One of my favourite authors who I always know I am going to enjoy, slightly different from his previous books but in my opinion his best yet.

The storyline was brilliant with great characters and I was gripped from the beginning until the end which brought everything to a satisfactory conclusion, just absolutely fantastic storytelling at it's best.

I have nothing negative to say about this book and I have no hesitation in recommending it. Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for this brilliant ARC.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC of this engrossing story. The short chapters and pace made the story go quickly. There are two stories in one - the real reason why Beth won't go into a playground and the story of Billy. You know from early on that Billy has an agenda, but it doesn't emerge until the end of the book. That's also when all the twists are revealed and they're all worth the wait. It was a quick read with a satisfying ending, and I'd recommend it to anyone, especially someone with an irrational phobia.

A tense and taut domestic thriller with plenty of action and lots of moving parts. Did not see where this one was going so it truly was a surprise!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC!

I rated this book a 2/5 stars. I rated it a 2/5 as it was something different that I read. The book was very slow towards the beginning as it focused more on setting the characters, the plot, and the setting. I loved that I was able to get to know the characters so much. I was also amazed when I was reading and the p.o.v's switched from past to present, and you were also able to see most of the characters p.o.v which I have not seen before. I've seen dual p.o.v's but nothing like knowing the p.o.v from every angle. Throughout the book it had gotten slow and I had to get myself to continue reading it. I thought every twist was very predictable. I guessed the ending like half way through the book. Maybe it's just because I've read a lot of thrillers. It's one of my favorite genres. I still enjoyed reading mainly to see if I was right about the "twist" at the end and for the most part I was besides a few little details. I also wanted to continue reading because of my favorite character. In my opinion I loved Billy. I knew from the moment that he came up in the beginning something was up. Very manipulative and secretive I absolutely loved it.
Thank you netgalley, Bookouture, and S.D. Robertson for an arc copy of this book for my honest review. Everything in my review is my own.

my first book from this Author and so enjoyed. Beth is having it hard. her husband Rory had an affair. she chucked him out. they have two children. a daughter Daisy and a son Ethan. Beth has a phobia with playgrounds. And on the day, she takes her daughter to dentist. on way back to school Daisy runs in to a playground and some young boys start bullying Daisy with their dog Beth has a Panick attack a stranger Billy helps her and then she finds out he has just moved into a house round corner from her .am not saying no more as will spoil it a very twisty and addictive read will be reading more from this author

Synopsis;
He saved my little girl when I couldn’t. I invited him into our lives. But I had no idea he knew my darkest secret… It is an ordinary September morning when I nearly lose my little girl. My mouth is dry, my hands shake when I see that she has darted unexpectedly into the playground. The place where my own childhood ended. Where I can’t set foot inside.

2.5 to 3 stars on this one, unfortunately. I never really felt my pulse pounding, or the feeling of having to read every minute I had free to see what was going to happen. Who is this mystery man? How did he happen to be there at just the right time? As this new relationship evolves, you know Beth is hiding a secret, but you also know Billy is as well (well we the reader can tell, but Beth seems to be oblivious). Although there are several twists, none of them were “gasp worthy”, and I found myself having to push through the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC and opportunity to read in exchange for an honest review.

A great read where the story flows really well which keeps the pages turning -
This is the story of Beth who is unable to enter a playground due to past trauma - with a small daughter this is a difficult thing to avoid, when a stranger who intervenes to avoid her daughter having an accident things could be starting to look up for Beth who has split from her husband - but will Beth get the ending she is hoping for....

This gave me Lucinda Berry vibes in the best possible way. This is such a dark, twisty thriller follows Beth, a woman who cannot set foot on playgrounds. This makes it impossible for her to rescue her daughter when ill things happen to her there. It sets her into a panic. This follows us throughout the entire book and really makes for for a wild, emotional read. It was different from most of the thrillers I have read but it was a real treat of a story. Robertson used mental health and traumatic experiences to his advantage in this book to really get to the reader.
TW: Trauma, Drugs, Violence

The effects of the book are the heightened by the presence of previous trauma and the effects of it into parenthood and things we could have /should have been able to prevent. From this is a lot of guilt that can cause us to let our guard down. Definitely enioyed reading this book!

I really enjoyed this thriller. It was very suspenseful and full of ups a d downs, twists and turns that keep my on the edge of my seat. This author really knows how towrite and has a great writing style.

One of the best books ive read in a long long time, this had me gripped from the start and i found it so hard to put down, superb writing and the storyline was amazing, highly recommend this book to everyone

I found this abit slow to start but once I got used to the writing style then I was o sessed! It's just very character based but they are written so authentically and with such depth that it really worked for this storyline. It did pick up the pace part way through and had some really good twists I didn't see coming. It definitely stands apart from a lot of other thrillers with the level of commitment and development of the characters

Found this quite a slow paced read. Didn't really grip me. Although I did enjoy the book as a whole. I liked how you hear from different characters perspectives. The main character annoyed me because she just accepted things.
I thought the writing was good and will try more from this author.

