Thank you, NetGalley for the ARC! Hmmmm... still thinking about this one.... not sure if it is a 4 or a 5. It took awhile to get into and quite honestly, if I wouldn't have felt guilty for not reading it, I probably would have just put it into my 'read later' pile. Very glad I stuck with it, though. EXTREMELY twisty so you have to pay attention. I had a LOT of questions in the 2nd 3rd of this book (it's told in 3 parts) but things made more sense in the 3rd part. Very cool ending. Definitely recommend this one. The Girl Before is still my favorite, but this is a very worthy follow-up! Look forward to more!!

In a sea of average psychological thrillers hastily thrown together to take advantage of the current fervor for the genre, Believe Me stands out. It is well written, and its clarity and simplicity show the author's confidence in his plotting and characters. Delaney doesn't give into the temptation to resort to cliches, long-winded descriptions, or gratuitous sex scenes. Yet it is not without artistry or flourish, as the beautifully wrought passages of Baudelaire stand in stark contrast to the slightly utilitarian language. For the author, this is a brave decision, to bring in another writer-- one of the greats-- and allow his language to shine. I found Believe Me to be considerably better than Delaney's breakout hit, The Girl Before.

All of that being said, I found the 'mystery' of the author to be even more compelling than the story. I had a hunch part-way through, but somehow kept myself from researching until after I finished the novel. On one hand, it's irrelevant, as the work should be allowed to stand on its own, without consideration of who the author is-- and because I respect the author's decision to reinvent their persona, I'm being a bit elusive here so as not to give it away. However, I do find it fascinating and worth consideration as far as the literary world at large is concerned, that authors have turned the tradition of adopting pseudonyms on its head. Where it previously helped one group of people, it is now being used by those with the original advantage, to achieve more by flipping it. I have to wonder what the PC police would say about this sort of appropriation, whether it's appropriate?

Believe Me is about Claire Wright, a struggling actress who moonlights as cheating bait for straying husbands at a law firm. After a client is brutally murdered, Claire is recruited to trap the lead suspect into giving a confession. But should she trust her handlers or the man that they think committed the crime? Can she even trust her own version of reality?

I could not stop reading this book. The twist at the end was surprising. I don't want to give anything away, but it left me with some questions as far as who could be trusted at any point in the book. Some may find it frustrating, but thinking about a book after the fact means that it stuck with me in some way. To me, that's a good thing.

This book was intriguing, interesting, and bizarre. While it took me a little bit to get into it, I was hooked and couldn't wait to get to the end. At some points, the plot was a little confusing, but it eventually came around and made sense.

After reading a previous book by this author, I felt I just had to read it.
As I’ve just finished this book, the thoughts and feelings I have toward this book are; wow, twisted, thrilling, dark, impressed and I’m sure a cluster of others.
Although I didn’t get to these feelings at first, it took me till around chapter 11 before I actually got pulled in. Once I was pulled in I was hooked.
Claire was a little annoying throughout but after it’s all said and done, her character was brilliant, as were Frank, Kathryn and Patrick.
I enjoyed all the twist and turns, the thinking of knowing who did what and than being wrong than maybe right only to be thrown for a loop again. If you like that type of story and can get past the first few chapters, this story is for you. Enjoy.
#BelieveMe #NetGalley

I received this book "Believe Me" from NetGalley and all opinions expressed are my own. One word to describe this book - Bizarre! Definitely a different story. This book has a lot of twists and turns. I really didn't want to continue reading as it was just so strange. I did finish but not sure this kind of book is for me. I didn't like the subject matter and the whole play scene.

Claire is a struggling actress in New York City. She needs money and has a hard time getting decent acting jobs, so she works undercover with a law firm to catch cheating husbands. It's not glamorous, but it pays the bills. When her latest client ends up dead, the husband is suspect number one. The police hire Claire to help catch him. They are certain she will be able to get him to confess, but nobody expects the twists involved with Claire on the case.

A fast-paced psychological thriller. This novel keeps the reader guessing as to what is really happening, but it also gets a little confusing. I really enjoyed the first half of the book, though things got a little too twisty for me as the story progressed. Good for fans of twisty thrillers.

JP Delaney was really good with this particular book. The premise had me enthralled from the first chapter, and it was hard to put it down.

This review will be published on my blog, WomeninTroubleBookBlog on July 24.

We first meet Claire during an intimate encounter at a bar--where she proceeds to snare a married man--and sneaks out the side door. She is an attractive woman who has the confidence and acting ability to bend men to her will. She's also a broke, struggling actress without a green card who is trying to stay afloat to take acting classes. Two very different sides of the same coin.

So when she is drawn into the web of a violent murder, one has to wonder if she is completely innocent. After all, she scrapes by in life through lying and deceiving men.

As Delaney continues to spin his story, we see even more dichotomies in Claire's life. She has a history of obsession, maybe even mental illness and the deeper she gets involved in trying to capture a killer, the more the reader starts wondering who she really is and what she is capable of.

Patrick is also a great character--a sophisticated, charming professor who may or may not be a murderer...I spent much of the book trying to figure out his intentions. Was he good or bad? I was there right along with Claire as she fell in love with him--but was he a murderer?

