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.

JP Delaney has always been great for his unique storylines and Playing Nice is no exception. The chapters alternate between Pete and Maddie which I think lends itself really nicely to the story as despite being married, both characters are very different with their own thoughts and experiences (some of which the other does not know!). While I found Pete to be too perfect at times, the author ensured this wasn't the case as after all, we all have our flaws. The thrills in this novel are nothing particularly huge or shocking but there is enough to keep you on your toes and the story moves at a great pace, so much so that I finished it in just over 24 hours. It's one of those stories which makes you ask yourself what you would do in the same circumstances as well as raises lots of questions, most notably on the nature vs nurture debate which has always been an interesting one. You really do warm to Pete and Maddie and I really enjoyed discovering the outcome of their rollercoaster journey.

Thank you NetGalley for my ARC of this book.

Imagine a stranger coming to your house telling you that the child you are raising is not your biological son and was swapped in NICU. This is what happens to Pete and Maddy and they are shell shocked by this revelation but agree to meet with Miles and Lucy the parents of the other boy in order to try and work out what would be best for both of the children in the future. What they don't realise is that under Miles' charming exterior lurks a psychopathic nature which will stop at nothing to get what he wants and that is to have his biological son living with him at any cost. I was absolutely gripped by this book from beginning to end. I've read all of J P Delaney's books and this is one of his best.

Another fantastic read, I can not get enough of this author.
Edge of the page stuff. Very good characters. Addressed some really tough issues and a heart wrenching story to boot.
Thank you Netgalley for my ARC copy in exchange for my honest review.

This was a very, very interesting book with a unique angle regarding the swapping of babies Theo and David. Part way through I did become a little annoyed as I thought it was going to be purely a massacre of Maddie and Pete by the ogre, Miles. To be honest, I certainly would not have told him that you'd just come back from A & E because Theo ate some salt, they were just too open minded, with this incident and several others. Naive and trusting towards someone who was basically a stranger.. It certainly kept me on my toes all the way through as well as finding some chapters quite hard to read due to the appalling interrogations by the police, CAFCAS, the courts and psychologists, all instigated by Miles in his quest to keep both boys. and destroy Maddie and Pete's reputations. I also couldn't understand why neither of them went to the police with their suspicions behind several major accidents happening to innocent people who crossed Miles or his family. Surely by the time it got to number 3 there must have been at least one witness or a proper investigation, this was, I'm afraid, beyond reality. Similarly with the ending, which surprised me.. Nevertheless I love Delaney's books and look forward to the next. You certainly learned a lot with this one.

This was a really good read, it was a well written psychological storyline that hasn’t been over used as I find some storylines do these days. A story of mistakes, deceit or just a terrible tragedy that turns two family’s lives upside down. I won’t write too much about the storyline as that is what the blurb is there for. Half way through I got a little frustrated but not with the book but with thinking what more could possibly go wrong for one of the families involved, where as the other family especially the dad he could have fallen in the biggest pile of poo and come out smelling sweet. Two family’s fighting for what’s right and how being a parent makes us do absolutely anything for our children, regardless the consequences. Highly recommended

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book is very much on a par with previous books by this author. Two sets of parents are locked into an impossible dilemma when it is discovered that their children were swapped at birth. The age of the children means that they fall into a grey area about whether or not it is better for the child to keep them with the family that they know, or change them back to their correct birth family. The parents try to come to an amicable agreement, but as time progresses, someone might be applying more pressure in order to win on their own terms..

This is a great book, a proper enthralling read, I read it in two sittings. The characters are good and the situation, although (hopefully) rare, does have the potential to happen as described. I think this book will be a big summer hit, as there’s plenty to discuss about it and it’s quite a difficult position, people will have very different opinions about what they would do in this situation and why. Well written and well paced, a great read, I really enjoyed it!

The story begins with Pete who looks after his two year old son Theo wondering why Theo is being a bit violent at nursery. He is then visited by Miles and his lawyer who tell him that their sons got mixed at birth and they have been bringing up the wrong children. Pete and Maddie’s r3al son, David, has learning difficulties and it is quickly clear that Theo has inherited many of Miles’ qualities. Throughout there are excerpts from a court case that alert you to the fact that the amicable arrangements out in place by the two families at the beginning are not going to last. The end becomes very dramatic and sensationalist but this is an interesting story with hints of nature/ nurture and it definitely gets you tense. I recommend this book.

The nightmare of realising your child was swapped at birth, the nightmare of the justice system and the nightmare of a cold-hearted opponent are what makes this novel compelling. I wanted to shout out loud at some of the injustices. I felt the pain. This novel is a thoroughly original storyline which quickly reels you in and keeps your focus. Scary and unfortunately not outside the realms of possibility.

I'm a fan of JP Delaney but I really struggled with this unfortunately. I just couldn't get past the calmness and instant acceptance of the parents of what would be a life changing and devastating discovery. Not for me this one.