve tasted,

So obviously when I started Playdate I wasn’t very happy with my choice in my book but I’m happy to say I was wrong. Playdate has its faults but it’s a much stronger story than The Boy at the Door and the authors writing has improved beyond recognition! Other than names and places I wasn’t aware of it being Scandinavian which is always a positive!

Don’t get me wrong this book has faults. The main one for me was being treated like I’m stupid. I don’t need minor parts of the plot explaining. Also some cuts need to be made, its too long.

I’d rate this 3/5

I received an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review

The book took a few twists I really wasn’t expecting, which took it up from 3 to 3.5 rounded up. The writing and the character development is not amazing but you keep turning pages to find out what will happen next.

Oh this story was good. Although sometimes a little hard to read due to the seriousness of the plot. We’ll written and suspenseful. A few wow moments too. Highly recommended

Thank you NetGalley for this advanced copy. I really enjoyed this book. I did think it was a little slow moving toward the middle, but otherwise it was good. The suspense was good, leaving the reader asking questions as to why she was taken, who did it, etc. The ending was a shock.

Elisa had her reservations about allowing her seven year old daughter Lucia to go for a playdate at the home of her school friend Josie. But Josie's mother Lane was really nice and friendly and Lucia was so excited about having the opportunity to go on her first ever playdate so Elisa couldn't see any harm in giving her consent.

Only that one simple decision is about to plunge Elisa and her husband Fredrik into every parents worst nightmare when the next day,there is no sign of Lucia, Josie or Lane at the house that Elisa visited the previous day.

After it becomes apparent that Lucia's kidnapping was meticulously planned and not just a random opportunistic crime, Elisa, Fredrik and the police struggle to figure out who has taken her and why? Is Lucia alive or dead? Do either Elisa or Fredrik know more than they are letting on? What secrets are hiding within the walls of their seemingly happy home?

The chapters of this utterly enthralling thriller were voiced by several.diverse characters including Elisa, someone called Josephine and a journalist named Selma. As a parent,I would have expected to experience at least a tiny bit of empathy for Elisa as the story unfolded but I didn't. I thought that she was a very unlikable character for various reasons and I can't say I liked Fredrik very much either. I loved feisty Selma and thought that she was a fantastic, realistic character,someone who struggled with her confidence but stubbornly stuck to her convictions despite the doubts of others. The reader knew what was happening to poor Lucia because there was chapters that were voiced from her perspective. These chapters were heart breaking, gripping, chilling and intense. She was such a sweet little girl, brave and feisty and it really pulled on my heart strings as we witnessed her confusion as she was manipulated and intimidated into believing her captors versions of events. The other characters in this book were a mixed bunch of diverse individuals, some likeable,some not so likeable. The behaviour and actions of one of them were not excusable but no one can say how they would react if they found themselves in the same situation.

Playdate is a extremely well written, utterly riveting thriller that had me totally captivated from the very first page. I genuinely couldn't put this brilliant book down. The story which was scarily realistic and chilling keeps the reader guessing and frantically turning the pages,There was some unexpected twists and turns,the tension building as the secrets and lies were exposed and the story hurtled towards its gripping conclusion. I really really enjoyed this outstanding book, worth far more than five stars and very very highly recommended

This was a wonderful novel with characters that draw you right in and don’t let go. The storyline flowed seamlessly and kept me glued to the pages.