Book Review: The Playdate by Louise Millar

Title: The Playdate: A Novel by Louise Millar
Published July 3, 2012; Atria/Emily Bestler Books
Genre: light psychological suspense, women's fiction

About the book: The lives of three neighbors connect and intertwine when one of them needs after-school care for a daughter with fragile health.

Callie, a single mom with a daughter Rae who was born with a bad heart, and her neighbor, Suzy, do things together and look out for each other as neighbors and mothers. A newly married woman, Deb,  moves in to the semi-detached next door to Suzy and is so sensitive to sounds, she is bothered by noises  she can hear through the thin walls.

The plot takes off when Callie decides to go back to work and puts her daughter Rae in an after-school care program at school where Deb is a teacher. Rae is also eager for playdates with her classmates. Rae has an accident while walking home with Deb and could be in danger, but from whom? The evidence could point to Deb, but nothing is clear. Callie doesn't know who to trust when she is at work or when Rae is on one of her playdates.

My comments: The plot switches direction suddenly and dramatically two-thirds of the way through the book. It becomes suspenseful and I couldn't put the book down till I had gotten to the end. I could sympathize with the single mom Callie up to that point, and then later had to question her choices in dealing with her two neighbors.

I recommend the book for anyone with young children who might wonder, " Who can I trust to watch my children?"

Thanks to the publisher for a review copy of this book.