The Playground

A Novel

By: Jane Shemilt

Narrated by: Elizabeth Knowelden

Big Little Lies meets Lord of the Flies in this electrifyingly twisty follow-up to Jane Shemilt’s breakout debut The Daughter.

Over the course of a long, hot summer in London, the lives of three very different married couples collide when their children join the same tutoring circle, resulting in illicit relationships, shocking violence, and unimaginable fallout. There’s Eve, a bougie earth mother with a well-stocked trust fund; she has three little ones, a blue-collar husband, and is obsessed with her Instagrammable recipes and lifestyle. And Melissa, a successful interior designer whose casually cruel banker husband is careful not to leave visible bruises; she curates her perfectly thin body so closely she misses everything their teenage daughter is hiding. Then there’s Grace, a young Zimbabwean immigrant, who lives in high-rise housing project with her two children and their English father Martin, an award-winning but chronically broke novelist; she does far more for her family than she should have to.

As the weeks go by, the couples become very close; there are barbecues, garden parties, a holiday at a country villa in Greece. Resentments flare. An affair begins. Unnoticed, the children run wild. The couples are busily watching each other, so distracted and self-absorbed that they forget to watch their children. No one sees the five children at their secret games or realize how much their family dynamics are changing until tragedy strikes.

The story twists and then twists again while the three families desperately search for answers. It’s only as they begin to unravel the truth of what happened over the summer that they realize evil has crept quietly into their world.

But has this knowledge come too late?

©2019 Jane Shemilt (P)2019 HarperCollins Publishers

Could’ve been fantastic, lands on mediocre.

All of the raw ingredients were present for an intriguing and unique mystery of domestic suspense.
Instead, it comes off as disjointed, confusing, hard to follow.
There are so many primary characters and then all of the children and keeping up with the narrative that follows each family and their unique dynamics as well as the overall picture of what’s happening.
There were some great moments, and I’m a huge fan of Jane Shemilt but this was not fluid, it had this stop/start feeling throughout.
I found it very difficult to follow.
The narration is a whole other issue.
The strange, breathy, voice and the lack of clear annunciation with each word made this mildly frustrating book, extremely frustrating in the end.
I’m glad I got through it but I don’t think I could listen to this one a second time.
Anytime there are such sensitive topics in a tale I believe there should be a great sense of responsibility to approach these topics with dignity, sensitivity, and respect.
This was the case with another of her books (The Vacation House) where very difficult and uncomfortable topics are addressed but it’s done so beautifully.
I didn’t feel that same level of sensitivity here.

Excellent!

Excellent writing! Could not put it down! Just when I thought I had it all figured out, the plot twisted again and I did not see it coming!

The Ending Leaves You feeling Incomplete

This was a good story with lots of characters. Once I figured out who was married to whom, it really got interesting. But then, all of a sudden it just ended, leaving me still wondering what was happening.

Meh

The characters were very difficult to discern in the beginning as there were so many. And I was able to identify the "who done it" about half way through the story. the "twist" towards the end just wasn't enough to shake me.

Caution if you don’t like children dying

Story is intriguing and compelling but personally children dying or being physically hurt is not my preference for novels no matter how intriguing the story is. Well written just not for me.

Great Until the End

What the heck was that ending about? Two men that they knew but didn't say who they were, just show up and then... What? And, what was up with that epilogue? I'm so confused!

remarkable

I didnt know what to expect with this book but once started I couldn't stop! I will say it took a bit in the beginning to figure out which husband and which kids go with what woman but that didnt take long and once that was developed the story flowed fabulously. The characters were great, not all well liked but they came to life in the book. Thoroughly enjoyed!

terrific!

could not put it down. great story and narration. a credit well spent for sure.

Great

Enjoyed this although it was a bit difficult to follow the introduction of all the characters in the early chapters. I kept imagining the printed book might have family trees to aid the reader. I had to listen to several passages several times to try to recall their ages.

But the characters are well developed and interesting. Good story.

I can’t completely understand the reader

It’s hard for me to truly review because I had to stop this, I couldn’t understand the reader.