I loved this totally addictive psychological thriller, an original and heart wrenching storyline.
Pete and Maddie have an adorable but sometimes troubled two year old called Theo. They have all had a difficult two years, Theo was born prematurely and Maddie suffered severely from post natal psychosis. Pete was made redundant and has become the main carer for Theo, a role he has wholeheartedly taken on board. Life is getting better for them.
However things are about to spiral out of control. That receive a visit from Miles Lambert who has absolute proof that Theo is his son. This starts a chain of events whereby Pete and Maddie’s whole world is about to crumble. Miles appears to be genuine, he has a high powered job, a good looking wife called Lucy, plenty of money and a persuasive way about him. The two families look for a solution but things are about to get complicated. Who is telling the truth about past events?
Whilst there was an inevitability about the ending, of only in part.I found the whole story thourghly engaging.

This was one scary read. I found the whole situation of your child being taken away from you appalling and really frightening. Being a mother myself, I could identify with what the characters were going through and of course JP Delaney has done an excellent job to bring the characters and their emotions to life. This book is a page-turner and really hard to put down once you start reading. I would say this is probably JP Delaney’s best book till date. Kudos to the author!

I really enjoyed this book. Pete was a great character.
Both Pete and Maddie were quite naïve early on in the story.
Towards the end I couldn't put it down.
I would recommend this book. I always really enjoy JP Delaney books, great writing style.

A tricky subject to tackle,babies swapped at birth and what should you do when it is discovered. I felt Peter and his partner where a bit naive and just allowed things to happen.. The story however progressed with lots of twir.

Imagine what you would do if a man came to your door and said that your babies had been switched at birth? Ive seen a movie about this which was a true story and this too, could be true. That's what makes this so scary and real. Miles is the main who comes to the door stating that the sons were switched.

David and wife Lucy tell us their version of the story and it's gripping reading. What starts off as a worry for them all and a desire to sort this out in a way that is best for the children soon ends in tears and a whole lot more. No one is playing nice here! One of the boys is also known for that.

I am very keen to read more from this author now as he has a unique way of grabbing your attention.

Pete Riley, a stay at home dad, opens the door one morning to Miles, a man who claims their children have been swapped at birth. At first everything looks as though it's going to be very civilised. The two families will be close, They'll have easy access to each child, no-one is going to be taken away from anyone. But then gradually doubts start creeping in. Miles turns up unannounced at Pete and Maddy's, he questions Pete's parenting style, he wants to make decisions about education. Then the court papers arrive and Pete and Maddy look certain to lose everything.

I enjoyed this book, raced through it in a day. It's not perfect though. Some of the things that happen are not believable most forcibly Pete and Maddy's reaction to being told Theo was not their son. Shortly after the birth of my first child i had a dream that she was not mine and that her real parents were coming to take her away. I was devastated and it was only a dream! Forty years on I remember it clearly so Pete and Maddy's chat and going to meet the other parents unprepared doesn't ring true to me. And the ending was a tad melodramatic. But as a way to spend an afternoon in lockdown it was as good as any. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

Another fantastically written and unputdownable book from JP Delaney. Pulls at the heart strings as well as providing drama, twists and an end to die for! Imagine being told your two year old is not actually your biological child because of a mix up at the hospital...? Then see how your world crashes around you and spirals out of control. There are plenty of surprises to keep you guessing and you will just have to keep reading till the end.

For Pete Riley, freelance journalist and stay at home dad and partner Maddie who works in advertising, it’s just an ordinary day getting their boisterous son two year old Theo ready to go to nursery. Theo has difficulty ‘playing nice’ if he’s doesn’t get what he wants. Then their world is turned upside down, so much so it’s like they’ve fallen into some alternate universe following something as everyday as a knock at their door. Standing there is smugly arrogant, wealthy Miles Lambert who claims that their premature babies are swapped in the NICU and that Theo is his son and David, who he and wife Lucy have been raising is theirs. What starts as something friendly in order to sort this out, descends into a dangerous court battle with Miles having no intention of playing nice. The story is told in alternating perspectives by Pete and Maddy which works extremely well and is interspersed with evidence gathered for the court case.

