This was such a good read! It took me the first few chapters to get into it but then I got hooked and flew through it. I had no idea what to expect next and just when I thought I had it figured out another twist came up. Claire is an actress in America without a green card and therefore takes the jobs she can get. She ends up working as a decoy for a law firm that works to help wives expose their cheating husbands. Assuming it will be just another typical night on the job Claire takes on a new client but shortly after the job is over the wife ends up murdered and the killer needs to be caught. This book will have the reader wondering who is being real and who is acting. I definitely recommend this to anyone who wants a fast and intense read that will keep them guessing till the end. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this.

I wanted to give JP Delaney another shot. I read The Girl Before and didn’t love it but the premise of this book sounded promising. I was really impressed with the suspense and twists and turns. Much better in my opinion.

This book kept me glued to the page. Claire was fascinating to me and I loved trying to figure her out as well as puzzle out the murderer in this very enjoyable thriller.

I recommend this one to lovers of books with very interesting characters who you’re never quite sure of. This is a good one.

Lots of twists and turns in this book, some of which I didn't see coming. Definitely didn't know how it was going to end!

This was an entertaining thriller, but it didn't totally do it for me. It served it's purpose as a quick airplane read, but it required suspension of belief for some things. It seems unlikely that the NYPD would willingly allow a person to devolve into a paranoid state for so long in order to catch a suspect.

Thanks to NetGalley for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Fantastic-- another great book by JP Delaney that I can suggest to my customers. Lots of twists, and loved the main character-- you want to feel sorry for her, then hate her, then scream at her. All bought together brilliantly at the conclusion.

Great read, especially since so many second novels end up falling short after an amazing debut. This one however does not disappoint! I was reeling by the end, but in the best way possible. While the characters may not be exactly likeable they are definitely not boring! I love when authors explore the darker side that most are too afraid to let out and in turn when the characters are not afraid to let that dark side shine. I will be eagerly awaiting whatever and whenever another book comes from this author, that’s for sure.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced ebook copy in exchange for an honest review.

I don’t know what to think of this book. I liked some of the twists, however I didn’t like or connect with any of the characters. I also didn’t like just how unreliable the narrators were. I know that’s a commonly used writing method in thrillers and suspense novels, but it was over the top in this book.

Parts of the book are written as though they are a play or movie script. That didn’t work for me. I found it confusing.

Overall, I enjoyed the story for the most part, but wasn’t engaged with the writing.

It feels odd to say this, but JP Delaney’s Believe Me, was a book I both couldn’t put down and at the same time, didn’t totally enjoy. This is a true psychological thriller that is unpredictable and filled with twists and turns. I found myself wanting to know what was going to happen next and finding it impossible to predict, but at the same time it was a little dark for my taste.
The characters are well developed and believably confusing. The twists were often and amazing. But there were times where it felt a little over the top with craziness.
I did enjoy Believe Me, but not as much as a previous read from the same author. However, I do recommend this book if you like dark psychological thrillers. You won’t be disappointed and you likely won’t guess what’s coming!

Wow wow wow! Believe Me from JP Delaney is full of twists that left me thinking to myself, "what is going on here!!". Claire an English actress takes on jobs as a prostitute picking up philandering husbands.....seems simple, straight forward until she takes on the role of a lifetime....or is it? I thought I knew where this book was going but i was wrong! Awesome psychological thriller! Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for allowing me to read this book and give my honest opinion.

My first love affair with JP Delaney began with The Girl Before. This thriller is no different. I love JP Delaney's writing, first and foremost, and that paired with the twist and turns taken through Believe Me makes for an all-consuming story that I devoured in one sitting.

This was a great book. I loved how everything came together. At first I didn't know what to think as this began with Claire doing an "acting" job. Even the format that it was written was a little off. It was like reading a manuscript for a movie/play.ni wasn't sure if I was going to like it if it had continued that way. When a client gets killed after one of Claire's "acting" jobs she does for a law firm, she finds herself a suspect. I really don't want to say much because I think it would ruin the reading experience for others. I honestly didn't know what the hell was happening or what or who to believe! Towards the end I was beginning to think that the book was losing its momentum but then it came out even better. Found it to be a highly entertaining read.

Ii was excited to see a new book out by J.P. Delaney. I had a really tough time following this story. This book is not for me. I hated the content and can't get past the erotic sex scenes. Just being totally honest! DNF at 33%. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this complimentary book. All opinions expressed are my own.

