This book explores what would be any parent’s worst nightmare - finding out your baby was swapped at birth! Not only that but later after layer of additional drama and insanity. An excellent story that will keep you entertained!

This book had everything I want in a good story—strong characterization and a fast-paced, twisty plot. The opening chapters had me drawn in immediately and I found it almost impossible to put down. It was full of suspense and drama right up to the end. Highly recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and J.P. Delaney for a copy of "Playing Nice" in exchange of an honest review.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.

This is definitely the psychological thriller I’ve been waiting for! Don’t read the reviews that give away the spoilers. You need to just sit back and read this twisty, crazy story from beginning to end.

We begin with Pete and Maddie, the parents of two-year-old Theo. Pete is primary caregiver, working as a freelance journalist from home. He takes Theo to his daycare one morning, and notices a couple with another man outside the school. Thinking it’s a house-hunting couple with a real estate agent, he goes about his day. Imagine his surprise when they later show up on his doorstep, introduce themselves as Miles and Lucy, and inform Pete that Theo isn’t his son. Pete’s first thought is Maddie had an affair, but Miles and Lucy give him the devastating news that Theo and their son, David, had been switched at birth. Both boys were born prematurely on the same day and something happened in the NICU. David is developmentally challenged, while Theo is now a hale and hearty little boy. The two families try to work through grappling with the truth and finding an amicable solution to an impossible question: whose child is whose? But Miles has a different idea and, being a psychopath, his retribution plummets Pete and Maddie’s lives into a terrifying tailspin. Secrets are revealed, betrayals are uncovered, emotions are questioned, and feelings are running high. And now Pete and Maddie are done playing nice.

So, that’s all I will tell you as I don’t want to give anything away that would spoil the story for you. If you are looking for a gripping and suspenseful read that keeps you guessing, by all means this is the one. Great plot which may sound formulaic, but it works. The story is primarily told by Pete and Maddie, and you get to see all facets of the characters from their own perspective as well as their partner. Your feelings toward each continually change as more secrets are revealed. This was a page-turner with a satisfying ending and I highly recommend this one!

www.candysplanet.wordpress.com

PLAYING NICE is a highly compelling psychological thriller. The book follows Maddie and Pete in alternating perspectives. They are not married, but they are long-term partners who have a 2-year-old son, Theo, together. Theo has just been expelled from his preschool for hitting other children. They have been working with him on this, particularly Pete, who is a stay-at-home parent. However, things are going haywire because two men showed up on Pete's doorstep to tell him that Theo is not actually his son.

They reveal that Theo was switched at birth with another baby, David. Both were premature and born at a private medical facility and emergency transferred to a NHS NICU. They assume the switch is accidental, but the real question is where do they go from here. They have loved Theo for over 2 years, and there are no clear answers.

At least, with their initial decision, the other couple, Theo's biological parents, seems to be in agreement. However, things are soon changing, and Maddie and Pete find themselves in a mess of epic proportions. Revelations along the way reveal the dangerous game being played- one that they are losing.

This was a highly engrossing read- I definitely said just one more chapter all the way through to the end. It captivated me all the way through. The situation seems impossible and only gets worse from there- pretty much any parent's nightmare. The evolution of the situation and the decisions made along the way lead to a book that is unputdownable. I also will say that I loved the twists towards the end, and the way it concluded. I could not have imagined a better resolution for this book.

Highly recommend for anyone who likes psychological thrillers. J.P. Delaney has delivered another thought-provoking and unputdownable read that will captivate readers from start to finish.

Please note that I received an ARC from the publisher through netgalley. All opinions are my own.

I was expecting so much from PLAYING NICE because THE GIRL BEFORE and BELIEVE ME were such good thrillers. Perhaps my expectations were a bit too high, because PLAYING NICE was just okay for me. I would still recommend this for people familiar with his work, as he’s a great writer. Plus, the chapters are really short and JP Delaney does a great job with character development here.

