Really really enjoyed this book. Such an easy and fast paced read, full of drama and lots of interesting characters.
Nancy has just moved to the village with her ten year old daughter Lara, money is no object as they settle into their new mega mansion. But unbeknown to Nancy, she has fuelled the wrath of the queen bee Imogen, just by existing in her old life.
An incident between Lara and Imogen’s daughter Rosie sets the tone for the remainder and made my blood boil throughout, there’s nothing more I detest than a parent who thinks their child is a little darling who can never do anything wrong, getting away with their nasty behaviour every time and a school that doesn’t want to admit bullying exists.

This escalated even further with Imogen’s nasty sheep that followed her lead and let rumours run amok and get out of control. Things had to get worse before they could get better and lots of unexpected situations that I didn’t see coming.
Thank you to NetGalley and Pan MacMillan for the ARC in return for an honest review.

. I have enjoyed other books by this author so couldn’t wait to get my teeth into this one and read this in one sitting as couldn’t put it down.

This book covered a lot of sensitive issues such as bullying and toxicity of how playground mums can be and also looked at how things on the inside are not always the same as they appear on the outside

This was a fast paced psychological thriller/drama and kept the reader on their toes while reading. I was so engrossed while reading anything could have gone on around me. This would make an excellent tv dramatisation.

When Nancy moves from London to the picturesque Derbyshire village of Ripton with her ten year old daughter Lara she is hoping to start afresh, to escape the trauma of the last year, but moving into the spectacular Willow Barn has ruffled some feathers with the mums at the school gates and things go from bad to worse when Lara is accused of hurting one of their children...

The Playground covers topics such as bullying, playground mentality and the pitfalls of life in a small village where your business is never just your own, as a parent I've witnessed the bullying aspect myself as my son went through it at primary school, but this story takes the toxicity of the subject to a whole new level as it doesn't just stay within the boundaries of the playground and the reasons for this become clear as the story progresses. This is a fast paced, easy read with short chapters and some very damning conversations via WhatsApp and some very unsavoury characters, many of them with troubles of their own, I raced through it having total empathy for Nancy and Lara, although there were times when Nancy really didn't do herself, or her daughter, any favours with one family in particular. It's a great read, with an unexpected ending, which I highly recommend.

I'd like to thank Pan Macmillan and Netgalley for inviting me to read this book, I will post my review on Goodreads now and Amazon on publication day.

Oh my goodness can just see this being a streaming series, would do so well. This was a definite afternoon read as I really needed to keep going to find out what happened and boy the ending was brilliant.

I was given an advance copy by netgalley and the publishers but the review is entirely my own

4.5 stars
So... single mum Nancy and her daughter Lara move to the small Derbyshire village of Ripton. It is a new start for them and they are both excited. Nancy is financially secure and has bought a rather prestige house and is looking forward to making it their own, being as she does not need to work.
Lara is sad to have left her old life but is looking forward to starting school...
And that's where it all goes wrong. Small village mentality. Nancy and Lara are outsiders and shunned. Bullied. Ostracised. Mainly by Imogen and daughter Rosie. But with the majority joining in. There are reasons which are out of Nancy's control and which she is initially unaware of. But which all come out, mostly in the WhatsApp threads that are peppered throughout the narrative and contain some rather awful escalations and accusations.
Oh my days - some of this is nasty. I've lived in villages and there is always a bit of us and them with newcomers - and the definition of newcomer varies. But what happens herein is rather shocking and contains some very nasty occurrences. I know the circumstance regarding the history of the house that Nancy buys is hard to get over for some but it was inevitable.
And Rosie - well ain't she just the madam. And liar, and, lots of other things. Horrid child - got my hackles up, the pair of them. Mum and daughter.
Its a quick and easy read that tickled all the emotions along the way. Yes some of the parts were a tad predictable but, I have to fess up and never saw THAT coming. And if you want to know what "that" was, you'll have to read the book.
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Widow Nancy and her daughter Lara move to the village of Ripton to start afresh. They move into the beautiful million-pound house Willow Barn, recently vacated by another village resident.

Village life isn’t quite what Nancy expected nor what she had hoped for herself and Lara. It’s filled with village gossip, mainly by the ‘Primary School Mothers.’ Nancy and Lara are soon outcast, and a small number of the village making the new residents lives a nightmare, through bullying and sneaky tactics, whilst pointing the finger of blame at Nancy and Lara. But they have underestimated Nancy and the lengths a desperate Mum will go to.

The story is a fantastic example of a psychological thriller. It’s both fast-paced and gripping. It’s brilliantly written and interspersed with extracts from the School Mum’s WhatsApp group, offering an often-humorous look from the other side of the fence.

I have read almost all of Michelle Francis’ other books and really enjoyed them, but this one is next level. I totally loved it!

4.5 stars. I wasn’t initially sure if I was going to like this book as I felt it started off very slow and I couldn’t see where it was leading. It soon picked up and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Great bunch of characters who all had their flaws. Good twists towards the end

This book has been one of my favourite reads in a long, long time. I am a massive fan of Michelle Frances’ books having read all but two of hers but this one just knocked everything else out of the park!

