Another great read from JP Delaney. I was a little concerned that I wouldn't like this book as much as the last one, but I was so happy that wasn't the case.

This is a wonderful mystery about an actress who can’t seem to stop acting. Twists and turns to the very end! Loved it.

I enjoyed The Girl Before, but did not enjoy this book. It started out pretty good and then took a wrong turn and I found the plotline to be completely unbelievable. I'll give the author another shot in the future

Wow!

A riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma......

This book has more layers than an onion.....every time you think you have it figured out....another layer comes off.

This is an amazingly, well thought out deeply psychological story within a story. I could not put it down. It is the story of an inspiring actress who is studying acting in New York City. She has a scholarship to the acting school, but she does not have money on which to live. Oh, and she is from England and has no green card. So she results to off-book gigs that just a bit shady....And then there is a gruesome murder....and who did it? The police are looking for the truth. And thus the story begins......

This will be made into a movie, and actors and actresses will kill to get these roles.

Read this book. You will not be able to put it down. Six stars for this book!

"How do we trust each other again, when we both know how good we are at lying?"

Believe me, what a ride! Claire lives as an actress, she is always in character. When she does things, her way of thinking: "scene location, dialogue..." as if she's in a play.

She does undercover work for attorneys attempting to nab cheating husbands. A wife of one of the husbands is killed. Claire then is asked by the police to help catch the killer. If she does, then she can get a green card and stay in the U.S.A.

A creepy novel. Necropolis. Twists.

I enjoyed this so much that I immediately went to Delaney's other book, "The Girl Before."

Believe Me A Novel by JP Delaney published by Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine
Ballantine Books is by far my stand out book for 2018. If you fallow my reviews then you know The Girl Before is my favorite book from 2017. Do you see a pattern here? Like The Girl Before this book is very well researched and is in the first person perspective and making it a horrific joy to read. But unlike the previous novel it is not about buildings and lines but about acting. My thoughts while I read this is who is fooling who. Claire is a fantastic character making the story well-paced making Claire feel put together yet not all there in the same breath. But what is more intense in the story is Claire’s decisions and connection with the male character. I get the feel that Claire does not feel loved by many if she even loves herself. Before you think that this story is just like the previous book this is it’s own mix of crazy special. I found this book like a puzzle that works your brain from page one until the last page. I find myself conflicted because there is so much that could be said but I don’t want to give it away to anyone so I will say that this is a book you must read when you have more time because it is a book you can and will want to read in one sitting. What’s next for this author? I am all in for the Perfect Wife insomnia welcome!

I’m at a loss of words. This book took me on a rollercoaster ride. I loved it then hated it, then loved it again.

Claire is an struggling and aspiring actress looking for her come up. She lures and captures evidence of cheating husbands as a side hustle to pay the rent. Things turn left for her when a client ends up dead and her husband is the primary suspect. A psychologist and deceive recruits her to get close to the husband and get him to reveal his secrets.

I don’t want to give away spoilers so I’ll be vague. The beginning started off interesting and grabbed my attention. Then towards a quarter of the way in, I was like, what? I got a bit confused with the plot and started losing interest. But the ending redeemed itself. So I was a bit conflicted with how I should rate the book; it’s not the best book I’ve read but I think an author who can get you to feel all these emotions deserves some applause.

I would recommend giving this book a try. Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

I almost didn't finish this book about 2/3 of the way through. I am glad I did! It's a great story. I will probably reread it soon, as I don't think I grasped the entire concept the first time around.

Author JP Delaney employs an improbable and thoroughly unreliable narrator, Claire Wright. Claire is a down-on-her-luck actress who has resorted to entrapping potentially unfaithful spouses for sleazy divorce lawyers in order to pay the bills and avoid being deported back to England. Her once-brilliant career stalled after she became involved with a married co-star. Now she wants nothing more than another chance to showcase her talent. But in the meantime, she lures unsuspecting men into compromising situations, creating evidence their spouses can leverage in divorce proceedings or settlements.

One night she meets a man who truly intrigues her. Patrick Fogler leaves a book on the table of the bar where they meet: Les Fleurs du Mal by Charles Baudelaire, translated and edited by none other than Fogler. Claire does not succeed in luring him into a compromising situation which she reports to his wife, Stella Fogler, who hired her to attempt to do so.

That night Stella is brutally murdered. And Claire is enlisted by the police to attempt to lure Patrick again. But this time, she's expected to extract a confession from him. And she isn't given a choice -- if she wants to remain in the United States.

Delaney constructs a brilliant game of cat-and-mouse that leaves readers wondering who is sane or insane, depraved or moral, hunter or prey. The story twists and turns as Claire and Patrick grow closer, and the identity of Stella's murderer, along with her/her motive, becomes increasingly questionable. The search for truth believably plunges Claire into emotional collapse as Delaney keeps readers guessing whether Patrick is a loving, supportive partner . . . or a monster whose desire for debauchery becomes increasingly difficult to satisfy. Delaney employs a seldom-used storytelling device. Since Claire has devoted her life to performing on stage, many of her experiences are depicted as scenes from the play that is her life, complete with stage directions. The technique adds to the mystery, leading readers to wonder whether the scenes portray what is actually happening to Claire . . . or what she is imagining.

Believe Me is a fast-paced, mind-bending journey that will keep readers turning the pages until the jaw-dropping ending. It is a worthy follow-up to Delaney's previous work, The Girl Before. (Warning: Believe Me contains graphic descriptions of violence and adult situations that render it unsuitable for squeamish readers.)

