What do you think?
Rate this book
Play Time
Ten-year-old Amber was always snooping around where she didn't belong. Her mother said she would get herself in trouble someday, but Amber didn't believe it... until she met the little girl who lived down the street in Covent House.
Her name was Sara and she was always happy to see Amber, happy to have a friend. So Amber went to see her a lot, even though Covent House gave her the creeps. Even though she always felt like someone - or something - was watching them.
Then Sara began to tell Amber stories. True stories. Terrifying stories. About the evil things that happened at Covent House years before. And the horrors that were going to happen now...
Her name was Sara and she was always happy to see Amber, happy to have a friend. So Amber went to see her a lot, even though Covent House gave her the creeps. Even though she always felt like someone - or something - was watching them.
Then Sara began to tell Amber stories. True stories. Terrifying stories. About the evil things that happened at Covent House years before. And the horrors that were going to happen now...
- GenresHorror
319 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published July 1, 1988
2 people are currently reading
134 people want to read
About the author
J.M. Morgan
13 books5 followersJ.M. Morgan is the working name of Jill Meredith Morgan. She has also published under the names of Morgan Fields, Jill Morgan, and Jessica Pierce.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 4, 2014
Wow, color me surprised! I had been disappointed by my last Morgan Fields' book Deadly Harvest which I found dull and a struggle to get through. Not so with Play Time. Fields' story about a family moving to a small isolated California community with a past steeped in Druid lore is a quick entertaining read. There are some solid horror scenes and while some of the story seems to borrow it's influence from the Wicker Man, there is enough originality here to be entertaining. She does a solid job of blending a cult, a lost ghost, a evil god, and a family caught in the middle. There are some solid characters here, the shinning spot being Amber Theed, the young girl who has known much heartache since her father left her. She's a central character that I felt close too.
I enjoyed the narrative structure, most of the characters are extremely well flushed out for a 320 page book. I enjoyed the unusual style employed with Fields writing passages from the character Rachel's novel she was writing in the story. The history of the cult was interesting and I never felt bored by it.
A surprise delight from Zebra Horror. The cover is classic Zebra and has nothing to do with the story per say. Still this is a solid find and recommended.
I enjoyed the narrative structure, most of the characters are extremely well flushed out for a 320 page book. I enjoyed the unusual style employed with Fields writing passages from the character Rachel's novel she was writing in the story. The history of the cult was interesting and I never felt bored by it.
A surprise delight from Zebra Horror. The cover is classic Zebra and has nothing to do with the story per say. Still this is a solid find and recommended.
November 12, 2025
On paper, Play Time by Morgan Fields sounds like it should be a blast: a sultry little Zebra paperback romp involving a family buying a mysterious old house that turns out to be a pagan temple devoted to an ancient evil entity with a taste for human sacrifice. That setup practically screams fun, the sort of pulpy, over-the-top horror you can devour on a rainy afternoon. Unfortunately, what could have been a delightfully twisted haunted-house nightmare quickly devolves into a dreary, melodramatic slog that forgets its own premise about halfway through.
Instead of leaning into the eerie rituals and unholy terror promised on the back cover, Fields gets lost in the weeds of the family’s dull personal baggage. Pages upon pages of inane backstory (marital squabbles, childhood trauma, and endless self-reflection) smother whatever momentum the plot tries to build. Every time it looks like the ancient evil might finally show up and do something horrifying, we’re yanked back into another overwrought argument or wistful memory about someone’s late grandmother.
It’s genuinely disappointing, because Play Time could’ve been the kind of glorious paperback cheese that Zebra used to specialize in; all blood, lust, and candlelit doom. Instead, it feels like Fields wanted to write a gothic soap opera but accidentally left in the demon subplot out of obligation.
And yes, this is a Zebra, so expectations shouldn’t be astronomical — you buy these things for the schlocky thrills, not Pulitzer-level prose. But even by those standards, this one’s a dud. And to be honest, this one isn’t the absolute worst (that’s reserved for Patricia Wallace and Stephen Gresham). So, two stars for the cover art (which, frankly, tells a better story than the book) and for the faint whiff of potential that never claws its way out from under the melodrama. The rest? A long, frustrating reminder that not every haunted house is worth visiting.
