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Playdate

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Playdate

By: Alex Dahl
Narrated by: Charlie Sanderson, Louise Williams, Rebecca Courtney, Rupert Bush
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Summary

The latest thriller from the Dagger-shortlisted author of The Boy at the Door and The Heart Keeper.

Who took Lucia Blix? Lucia went home from school with her new friend Josie for a playdate. Later that evening, Lucia's mother, Elisa, dropped her overnight things round and kissed her little girl goodnight. That was the last time she saw her daughter. The next morning, when Lucia's dad arrived to pick her up, the house was empty. No furniture, no family, no Lucia. Have you seen Lucia?

©2020 Alex Dahl (P)2020 Head of Zeus Crime Thrillers Detective Fiction Genre Fiction Mystery Psychological Suspense Thriller Thriller & Suspense Women Sleuths Women's Fiction Crime Heartfelt
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Critic reviews

"Turns the raw power of maternal feeling into a gripping plot.... The author keeps the reader on tenterhooks with a deft balance of nail-biting tension and pure sympathy for her twisted heroine.” (Sunday Times)

“Dahl's sharp characterisations make her story feel fresh.” (Sunday Express)

“Intriguing and believable.... At once a compelling thriller and a beautiful meditation on grief." (Jane Shemilt)

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Yes, this stretches credibility too far at crucial points in this complex plot - but perhaps that doesn't matter in a crime thriller? I can't give examples without spoiling some of the twists in this twisty brimming-with-secrets tale
On the positive side, the desolation of Elisa when she finds that her daughter Lucia has been abducted and for the ensuing months of anguish are well created, Lucia's experiences were also well written, and I liked the Norwegian and French settings. The multiple voices in the different chapters made for variety - as in the sub plot of the woman journalist, and of Lucia herself. The prisoner Marcus remains a mysterious character until one of the twists finally reveals his part in Elisa's backstory. I found the characters female-heavy, not surprisingly from a woman author perhaps; Elisa's husband Frederick for example fades away to nothing as the novel gathers pace.
BUT the whole production is completely ruined by the narrator who reads Elisa's part. Oh dear! What an appalling performance! Why didn't someone stop her and say after the first five minutes 'OK, you've done the breathy stuff, now shape up!' Her gasping breaths continue for the entire book - intensely irritating and making the listener's heart sink as Elisa's turn with the narrative comes, totally losing sympathy for this melodramatic woman.

Stretches credibility rather too far!

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I felt myself switching off at times. Ok storyline but not fond of Elisas narration

Ok

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The story is amazing, but the audio is somewhat robotic and the Norwegian is very incorrect. The story was absolutely captivating.

Amazing story

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Great story with many cliffhangers and twists. Good pace. I enjoyed the chapters being told by different narrators. Overall a very pleasant and entertaining listen.

Great story and cliffhangers

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My second Alex Dahl book and I was distraught when it was over. This is such an unusual story a young girl is stolen and the story unfolds from the perspective of the perpetrator and the family over a period of time. This is a dark book that documents the unravelling of a woman with a troubled past and the lengths she will go to to achieve what she wants. The different voices are also good and bring this book to life.

Dark and twisting thriller

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