Playing Nice by J.P. Delaney
Genre: Psychological thriller, Domestic thriller, Suspense
Read: 31st January 2022
Published: 6th August 2020
★★★★★ 5 stars
DESCRIPTION:
Pete Riley answers the door one morning to a parent's worst nightmare. On his doorstep is Miles Lambert, who breaks the devastating news that Pete's two-year-old, Theo, isn't Pete's real son - their babies got mixed up at birth.
The two families - Pete, his partner Maddie, and Miles and his wife Lucy - agree that, rather than swap the boys back, they'll try to find a more flexible way to share their children's lives. But a plan to sue the hospital triggers an investigation that unearths disturbing questions about just what happened the day the babies were switched.
And when Theo is thrown out of nursery for hitting other children, Maddie and Pete have to ask themselves: how far do they want this arrangement to go? What secrets lie hidden behind the Lamberts' smart front door? How much can they trust the real parents of their child - or even each other?
An addictive psychological thriller, perfect for fans of The Silent Patient and Shari Lapena's The Couple Next Door.
MY REVIEW:
They've got your child. You've got their's... Let the battle begin.
WOW...WOW...WOW!!! How can I even begin to review this book and do it justice?
PLAYING NICE is pretty much the opposite of "playing nice", rather more a tongue in cheek play on words...but very clever indeed. As is the entire book. I've only read one J.P. Delaney book before and that was his debut under this pseudonym "The Girl Before" and it was OK-ish so I naturally went into it a little apprehensive but I needn't have worried because it seriously has nothing on this one! O.M.G. as in Oh-Em-Gee!!
I was gripped from the moment I started reading and I could not put it down, even when I had to...to, you know, deal with real life. The premise was intriguing to say the least but the story drew me in and had me hooked until the very end. It is so clever, so intricate and so complex your head will be swimming with all that was lumped at this poor couple's feet.
But how did they get here?
Imagine answering a knock on your door while your son is at nursery to a man who, not only is the spitting of your son, but claims that he is not actually your son but his. That is what happened to Pete Riley one morning whilst perusing the DadsForum after dropping exuberant two year old Theo at nursery. At first, his reaction is that it's not true. Then upon noting the obvious resemblance his next thought is that Maddie had been unfaithful with this man and now he has come to lay claim to his child. But what this stranger, Miles Lambert, reveals is something far more complex and devastating that any infidelities. The man with Miles is Don Macguire, a private investigator that he had engaged to track down his biological son, and with him is irrefutable proof that Theo is in fact the Lambert's child.
So what happened?
That in itself is a long story and one the reader needs to experience themselves to fully appreciate it in its entirety. But I will say that the two babies were switched not long after birth resulting in Theo becoming Pete and partner Maddie's son whilst their child becomes David Lambert. What a heartbreaking thing to have happened to two families...or is it? What if it wasn't an accident but a purposeful act? But surely, no one would do that intentionally? The babies came from private clinics and were transferred at the same time to the same neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and could have inadvertently been mixed up. After all, the flimsy paper tags placed around the babies' legs after birth aren't designed for premmies that small and they can easily slip off. It's the only conclusion both families comes to...but it is negligence just the same. Isn't it?
So let's get the players straight. We have:
Pete Riley, a freelance journalist, and Maddie Wilson, an advertising executive, parents of two year old Theo who is rather exuberating to say the least. They have been having some behavioural problems with him as Theo does not seem to grasp the concept of sharing and when he wants something another child has, he hits them to get it. Of course the nursery frowns on this sort of behaviour, and yet they are not equipped to deal with the specific needs that each child might require. So instead of discussing different forms of discipline with Pete, they exclude Theo from the nursery...this having been the fourth incident in five weeks. Pete adores Theo and does his utmost best for the child. However, his time-out and naughty step strategies don't appear to be working. But does that make him a bad parent? Of course not. Every child is different and therefore may have different, or rather specific, needs. So while Pete is a stay at home dad, a job he loves more than he thought he would, Maddie works in advertising which sees her away a few times a year for location shoots. But does that make her a bad parent? No, of course it doesn't. Even if she isn't as hands on as Pete, she still loves Theo with every breath in her body.
Then we have Miles and Lucy Lambert. They parent two year old David who is quite different from Theo in just about every way possible. But it is clear from the moment Pete and Maddie step into their house that Lucy adores David with every fibre of her being. He is her world and to uproot either child from their current living circumstances would be detrimental to both of them. But Miles, however, is a different kettle of fish. When he first knocked on Pete's door and introduced himself, he was amicable and friendly and even understanding. After initial contact and meeting, the couples made an amicable arrangement which appeared to suit both families. And then Miles started making suggestions and offers that came packaged as gestures of goodwill. A suggestion that they spend Easter together by Maddie turned into a week-long holiday in Cornwall that Miles booked for them all...without discussing it with them first. And then he would turn up at their house unannounced with expensive gifts for Theo, all smiles and friendliness.
But one little white lie snowballed into something far greater than Pete and Maddie could ever imagine it would become. As the plot evolved quickly, things got ugly. And then difficult. And then even uglier. What it became was a living breathing nightmare from which neither could see an end.
If you haven't read this book then you seriously need to! It is so addictive I couldn't put it down. It is powerful, emotive and compelling that you will run the gauntlet with an outpouring of emotions...from devastation to horror to anger...and boy, did this story elicit a range of emotions for me, particularly anger - having been through something similar, even as nasty with a just as despicable adversary, that brought those old emotions to the surface once again.
What began as a family drama is twisted into a complex thriller that plays one another off the other as it becomes an even greater tangled web of secrets, lies, deception and underhandedness in the extreme. And what Pete and Maddie find themselves up against stretches them both almost to breaking point. Until they decide to beat Miles at his own game, stopping at nothing to keep their family safe. If he wasn't playing nice, then neither were they.
I seriously cannot praise this book enough. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it, despite its ability to make me squirm with anger. The unfairness and injustice just made my blood boil that the good intent and gracious hearts of those were trodden over without a care just to win and claim the prize.
A rollercoaster ride from the narratives of Pete and Maddie throughout, as well as the intermittent excerpts from conversations, reports and evidence gathered over the course of battle taking place, PLAYING NICE is chilling and disturbing on a whole other level. It's a dark suspenseful psychological thriller throughout which the tension is palpable. And I could not put it down! And that ending....YES!!!
So do yourself a favour and go out and grab yourself a copy of PLAYING NICE and prepare to run the gauntlet of emotions. Prepare to be shocked. And prepare to stay up all night to finish it. You won't be sorry. Highly recommend!
I would like to thank #JPDelaney, #Netgalley and #QuercusBooks for an ARC of #PlayingNice in exchange for an honest review.
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