Thank you Ballantine and Net Galley for an early release of Playing Nice. What a good premise for a novel, the characters were real, the emotions they were feeling were real, it was a well written book. Parts of it frustrated me with how accurate it was when outside agencies get involved in situations where they just don’t have the full information, where they only have a checklist to fill out. I really enjoyed it, stick with it even in the slow moving parts you’ll be happy you did.

What a premise for a thriller! Imagine that one day when your child is over 2 years old someone knocks on your door to tell you that the child you have been raising is not yours, That they were accidentally mixed up shortly after birth and that they have your child. This book is a freight train rushing full speed ahead and I could not put it down. Some turns were anticipated but others were winding s curves threatening to derail the train. Great read...you don’t want to miss this one! Many many thanks to JP Delaney and NetGalley for affording me the opportunity to read an arc of this riveting read Soon to be published onJuly 28th. I predict it will be this summer’s best thriller.

Playing Nice is about what two families would do to protect their children. Peter Riley enjoyed a lovely morning with his son when there was a knock at his front door. Miles Lambert was standing at the front door and gave Peter news that would change his life forever. The readers of Playing Nice will continue to follow Peter and Miles to find out what happens.

Playing Nice is the first book I read by J.P. Delaney. "Playing Nice" engaged me from the first page. Also, I was unable to put the book down. I love J. P. Delaney portrayal of the characters of Playing Nice and the way they interact with each other throughout this book. Playing Nice is well written and research by J. P. Delaney. I like the settings of Playing Nice that complemented the plot of this book.

The readers of Playing Nice will learn about Failure to Thrive (FTT) in children and infant and some of the courses of FTT. Also, the readers of Playing Nice will learn the role of a private investigator in a legal case.

Pete Riley and his partner Maddie find themselves living every parent's nightmare. Their strong-willed son Theo is not their biological son due to an accidental switch in the NICU after his premature birth. So begins an addictive domestic suspense story which I found very hard to put down. Although the interactions between the two families begin very friendly, things begin to take a sinister turn as the psychopathic tendencies of one of the parents begins to show. If you're looking for a gripping page-turner that will keep you up till the late or maybe early morning hours, "Playing Nice" is the book for you!

A few weeks ago I happened to watch an episode of Dateline or 20/20, or one of those news shows, about a woman who had been switched at birth when she was born. During her adolescence, she met her birth family and unfortunately, it was not a "happily every after" story for all involved.
When I started this book, I thought it was flowing more toward the direction of a drama, which really surprised me for this author. But then things started to pop up that made me say, "hmmnn." While this started as a story about two babies switched at birth, it evolves into a story with a dark, sinister, character. The suspense slowly builds as one set of parents is so trusting that we think there may be no hope for them.
This book proved to be a very quick read, but was worthwhile and definitely a summery, beach read.

Playing Nice is a thriller. It is a parent’s worst nightmare Become a reality. JP Delaney weaves a tale that will have you anxiously awaiting how the story will end.

Well this is certainly any parent's worst nightmare. I've read the other books that JP Delaney has written and have really enjoyed them. Playing Nice was no different. Imagine finding out that your child isn't yours, that there was a mix-up in the hospital. Both children have The title is fitting, for most of the book, where one set of parents play nice until they are done being nice. The lengths one will go in this situation play out and I could not step away from the book. I highly recommend this book, I give it 4.5 stars and highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys thrillers and family dramas.

Thanks to Netgalley and JP Delaney for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review

Five stars here and on GR! Loved this one. Elements of psychology were right up my alley. The concept is amazing. Being a parent myself, I knew this story would be intriguing and thought-provoking. I couldn’t even imagine something like this happening. Finding out your two your old isn’t biologically yours, he was switched in the NICU - how do you handle that? What kind of relationship do you pursue with your biological son and his “parents”? How did the switch happen?! Great beginning, middle, and end, what else could you ask for?

This is a really good psychological thriller that will grip you from the very beginning. I really enjoyed this authors previous work and this one didn’t disappoint.

Two years after Pete's son, Theo is born, a stranger comes to his house to say that Theo is not really his son. The stranger, Miles Lambert has been raising Pete's son, David. Miles is the father of Theo. What seems to be a quite amicable relationship between the two families in the beginning, quickly turns sour as court transcripts are interspersed in the story right away. How did the families leave with the wrong babies? How did Miles come to find out that Theo is his son? Is he truly correct? How will the families proceed? What is fair?
This book is truly suspenseful and keeps you turning the pages instead of doing anything else. You just have to read on to find out what will happen next.

