Believe me by JP Delaney was such an exciting and incredible read! The shocking twists had me gasping in disbelief!

I loved how it focused on the mind of the unwilling victim, as it studied the mind of the murderer. Claire’s and Patrick’s characters intrigued me very well, and it scared me at how compatible they were.

The novel had me guessing throughout. I felt I could predict the ending, but was completely taken by surprise on it. I would not have guessed it at all.

This novel, to me, was one of the best thrillers that I have read so far. It would be a definite recommendation from me.

I love this book. The story is so strong. The characters are flawed, believable and totally devious. Who murdered Patrick's wife - him, Claire, someone else. Who's acting and who's playing it straight? Everybody? Anybody? There are so many twists and turns, so many attacks and counter-attacks. Love - is it real? Who's working for who. These are the questions that went through my head - and weren't answered until the very end.

I alternated between enjoying this and getting aggravated by it. In the end I wanted to see what the result was but it didn't hold any surprises. A shame as it had seemed such a good premise.

I was addicted to this book! I loved the idea of it. This author really does write incredible thrillers. I was so excited to receive this ARC and it really didn't disappoint.

If you loved the previous novel, you will love this too.

I absolutely adored this book! It is like one of those all-absorbing movies you can’t bear to pause for even a fraction of a second! I loved the story and the risk involved in the plot - the whole thing is gustsy and intriguing without ever becoming predictable or cliche. I read it in two days and I am now experiencing that loss you get from really good novels - you know where you just WISH it were twice, three times, four times as long because you want to read more and engage with the characters further. It’s not a high-brow book the likes of, say, A Little Life or The Goldfinch or even A Secret History - books where you savour every word, every sentence being exquisitely crafted. But for a thriller? This was phenomenal. It reminded me a bit of The Girlfriend Experience (season 1) - I kept picturing the lead actress as Claire. It has that sexy combination of intrigue and characters weaving a tightly-woven net of truths and fictions as they move the plot ahead at a steady pace that maintains you thirsty for more. All in all, I recommend this and give it a 5/5. Can’t wait to see the movie!

Leaving her bad experience in foster care and a disastrous on-screen affair with her leading man behind her, struggling actress Claire Wright is a Brit in America without a green card when she's approached by a law firm specialising in divorce. The job? To be a decoy. Using her acting skills, Claire is tasked with finding out if husbands are cheating - or at least thinking of cheating - on their wives. She's not to proposition them first and definitely isn't to sleep with any of the men, just tape the conversation, gather the necessary evidence and get out.

However, when Stella Fogle hires Claire to gather evidence against her husband, all does not go to plan. Not only does Patrick, a university lecturer obsessed with 18th century French poet Baudelaire, not take the bait, later that evening Stella is killed. Did Patrick murder his wife, or was someone else responsible for what happened that night?

The police quickly determine that Claire doesn't have a green card and use this fact to trap her into going undercover for them. The deal? Find out if Patrick is, as they suspect, a serial killer playing out his Baudelaire fantasies and be rewarded with a green card at the end of the job, or be deported. Of course, Claire takes the deal. Unfortunately for all involved, though, Claire begins to fall in love with Patrick. Or does she?

Believe Me is a dark, character-driven thriller that has you constantly changing your mind about the main players. Is Claire lying, or is Patrick? Is Claire delusional, or is Patrick the one that's deluded? Did Patrick kill Stella, or was Claire responsible for murdering his wife? If you're anything like me, you'll find yourself second-guessing what you think you know right through each and every one of the turns and suprises this novel has in store for readers.

Originally released in 2001 as The Decoy by Tony Strong, whose pen name is J. P. Delaney, the book wasn't as well received as he would've hoped, but the success of The Girl Before afforded the author the opportunity to re-work and re-publish his earlier novel. Believe Me is the result.

A very theatrical novel with a lot of drama and goings on behind the scenes. A girl has to do what she can to stay in New York, so that means finding work in a bar and falling into acting as a honey pot only to find that the honey is a LOT more sticky than normal. This honey doesn’t let you go once you’re stuck there..there’s plenty of theatrics in Claire’s life that’s for sure!

It was a quick read, plenty of tension as to what is going to happen.I did find the theatrical snippets throughout the book a bit jarring though and I wasn’t really convinced they added to the plot at all to be honest.

There’s a lot of not knowing what is going on during the story and that’s very apt as Claire and the others don’t know what’s going to happen with the traps. It’s all very cloak and dagger which was fun.