For me, it just took too long to get to the “twist” and then to the resolution. I felt the book could have been 70-80 pages shorter and it would have been more action packed. There were a few too many details to build up to the main twist/resolution, and I understand why they were included, but it ended up drowning out the story.

This book follows two families whose sons were swapped at birth. When one of the families turns up at the others’ door to break the news, they are both on board with a amicable solution.... or so it seems. When one set of parents has a secret motive behind the scenes, things turn ugly fast.

Playing Nice is the latest thriller from JP Delaney

"Pete Riley opens the door one morning to find out that his son, Theo, is actually not his son. He is the biological son of Miles and Lucy Lambert. They have David, who is actually Pete and Maddie's son. The boys were switched at the hospital following difficult deliveries. And now Miles wants to be involved in his actual son's life. And Pete lets him. But maybe Miles has a different agenda that he's keeping from Pete. What will Pete and Maddie do to protect their family?"

This book had a very slow beginning. But stick with it. Once you see what Miles is capable of, you'll want to cheer on Pete. But you'll mostly yell at him for being so trusting. Delaney puts Lucy, Pete and Maddie in some tough spots and makes you wonder what will happen to the two boys. I did not expect the ending.

Delaney writes controlling, bully characters in his book. Miles is that character here - the one you love to hate - the one you want to tell "Try that with me and see what happens!" But then he shows that we all have a little of that when pushed too far.

Another good story from Delaney. Good choice if you're looking for a slow burn with a crazy ending.

Playing Nice by JP Delaney takes the story right from the headlines and runs with it in this book. It is well written and conveys every parent's worst nightmare, one of them anyway, and the emotions definitely run high in this book. It didn't really come across as a mystery for me, more a family drama. Just okay for me.

Well written fiction focusing on family drama with a nice little twist I didn’t see coming.

The plot definitely had my attention: 2 innocent babies switched at birth, and the fall-out that takes place once it’s been discovered at age 2.
Add to this the fact than one child isn’t as healthy as the other and one has a psychopath for a parent and you have the makings of a great read.

I can definitely see this playing out well on the silver screen.

ARC provided by NetGalley

Playing Nice is a great story of babies being swapped at birth - and they don't always play nice. The characters are great, easy to love and hate and the story moves swiftly, not so fast as to lose ideas but to gain momentum. I loved this and couldn't put it down. It's a great thriller in that it makes you question yourself when cheering for a character, who's maybe not so nice. How do you fight someone trying to take your child? How far would you go to protect them? Is there anything you wouldn't do to protect them. Great story! Thanks to #NetGalley#Quercus#PlayingNice

First, I will say that, for me, this book was not about a big stunner reveal or shock at the end. It was more of a slow burn, building and building. There were points where it made me so angry I wanted to throw the book, the story line was so good.

What would you do if someone showed up on your doorstep one day and told you that your child was not actually yours, that your child had been switched at birth? Would it explain why you don't seem to mesh well with your child? This was a crazy story. I absolutely loved it!!

Loved JP Delaney’s ‘The Girl Before’ so I was really looking forward to ‘Playing Nice’. This book didn’t disappoint. Lots of suspense and several twists and turns kept me guessing. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a psychological thriller!

Pete answers his door to a random stranger on an ordinary day. The day will end up being anything but ordinary though. The visitor, Miles Lambert, tells Pete that his son is actually Petes, and Petes son actually belongs to him. Somehow they were switched at birth. While the families try to deal with the trauma of their children being switched at birth, they make a plan to be able to have both children in all of their lives. Except Miles doesn’t seem to want to play nice…

Oh man, I cannot imagine raising a child for two years, only to find out that it isn’t actually your child. And then what do you do? Do you switch them back? Keep them with the parents they have known their entire life? This book really makes you ask all the questions. Miles was certainly a character, and man did I cringe at some of the things he did….well, actually at most of the things he did. My heart broke for Pete and Maddie as the book went on, and I just wanted to scream the entire time that someone was full of crap! I love most of Delaney’s books, but this one is easily one of my favorites!