I went into this book with hesitation, fearing it would veer too far into "Lifetime movie territory" with the whole switched at birth storyline, as we've seen that tale overtold on many occasions.

I was wrong, very wrong!

Delaney has written a hell of a book with twists and turns as we go into the story of Theo and David. I was very impressed and felt hooked by the book early on until it's conclusion. This is an excellent read!

First, I want to say I loved his first book, The Girl Before but the second one, The Perfect Wife was not my favorite book but when Playing Nice was available for me to read I grabbed it. I want to say first that this book was totally fantastic and once I started reading it I couldn’t put it down till the conclusion. So imagine you are raising your 2 year old son, when someone, Miles Lambert arrives at your door to tell you that Theo, your son is not your biological son. They both had children born prematurely and somehow in the NICU their tags got switched and each took home the other ones child. First there is the old adage, nature vs nurture. Also, the biological child of Pete and Maddie named David had severe damage due to being born premature which Theo didn’t. Miles is very wealthy with a meek wife but says they should co parent the children and as the title of the book so aptly puts it play nice. Well at first that seems the way it is going to play out but soon enough Pete and Maddie see the malicious side of Mikes Lambert and Pete and Maddie, the Reilly’s see they must stop playing nice and fight back. Miles gets down and dirty and shows his psychopathic ways. I do not want to give away any spoilers but there are so many major twists in this book and one at the end that I did see coming but this was a truly fantastic read. A true psychological thriller. I received this book from net galley and Random House as an ARC for an honest review. Thanks to net galley and the publisher for this ARC. This is a must read book if you like twists and turns. Just awesome!!! (less)

As a fan of Delaney's previous work, I was disappointed in Playing Nice. I think there were too many side storylines and the character's motivations didn't feel relatable. There were many twists and turns, but they felt ill-timed.

I love a good switched at birth story! In this one, the families are trying to work it out amicably, but something is not quite right. JP Delaney weaves a web of twists and turns that will keep you turning the page in suspense! A thought-provoking and gripping psychological thriller at its finest!

Thanks to Random House and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this book! JP Delaney has written a gripping thriller. Imagine having a total stranger knock on your door one day and tell you the 2 year old child you are raising is not your own! I was glued to the pages, wanting to find out what happened next, and it didn't disappoint.
This book will definitely be one of my top ten favorites of this year!

I’ve read some of JP Delaney‘s work before and always enjoy those books. The books are fast paced and easy to read. I highly recommend this book.

Amazing, I just had to know how this would turn out. I couldn’t sleep until I knew what would happen to Theo and David. Miles was an interesting character to follow. Just when I thought I knew what he would do next I was surprised. I have read all of JP Delano’s books and this is by far my favorite. I wish I could give this more stars.

This pulse-pounding story is any parent’s worst nightmare. Pete answers the doorbell one day to two men who inform him that his two-year-old son, Theo, was swapped with another baby at birth and they have DNA evidence to prove it. One of the men, Miles, bears a striking resemblance to Theo, confirming that he is indeed Theo’s biological father. He and his wife have been caring for Pete’s biological and medically-complex child, David. The families strike up an amicable relationship, keeping their children’s best interests at heart; however, deceitful motives are soon revealed and the relationship between the families quickly devolves into one of high tension and antagonism. The story is perfectly paced and absolutely riveting. I found myself compulsively devouring this book even though my nerves were spiraling out of control as I flipped from page to page. In comparison to many books belonging to the thriller/suspense genre, Playing Nice is incredibly realistic, making it all the more unsettling. The characters are complex, flawed, and believable. I guarantee you will fly through this one quickly but the feelings it evokes will stick with you for much longer.

The thought of a baby switch is horrifying but this psychological thriller definitely ramped it up! This was so disturbing and made me feel incredibly angsty- in a “this is so disturbing but I can’t put it down” kind of way. I read this in a day, it’s a completely enthralling story that left me frantically turning pages. This was messed up, frustrating, and completely unputdownable! My thanks to the publisher for the advance reader in exchange for my honest review. 3.5⭐️

JP Delaney really knows how to tear one’s heart out. I can’t tell you how many times I almost audibly gasped, because if this was my life, I don’t know that I’d survive.

Two innocent babies, switched at birth, are at the center of this horrific story about compromise, mental health, abuse, and acceptance. It turns very ugly rather quickly.

The most horrifying part of this book is that I can see all of these things happening to people in the real world. It’s so scary to think your entire life can be put on blast and that everything is out of your control in a situation such as this.

JP Delaney is quickly becoming a favorite of mine. It’s hard not to enjoy the writing style and utter shock of so many twists! I think you’ll enjoy reading this one.