This was an intriguing novel. The plot had me immediately interested, and it did not disappoint; JP Delaney has written yet another amazing book!

There is intense relationship building, lies and drama all jumbled up in a parent's worst nightmare.

It was such an unsettling story that is full of twists and turns. I was so eager to find out the truth that I read this book in one sitting.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a copy of this E-book to review via Netgalley.

How would you react if you were told that your child was not your own and had been mixed up with another shortly after birth?

This is exactly what happened to Maddie and Pete and they were soon living a nightmare situation from which there seemed to be no end.

Maddie had a difficult birth with Theo, born prematurely and transferred to an intensive care baby unit shortly after birth in a private hospital. Little did she know that the baby she has been caring for is not her natural birth son. After Theo’s biological father Miles turns up and drops the bombshell on the couple they find themselves fighting law suits and police investigations, all of this orchestrated by seemingly psychopathic Miles.

A great read and an insight into the difficulties of motherhood and postnatal depression which has been touched upon in a sensitive manner. This situation that Maddie and Pete find themselves in is surely every parent’s nightmare.

I’ve read all of JP Delaney’s books and knew I had to read the latest edition ASAP. I was really intrigued with the storyline and found the main characters interesting. A couple twists that I wasn’t expecting but slightly more predictable than previous novels. Very easy and quick to read, highly recommend.

Raced through this, read it in a day.

Pete and Maddie discover that after a mix up at the hospital, their baby was swapped at birth. They find this out from the other parents.

Things start off quite amicably, the other couple Miles and Laura wanting them all to be 'one big happy family' it soon becomes clear that Miles wants to exclude Pete and Maddie from that family and uses things they've told them to serve them notice that not only are they petitioning them to take their natural son back but they are accused of being bad parents and both children will remain with Miles and Laura.

Interesting points on nature v nurture raised here too.

Great read, couldn't wait to see how it all played out.

A point that the author makes in the acknowledgements is he was inspired by world events when communication breaks down and dirty tricks are played, he says he hopes that when the reader reads the book the world will be in a better place... I gave a sad smile as I read this in the middle of a pandemic... But thank God we have books to escape into right now.

Thanks to net galley for the opportunity to review this book this is my honest opinion.

This book was quite different to the usual book choices I make, and I can't say I really enjoyed it.Maybe that is my fault but I thought the book sounded really interesting but was far too slow and lacked any real punch.I kept wanting more to happen.The characters were alright but it just didn't make me excited reading it, and when I put it down I became increasingly reluctant to pick it up again .It was Okay but that was it for me I am afraid.

This book had some good points and some bad. On the negative side, I felt that the first half was rather boring and repetitive. I was also continually frustrated that two reasonably intelligent people should react in the way that they did. They were so naive that I wanted to scream at them. The second half did pick up and on the plus side became more of a page turner. I found myself much more absorbed and eager to see what was going to happen..

Overall, however, I felt that it was not a very plausible story. The supposed actions carried out by Miles were very far fetched as were the actions of his wife. It was an OK read, but not one I would particularly recommend.

I loved Believe Me and think the author's other books were really interesting - if a little far-fetched!
But I really like how this author chooses how the most outrageous and difficult of situations can impact ordinary people and families - and Playing Nice really does that.
The situation of the swapped babies is obviously a nightmare for all those involved and I loved the untangling of emotions and logistics around this.
It was a little bit of a slow burn, with lots of description and back and forth - but it was great as the villain began to emerge and the family's situation seemed to become hopeless.
Some great twists towards the end and excellent narrative surrounding the court case/legalities and child psychology.
I looked forward to reading this and was genuinely invested in what happened to everyone.

Nature or nurture - which will win out? Psychopathic Miles and terrified Lucy or lying Pete and adulterous Maddie? How do you judge? Enthralling.

Playing Nice is the first book I have read by JP Delaney but, on the basis of this taught and rocket-fuelled thriller, it will not be the last. The word “gripping” is bandied about a lot when it comes to thriller novels, but where most thrillers grip you loosely, tugging you gently into their story, Playing Nice seizes you by the throat and doesn’t let go until you’ve read the final page.

Delaney expertly mixes two POVs – that of married couple Pete and Madelyn – as they’re confronted with a nightmare situation. Their newborn son was accidentally swapped with another baby at the hospital, and so the child they have raised isn’t biologically theirs. Now they have to figure out what that means for the future of their family. Neat interstitials fill in extra plot details without overcrowding the narrative, and Delaney brutally (thrillingly!) ratchets the tension to unbearable levels as Pete and Mads lurch from one crisis to the next, with no easy answers in sight.

I loved this book. It took a thorny moral issue and examined it to riveting effect, with a truly hissable baddie, and intelligence and emotion to spare. I can’t wait to get my hands on Delaney’s past and future novels. A fan is born.

This gripping psychological thriller explores the unimaginable horror faced by a couple who discover their two-year-old child is in fact not theirs by birth. It’s a clever, fast-paced page turner with plenty of plot twists. Excellent use is made of dual narration, making it a more thought-provoking, subtle read than many of the novels in this genre. I could not put it down!

What a fantastic read! I’ve never read one of Delaney’s books before and I’m so glad I have done! The plot is something out of a Sunday night ITV drama, but the twists and turns are just mad! In a good way. Those little interlude chapters with details just make your mind think overtime to figure it all out. The ending I must say I thought could be better but that’s just my own opinion and didn’t take away from the fact it was a superb read! Great job.

Loved it. Everyone was so nice but oooohhhh how things changed. This book was exciting, tense, frustrating, heartbreaking and everything else in between.

