Read the 1st book from this author. Couldn’t wait for this one, and I was not disappointed with it.Great book. Kept me guessing to the very. Going to recommend this for my book club. Should be one great discussion.

Claire Wright is working her side job of entrapping cheating husbands for a law firm while going to acting school. Her job turns dangerous when one of the wives is found dead and she was the last person to see her. The victims husband, who Claire was trying to entrap, but failed, is also a suspect. They are both investigated by the police. When Claire is asked to go under cover to get a confession from Patrick, the victims husband, the cat and mouse game begins.

This story is full of twists and turns that keep the reader guessing. Just when you think you have it figured out, things change again. A very riveting read that doesn't disappoint.

Let's twist again like we did last summer. When is a twist merely a bend in the story? When a twist is twisted, does it become linear? Thrillers tend to thrive on twists (say that five times ... fast!), but it cannot be what they survive on. Believe Me is perfectly readable and enjoyable, but when the story hinges on one big reveal it can be a bit of a letdown. I liked Delaney's previous novel The Girl Before better than this one because the reader didn't feel like he/she was being led into a hall of mirrors and asked to choose the real image. Did this book keep me guessing? Well, yes, but when the payoff twist just seems like a half turn, you may feel like the fellow on the queue who gets to the front just as the ticket window closes. Believe me, that can suck.

What did I just read! I loved J.P. Delaney’s first book The Girl Before and was excited to receive an ARC of Believe Me from Netgalley. This book was so entertaining. If you like unreliable narrators, this one’s for you. Much like the characters, I didn’t know who to trust! 😂 It has a unique format - parts of the book read like a screenplay. I think it’d make an excellent movie!
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And that ending!! Believe Me came out on Tuesday. Add it to your list!
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Read below if you’d like the book description...
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“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. 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. Claire can do this. She’s brilliant at assuming a voice and an identity. For a woman who’s mastered the art of manipulation, how difficult could it be to tempt a killer into a trap? But who is the decoy . . . and who is the prey?”
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Wow! What a wonderfully weird book!! The characters are vivid as are descriptions of the setting. I was immediately hooked by this very unusual story. Unbelievable amount of twists in the plot. Just when I thought I knew where it was going, BAM!! - it went a different direction. Who to believe? Who to trust? A spellbinding novel right up to the last stunning pages!

Three and a half stars for a book that kept me engaged and packed in some twists but ultimately didn’t leave me as exhilarated as some of the recent thrillers like Jar of Hearts, The Woman in the Window, and Behind Closed Doors.

Actress Claire is your typical unreliable narrator, challenging both the reader and the other characters to “Believe Me” while seeming to be not-altogether trustworthy.
Many of the scenes include dialogue that is written as if an excerpt from a script. It’s a surprisingly effective device, causing the reader to further question both Claire’s motivations and interpretations of those around her. Where the book stumbles is in throwing too many mystery/thriller tropes together and failing to transition smoothly between them. It’s ultimately a mostly satisfying read that can be completed in an afternoon, but it’s not a story that will stick with me for a long time after finishing.

**I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Read in July 2018
Believe Me... I am not sure where to begin with this review. Claire , a girl from the UK coming to New York to become an actress and live the dream. Then you find out the dream has a dark and twisty background and believe me you don’t know what to believe!
The story web is that of a mature spider, the spider that builds the most amazing intricate web you have every seen and then it’s like a director yells PLOT TWIST and your wondering literally what to believe. The ending left me with my mouth hanging open! Loved this!

Claire has had to make a living by working undercover with divorce lawyers to prove wive's suspicions that their husbands are cheating. But when one of her clients is suddenly murdered, Claire goes deeply undercover to get a confession out of the husband. As Claire gets more and more entangled in the husband's life, she finds herself more and more unsure about who she truly is and what she is truly involved in.

Here's the thing with this book, at least for me-it felt like Delaney was throwing way too much into the mix. The premise itself was already interesting, but there kept being twist after twist, where it got to the point where the twists stopped making sense and just seemed to be there just for there to be more twists. This took me out of the story and made me like the book less than I suspect I would have had Delaney just settled on a few solid surprises and left it there.

Can you say suspense to the umpteenth power? My heart has been on a roller coaster ride! JP Delaney is brilliant! I read this book within 24 hours. This psychological thriller will have you in a suspense labyrinth and guessing up until the very end. Well-developed characters, bursting with mystery and suspense as well as unpredictable outcomes. This is instantly a favorite. JP Delaney never disappoints.

I received an advanced review copy (ARC) of this book from the publisher through NetGalley for my honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

At first I was not sure about the format of the book - working screenplay like types of lines into the book. But I got used to that and then got interested in the story line. It was definitely quite a book - I never was sure who to trust and who not to, who were the “good guys” and who were the “bad guys”. I was anxious to read how it ended! I would recommend it for sure!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for a copy of BELIEVE ME in exchange for an honest review.

