I Started Reading JP Delaney's Book Collection and Here is What I Thought

Recently we have been in our thriller era, reading lots of JP Delaney books and what a treat it has been. One after another it has been fun to judge what we have been loving the most so far. 

The Girl Before:

To start off with is The Girl Before. This psychological thriller about an untimely death that happens in an apartment at one Folgate Street. Emma wants to move out after a breakin but nothing feels safe or affordable for her. Until she finds a picture perfect pale which couldn't be more simple. With the former occupant drawn in by a seductive creator of the place she untangles the truth of the lies within the place. As lies become untangled the two start to live the same lives. 

This was my first book from Delaney and I was hooked! I was loving the thrill of wanting to constantly pick this book up for more. I had never read anything similar to this storyline so it was definitely interesting to explore. I liked the dystopian feel to the apartment despite the setting being in modern everyday life, it was clever. The two stories of the past and present intertwining together made the story deeper, without confusing you as a reader. You had the build up from the past and which linked to the ending. This is a TV show which I haven't had a chance to watch yet!

Playing Nice:

Imagine finding out everything you ever knew was a lie? Even your family isn't even yours? This is a story about how one morning changed everything. Miles meets Pete and breaks the news that his son isn't actually his own after being switched at birth. After two years of raising their child, they are left wondering what to do.  For Pete, his partner Maddie, and the little boy they've been raising for the past two years, life will never be the same again.

This was so fun to read. Babies swapped at birth, where could this story go? How do two families come together? How does this work? I had so many questions and I loved that about this, I wanted to find out. At first this story started off with good intentions but it all turned sour in no time. When the investigations start it becomes heated and fiery which gives this book its own personality as you felt you were in this process with them. It is a story of trust but also with its secrets so you are constantly second guessing what was the real events on the day of the swap. Ps, this is also a TV show too!

My Darling Daughter: 

Fifteen years have gone by and Susie has been contacted online by her daughter she gave up for adoption. She is convinced she needs help from her birth mother. But her behaviour brings all the red flags or is this the aftermath of a traumatic childhood? Does her birth mother just have as many secrets as her daughter? 

At first reading the blurb of this book I was concerned it could end up merging into a similar parent narrative like Playing Nice. I am happy to say it wasn't. This was as much as a story about motherhood but also childhood. It focused heavily from the daughters perspective which made you think differently about what was actually happening. It was like a mind game from Delaney. The story looked into young motherhood and some exaggerated effects of how those traumatic events affect the child involved. It was interesting and fun from the rush of plot twists that took place till the end. 

The New Wife:

After finding out their father has died, Jess and Fin are distraught. Despite their parents divorce, their father carried on living in mallorca whilst his family settled in the UK. They are left with their house but looming over them is their third wife, Ruensa, who still lives there. The siblings go to Mallorca to take their inheritance to find their former fathers new family has revamped the place. Leaving lots of questions was this planned or are they the victims at the end of the day. 

Now into sunny mallorca, this definitely matched the setting stayed by the pool for sure. This story was so much more than collecting an inheritance and going. The history between the children and their late father was deep and complicated. There were constantly stories and reasons why the children were how they are. This house had more than a few walls and a roof. Towards the end it became a cat and mouse game between siblings and the new wife. Having two worlds collide from different times made it all the more distorting.