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Playing Nice

The addictive and chilling new thriller from the bestselling author of The Girl Before and The Perfect Wife

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Playing Nice

By: JP Delaney
Narrated by: Amelia Cormack, Ben Elliot, Peter Forbes
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*Now a major ITV and StudioCanal TV show starring James Norton and Niamh Algar*

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 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, the Rileys 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?


See what everyone is saying about JP Delaney, the hottest name in psychological thrillers:

'DAZZLING' - Lee Child
'ADDICTIVE' - Daily Express
'DEVASTATING' - Daily Mail
'INGENIOUS' - New York Times
'COMPULSIVE' - Glamour Magazine
'ELEGANT' - Peter James
'SEXY' - Mail on Sunday
'ENTHRALLING' - Woman and Home
'ORIGINAL' - The Times
'RIVETING' - Lisa Gardner
'CREEPY' - Heat
'SATISFYING' - Reader's Digest
'SUPERIOR' - The Bookseller
'MORE THAN A MATCH FOR PAULA HAWKINS' - Sunday Times

(P)2020 Penguin Random House Audio©2020 Shippen Productions Ltd Amateur Sleuths Crime Thrillers Family Life Genre Fiction Mystery Psychological Suspense Thriller & Suspense Exciting Scary Fiction
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Critic reviews

There is a precision about Delaney's characters that propels his twisty plots into unexpected and utterly convincing scenarios
JP Delaney is King of Thrillers and Playing Nice is his best book yet
The kind of book that keeps you up at night
Seriously, amazingly, awesomely brilliant
A tour-de-force . . . a compulsive and deeply thought-provoking psychological thriller
Dazzling - a pitch-perfect thriller
Original and brilliantly written
Dynamic, razor-sharp and thought-provoking . . . A must read!
Terrifying and heartfelt
A sensational baby-swap psychological thriller which melds domestic suspense with a slow-burn, terrifying menace
Fiendishly gripping, twist-packed thriller
[An] edge-of-seat psychological thriller
This nail-biting, thought-provoking and utterly riveting thriller [...] comes from a writer who never fails to put extra mind-bending firepower into every story that comes from his magic pen ... Expect ingenious twists and turns
All stars
Most relevant
I am a 50% JP Delaney Fan ... LOVED "The Girl Before" could not get into "Believe me" ADORED "The Perfect Wife" and it is still sharp in my mind like I read it yesterday but I could not get into "Playing Nice". I am so hoping this hit and miss format is continuing for me and I will go wild about the next JP Delaney as it is almost like there are two authors at work here taking it in turns to right the books! "The Girl Before" was fabulous ... and "The Perfect Wife" was even better ... and now this.

Don't get me wrong, the switched baby scenario is huge food for thought for anyone - but not being a parent I think it just did not resonate as much with me and although I did get the many complex emotions this would create, it did not hold my attention, so I gave up and just skipped ahead and yes as usual JP Delaney served up twist after stunning twist.

Perhaps because I basically got bored and gave up and skipped ahead, I missed out nuances but to me it seemed a little broadly painted - a pantomime baddy - a saintly goody - a terrible situation to be resolved and then it all escalated.

From another author this would be a brilliant book and for those who enjoy kitchen sink dramas, emotions being tugged by toddlers and kind of soap series melodrama it would be a treat. But I just expected far more from JP Delaney and had hoped this would be another "Girl Before/Perfect Wife" though it was less far fetched than "Believe Me".

Also I find reading about mental health issues unsavoury as I am just looking for a thriller to capture my imagination and take me on a thrilling ride of suspense and mystery and bringing in the potential red herring of are they/aren't they insane just muddies the waters for me.

So to sum up, very well written book, good narration but just themes not really up my street and not the smash hit follow up to "The Girl Before/The Perfect Wife" I had so joyfully anticipated. Maybe the next book will blow my socks off - I hope so!

Perhaps more riveting if you are a parent

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Such a great premise for a story. I couldn't stop listening. My second JP Delaney book. Can't wait for the third!

Totally compelling

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Started off slowly but as the story unraveled, I couldn’t stop listening. The storyline became more complicated as the book went on and I was interested all the way through to the end.

Excellent

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It’s such a twisted, chilling read because every time you think you know where it’s going, it completely turns. The whole baby-switch storyline is already unsettling, but the way the secrets, manipulation, and tension build makes it impossible to know who to trust or what’s coming next.

Chilling

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Wasn’t sure at first was feeling a little tame for my liking... Then I couldn’t turn it off! You become very invested in the characters and honestly pure rage towards others. So much so I was telling friends who couldn’t give a dam about what I was saying why I felt so strongly ! Do not miss out ! Also every character so well delivered I felt I was listening to an entire cast.

Stayed up till 1am on a school night to finish!

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