The Playground

Looking to escape her old life, Nancy and her ten-year-old daughter Lara move to Ripton. A quiet, picturesque village in the rolling Derbyshire countryside, it seems like the perfect place to settle down.

But when Nancy reaches the school gates, she learns that beneath the quaint village atmosphere is a minefield. And after her daughter clashes with her school friends, Nancy quickly finds herself outside the whispering circle of parents.
As much as Nancy finds the playground politics absurd, they soon become impossible to ignore when Lara is accused of hurting another girl.
Desperate to clear Lara’s name, Nancy is about to learn just what lengths a parent will go to for their child . . .

Wry, twisting and suspenseful, Michelle Frances tells a story of schoolyard sniping turning into something much uglier in The Playground, for fans of Liane Moriarty and Adele Parks.