Believe Me is told in three parts, that I found to be very distinct parts. My understanding of Claire and the outside world shifted as I advanced to a new part of the book. There are tons of twists and turns, right up to the last page, which I appreciated. If I have one complaint I'd say that I did get a little lost somewhere in the second part of the book. As Claire grapples a bit with what is real and what isn't, I found myself having a similar issue with the story. And it got a tad bit too confusing for my taste.

Still, I really liked this one. I read so many thrillers that when I don't see something coming or I can't figure out a story or character, it's kind of exhilarating.

Special thanks to Ballantine Books and Netgalley for a free e-galley in exchange for my honest review.

Wow! An edge of your seat thriller filled with twists & turns. The story centers around Claire, an actress in the country without a green card, & Patrick, a college professor with a dark side, whose wife is found murdered early in the story. Claire has been earning money “seducing” husbands to prove to their wives they are unfaithful. After Patrick’s wife is killed, she goes undercover for the police to flesh out the killer. That is where the twists gain speed. What is the relationship between Patrick & Claire? Did either one kill his wife? How does it connect to Patrick’s obsession with Baudelaire’s Fleurs du Mal and the dark web? Is Claire still acting? How far will the limits be tested? These are only a few questions you will wonder. Great read! Thanks NetGalley for my ARC in exchange for this honest review.

This was another super quick read that felt extremely disconnected for awhile, but all the pieces come together in the end. I’ve really been digging psychological thrillers, and this one left me very satisfied! I questioned, all throughout, if I was being told the truth. I enjoyed it and highly recommend! Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC!

The story started well, but became increasingly unbelievable as it went.

The problem with a page-turner like this is that when the ending is as hard to swallow as this one's was, it feels like your time was wasted.

The main character was interesting and fully realized. The writing was superb. But the plot, unfortunately, was unsatisfying.

I wanted to like the book, but I simply didn't believe it.

I enjoyed this book - it was a very addictive thriller. I could not put it down and loved that it was so suspenseful. I definitely give this book 5 stars.

3-3.5 Stars

I really wanted to love this book, it kept me guessing throughout and I was caught off guard by the twists and ending. Claire is a struggling British actress in the US, without a visa. She is hired by a law firm to record/video men in hotels who proposition her to prove they are cheating on their wives. When a murder occurs, Claire becomes a suspect and must help in the investigation to catch the killer. Sounds great right? The part where I got lost was this obsession with Charles Baudelaire, an extremely dark and twisted writer. The poems and violence that are written about throughout the book along with the references to BDSM lost me a little. Without all of that I would have given 4 stars.

**Special thanks to NetGalley and Quercus for allowing me an advance read copy in exchange for an honest review. **

Lies, Lies, Lies. Is she acting ? Or WHAT is the truth ? This book has lots of twists and turns. You have to really wonder about the ending. Not the best by JP Delaney.

I was hooked quite early on in this novel. I found the characters well developed and the story/plot easy to follow. I'm usually a reader who can figure out the twist/ending of book way in advance. Surprisingly, the author kept me guessing. I really enjoyed the bits of Baudelaire's poetry.


I have also read the author's other book "The Girl Before" and enjoyed that! I look forward to reading more.

*I received a copy of this book for free, from NetGalley.com in exchange for my review. All opinions/thoughts are my own.*

Definitely a book that stays with you! Could not put it down!

Highly recommended if you enjoy suspense genre! Thank you for my review copy, which I received through Net Galley.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the ARC.
4 stars - well-crafted story, main characters were flawed but fit their roles well. I wouldn't call the narrator unreliable, more like unpredictable which made for a fun read. There was one main event about 75% of the way through that I wish the author spent more time on rather than the swift conclusion that came out of nowhere. Other than that, the twists kept me guessing throughout and I enjoyed the ending.

This is a twisty, turny, full of secrets book! Claire is unreliable narrator at best as she has many secrets of her own. As I was trying to figure out who the murderer was, I was surprised many times by the twists. This was a book that kept me glued to my seat reading until the very end! I received an advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine. All opinions are my own.

My Review of “Believe Me” by JP Delaney Random House Publishing July 2018

JP Delaney, Author of “Believe Me” has written a Psychological Thriller with suspense and mystery, twists and turns, lies and betrayals. This book deals with psychological mind games, and has the feel of a cat and mouse game, or the hunter and the prey. Literally, who will you believe?

The author describes her characters as complex, and complicated. Claire is British, and a struggling actress in America with no green card. To earn money, Claire uses her acting talents by working for divorce attorneys. Claire will go to a designated place with a camera and tape and start talking to a man she has targeted . The aim of this is to see if he is cheating. If he is not, then of course he can’t be baited by Claire. There are rules for this game.

Claire purposely seeks out her target by sitting at his table, while he has gotten up. There is a computer there, and a book of poems. Eventually the man allows Claire to sit there and they read some of the passages in the book, then tells Claire that he is married and leaves.

Claire reports back to the wife that he doesn’t seem to be the type to cheat. Soon after the wife is found dead in a hotel. Claire was one of the last people to see her while she was alive, as was the husband. The Police would like Claire to get the husband to confess.

Then the rules of this game change, and there is danger and this can be even deadly! Both Claire and the husband have deep, dark secrets. I would recommend this novel for readers that enjoy a twisty thriller with a psychological edge and danger to it. I received an ARC from NetGalley for my honest review.


Edit

PUBLISHED BY LINDASBOOKOBSESSION