Book Review: Playing Nice by J.P Delaney
Playing Nice by JP Delaney
Published by Quercus Books
Release Date: 28 July 2020
ISBN: 9781529400878
* Thank you to Quercus Books and NetGalley for sending the ARC in return for an honest review.
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?
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?
Pete Riley is a nice man. He plays fair and lives his life solving problems through open dialogue and reasonable behaviour. But not everyone plays as nicely as Pete Riley.
And what happens when 'nice' comes up against a stone-cold, emotionally dead, narcissist like Miles Lambert? This sociopath/ psychopath actually makes Hannibal Lecter seem cuddly. Don't expect cannibalism or a murderous gore-fest though - this is mental torture at it’s most terrifying and it’s consequences are devastating.
You just know that things are going to get ugly when case notes start to feature more frequently in the book.
I can't remember the last time when reading a book that I felt physically nauseous with apprehension, disbelief, rage and shock.
Halfway through the book and you’re into a free-fall of horror watching as Pete and Maddie hit every worse-case-scenario that could possibly happen - and then more than you couldn’t even imagine in your worst nightmares.
No spoilers, but be satisfied that the ending comes with redemption - just not in the way that you think it'll be though!
Playing Nice is a psychological thriller but I think that it should also be listed under 'Horror'. I don't mean killer clowns living in storm drains type of horror either, but Playing Nice has surpassed anything from the horror genre that I’ve read in recent years.
It's a Jaw-droppingly thrilling read!
Do not start this book when you’ve got something important you need to do as you will not be able to tear your eyes away from it for a second!
Easily one of my favourite reads this year.
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