This review is written with thanks to the publisher for my copy of Playing Nice via Netgalley.

Blurb:

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?

Review:

I’ve had Playing Nice on my TBR for a while, but with television adaptation now showing, it was time I finally got around to it. I have no idea what took me so long, as it’s the best book I’ve read for some time and it’s undoubtedly my favourite novel by this author. It’s a really well constructed psychological thriller, with some fascinating characters and an incredibly compelling plot. I wondered how I would react in a similar situation and I love novels that give me food for thought like this.

Playing Nice is narrated by Pete and Maddie, and this obviously gives a bias to this couple, and it’s them who I wanted to succeed, even at the beginning. I enjoyed looking back at Maddie and Pete’s relationship; how they met and the circumstances around Theo’s birth, as this give me a lot of insight into the characters. Although we don’t hear directly from Miles and Lucy, their characters are also really well constructed and I loved how they were also able to get under my skin.

Throughout Playing Nice, I often had no idea where the story was going but I really wanted to know! There are some really sinister elements to the story and I loved the way that these crept up on me slowly, and once they had got me in their grip, wouldn’t let me go!

I can’t wait to watch the adaptation now!

Playing Nice is available from Amazon.