Playdate

"Adams is that rare writer who sends out every laugh with a sting in its tail. Most novels fade from the memory. This one sticks."--Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

Inside their picture-perfect homes, the residents of this quiet California suburb are not at all what they seem.

Lance is a former weatherman, now a buff yogi, stay-athome dad, and manager of his daughter's Girl Scout troop's cookie distribution. Belle is his precocious and quick-witted daughter. Darlene is a classic Type A work-a-holic, she has little time or patience for the needs of her husband and daughter

And just down the street are Alec and Wren. Alec, a womanizing businessman, is also the financial backer--and sometimes more--behind Darlene's burgeoning empire. Meanwhile, Wren is a doting mother and talented yogi, ready to lay down the mat for a quick session with Lance.

As looming Santa Ana winds threaten to turn brushfires into catastrophe; Playdate proves that relationships are complicated and the bonds between families, spouses and children are never quite what they seem. What happens next door, beyond the hedges, in the romper room and executive office--it's all as combustible as a quick brushfire on a windy day.

THELMA ADAMS has been Us Weekly’s film critic since 2000; after six years reviewing at the New York Post. She has written for Marie Claire, The New York Times, Cosmopolitan and Self. She lives in New York with her family.