Claire Wright is a British immigrant in NYC with a passion for acting.  While waiting for her big break, she moonlights helping a private investigator catch cheating spouses.  Until one night, a client is brutally murdered.  Was Claire the last person to see the client alive?  Did Claire go too far and commit murder?

Another great book by JP Delaney! I should have known better than to think I had Believe Me all figured out halfway through.  It is a roller coaster ride with an epic conclusion.  This book is only similar to his previous book, The Girl Before, was my favorite book of 2017 because of it’s twisted ending that had me floored.   It is very heavy on theater as a whole as well as heavily focused on the poet Charles Baudelaire making the extreme research very apparent.  

However, I did take one star away because although the main character, Claire, was dark and complex, I couldn't feel connected to her.  She seemed very self-centered and shallow for most of the book.  This is told mostly in Claire's perspective with the occasional input from other characters in script form (again, heavily focused on theater).    

For those who may be sensitive to certain themes or triggered: there was mild foul language, graphic violence, sexually explicit scenarios, mental illness, stalking, and manipulation.

Claire Wright is a British actress living in New York City without a green card. She needs money and can't be too particular about how she earns it, so she works as a decoy for a firm of divorce lawyers, luring cheating husbands. One of her targets is Patrick Fogler, but when Patrick's wife winds up dead the police ask Claire to help prove that Patrick killed her. To Claire and Patrick, the author adds Baudelaire (who was seriously twisted), some cops who don't seem to operate by the book, a few psychiatrists, a BDSM website, one or more dead bodies, a group of acting students and histrionic personality disorder.

This book was a very entertaining tease. He did it, no she did it, no he did it, no she did it. Damn, maybe neither of them did it. Repeat to end of book. I liked it much more than I liked "The Girl Before". For one thing, the "girls" in that book were morons, while both Claire and Patrick seemed intelligent and plausible. I'm glad that I gave the author another chance. I listened to the audio book (while also reading the ebook) and while the narrators were all good, I felt that the book was marred by some obtrusive sound effects (for example, in every scene in a bar there was background noise.)

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

The complexity of the plot of Believe Me was a plus and a minus for me. The premise was what drew me to the book, and the story kept the promise of the premise for the most part. What I really appreciated was the early twists and turns and the talent Mr. Delaney has for placing enough red herrings that I saw every character as the potential villain. I would have liked the story to be a little more character driven, for the main character especially to have had more layers - to match the complexity of the story.
**spoiler*** I really was disappointed by the ending, it didnt match the quality of the rest of the storyline.
3.5

This psychological thriller set in the theatre community of New York City was a wild ride! At times I wasn’t sure who to believe, the narrator, Claire, an expat, orphan from London, or any of the other supporting characters like Patrick, her love interest, or the psychologist or the investigator from the law office, Frank, who got her involved with Patrick. It’s a twisting roller coaster ride through the minds of ordinary people and the concept of evil. I couldn’t put it down! Thank you #netgalley for the opportunity to read and review #believeme by JP Delaney.

Loved the twists in this book. They were fast and furious throughout, and literally until the end you do not know exactly what is happening. I really enjoyed the ride! Definitely don't give up when things get slow (which they do at times) because just when you think you have it all figured out, then things change up again.
Highly recommended for readers of psychological suspense

I had thought this story was going to be like others, guy murders wife, new girl falls for him, she traps him into confessing. Boy was I wrong, There were so many twists in this mystery that I won’t spoil it for you. Just read this story and you’ll be so surprised. Can’t wait for our book clubs to discuss this one.

Hailing from Britain, Claire Wright has left behind a past marked with rejection. An actress struggling to make ends meet, getting a good acting gig is all the more harder as she does not a green card. She stumbles on what could be her saving grace -- working off the books for a detective agency. As a decoy all she has to do is act like she is available to roving husbands. It seems simple enough until one of her clients is murdered shortly after she delivers the evidence. In a case mirroring the poems of Baudelaire's <i>Les Fleurs du mal</i>, Claire finds herself trapped in a web of deceit. Is she a murderer or his next victim?

This was one thrilling ride! There were so many twists and turns that I couldn't figure out which end was up. Definitely looking forward to more from J.P. Delaney! Thank you Net Galley, Quercos and J.P. Delaney for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

I inhale read this!! I could not put it down!! I have loved every single one of JP Delaney’s books and this was no exception!!! The characters are cringe worthy in the best way!!! The plot keeps you guessing from page one until the end. This book stayed with me for days!!! I could not stop thinking about it! I loved this and will continue to read anything this author puts out.

Another hit from JP Delaney! Believe Me was suspenseful and dark, certainly some uncomfortable parts, but necessary for this story. Towards the end I was disappointed, I thought
I had everything figured out, then was completely blindsided. As always, it was well written and full of twists and turns. ⅘ stars.

The line between fiction and reality become blurred in Believe Me by J.P. Delaney. Claire Wright is a British actress in America trying to find a break when she is "discovered" and used as a decoy for unfaithful husbands. When fantasy turns to fact, Claire as well as the reader doesn't know the difference between what's real and what's in the characters' minds. This thriller keeps readers guessing until the end but also questioning what's really going on. Does fiction imitate life or is life imitating fiction?
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the early release copy of Believe Me by J.P. Delaney.

Believe me is a compelling read with an unreliable narrator. I could not put this book down because the author kept me guess around every twist and turn.