Playing Nice by J P Delaney is a shocking and disturbing story of how normal lives can be described and interpreted in a way to make them appear suspicious and unstable. Possible spoiler alerts in this. The strategy played out by Miles is terrifyingly credible. Where the story stalled for me, however, was with the speed of decisions by family court and social workers which is not at all credible! Disclosure here- I am a social worker of many decades standing and we are trained to dig deep, and not accept “evidence” from interested parties without due diligence. To be fair, the author does reference the fantastic work done by the court social workers in her acknowledgments at the end of the book. Moreover, the somewhat unlikable, reactionary social worker is no more taken in by a manipulative, controlling sociopath as the other professionals in the judiciary and criminal justice arena. In short, suspend a little disbelief at the smoothness of the reactionary processes of child removal and be appalled and somewhat discomfited at the actions and behaviours of the “bad psychopath” whilst realising you’ve been rooting for the more likeable self confessed quasi-psychopath! What a great thought provoking read!

Ah my favourite author back with another absolute winner!! I have devoured all of JP Delaneys books and this one was no different. I just love that each book is so wildly different (although always a thriller) and the diversity of the story.

This is a story about a mistake at a hospital between babies and how this unfolds. 10/10 as normal.

Highly recommend and highly recommend all of JP Delaneys books.

Playing Nice seems to be a story of babies mistakenly swapped a birth. However it slowly becomes something far darker and nastier. Pete and Maddie have a happy home life with their 2 year old son, Theo. A knock on the door shatters that when they are told their son is not really theirs and their birth son is disabled and living with another family. The other family, Miles and Lucy, seem keen to talk and find a way to live with the situation. It quickly becomes apparent that all is not what it seems and Miles has a rather different agenda. What is really going on in his mind and in their house? Dark and uncomfortable in places, Playing Nice is classic page turning thriller. I raced through it and loved the twist at the end.

Playing nice kicks off with a complex case of baby swapping affecting two couples - Pete and Maddie and Miles and Lucy. Two boys born to two different couples on the same day end up being swapped and raised by their non biological parents.

Pete a stay at home dad has a knock on the door one day by two men. One of the men is Miles who discloses to him along with the other man who is a private investigator that Theo isn’t his child and that he is the biological father.

We get the POV of both Pete and Maddie. This is a very emotional and complex story and it’s evident the author carried out great deal of research on the subject. I learned many things along the way about baby swapping and medical negligence. The characters I found to be unlikeable but this added to the depth of the story. I enjoyed the letters, emails and different multi media formats included in the story. The writing is so engaging and well done and it all felt authentic and raw.

There is also have representation of mental health such as post-partum psychosis to psychopathy so trigger warning for that. The author did a great job depicting the legal aspect and I enjoyed the court case parts, I did not know which way it would end as we were given enough crumbs to keep us guessing but the ending was satisfying and wrapped everything up neatly. Whilst there was a lot of twists I would categorise this book as more of a family drama than a thriller and I could easily see this adapted for Netflix or the big screen.

Thank you to Quercus Books and Netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

I was a little a sceptical when I first requested this book, having been undecided with ‘The Girl Before’ and not getting further that the first few chapters of ‘The Perfect Wife’ but I needn’t have been worried!
This book kept me on the edge of my seat, except when I was feeling too angry with the protagonist that I had to get up and walk it off (haha). ‘Playing Nice’ the story of babies switched at birth, covers it all, including trust, betrayal, mental illness and revenge, proving that a mothers (and fathers) love should never be questioned.

Definitely a must read this summer!

Thank you to Netgalley and Quercus Books for my advanced copy.

Wow! A brilliant psychological suspense, this was gripping, full of twists. Loved the characters and a fantastic storyline, another great book by this author.

I’m a huge fan of JP Delaney and so I was so excited to get the chance to read this. I was instantly hooked and got through the book so quickly. What a roller coaster of a book!
It was really though provoking and forces the reader to answer the uncomfortable question- ‘what would you do if this were you?’. The characters were well developed and you felt like you got to know them.

Playing Nice
JP Delaney

Publisher: Quercus
Publication Date 6 August 2020

An emotional rollercoaster of a read. This book gripped me from the outset and I galloped through it, desperate to find out how it ended- (realistically and satisfyingly I felt.) At times it made me gasp at how easy it seemed for seemingly ordinary people to be sucked into a emotional and legal nightmare. Well researched and written, i loved it.

Thank you to the author, publisher and netgalley for providing me with this advance digital copy in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Pete and Maddie love their son, Theo. He was born early and spent several months in hospital and then Maddie had post natal depression. Two years on and Pete is a stay at home Dad and Maddie works.
Then one day Pete opens the door to a couple, Miles and Lucy, who claim that Theo is their son and the babies were swapped at birth. They eventually decide not to swap the boys but to have a flexible arrangement to suit them both but when the families decide to sue the local hospital the authorities get involved.
However, is all it seems with Miles and Lucy and even the relationship between Maddie and Pete.
I found this uncomfortable reading but also needed to know the outcome.