Overall, a good read and an ending that didn’t disappoint.

Ah, the joy of knowing immediately, "it's going to be a gooden' ''. A great mystery that genuinely kept me guessing. Superb characters, my only desire would be for a sequel, please.

okay, so i requested this due to the author previously writing " the girl before" so i definitely wanted to give this a read!
i was not disappointed!
so this story is about a young woman names claire who is trying to make it big as an actress, she needs money so starts to find cheating husbands in return for cash until one of the woman that she is helping ends up dead and she is a suspect!
so the premise alot got me hooked, it was certainly a great thriller/mystery!
3/5 stars.
Thanks to netgalley and publishers for the chance to read and review this book.

I really enjoyed this book. I did not guess the ending at all. I really liked the idea of the story and the way the plot played out. There are a lot of twists to this story and I suspected a few people as being guilty of murder before the end.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

apologies i had already read and reviewed this on netgalley. felt it was a promising concept let down by hammy storrytelling and average characterisation

Amazing book. Very different to his other novels but it kept me guessing until the last minute. I stayed up most of the night to finish this book, I couldn’t put it down. So many twists and turns. Highly recommended

This way a book with so many twists and turns, it makes you dizzy. Just when you think you know where you’re going, the story takes another path. Very cleverly done, a gripping story and would translate really well on to the big screen.

I was reading this on a train and would happily have stayed on past my destination to finish it had it not been the last stop. One day on and I’m still reeling from it. With my rational head I think there’s no way this would happen but with my fiction loving head I think ‘oh my days, what a ride!’ I suspect this may be a bit of a marmite book but I thought it was fabulous and the only way to know for sure is to read it for yourself.
Highly recommended

Claire Wright is British and living in the United states. She is an out of work actress, without a Green card and she is soon to be made homeless. With no success in finding acting jobs, Claire takes a job for a divorce lawyer call Henry. She entraps and seduces men and collects evidence for their wives.
She meets Stella who she thinks her husband is cheating on her and when she meets Patrick, a literature professor who specialises in the Poet Baudelaire especially the poem Les Fleurs du Mal. she realises how different to other men that she has encountered while doing this job. The next day his wife is murdered and he is under suspicion of murdering her. The police use Claire to carrying on meeting Patrick and see if he slips up and comes clean about Stella’s murder. But after a while Claire falls in love with Patrick and their relationship deepens when they open the play about the poem Les Fleurs du Mal.
I was excited to read this, as I had read J.P Delaney’s previous novel The girl before that I really enjoyed. I thought that the idea of this story was good and I liked that there was a lot of twists and turns in this book. But although I finished this book, I didn’t think this was for me. I didn’t really care about the poem and the references of S &M.
Thank you NetGalley and Random House for a copy of this book.

Holy Mother of Twists!!

Once again JP Delaney has managed to pull the wool over my eyes and completely floor me with unexpected twists and turns in this follow up novel to The Girl Before.

Claire is an actress, and though she wants nothing more than to fully immerse herself in characters in film, television, and broadway productions, that’s not the kind of acting that’s currently paying her rent. Broke and sans a green card, she’s limited on job options, so when she’s offered a once-in-a-lifetime role, it is very difficult for her to refuse.

Claire is also a completely unreliable narrator - which adds to the thrill and intrigue of this story, and leaves you wondering what EXACTLY is going on here??

Believe Me is a thoroughly suspenseful story that typifies the devastating outcomes of falling down the rabbit hole, only to discover that it’s actually a rabbit warren, and an entire ecosystem unto itself - where the only possible chance of escape is to let go of who you are, and become the character you’re portraying.

Many thanks to JP Delaney, Quercus Books, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Not read this author before but thoroughly enjoyed this book and I think it will appeal to all those who enjoy a good thriller.

I was never sure how things would turn out next but it did keep me turning the pages.

Overall this is a good book which I can definitely recommend and I don't think you will be disappointed.

Love the idea for this story as soon as I read the synopsis I wanted to read it! Sadly it doesn't flow very well and I found it quite cliche. Good for a summer read but not much else.

Oh I so wanted to love this book as I loved The Girl Before but I just couldn't get into this one. It's a shame but I will still look out for books by this author.

Just couldn't get into this book at this time. I will possibly revisit it in the future.
Thank you to Netgalley and the author for the ARC.