When Nancy and Lara move to a new village buying a big house, they could be accused of drawing attention to themselves when in fact all Nancy wants to do is to give her asthmatic daughter the chance of a less polluted lifestyle in a rural setting. They just want to blend in and become part of village life, however, the other residents have different ideas. On Lara's first day at her new school, they both realise that “fitting in” is going to be quite a challenge especially when she is later accused of trying to drown another child at a birthday party. This is when the bitching and backstabbing of the “mummy mafia” on the class Whats App group goes into full throttle and other people get drawn into the drama.

As someone whose primary school life was made miserable by a bully this story really did resonate with me and my heart went out to little Lara who endured so much but always appeared to bounce back. Class bully Rosie should have had horns and pitchfork, she really was an evil little madam!

Such a brilliantly written book but it should come with a warning especially if you are planning to read this on a beach. REMEMBER! Apply plenty of suncream before you start reading because from the minute you open the first page, you will forget about everything else and become completely and utterly absorbed by this!

A good read with interesting characters which kept me involved in the storyline and I particularly like the short chapters. I wouldn't really call this a thriller read or fast paced just for me personally a good read.

Thank you to Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for this ARC which I can thoroughly recommend.

A great story with so many twists in it. The parent characters you can image being true to life in some places. The children have so much privilege and expectation. Brilliant!

An idyllic life in the country is the fresh start Nancy and her 10 year old daughter Lara need after a traumatic year. But they didn't count on the toxicity of the school playground both from the mums and the children. And my goodness there was lots of nastiness and bitterness with WhatsApp groups active daily. And when things happen in the village obviously Nancy is the prime suspect because of course nothing happened before she arrived.
I loved this book, it was such a quick read as I was so invested in the story that I couldn't put it down. I've never encountered playground politics and based on this novel I'm so pleased I haven't. Definitely one to read and recommend to others

Wow this is a great story of Nancy who moves to the village of Ripton with her 10 year old daughter Lara for a quiet life after the death of her husband. The story highlights the highs and lows of moving to a small community especially when it comes to the school her daughter attends and how the mothers have formed a clique and bond.
The trouble starts when Rosie accuses Lara of hurting her and trouble then escalates when Nancy tries to defend her daughter from Rosie's bullying, and matters are not helped because Nancy brought Imogen's house when her business went bust for a low price and starts to make renovations.
You really feel sorry for Nancy who has to fight hard to protect her daughter and herself from malicious gossip from the village mums.
Would highly recommend.
Thanks to NetGalley & Pan Macmillan for a ARC for a honest review.

Nancy buys The Willow Barn in the village of Ripton. Moving in with her eleven year old daughter Lara after her husband is killed in an accident.
The Playground centres around a bunch of school mums who are absolutely awful.
Something happens at Rosie's birthday party just a few days after Lara starts at the new school and from then on the nastiness escalates.
The WhatsApp group messages are horrible. Only Hannah sticks up for Nancy.
There is plenty going on with some of the mum's, and none of them are likeable.
This was a real page turner, and the chapters are very short, which keeps the momentum going.
Thanks to Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for the ARC in return for an honest review.

A contemporary psychological drama following mum Nancy, who has moved out of London with her daughter Lara following a tragedy. Their new home is in an idyllic countryside town where everyone knows each other…perhaps a little too well…and when an incident at school occurs, sides are drawn by the parents.
This took me awhile to get into. The pace initially was quite slow with so much attention given to the repairs being done by Nancy in excruciating detail. I just wanted the story to get going. It did lack pace and momentum. Also there’s a cast of characters that is drip fed to you but once you get a hang of who’s who, the pace does pick up. I did enjoy the last quarter of the novel and the way things come together at the festival - I liked the way the short chapters flicker through character to character in reel time creating a sense of urgency. I did have a few questions and wish there had been a better sense of closure but overall it worked. Finally I just want to clarify this is not a thriller, so adjust your expectations as I had assumed this would be a thriller but it was actually more contemporary.

A brilliantly acerbic look at playground politics set in a small town outside of London. The novel follows a cast of characters. It is a slow burn, with quite a bit of tedious detailing however once the story gets going, it really gets going as toxic playground politics involving interfering parents start to get out of hand.
This was a fun read. Very reminiscent of Pretty Little Liars which also involved playground politics after a child is injured and parents take side.

Absolutely addictive and chilling thriller by author Michelle Frances. Mother and daughter move to the countryside following the death of the father. The daughter has struggled with inner city bullies and it is a fresh start all round. Sadly the parents and children are not so welcoming and worse is yet to come.

Great writing, believable characters and lots of twists and turns along the way. Ended too soon for me but the twist there was one I was not expecting.

Definitely recommend this to those loving domestic thrillers.

Many thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Jumping up and down to read one of my must read authors Michelle did not disappoint. As Nancy moved to the countryside to start over with her daughter there are some clashes. This really gets down into how much are you willing to do for you child and what lengths will you go. Excellent read.

Incredibly well written, well paced and the sort of book you just can’t put down. I thoroughly enjoyed the development of all of the characters and their intertwined stories.

Highly recommended.

This book is perfect for all readers enjoying schools ground politics related stories, as well as rich parents behaving badly. Very well written and absolutely recommended!

Can't go wrong with a Michelle Frances novel, even if you have no children and haven't experienced school gate antics.
You'll even find yourself investing in the horrid characters, as well as championing the good guys.
I'm just pleased school was nothing like this when I went!
Another enjoyable read from MF.