4-5 stars. A solid read throughout, but not as big of a twist as you normally get with Delaney! I still think if it’s one you will easily get emerged in and have a very hard putting it down! As a parent I think this book is very chilling, shocking, and scary! A must read for those who love original, realistic thrillers, which are unputdownable! Highly recommend!
Will make sure to buzz it around platforms and use low reviewer number on Amazon on release date!

Playing Nice is the latest book by JP Delaney. Mr Delaney gives us the story from the view point of the two main characters. I found myself thinking about this book and the story line even when I wasn't actually reading it, so much so I even dreamed about it last night! There comes a time when the reader is unable to put this down, having to know what happens next. I want to thank Net Galley and Ballantine Books for an early copy to review.

This is a great novel from one of my favorite authors. What would you do if you found out your two-year old son is not actually yours? What if, by mistake, he was swapped up at the hospital by mistake and the parents he has been living with have discovered the error by chance?

That is the premise of the novel and the author did a great job developing the story and the characters. The book takes place in the UK and is narrated by the parents of one of the children, Pete and Maddie.

I liked the themes explored in the story, mostly about parenting styles and family relationships. The premise is completely relatable and you can feel the despair and uncertainty that builds up as the story unfolds.

Overall, I enjoyed it and recommend it.

ARC provided by Publisher via Netgalley

A page turner from start to finish. Delaney is the master of thrillers. Taking and ordinary, relatable family to face their darkest fears.

Pete and Maddie's safe, boring life is utterly upended when Miles knocks on their door and explains that their son is actually his: two years ago, their babies were swapped at the NICU. At first, everything is fine. Pete and Maddie are charmed by fragile David, and Miles is thrilled by rambunctious Theo. They might even all get rich off of suing the hospital where it happened. Soon, though, disagreements about parenting styles and boundaries turn into full-out legal warfare. Everyone has something to hide and only the most vicious will prevail. A riveting thriller.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Playing Nice by J.P. Delaney.

I was completely taken in from the very start and had trouble putting it down. I stayed awake reading on my Kindle through the night at 2 and 3 AM because I couldn't bare to wait until the following day to find out how it ended. And then, at the conclusion, I was unable to sleep as I mulled it over!

This book was right on the mark as a good psychological thriller/ family drama type book. Great summer read. Recommended!

Thank you to the Publisher and Netgalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are unpaid and are solely my own.

(cross posted onto Goodreads.)

Playing Nice starts out with a parent's worst nightmare. A knock on the door and another father telling you that your children were switched at birth two years earlier. The possibility of a friendship and getting to know both children flies out the window when there becomes a fight for both children!
This book is emotional, engrossing and pulls you into the story from the beginning! Go out, buy this book and clear your calendar so you can read it!
Thank you NetGalley, Ballantine Books and J.P. Delaney for the ARC in exchange for a fair review.

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. This book pulled me from the very beginning. As a Perinatal Social Worker and parent the plot was horrifying yet captivating. The characters were well developed as well. JP Delaney did an outstanding job with this story line, the writing was fabulous, creating a page turner like no other. I have already recommended this book to many of my reading friends. If you like a good thriller you will not be disappointed with Playing Nice! Pre-order now, it is well worth it!!!

When Pete Riley opens his door after dropping his son, Theo, off to nursery, the last thing he expects to see is a man named Miles Lambert, the spitting image of his son. Even more astounding, Miles says that Theo is his biological child. The product of a switched at birth incident, Pete and his partner Maddie have been raising the Lambert’s son and the Lamberts have been raising his and Maddie’s biological son, David. While Pete is still trying to come to terms with this news, he’s contacted again by Miles who wishes to meet him for a drink. While they are drinking, Miles tells him that he and his wife, Lucy, are suing the hospital for damages and they invite them to join in on their suit so they can have money to raise their son. Pete is initially worried that the Lamberts will want to switch their sons back-they’re only two, after all-but Miles has no apparent interest in that. But he reveals that they would like to have a relationship with their son, and offer him and Maddie the opportunity to have a relationship with David.
What follows next is a fast-paced and plot-driven roller coaster of a ride. With surprises and anxiety awaiting Pete and Maddie in every chapter, finding out how their children got switched is the least of their worries now.

WOW! JP Delaney has done it again! RIght from the knock on the door this book had me hooked! Pete answers the knock and finds Miles on the other end of the door. Peter is struck by how much Miles looks like his two year old son, Theo. Additionally he is completely stunned when he learns that his baby and Miles son were switched at birth. Miles was raising Peter's biological son and Theo was Miles.

Its a gripping story that makes you think and brings a worst case scenerio to life. Its gripping, its nail biting. It pretty much has everything you could want in a book!

Thank you to #NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the ARC

Wow! This book was awesome! Kept you on the edge of your seat the entire read. I could get through it fast enough. But of course then I was sad it was over. Love this author and highly recommend this read. Thanks to the publishers and netgalley for the advanced copy.