I loved the ending. Couldn’t have asked for a better ending for me. I don’t know why I’ve never read any JP Delaney books before however after reading Playing Nice I will certainly be reading more and I definitely recommend this book.

Thank you so much to Quercus Books and Netgalley for an advance copy of this book in return for my honest review.

This book was SO frustratingly good. I wanted to scream and cry, but also couldn't stop reading. Fantastic characters and storyline, and just long enough to keep you satisfied without rushing or dragging it out. Brilliant read.

Wow!

I think that is probably the easiest way to describe this book! Every parents worst nightmare and it just keeps getting worse.... But who do you believe?!

I really like the characters in this book they are complex, interesting, and although often hidden very self absorbed. The narcissistic traits of miles automatically make you not want to trust him but sometimes the truth isn't so obvious. Ironically, I started reading this book whilst I was sitting in my local a A&E after I'd crushed my finger, I needed something to distract myself from the pain add and where I was. Although this book starts off being based in medical facilities I was completely engrossed I'm not really aware of what was going on around me. That to me is the sign that this book is compelling and easy to get into. Often the hardest part of a new book are the first couple of chapters - this draws you in and keeps you guessing right until the end.

This had me hooked from the opening sentence. Great storyline and convincing plot throughout . You won’t be able to put it down if you love the psychological genre .

Thanks to Netgalley and Quercus Books for the ARC copy of this book.

WOW is all I can say. Didn’t think this would be a book for me but I was very mistaken. All the characters were excellent. Pete and Maddie with Theo and Miles and Judy with David. An intriguing story which unfolded brilliantly. Miles was a typical bombastic male and he only appeared to want to get Theo almost as an”trophy “ son. Wonderful ending.

Psychological Manipulation at its Finest!

JP Delaney has expertly crafted a nightmarish domestic situation in his latest tense and twisty dramatic thriller. What if when your child was two years old you discovered he had been switched at birth? And, as if that wasn't bad enough, what if the seemingly nice, charming, easygoing birth parents (who have been raising your biological child) soon become pushy, overbearing, weird, and inappropriate.

It all begins for Peter Riley and Madelyn Wilson when a stranger, Miles Lambert, knocks on their door with the earth-shattering news, But relief sets in when they realise the Lambert's feel the same way they do – they both love the son's they've raised and have no intention of switching them back – are content for both families to get to know each other and be involved in each other's lives. But how involved is too involved?

The sneaky ways the Lambert's tried to undermine Pete and Maddie's parenting style and subtly make them out to be unfit parents definitely increased the suspense and made for nail-biting reading. A campaign of hate designed to break them down and turn the couple against one another. Pete and Maddie were fairly naïve and easily influenced and exploited but it made sense given that Miles and Lucy had had time to adjust and plan while Pete and Maddie that been thrown for a loop with no time to grasp or process the desperate, emotional and potentially dangerous circumstances they found themselves in.

Playing Nice reminded me a lot of Mark Edwards, both in style and content, except instead of Neighbours from Hell or In-Laws who won't leave, Miles and Lucy had the ultimate hold over Pete and Maddie – access to their biological son, David, as well as the underlying threat that they could file for custody of Theo, so they were unwittingly connected to these strangers, and couldn't have walked away if they tried. POV's alternated between Pete and Maddie, with snippets from Case No. 12675/PU78B65 via official documentation, emails, texts, and forum posts, where the often contradictory accounts added an extra layer of suspicion and foreboding.

JP Delaney impressed me so much with Playing Nice, and I for one would be thrilled to bits if he wrote more in this vein in the future and steered clear of artificial intelligence and science fiction. Mark your calendars for early August because this is my top read by him so far.

I'd like to thank Netgalley, Quercus Books, and JP Delaney for the e-ARC.

Publication Date: 6th August, 2020.

* Thank you to Quercus Books and NetGalley for sending the ARC in return for an honest review.

What would you do if one day there was a knock on the door and you found out that the child you’d been raising as your own for two years was not your biological child but someone else’s after a hospital mix-up at birth?
Pete Riley is a nice man. He plays fair and lives his life solving problems through open dialogue and reasonable behaviour. But not everyone plays as nicely as Pete Riley.
And what happens when 'nice' comes up against a stone-cold, emotionally dead, narcissist like Miles Lambert? This sociopath/ psychopath actually makes Hannibal Lecter seem cuddly. Don't expect cannibalism or a murderous gore-fest though - this is mental torture at it’s most terrifying and it’s consequences are devastating.

You just know that things are going to get ugly when case notes start to feature more frequently in the book.
I can't remember the last time when reading a book that I felt physically nauseous with apprehension, disbelief, rage and shock.

Halfway through the book and you’re into a free-fall of horror watching as Pete and Maddie hit every worse-case-scenario that could possibly happen - and then more than you couldn’t even imagine in your worst nightmares.

No spoilers, but be satisfied that the ending comes with redemption - just not in the way that you think it'll be though!

Playing Nice is a psychological thriller but I think that it should also be listed under 'Horror'. I don't mean killer clowns living in storm drains type of horror either, but Playing Nice has surpassed anything from the horror genre that I’ve read in recent years.

It's a Jaw-droppingly thrilling read!
Do not start this book when you’ve got something important you need to do as you will not be able to tear your eyes away from it for a second!
Easily one of my favourite reads this year.

I was completely gripped by this book, and couldn't put it down. Yes, it was a little unbelievable at times, but it is a cracking story with great characters, and a satisfying ending. I loved it, and can't wait to read more from this author.