Reviews

• “Realistic and frightening. /…/ The story is easy to read and incredibly thrilling. The language is great and the gallery of characters easy to overview. The narrative really ticks most boxes in order for it to sail in as the perfect crime novel.”

• “[It will] have your nerves jangling and your emotions twisting… A tough read for those of a nervous disposition and an outright scary one for parents for whom the fear of child abduction is always at the back of their minds.”

• “Dahl plays with a scenario that is every parent’s nightmare as she slowly reveals the truth in this fast-paced and unsettling read.”

• “[T]his story gradually gets beneath the reader’s skin. /…/ Alex Dahl has a good grasp of the complexities of love, both between parent and child and between man and woman. /…/ Playdate is a melodrama with great passions and emotions. It’s straightforward and accessible, but has deeper layers. With an intrigue that is well crafted. And that fulfills its expectations, right until the very end.”

• “A story with real heart, surprising and chilling but the novel is more than an entertainment. As the story unfolds Dahl’s exploration of her characters allows readers to go deep into their psyche, an empathetic tale becomes a very compassionate one – who you have compassion for may surprise you – we can’t condone what happens but can feel like we understand it and that is very satisfying… Atmospheric… An engaging and emotionally draining read, a superb psychological thriller.”

• “The thriller Playdate is both gripping and unbearably exciting.”

• “The storytelling is crisp [and] there’s a terrifying simplicity about the ordinariness of the plot but particularly interesting are the very different responses of the two parents to their daughter’s disappearance.”