Last year, I had the pleasure of receiving an ARC for JP Delaney's debut, The Girl Before. I loved that book and was incredibly excited when I learned that Delaney had a new book out called Believe Me. I was able to get an ARC of it through NetGalley and started reading it immediately.

In this story, we follow Claire, a British lady living in America without a green card. She is trying to get her name out there in the acting world, after messing up her chances of fame back in Britain. Without the green card, though, it is hard for her to find work. She does some under the table jobs, working as a decoy for divorce lawyers, trying to catch cheating husbands on tape for wives to use during their divorce proceedings. When one of the clients ends up dead, Claire is thrown in for the ride of her life. She works with the cops to help them discover if the now deceased lady's husband, the person they assume to be the killer, is who they truly think he is. Claire begins a relationship with him and we follow along, trying to separate the real life from the scripted life. 

Believe Me is a thriller of a different sort. Incredibly well written, with some fun parts written as if for a script, it immediately drew me in. I was captivated by Claire -- who is this woman? What is her history? Something about her just grabbed me and held onto me throughout the entire ride. Completely character driven, this story is one that has lots of up, as well as some downs. As always, there are some twists and turns, my favorite being one that showed up just over halfway through the book. The ending twist left a slight sour taste in my mouth, though didn't ruin the book for me competely. 

Believe Me is set to be published in July; however, there is another version of this already out, called The Decoy, that was published in 2002 by Tony Strong (whose pen name is JP Delaney). From my understanding, the book wasn't originally received as well as he believed it should have been, so he took the opportunity to re-work it and publish it again this year. I'm curious about the similarities between the two.

Book rating: 4 stars
Cover rating: 2 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for the opporutnity to read and review this book. I look forward to future selections from JP Delaney.

It started out exciting and believable, just like I want a book to begin. But by the time I was half through it felt a bit over-the-top and more like a wild story.

This book for some mediocre reviews. I, however, thought it was very well written. It was extremely complex. You had to REALLY read the book. The characters ~ omg ~ getting into their heads was crazy a d twisty..

Being a former Thespian, I really got the book. Getting into character so deep you don't know if you will come out the other end.

This book reminded me a bit of Blonde by Joyce Carol Oates. Marilyn didn't know where her character began and she ended. This book is similar

Please do not let some of the negative reviews deter you. This is a well written book with complex characters and an even more comp!ex story line.

As they say in the theatre ~ Bravo,
I would like to thank Net Galley and the Publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Not at all what I expected. I kept reading because I wanted so much to enjoy this but I never reached that point. Because it was intended to be suspenseful with surprises, twists, and turns, I never connected with characters. Each time I thought I had it figured out, there was yet another surprise. A murder of someone the main character met on the same day caused Brit Claire to come to the attention of the police. Claire was trying to stay low because she was in the US working toward making connections for her acting career. The career that she wants but doesn't have. Her work, currently, is as a decoy for a detective agency.
The police believe that they know who murdered the woman, and in fact, they believe that he is a serial killer and they have Claire without many options, to use as their decoy. Claire sees this as a win/win. They will get their murderer and she will get a green card.
Here is where this fell apart for me. There was no further connection to the characters and I really didn't enjoy this story.
Just a flavor that is not to my taste.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Ballantine books for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

This is a difficult one to review. When I finished it the other night after staying up late because I couldn’t wait to see how it ended I was thinking 5 stars because I was so jazzed about it. Then I started thinking more about how parts of it made me squirm and/or didn’t work very well. This story was character driven, it is all about a pair of twisted messed up people playing mind games from their first meeting. But there were chapters that felt displaced and a couple twists that felt stilted and unnecessary. Turns out this is an older manuscript dusted off by the author. It’s a novel approach, definitely not the same old story, but it could have used a little more smoothing out.

This was a fast-paced, bizarre read and I really enjoyed it. The style was unique, such as writing some dialogue in a screenplay format, and it fit the unnerving feel of the novel. The characters themselves fall into the "awful people doing terrible things" category but I couldn't pull myself away. There are multiple twists and turns throughout the story and even though some ideas I anticipated came true, it didn't take away from the journey. One of the more entertaining thrillers I've read this year but you will need a shower after this one.

Thanks to the publisher for a digital copy in exchange for an honest review!

One of the most undercover, undercover, books I've read. You don't know if what you're reading is real or the genius of the Author.
An actress asked to act a part to try and capture a murderer. Can she do it? Except the supposed murderer is trying to see if she was the actual murderer. Can she trust his innocence? Can he trust hers? A definite must read.
5 Stars