This is addictive, brilliant, compulsive and gripping reading. Although none of the characters are perfect (who is?) I did like Pete and Maddy with Maddy in particular being honest about her feelings. If ever a character deserves a sock on the jaw it’s Miles. He made me so angry at times my fists clenched and the odd naughty word might have popped out of my mouth! Oh boy is he odious. Theo is, shall we settle for a live wire? He presents us with a good discussion on nature versus nurture, is he indeed like his biological father or can nurture reduce some of his less desirable instincts? This is a fascinating part of the story which is engrossing from start to finish. There are bombshells, shocks and twists along the way which make you gasp and there’s so much tension at times, you could cut the atmosphere with a knife. I think the end is clever too and works extremely well.

Overall, J P Delaney has done it again. The Perfect Wife was a brilliant read in 2019 and he’s provided us with another in 2020! The premise is fantastic, it preys on every parents nightmare and fears and keeps you interested and invested throughout. This is without doubt a best seller. Highly recommended.

Big thanks to NetGalley and Quercus Books for the ARC and to the author for the entertainment!

A very cleverly written book that covers quite a unique story. All of the characters are well developed - although not all of them are likeable! Lots of detail of courts, social workers and other legalalities gave this book plenty of depth without being boring. Thoroughly enjoyable.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy!

Wow, what a nice, gripping and original thriller!

The trope might sound a bit cliché – babies swapped at birth, again? – but, through a smart and impressive set of characters, J.P. Delaney manages to catch our attention very early on and never let go, with twists that’ll make you want to spend a sleepless night.

I particularly enjoyed seeing such topics as mental health and addiction thrown in the mix. I found they were ended with quite a lot of respect (whereas other authors might use them as teeth-grinding twists) and made for a well-thought and realistic story.
It was also nice to recognize the research made to make this story look (somehow) realistic.

It might have been the first time I’ve read a novel of Delaney’s, but it certainly won’t be the last. Original thriller writers have become quite rare as the sheer range of them has increased, and it has become pretty rare for me to be so involved in a story as to finish it in a couple of reading sessions.

A very solid four stars!

One of every parents worst nightmares is finding out that their child has been swapped at birth, the child that they have brought up for 2.5 years isn't actually theirs and now another set of parents want to be a part of your lives. This book concept grabbed my attention immediately, no parent wants that! This is exactly what happens to Pete and Maddie, and the taut turn of events that follows is dark, twisty and quite frankly delicious. The subtle serpentine unravelling of the storyline with aspects of suspicion, betrayal and mistrust will keep you gripped to this suspenseful psychological thriller. With unexpected bumps in the road and a character so evil, you'll struggle to put this book down - I gobbled it up in one evening, it was attention absorbing and an almost perfect of perfect read, one that had two sets of parents fighting tooth and nail for their child, while also looking at feelings of nature vs nurture.

So why only 'almost perfect'? At the beginning when the biology of their child had been revealed, I felt that Pete and Maddie's reaction was a bit flat, they just accepted it and carried on. Whereas surely if someone turned up at your door telling you your child wasn't yours, you'd be pretty hysterical and you'd do a DNA test yourself! This part for me felt a little sad, but I'm so glad that it picked up and hooked me, hence the 4 stars!

I really enjoyed this book. Pete and Maddy have a 3 year old son, Theo. One day, there is a knock on the door and Pete is told that Theo is not his biological child, that he and another baby were mixed up at the hospital where they were born. To start with, Pete and Maddy and the other parents Miles and Lucy decide not to swap the boys back, but to be a part of each others lives. The other child, David, has suffered brain damage and needs 24 hour care. Then Theo is expelled from nursery for aggressive behaviour towards other children. This very quickly escalates in to suing the hospital for negligence and then both sets of parents trying to get custody of both boys. This is a real page turner which I thoroughly recommend. Thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy.
Copied to Goodreads.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. It is currently set to be published in August 2020.