JP Delaney does it again! I thoroughly enjoyed this book! The plot, the writing style, the character development everything was great.
The plot is presented very interestingly in form of a narrative by a character followed by case notes. The narrative and the notes contrast each other often so the plot thickens pretty quickly. It’s easy to guess from this narrative what Miles and Lucy want, so it’s not surprising when it’s revealed around the 45% mark. This was the only “twist” that I could predict in this book.
I loved the inner monologues of Maddie and Pete. There were many true feelings they shared, so many things people normally refuse to admit they thought! Initially this makes made them likable and easy to relate to. However as you read more you realize that no one is perfect and that makes these characters even more real. This is a true psychological thriller in that sense. It keeps you on the edge of the seat wondering where this is all heading. It has the how, who, why aspects covered cleverly.
As a parent there are so many thought provoking moments in this book. Some situations are simply too terrifying to put yourself in and make you shudder. Yet the book is thoughtfully laid out. It tackles relationship issues, mental health issues and issues with what a parent may go through with a premie beautifully. The plot twists and reveals in the end are brilliant and make you react (you could either have satisfied smiles or audible gasps or a combination of both- depends on what your personality is!). They are beautifully and convincingly executed.
My only grouse is that the way the tale is spun, it makes child protective services seem like the bad guys, incompetent even- the author does mention this in the acknowledgements section that they are by no means as difficult as his fictional account implies but I hope to god I never have to find out!
This one definitely lands on the must read list of year!

Playing Nice by J.P. Delaney
Pub Date 07/28/2020

What would you do if one day there's a knock at the door and when you open it, there's a man standing there that looks just like your son? Pete and Maddie have just found out that their son belongs to another couple. That somehow when being transferred to the NCIU their baby was switched with Miles and Lucy's son David. That for 2 years they have been raising someone else's child. This poor couple situation goes from bad to worse to worse. What would you do in this situation? Return the child you've been raising? Try to keep him? Well dive into Pete and Maddie story to see how they handle this situation. Wow what a great story😯. 5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced readers copy for an honest review of Playing Nice. J.P. Delaney is a favorite of mine!

Delaney is consistent for me. I wasn't really sure how this story was going to be a mystery, but there was a twist. The last 20 pages felt rushed, but as always, this was a fast, mindless read.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A young couple delivers their baby prematurely and discover two years later that somehow their biological child was switched with the one that they are raising. They find out the news from the biological father of their son, and tentatively begin to build a relationship between the two families. Conflicts arise. The twists and turns in this novel keep the reader intrigued. The conclusion is stunning and satisfying.

This is one of those books that you know how it's going to end, but it's fun to see how the author writes the characters into a corner and then gets them out again. The story begins with every parent's nightmare--babies swittched at the hospital. At first it seems like it's going to be ok, but the reader, we know there will be problems. Then this domestic drama turns into a mystery and the main characters turn into detectives. But shat shines through in the two main characters' love for each other and the two baabies. The ending was a little sketchy, but I guess it was a fitting end to Miles.

Two-year-old Theo is expelled from nursery school because of his inability to be <i>"Playing Nice." </i> Soon, a couple comes to his home and tells his parents their sons were switched at birth.
The two couples attempt to play nice, but then problems arise as you'd expect. The book examines nature vs. nurture and different personalities.
Wonderful book! I was absorbed throughout and read it quickly. Am ready for the next JP Delaney book!

Another fantastic book from JP Delaney!

What would you do if you found out the child you brought home from the hospital wasn’t yours? That’s exactly what happens to Pete, Maddie, and little Theo. It’s been two years and they feel Theo is their son regardless of who birthed him...but what about the other child? The one Maddie birthed? What starts out as an amicable friendship with Miles and Lucy, the couple raising their biological child, quickly turns into a nightmare and an all-in fight for both children. But the real question is, how did these two children get switched at the hospital and who is responsible?

This was a great read, and I’ve quickly become a fan of JP Delaney’s writing. The stories he weaves are so emotional and suspenseful and have a way of building up the reader’s anticipation in such a way that you can’t put his books down. Highly recommend this one!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3153689865

Pete and Maddie find out that their two year old son was switched at birth with another baby boy. Both sets of parents start of amicable but things start to take a turn for the worse. Little did you know that one of the four parents involved is a psychopath. A page turner with an ending that satisfies.
Thanks to Netgalley and Ballantine books for an advanced reading copy.

I really loved The Perfect Wife, so I was excited to read this one. But it was just okay for me. Maybe it was the subject matter- and the fact that I'm a mom so it made me super uncomfortable to read about this complicated family situation (which is probably the point), but I just didn't like the main characters (parents). I did want to keep reading to know what happened, but the ending even felt a little off to me.