Instead of leaning into the eerie rituals and unholy terror promised on the back cover, Fields gets lost in the weeds of the family’s dull personal baggage. Pages upon pages of inane backstory (marital squabbles, childhood trauma, and endless self-reflection) smother whatever momentum the plot tries to build. Every time it looks like the ancient evil might finally show up and do something horrifying, we’re yanked back into another overwrought argument or wistful memory about someone’s late grandmother.
It’s genuinely disappointing, because Play Time could’ve been the kind of glorious paperback cheese that Zebra used to specialize in; all blood, lust, and candlelit doom. Instead, it feels like Fields wanted to write a gothic soap opera but accidentally left in the demon subplot out of obligation.
And yes, this is a Zebra, so expectations shouldn’t be astronomical — you buy these things for the schlocky thrills, not Pulitzer-level prose. But even by those standards, this one’s a dud. And to be honest, this one isn’t the absolute worst (that’s reserved for Patricia Wallace and Stephen Gresham). So, two stars for the cover art (which, frankly, tells a better story than the book) and for the faint whiff of potential that never claws its way out from under the melodrama. The rest? A long, frustrating reminder that not every haunted house is worth visiting.
January 27, 2020
3.3 stars
Warning! Large plot holes ahead!
If you get past the plot holes, character motivation issues could derail you. Issues like, "I love this sweet couple! However, I won't mention their entire family will be slaughtered in a few months".
Wicker Man-Rosemary's Baby mash-up. Depraved Druids. Another fun Zebra horror cover.
L.A cop Sebastian and horror author Rachel move from L.A. to Shepard's Crossing to start family. Shepard's Crossing hires Sebastian to be police chief while Rachel starts her third horror novel. Great deal on big creepy house followed by pregnancy. Rachel befriends precocious ten year old, loner Amber. Amber befriends ghostly girl Sara. Town folk act unfriendly and strange. Doctor prescribes mysterious medication to Sebastian and pregnant Rachel. Not a bad setup for a pagan horror novel.
The weirdest thing? I reveled in Rachel's novel within a novel. Rachel's written passages reverberated with terror! Which begs the question- Why couldn't J.M. Morgan write terrifying prose throughout Play Time? Morgan's prose weaves webs of creeping dread when it's Rachel's writing. What does that even mean?
Since, I suspended my inner critic, I enjoyed Play Time anyway. If you can mute your inner critic, you might like Play Time too. Want to play?
Warning! Large plot holes ahead!
If you get past the plot holes, character motivation issues could derail you. Issues like, "I love this sweet couple! However, I won't mention their entire family will be slaughtered in a few months".
Wicker Man-Rosemary's Baby mash-up. Depraved Druids. Another fun Zebra horror cover.
L.A cop Sebastian and horror author Rachel move from L.A. to Shepard's Crossing to start family. Shepard's Crossing hires Sebastian to be police chief while Rachel starts her third horror novel. Great deal on big creepy house followed by pregnancy. Rachel befriends precocious ten year old, loner Amber. Amber befriends ghostly girl Sara. Town folk act unfriendly and strange. Doctor prescribes mysterious medication to Sebastian and pregnant Rachel. Not a bad setup for a pagan horror novel.
The weirdest thing? I reveled in Rachel's novel within a novel. Rachel's written passages reverberated with terror! Which begs the question- Why couldn't J.M. Morgan write terrifying prose throughout Play Time? Morgan's prose weaves webs of creeping dread when it's Rachel's writing. What does that even mean?
Since, I suspended my inner critic, I enjoyed Play Time anyway. If you can mute your inner critic, you might like Play Time too. Want to play?
March 19, 2015
Once again my horror books failed me. Wretched writing characters weren't intersting no real life to them story plot was lame. I threw this book in the trash where it belongs not only because it sucked but the binding was mostly undone and it was not saleable.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews