Playing Nice – JP Delaney

The set-up is a nightmare scenario. Pete Riley has got back from depositing two-year-old Theo at nursery when two strangers knock on his door. One introduces himself as Miles Lambert, the other is a private detective, and they have news for him.  The boy he just dropped off is not Pete’s son, but Miles’s, and here is the DNA test to prove it.

Shocked Pete’s first thought is that partner Maddie had played away, but no. It seems two premature babies were mixed up at the intensive care unit, the error coming to light after recent genetic tests on the other boy, David. It is now clear that Miles is Theo’s father, and Pete’s son is David.

The one crumb of comfort is that Miles and Lucy seem a nice couple, eager to discuss and agree a way forward – do we swap, do we keep, do we share? But appearances can be deceptive. As the narrative is carried forward by Pete and Maddie it is interspersed with extracts from court papers that indicate any resolution is anything but amicable.

The direction of travel is worryingly clear from clues that pepper the narratives, as each innocent action (and some engineered situations) are noted, documented, and misinterpreted in the court papers. It is excruciating and all too plausible. The characters of Pete, Maddie, Miles, and Lucy are developed and laid bare for scrutiny; none are saints, but some flaws are more forgivable than others.

The story races along, driven by the need for resolution, but what would constitute a satisfactory ending for all involved, especially the kids? That we get one of sorts, is a relief after being put through such an emotional wringer.

Recommended, but not to parents of children under three with no confirmatory DNA evidence to hand.

Exit – Belinda Bauer

Exit exists to ease the passing of those with terminal illness who do not want to linger until it takes its natural course. Actually, it more speeds up than eases the passing, by making available a cylinder of nitrous oxide (undetectable after death) with a tube and breathing mask attached. These are already in place when the volunteer sitters, the Exiteers, arrive to provide company in the final moments and to clear away the suicidal evidence.

That it is all legal does not mean it can be done openly. There are the feelings of the relatives to protect, and the insurance pay-outs to preserve, so it is all done in the clients’ homes with no witnesses. Discretion is the watchword, and the Exiteers are careful to maintain anonymity even among themselves by the use of false names.

But when ‘John’ (real name Felix) is paired in an assignment in Bideford with young rookie ‘Amanda’, disaster strikes. First, an instinctive intervention by Amanda means they have overstepped the legal mark. That is manageable, thinks Felix, no harm done, except, second, it is the wrong person they have helped into oblivion. Third, it appears, someone has spotted them entering the premises and a police car is approaching, siren blaring.

Felix, law-abiding for all his seventy-five years, is prepared to accept responsibility, even if it means jail. But not just yet, he needs to make arrangements for his dog, make sure Amanda is not implicated, and warn his handler, so he does a runner. It takes time to put his affairs in order, during which it begins to dawn on him that some things don’t add up. He needs to investigate, then he can present the police with a full confession and clear explanation.

Meanwhile the police are now investigating an unexplained death and are on Felix’s track. Will they get to him before he gets to the truth?

It is a fine mixture of black humour and pathos – Felix’s motivation for becoming an Exiteer is his own grief at losing loved ones. Plotting and characterisation are convincing enough but expect more cosy crime than Devon noir.

Exciting Times – Naoise Dolan

The book-packing journey reaches Asia, touching down in Hong Kong in the form of a girl called Ava.

Unhappy in Dublin, Ava has decided to try elsewhere. On completing her finals, she blows her savings on a flight to Hong Kong and a month’s rent on a room. She gets a low-paid job as a TEFL teacher, imparting the mysteries of the English language to schoolchildren. It pays the rent but covers precious little else.

She meets Julian in a bar. His job as a banker funds a spacious apartment and an expensive lifestyle, which Ava has no qualms about freeloading into. The relationship develops, but it is complicated. Not even Ava and Julian are sure what it is. They jog along.

When Julian is posted back to Europe for a few months, Ava stays in his apartment. She makes friends with Edith, full name Edith Zhang Mei Lang, a Hong Kong local but schooled in England and a Cambridge graduate. Not even her pay can match Hong Kong rents, so she lives at home with her family. That means she can enjoy living the high life in the city bars and clubs, as can Ava, who still has access to Julian’s credit card. They have fun. The relationship develops, but it is complicated. Not even Ava and Edith are sure what it is. They jog along.

With Julian due back to the island, Ava must examine her attachments to her two friends, while taking account of economic realities. Does she have to pick one and ditch one, or can she somehow manage the situation?

Ava’s narration is quirky, maybe it is the Irish accent coming out or just her off-kilter way of expressing herself. It is peppered with references to social media; Ava uses draft texts and Instagram posts to articulate her thoughts but deletes rather than sends them. The Hong Kong location seems more incidental than intrinsic to the story, so there is no real sense of place.

The book is probably not aimed at my demographic, so I found it interesting rather than engaging, providing an insight, bewildering rather than empathetic, into how relationships are managed in that generation.