This was a good book although it did drag a bit in the first half. The conclusion was not something I expected and I was concocting some wild theories!
The author did a good job sketching out the characters. Billy was very well developed; when the change in the character takes place I was genuinely surprised. The side story with Ethan felt not very necessary at the beginning but towards the end it becomes clearer where it fits. The character of Rory felt like a side character all along therefore I was surprised he was a POV character.
Overall a well developed and structured thriller.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and publisher, for an ARC of this book.

Highly recommended! Readers, find some quiet alone time to settle in with this one because you won't stop reading until you've turned the final page. Highly recommended to fans of mysteries, suspense and thrillers.

This was a very fast paced and gripping read. The story was so engrossing that it pushed me to keep turning the pages. The ending was sort of predictable for me but still the execution of the plot was remarkable. What I liked the most about this book was the short chapters which added to the pace of the story.

The Playground is the story of Beth who dealing with some past trauma. Added to it is her husband whom she is separated from and two children one of whom is a teenager and you have a perfect recipe for disaster. However when he stranger steps into her life under weird circumstances and saves her little daughter from mishap, things start to look better for her. But is the reality as rosy as she thinks? That's the rest of the story.

Thank you @netgalley for giving me a chance to read this ARC.

The plot of this book is good, I was kept gripped and enjoyed it. If any feedback I think some of the conversational pieces were a bit odd. Mostly with the teen speak, Ethan in particular, it didn’t at times feel like a teen speaking and I found it a tad distracting but overall a solid book I’d recommend.

Thank you publishers and netgalley for giving me arc copy! As always I love a book that switches time and perspective. I was definitely hooked from the moment I started this book and did not want to put it down. It was a lot of mystery as to what was going on. I felt like the book kept twisting and turning. The ending definitely had a huge twist that i wasn’t expecting. Overall, the book was very intense and fast paced!

This was a solid thriller book for being the first of the genre for this author. I loved how much attention was put into the characters, I felt like I genuinely knew them inside and out by the end of the book. The beginning of the book was rather slow moving--attention being given to building the scene and location as well as the characters. About 1/4 to a 1/3 of the way through the book it really took off and was very creepy and twisty like I adore in a thriller. So much thought and characterization was put into Billy that just thinking of him gave me chills by the end. I had a little bit of trouble believing that Beth was so gullible to believe all of the things that Billy was concocting and telling her though--I feel like it was a bit far-fetched at certain times. It's possible that Rory could have been given a bigger part throughout the book instead of just being a secondary character throughout the majority of the book. It's not until towards the end of the book that he shifts to being more of a main character and at that point so much of the focus is on Billy and Beth's relationship it pulls from Rory and makes him fall to the wayside again. I loved the family dynamics that were brought into this book from the way Beth was with her children to her relationship with her mother. The details surrounding her father's death left a mystery that was so good my jaw dropped when it finally was uncovered. The ending was a shocker and I DID NOT see it coming at all. I kept guessing throughout the book what the big mystery at the end was going to be and it was a complete surprise. I look forward to picking up more thrillers by this author.

✨ A R C R E V I E W ✨
📖: The Playground by S.D. Roberson
📚: 71/115
⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
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Review:
Honestly this book was good . I did enjoy it, however for it to be a psychological thriller I guessed all the plot twists which is why I rated it three stars. The story, characters, development was great, I just hate when I can guess the twists. Honestly, because I could guess the plot twist it took me forever to get through the book just because when something happened, I was expecting it. I personally don’t know if it was actually predictable, or if I’ve read too many psychological thrillers at this point and I expect these things. Personally I also thought the whole thing behind “the playground” was very dramatic. Reminder just because this wasn’t my cup of tea, doesn’t mean it isn’t yours!

Blurb:
He saved my little girl when I couldn’t. I invited him into our lives. But I had no idea he knew my darkest secret…
It is an ordinary September morning when I nearly lose my little girl. My mouth is dry, my hands shake when I see that she has darted unexpectedly into the playground…
The place where my own childhood ended.
Where I can’t set foot inside. As she wobbles on top of the climbing frame about to fall, a silent scream freezes in my throat. So when a stranger hears her cries and rushes to help, I feel weak with relief.
I thank him as my daughter presses her tear-stained face into my skirt. Looking into his warm brown eyes and gentle smile, I feel an instant connection. When our paths cross again, I invite him for dinner. I’ve been so lonely since the breakdown of my marriage. What harm could come of it? Soon we are seeing each other daily and I feel a spark grow between us. But then he says something that makes my heart beat fast in my chest. Something that makes me think he knows my secret. That he knows what really happened at the playground all those years ago. And if he knows that, he could destroy my precious family in a second…

Read this if you enjoy:
🖤 Thriller
🩶 Plot twists
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I would like to thank NetGalley, Bookouture, and S.D. Robertson for giving me this ARC in exchange for an honest review! All opinions are my own!
This title releases on 9.26.23!