I quite liked this story. It was very back and fore and twisty and what you thought was one thing turned out be not just another but another one. Overall I don't think it quite lived up to what it aimed.

I’ve read a number of books by J.P. Delaney, and Believe Me offers up another thrilling narrative. When things take a turn for acting student Claire, she faces losing her home and her chance to make it in New York City. Jobbing as a honeytrap, she prides herself on having caught out many a husband looking to stray from their nuptials, until what would become her final job, when the husband fails to take the bait. But things worsen when the wife is found dead, murdered in a brutal fashion.

As someone well versed in playing a part, and assuming an identity Claire is enlisted to help catch the killer, with suspicion falling on the husband. But a troubled past involving questions about her mental stability bubble up to cloud proceedings and leave the reader twisting and turning as to where the guilt should lie.

The story is fast-paced, with twists and turns everywhere. We dive deep within the dark and twisted work of Baudelaire in trying to dive into the psyche of the murderer. The only thing that let the book down was in the final third – the story twists and turns one time too many, suddenly becoming predictable. I found myself knowing the outcome, if not the complete arc that would lead to it. In that regard, what had been a fantastic read quickly became somewhat disappointing in its conclusion.

Provided by NetGalley for an honest review

Honestly, this wasn’t for me. It was ok to read, but I struggled with the who,e premise. Parts I raced through and other bits just dragged. I just did not enjoy it. I think it could’ve done with some editing to be honest.

I liked the idea of this story and was looking forward to reading it. Sadly it was impossible for me to read because it was printed in so many places with capitals and little letters that the words just danced across the page. I know this is an advanced review copy but I haven’t come across a book with the words printed like that before in an ARC. Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review and opinions.

Although I enjoyed most of the story, it seemed a very long read and it took a couple of attempts to finish this.
It was also darker then I expected, but I did enjoy the twisted end!
Thank you NetGalley

Claire is a British struggling actor, stuck in America without a green card and she needs both work and money to survive. Then she gets the offer of both, but not quite like she expected.

Claire agrees to become a decoy for a firm of divorce lawyers. Having been hired to entrap straying husbands, she must catch them on tape with their seductive propositions, sound easy enough right?

No it is not, Claire’s world comes crashing down when the wife of one of Claire’s targets is violently murdered, the cops are sure the husband is to blame. Desperate to catch him before he kills again, they enlist Claire to lure him into a confession. But did he do it?

Omg wow this book is amazing it's full of twists and turns it will keep you up all night I really enjoyed this book

Creepy, somewhat unbelievab!e, noir, dark and uncomfortable.
Not really what I expected after reading and backing UP
I ø

Late in giving feedback due to medical issue at the time of reading. I struggled to get into this book. It didn't capture me as I had expected it to. Sorry

This book was called believe me but I have got no idea why. This book was very disappointing and the story got weirder and weirder and I only finished it to find out what happened. I wish I had not bothered. Very disappointed as I was looking forward to it.

I loved the book.

I loved the way the story was developing. It was a bit dragging in between. But mostly, the twists and turns was so good.

This is one of those books that need a warning on such as 'Don't start at bedtime'!
An incredibly fast paced book with some scenes that could keep you awake.
There are some passages that are particularly difficult to read and a twisted thriller to boot...
Definitely not one for bedtime!

Sadly I just couldn't get into Believe Me. I persevered for a few days, but in the end it just wasn't for me

"A struggling actor, a Brit in America without a green card, Claire needs work and money to survive. Then she gets both. But nothing like she expected.
Claire agrees to become a decoy for a firm of divorce lawyers. Hired to entrap straying husbands, she must catch them on tape with their seductive propositions.
The rules? Never hit on the mark directly. Make it clear you’re available, but he has to proposition you, not the other way around. The firm is after evidence, not coercion. The innocent have nothing to hide.
Then the game changes."

I suggest you only read this book if you have the time to mull it over between chapters, because my goodness the pace is so fast, the story so intense, the characters so believable (even when you think/know they are lying, that I was exhausted each night trying to run the last few chapters through in my head and work it out!

It is very dark, disturbing and a truly uncomfortable read in places, so not for the squeamish, but the story needed it, as it went to the dark web and some horrific subject matter was explored. The mind games, twists, lying, double crossing and pretending to be who/what you are not was a great storyline and I enjoyed it, however I dropped 1 star because at times it was too gruesome for me.

I gave this book two days and I feel they were wasted. This book is like an unpleasant ride- I felt as if I shouldn’t have gotten on: it was bumpy, long and, unexciting.

I don’t think I’ll read this author again.

Thanks to NetGalley and Quercus Books for the ARC of this book.

This book follows actress Claire, who funds her acting classes by working for an agency entrapping married men to prove their infidelity to their wives. When one of these wives is murdered, she gets entangled in the police’s attempts to catch the killer.

I didn’t really enjoy this book. It probably had some interesting things to say about the nature of lies and acting versus reality, and how some people imagine their life as a series of movie vignettes. However, I’m getting a bit tired of twisty thrillers with unreliable narrators where you can’t trust anything that is happening. It’s very hard to like or relate to characters when they all seem to be lying and all appear to have a dark side.

In addition to not being able to trust the narrative, most of the story was very unrealistic. Can we believe a person would sleep with a murder suspect in order to infiltrate their life and get a confession? Would the police pick an inexperienced actress with a history of self-harm to work undercover rather than a trained undercover police officer? I don’t think so.

The topics of brutally harming women, sexual violence, mutilation and murder were all a bit squeamish and unpleasant for me, even though they are balanced by a strong female lead. I just don’t want to read any more books where men commit sexual violence towards women. It is not an entertaining or fun subject. I thought The Girl Before’, the author’s previous book was far superior to this, although, it still dealt with some similar topics and themes.

I'm a big fan of this writer and this twisty thriller didn't disappoint. The title just couldn't be more appropriate as this complex drama keeps you guessing and trying to decipher the truth from the lies. Main character Claire is a struggling actress who finds herself at the heart of a murder inquiry. Her talent is put to the ultimate test in this tense and original psychological thriller.

A twisty psychological thriller full of suspense and mystery. I absolutely loved every page of this brilliant book.

With thanks to Netgalley

Believe me is over all good cat/mouse thriller that kept me hooked till the very last page of the book.

This seemed like a book that I would really enjoy but unfortunately, I just couldn't get into it.
I may try and read it again in the future.