I've read JP Delaney before and enjoyed her books. For some reason, this one irritated me from the start.
It seemed obvious that Miles was up to no good. I was never sure what he was going to do next, but, early on, I was not surprised by his psychopathic behavior.
The two mains characters, Pete and Maddie, were well-drawn. Pete could be a little too "Saint Pete", but he was still a believable character. Maddie's internal voice was a bit less likeable but seemed more honest. Maddie's suspicions about Pete injected more interesting points in the story.
The least well-drawn character was Lucy, but, by the end, I understood her better. She made a huge, unacknowledged sacrifice.
I felt sorry for David. Theo was also well-drawn, although I would have said he had ADHD.
This book had a very satisfying ending. It doesn't change the fact that it annoyed me from the beginning, but that's why I gave it 4 stars.

J.P. Delaney never lets you down! In this new thriller, we meet Pete and Maddie who come to find out that their child has been accidentally swapped for another in the NICU. The parents of both children start off amicably enough but things take a turn for the worst. The book is gripping, creepy, and above all, interesting. I loved it!

Pete and Maddie are your typical parents: figuring out how to raise a tiny human, working, and loving on their son, Theo. Surviving the younger years- a challenge for everyone- is exacerbated when Miles and Lucy Lambert show up at their front door claiming that Theo isn't their biological son, he belongs to them.

The two families try and work together to figure out how this happened, and how to integrate into each others lives. Why were the boys switched? How could the nurses, the hospital, allow this to happen? There's only so long the families can play nice...especially when children are involved.

The story sucked me in from the beginning and would provoke hearty discussion. This is a great bookclub pick!

After reading the girl before, I jump at the chance to read anything by this author. And this book did not disappoint. This was an extremely quick read for me, and that’s how I know a book it’s good or not. If I can sit down and feel like I need to finish it within one session, the author did a great job. There was no struggle to try and get through this but, the characters were well developed, which is a big thing for me. I like to feel like I can relate to the characters, it draws me into the story more. JP Does this for me big-time.

This story was fascinating. It starts off as a simple switch of babies in the ICU discovered two years later and what to do about it. It soon takes a turn and becomes darker and questions about was it an accident or done on purpose abound. The end was very satisfying and the twists unexpected and plausible.

I've been really anticipating this for a while....a switched at birth story? I mean, come on, that's just got creepy thriller written all over it.

The main problem with this book; is that it isn't a thriller. Like at all. No matter how badly they want to market it as one. For the majority of the book it's a contemporary fiction about these two families forced to reckon with the idea that they've been raising each other's child, and they have to try to work things out between them, then they start to disagree and it turns into a legal drama. Ofcourse, it's written by J. P. Delaney who wrote the brilliant novel The Girl Before so there's some twists thrown in at the end.

But overall, I was just disappointed in the book. It was VERY predictable. I knew exactly what was going to happen from the very beginning and I was totally right. But was it still a good book, yes. His writing is gripping, intense, a page turner. I finished it in two sittings. I just wanted more from it and expected to be surprised when I wasn't.

3.5 stars rounded up.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for the review.

I had never read any of J.P. Delaney's books prior to my being granted an ARC of Playing Nice. I was intrigued by the pemise of the story, eventhough it seemed like an awful situation.

I was really impressed by Delaney's writing and character development from the beginning and found it extremely hard to stop reading. I found that by the time you felt comfortable with how situations were being handled, there was a twist that made everything tense again. These types of situations followed all the way through the end and never felt forced.

I'm sure if you have previously read J.P
Delaney's books you will definitely not want to miss Playing Nice. If this author is new to you, please do yourself s favor & read this book!

I have never hated someone in the way that I hate the villain in this, and I enjoyed that no end. I read the first quarter or so of this pretty fast. The last three quarters I read in hours. I couldn't put it down waiting to see if the villain got their comeuppance and if so, how. It was such a horrifyingly compelling read. Wow.