Playing Nice is a brand-new approach to the psychological thriller genre: the story of two parents suddenly forced to confront with the news that their two-year-old is not their biological son, and with the consequences that this discovery brings, wreaking havoc into their life.
The plot is very well built, with some really unforeseeable twists.
The writing style is impeccable, and both protagonists are highly relatable.
I particularly appreciated the solid research that went into this fictional work--the cases of swapped newborns cited in the beginning of the narration are real and the happenings and inner workings of an intensive care unit are very realistically depicted. The author surely did his homework, but this bulk of knowledge never comes across as pedantic or boring in the fast-paced narration.
Overall, a very pleasurable reading experience and an interesting approach to the long-standing debate of nature versus nurture.

No surprises here, JP Delaney has written another masterpiece!

I’m a fan of the author so knew Playing Nice would be brilliant i just wasn’t aware of how brilliant! Tense, dark and guaranteed to be emotional. I don’t have children and this terrified me!

Imagine raising your child and then finding out it’s not your biological child. Your biological son is with another family and you have their son....

I was holding my breath at 90%. The whole book comes together and that one chapter nearly killed me...but no spoilers.

One of my favourite authors and an intense thriller that will keep you up at night!

Playing Nice by JP Delaney was a page turner psychological thriller that I devoured in one sitting.
Imagine one day, someone comes to your door and claims that your child is actually not yours because they have been switched at the hospital. As a mother I must admit that this thought terrified me when I was in the hospital giving birth to my 2 children.
The story revolves around two families and the investigation that will put a string to everything they knew before. Their life and trust will be challenged more than never.
I loved it. That’s the only thing I can say. It’s well done, scary realistic and reliable.
Another five stars read for the win.
Many thanks to the publisher @quercusbooks and @netgalley for my review copy.

Pete and Maddie are plunged into a horror story when Miles turns up on their doorstep and tells them that their son is in fact his. Thrown in at the deep end Maddie and Pete find themselves fighting for their child, their marriage and their home against a man who is clearly playing games and manipulating everyone involved.

Miles is so cleverly written that he has your nerves on edge from the minute he knocks on Pete's door and there is a consistent undercurrent of unease and manipulation running through the whole book. The fight keeps getting harder and harder for Maddie and Pete as their mental health, redundancies, work ethic, parenting style and a myriad of other tiny "failures" are blown up and held against them in a court of law and reading their story is a knife edge of emotion and desperation to get to the end and find out if they are finally triumphant.
A great edge-of-your-seat read.

Wow! What an excellent book this was!! JP Delaneys previous books have all entertained me, so I knew I would probably enjoy this one, but it has to be said this was next level stuff!! You know it's a good one when you are planning your day around when you can next pick your book up right? Well 10% into this I just basically abandoned everything to finish it. This is a heart wrenching story of two premature babies who were swapped at birth, which goes undiscovered until the children are 2 years old and the aftermath. The book also covers every other topic under the sun! Postnatal depression, postnatal psychosis, mental illness, alcoholism, domestic abuse... And an epic ending! It's just so good! Huge Congratulations to the author! And many thanks to netgalley for providing me with the ARC in exchange for my honest review

Another brilliant book by JP Delaney. It had me gripped from the start and I didn’t want to put it down. A situation you can imagine happening in real life where you find out the child you are raising isn’t biologically yours. It a heart wrenching storyline but was written sensitively and just brilliantly by this amazing author. Bring on the next book.

And once again JP Delaney smashes it 🙌🏻

This is one of those books that you literally cannot put down. I didn't just want to finish it, I needed to. The characters were intriguing, the story was gripping.
It's only lost a star for me because I'd mentally prepared for a punchier ending.

One afternoon, a stranger turns up at Pete’s door and tells him that his son Theo isn’t actually his - he is the Lamberts and somehow they got switched at birth. For Pete and his wife Maddie, their lives will never be the same again.
What follows is a investigation that finds disturbing questions for Pete and Maddie. How much do they trust each other? They soon get stretched to breaking point, and they will do anything to keep their family.

I found this to be a very good read. Based mainly on four characters, it feels so real to life and I am sure that something like this could easily happen to any family which is rather scary. This kept me turning the pages quickly and I never knew what to expect from the next chapter. I’d definitely recommend reading this if you enjoy psychological thrillers.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher Quercus Books for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.