What if you found out that the child you cared for and loved for two years wasn't yours?
One day Pete and Maddie learn that Theo - the son they thought was theirs - had been switched at birth, leaving their real son David in the care of Miles and Lucy.
Having overcome the initial shock, both families decide not to turn Theo's and David's lives upside down, but instead, they resolve to get involved in each child's upbringing.
Until one day, Miles and Lucy change their mind.

I hadn't read the blurb before requesting this ARC, so I went into it without any expectations, but it quickly turned out that this was a book right up my street.
I found myself instantly gripped.
However, the story soon slowed down and I was disappointed, thinking that I'd have to go for three stars.
But, better late than never, the story did pick up ( abut 40% into the book ) and from then on had me racing through it with bated breath.
The ending was a bit rushed, and I wasn't entirely happy with it.
Concluding, the slow start and the unsatisfactory ending put me on the fence about the rating.
However, because most of the time, the story had me on the edge of my seat, I decided to settle on four stars.

Firstly a big thank you to Quercus for approving my request to read on netgalley. Im a big fan of this author so was excited to read this.

Whizzed through this as it intoxicates you and you will be hooked.Packed with tension and chilling drama this is a great psychological thriller.

A fantastic original concept and written so you dont know who to trust.

Completely unpredictable and addictive.

A fascinating insight into a subject that would indeed cause any family to have dilemmas! Its certainly thought provoking and will make you question where you would stand if it was you .

A great range of charactars that evoke many emotions. I got quite angry at this book especially with one man….say no more.

Highly recommend and published 6th August.

This is my favourite book this year - and I have been reading a LOT during lockdown! I am a fan of this author and was delighted to receive this copy to review. Fabulous characters with plenty of different personality traits. I could not wait to finish this but I was sad when I did. It is a book I will read again and not many fit into that category. FABULOUS!
Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy in return for an honest review.

This was one of the most compulsive books I have ever read I just couldn’t put it down as I just had to know what was going to happen !!
So we start with a knock on the door and just when everything in your life seems to be sailing along happily this knock will destroy everything. The man who is standing there comes out with the explosive statement that your two year old child is not yours but his and somehow a mistake was made at the hospital and your actual child is being brought up by him and has wife.
My goodness what follows is a story like no other, all seems to start out amicable as the two sets of parents try to decide just how to proceed in a situation that really is heartbreaking but then things take a decidedly sinister turn ! From then on we are on a nightmare journey of manipulation, control and even danger and it’s one hell of an emotional read that really doesn’t give up until the final conclusion. I just loved this book it really was the proverbial page turner, so well written with fabulous characters this is a book destined to become a big hit and in my opinion would make a brilliant film !!
So a five star read and no hesitation in highly recommending it and many many thanks to J P Delaney it was amazing.
My thanks also to NetGalley and Quercus Books for giving me the chance to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I started and finished Playing Nice in a single day. The story of every parent’s worst nightmare: a stranger knocks on your door and reveals your babies were switched at birth. This is what happens one unassuming morning for Pete and Maddie, and their whole world tumbles away beneath them.

What starts as an amiable approach to both sets of parents being in their biological sons’ lives quickly becomes a heart stopping nightmare.

I won’t go into any more details here as I really don’t want to give away any hints of the path this story takes, but I will say that - as with all of JP Delaney’s works - I was sitting forwards with a knot of anxiety and rage in my belly as I read.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a brilliant read and had me getting so heated when I was reading it! There was such great description and it felt as if I was reading a true story. I would definitely read from this author again.

An engrossing psychological thriller about 2 boys mixed up at hospital and discharged to the wrong parents.
Two years later the father of 1 boy contacts the other family. Full of twists and turns and an excellent thriller.
Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC.

Intriguing and thought provoking read about a couple who are told that they are not the biological parents of their child. Great character development and tense at times. Read in a day would definitely recommend

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC

This is a well crafted story about a mix up of newly borns at the NICU. One morning, Pete finds himself face to face with a man who claims to be his son's biological father! Thier children had been changed at some point after their birth, 2 years ago.

Pete and Maddie find themselves been drawn into the arrangements made by Miles about both set of parents being a part of the children lives. While Pete goes by the book, Miles has some tricks and he is not playing nice. Lucy, Mile's wife seems to be a party to all this. Is there something deeper thats going on behind what seems to be a calm exterior?

Pete and Maddie decide to fight for the custody of the child they have raised for the last two years as well as their biological son. Only time will tell if they get their way by Playing Nice. There is a nice twist in the end.

I am already a big fan of JP Delaney and this book is no disappointment. When Pete and Maddie realise that their child was swapped at birth with Miles and Lucy's in a shocking hospital mix up, they have to decide what to do, do they swap them back or is there a way to be part of both childrens lives if the two families can work together. That only works if all four parents agree and unfortunately one of them doesn't. This has all the roller-coaster twists you would expect from this author. Just when you think you have worked it out it twists again. This was a great plot, a real thought-provoker. Written by such a skilled author made it a pleasure to read.

I enjoyed this read, the characters pull in from the start. I like how the story links with other characters throughout. Definitely a page turner