Claire is trying to make it in the acting world. A Brit living in New York, she will do just about anything to live her dream. How far will she go to make sure her dreams become a reality? This book will take that question to the edge.

Interestingly twisty, this one was! I read this book next to the pool on vacation. My husband asked me what it was about and I told him the premise about 10% of the way in. Then I had to update him because it completely changed by the time I as 30% in. Then I had to update him again because it changed so much yet again. This was the craziest ever-changing plot ever, in a good way. I could not keep up with the unforeseen turns that kept popping up.

This was my first Delaney book, and I really enjoyed the writing style. It was easy enough to read at the pool, but deep enough to get truly and completely involved in. I really enjoyed this one and would highly recommend it!

Believe Me is a wonderfully written, head trip, psychological thriller. Claire is an incredibly complex character. There's many layers to her. Patrick seemed less developed, but will shock readers. This title did start off slow, but the build to the end was amazing.

I’m not a big fan of this book as the premise was a bit of a stretch. It was well written, with twists that keep you guessing. Just when it seems totally not plausible, something changes and all of a sudden perhaps it could be. I did like the literary device used intermittently of the actress imaging (and the writer writing) the action as a script. Fans of psychological thrillers who don’t mind suspending belief will enjoy this more than I did.

This would be an amazing book for a book club. (Um, just make sure everyone is comfortable with some dirty parts.) I read it with a lovely group, and we had so much fun discussing theories and trying to figure out the characters. This is how twisted this book is: I figured things out relatively early, then the story changed so much that I convinced myself I was actually wrong. It was like every new chapter threw me for a loop. Some (okay, a lot) of suspension of disbelief is necessary here, but it's worth it. If you aren't a psychologist, get ready to play one. You'll be trying to figure out what the characters tick. I'm used to playing armchair detective, but armchair psychologist was a new one.

Infamous in her home country, Claire would give anything for success as an actress in the United States. Pretty, talented, and British seems like a winning combination... but she doesn't have a green card, so she can't actually work. At least not on paper. She needs money to pay for rent, food, and acting lessons somehow... so she has started to work under the table for a law firm. Using her feminine wiles and ability to read just what a certain man is looking for, she tempts married men and sees if they'll bite. Not to worry, their wife is totally in on it... curious to see if their significant other will pass on temptation and paying good money for that knowledge.

Claire's unusual but relatively easy job completely changes when the wife of one of her marks is found murdered. The husband immediately falls under suspicion, but they haven't the proof to charge him... even though there are people who believe she was far from his first victim. Outwardly charming and incredibly intelligent and well read, Patrick clearly has a dark side... but does it go that deep? Sensing the immediate connection between Claire and Patrick, the authorities enlist her on a long con, trying to get a confession from the professor who may be a murderer.

An incredibly juicy, outlandish, addicting story that I had a blast reading. I read this one with The Traveling Sisters, and I think every last one of us enjoyed it. It gets 4.5 stars from me, rounded up.

I received a copy of this book from Net Galley and Ballantine Books, thank you! My review is honest and unbiased.

I really enjoyed this book. I have read The Girl Before. This story was very different. I couldn’t decide how I really felt about Claire. At times I was agreeing with her decisions and often I didn’t. It does keep the reader guessing. There were times when I wasn’t sure I would finish the book. Towards the end it picked up really fast and I was glad I stuck with it. The ending was incredible.

This is the first book by JP Delaney that I've read, but it won't be the last. I devoured this book in 2 days as I didn't want to put it down. The story of Claire, an actress who has resorted to using her talents in alternative employment as bait to try and catch cheating husbands for a divorce lawyer. Enter Patrick, the husband that doesn't take the bait and, in Claire's opinion, seems like a great guy with a passion for Baudelaire's poetry. When Patrick's wealthy wife is found murdered, the twists and turns begin. Did Claire do it for the money? Did Patrick do it to act out one of the dark poems he loves? Or maybe for her money? Or is there some other person also in the game? This story will take you through passion, mental illness, depravity and love, all the while leaving you questioning what is reality and what is not. If you loved Gone Girl or The Girl on the Train, you definitely need to pick up this book.

4-4.25 STARS

Hoping to jumpstart her acting career in the states, British actress, Claire Wright, is struggling to make ends meet while attending a prestigious acting course in New York City. Without a green card, Claire is hard pressed to make enough cash to cover her living expenses. Hence, she agrees to act as a decoy for a firm of divorce lawyers who seek to entrap cheating spouses. But when the wife of one of her targets turns up dead, Claire suddenly finds herself entangled in the ensuing police investigation, agreeing to help lure a confession out of the guilty party before the killer can strike again. Yet nothing is exactly as it seems, prompting the reader to wonder if something more nefarious has been going on all along.

A psychological thriller boasting a unique premise and a myriad of twists and turns, author JP Delaney’s latest novel, “Believe Me,” takes the reader on quite an incredible ride. Unfortunately, by the journey’s end, I was left feeling a bit ambivalent about the story as a whole. Overall, the storyline was intriguing and enjoyable—grabbing my attention right from the very start. But guessing the killer’s identity early on, coupled with an unexpected detour that was too unrealistic for my personal liking, only served to detract from my complete enjoyment of this book. That aside, “Believe Me” is still a very compelling story—one that I personally had a hard time putting down.

Wow- This was a fast-paced one! I was guessing until the very end. It took a crazy turn (pun intended) about half way through. I was thinking “Where could this go from here?” It continued to shock me until the end. Is the story too unbelievable at times? Yes. Let it go and just enjoy the ride.

Claire, our main character, is a British actress living in NYC trying to make a living with no green card. She takes anything for work as long as she can keep acting. She works for a law firm as the story begins, catching men trying to be unfaithful to their wives. She tries to catch the wrong man whose wife ends up being murdered. This is where all the twists and turns begin. Who is lying? Who is acting? Who did it?

Part of the story is written like a regular novel and then there are areas mixed in written like a play script as Claire becomes her character and is acting out a scene in her head. I was a little confused by this at first but caught on fairly quick. It makes it for an even quicker read.

Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC!

Claire has a problem. Well, several problems, actually. She's a Brit in America and she needs a green card. She's behind on her rent and she needs to get caught up. And she has to convince the police that she didn't kill a woman brutally in her hotel room. 

To make enough money for her rent and acting classes, Claire sometimes works under the table for a former cop, testing married men on their faithfulness. As a beautiful young woman and a talented actress, she is very successful. But when she tries to get incriminating tape on Patrick, he smiles and walks away, leaving her with nothing more than a book of poetry by Baudelaire and a lingering memory of a genuine moment of connection. 

It was Patrick's wife who was brutally murdered, and in order to prove her innocence, Claire goes to work with the police and a forensics psychologist to try to bring him down. But as a dedicated actress, as a former foster child, as an outsider in America, can Claire find the strength she needs to find the truth, or will the experience of trying to catch a killer finally break her fragile ego? 

JP Delaney, author of last year's popular The Girl Before, is back with a new take on a twisty tale. Believe Me is a fast-moving story of trust and vulnerability, of strength and fragility. It goes deep into the dark side of humanity to find out what's true and what's real. 

Believe Me is a quick read but not an easy one. It is a deep dive into some of the seedier edges of love and sexuality. Based on some of the more disturbing poems of Baudelaire, the crimes described in this novel are difficult to read about. There is some mild BDSM and talk of images on the darknet, a suicide attempt and some time in a psychiatric institution, and none of that is easy to take. But if you can make it to the end, the payoff is well worth it. This story twists and turns, back and forth, until you can no longer tell for sure what is real. It's a crazy ride, but one I thoroughly enjoyed! 



Galleys for Believe Me were provided by Random House's Ballentine Books through NetGalley, with many thanks.

“Believe Me” opens with a prologue that both entices and frightens readers, a foreboding hint of what is to come. Lexington Hotel service workers just hate it when a luxury suite is left a mess. What were these people thinking? Employees have to clean up this mess they left behind, and it is even more annoying when there is a body.
With that, the story rewinds to five days earlier. In a first person narrative, readers meet Claire Wright, just another young professional waiting for her date. This is her story, her chronicle; things are seen through her eyes, a young actor desperate for money, needing a green card, and willing to take any role. She talks to herself, and readers listen in, “No big deal. You do this all the time… Why else would you become an actor, if not to edit reality?” She talks directly to readers; “So now you’re wondering who I actually am, and what I’m doing here in New York… This isn’t lying. This is behaving truthfully under imaginary circumstances. Which, as you’ll discover, is very different.”
Claire lives and breathes the theater. Her conversations are written as a script dialogue. She is, above all, always, and every minute, an actor, playing unusual roles in Theaterland.
When the police come knocking on her door, she is unprepared for what they report. Something is wrong, very wrong, and she then begins a darker, more desperate acting gig. “I know my job. And, it’s called acting. That’s my area of expertise.”
Delaney perfectly sets up the tension, slowly at first and then growing at a frantic pace. Readers watch Claire as if in the theater. It is a cat mouse drama, almost a classic Agatha Christy play. Everyone has a part to play, and everyone is a very good actor. When the final curtain falls, readers contemplate who will be coming back onstage for the final bows.
I was given a review copy of “Believe Me” by JP Delaney, Ballantine Books, and NetGalley. This thrill ride started with a real book of poems written by a real person in 1857, and it keeps readers dreading what might be next. The past is reflected in the present, and nothing is as frightening as history. It is a creepy book, about creepy people doing creepy things, and I could not read it fast enough. And always, if in doubt, it’s Constantinople.