This is one of those thrillers that zigs and zags all over the place. While I thought some of the writing was a little simplistic, the real draw was trying to see if as a reader you could stay one step ahead of the writer. In some places yes, in others no. As you peel back one layer, you are constantly thinking, is this it? or is there yet another layer beneath? It reminded me a little bit of the film Existenz where one of the characters is left at the end trying to figure out if they are back in real life yet, or are still in the game.

Believe me, this book keep me glued to my Kindle. I was pleasantly confused for most of the book. The entire book was charged with anticipation. I never really knew what was going on...and I knew so little that I couldn't even guess. The characters were well fleshed out, but I think a little mentally unstable (or was that me???). The writing was clear and concise. Claire is a wanna-be actress and the book is written at times like it is a script. It took me a while to get used to that, but I'm not sure any other style would be as exciting. All in all, this was a wonderful book.

This novel is very enthralling. I never wanted to put the book down. the writing style kept me intrigued.

I admit, psychological thrillers are my favorite genre to read. BELIEVE ME by J.P. Delaney did not disappoint me. It had all of the twists and turns that I love in a thriller. You had to keep guessing who the murderer was, and when I thought I figured it out, it would go down a different path. Was it Claire, the actress who was hired to prove that husbands were cheaters, or was it Patrick, the man wrapped up in French poetry? The book was somewhat demented, although I have no doubt that people choose to participate in the experiences described in the book. After this book, I think I read to read a book about puppies and babies. It is definitely not a book I would recommend to my students, but I would recommend it to my friends.

I thoroughly enjoyed J.P. Delaney's (pen name) other book THE GIRL BEFORE, and I am so glad that I read this one.

I was given this book in exchange for my honest review.

Believe Me is a character study in acting, desires, motivation, and murder. It made me wonder what is real, what is scripted, and how far an actress will go to hone her craft. It's a wild ride that you don't want to miss!
I love this cover with the black and red checkerboard accents, and the partial face of a woman looking fearfully behind her. It's very intriguing and mysterious.

The plot line alone is absolutely fascinating and I think that the author could have build the entire novel around the decoy mistress concept - but wait! There's MORE! I loved how this plotline progressed, and it kept me guessing until the very end.

The writing is stellar. JP Delaney knows how to keep a reader fully engaged and potentially missing life obligations because of this book. I liked JP Delaney's first book, The Girl Before, but I liked this book so much more because of the intricate and unusual plot. I binge read it until the end.

The characters were complex, developed, and phenomenal. Also, I learned about serial killers, their patterns, and their motivations through Claire's training with a police profiler. I loved that the story takes place in New York City and gives an inside look into the life of a starving actor and the New York acting scene.

Some parts of the book are written in a script format. It was new, different, and fascinating. This format made me feel like I was reading a screenplay or reading something that is scripted or orchestrated, and really created a play-like atmosphere in the book. Also, it made me wonder.... was part of the story actually just a play, or were the parts just written in a play format? Were these people just in a play, all along? These questions, the story, and the twists kept me riveted.

I liked this book so much better than The Girl Before, and I recommend it for anyone looking for a fun, unusual, fast-paced thriller. I think that this one lends itself to being a movie, too!

A psychological novel featuring Claire a British actress forced to leave England and attempting to find work in the United States. She is not eligible for a Green Card (document for legal residency in the US) and while seeking work must accept anything to make ends meet. Of all the opportunities offered to her the one that she becomes best at is working for a group of attorneys in the role of forcing husbands cheating on their wives to reveal what they are up to by coming on to her. She plays the parts with the mandate of not coming onto the man, films the transgression as well as recording the conversation and supplies the evidence to the wife.

In one of her roles she is called upon to visit a woman at her hotel who warns her to beware of her husband. Claire meets the husband and enjoys a fascinating get together when the works of a 19th century French poet: Charles Baudelaire form the basis of the conversation taking place between the two. She reports back to the law firm that the husband did not hit on her and the wife should be so informed. After forgetting about this case Claire is visited by the police who indicate that the wife was killed and a large sum of money stolen from her.

The police suspect the husband and also that he is the sadistic killer of a larger group of other women over time. Claire is asked to set up a relationship with him and attempt to extract a confession. The most noted work of Baudelaire "The Flowers of Evil" becomes an important aspect of the plot with various portions cited. The poet wrote openly about Bondage, sadism, and fascination with death and murder. Characterizations of both a White Angel and a Black Angel flow through Baudelaire's work and form an important factor in Delaney's novel. Where all this goes and Claire's possible success form the crux of the book. The reader would have to have an open mind about the side of sexual activity described at length to like the book. If the use of violence during love making is not one's cup of tea the novel will probably not appeal.

There were many things I really liked about this one. When it comes to books that are marketed as “the next gone girl” I think that this one comes pretty close. I root for the bad guy or girl most of the time and I like that he doesn’t wholly redeem characters. His books remind me of a smartened-up 50 shades of grey, too. Both of his books feature men who crave control. Some things are gratuitous and things go a little all over the place plot-wise but with both this book and his previous book “The Girl Before” I do feel like his characters could actually exist even if his situations are a little out there. This one kept me guessing and had good pay off.

I read this in one sitting,couldn't put it down. Didn't get my to-do list done for the day, but well worth it. I will leave 5 star review on Amazon under name of Connie

3.5 stars. I read the Girl Before and really liked it, so I was excited to read this one. I liked the initial theme of working as a decoy to catch cheating husbands and I got into the book right away. I thought having an actress as the unreliable narrator was an interesting choice because she could be acting at any time and we wouldn't know what was really going on. I thought the relationship with the potential killer should have been more suspenseful than it was. He was really boring though most of it, maybe because I would never go for a guy that is so wrapped up in French poetry. Also, the French poetry angle got a little old for me, just because that isn't my thing at all. I wasn't that awed by the ending of this one and I didn't really think we got enough explanation of why Stella had hired an attorney and the reason for her murder seemed very flimsy. Anyway, it was entertaining and I will likely read the next book from this author.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was highly impressed with The Girl Before and was very excited to have the chance to read the newest book by J.P. Delaney. It did not disappoint.

In Believe Me, you see the story through Claire's eyes. She's a British actress with a dark enough past that it chased her across the ocean. The question is, are things always the way Claire wants you to believe they are? Claire is an out of work actress that ends up doing some not-quite-legal under the table work for a law firm. She exposes men that are cheating on their wives by picking them up in bars. Everything starts to get crazy when the wife of one man ends up dead and she is pulled into the investigation.

Delaney is a wonderful storyteller that weaves an adequately complicated web throughout the book. It's a page turner that I could read again and again. I give this book a full 5 stars and I highly recommend it to anyone that likes a good psychological thriller.

Thank you to #netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to have an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. #believeme #jpdelaney #netgalley

Love books that make me wonder who did it, where is this going, etc. In other words, books that make me think and this was one that fit that criteria very nicely!

The book is set in NY's acting world and it's hard to tell who is acting and who is real. Who killed Stella? Her husband Patrick? Or Claire who seems all over the place as a true actor would be? Or someone from the dark net? Or....?

I'd love to see this as a movie as it would keep you on the edge of your seat. Thank you NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to preview Believe Me by JP Delaney..
The main character Claire has problems - she has no green card, no job, no money. She takes a job to become a decoy to catch cheating husbands. Then there is a murder and everything changes -And the husband (always the guilty one) is Claires target. Did he or didn't he and will Claire survive this assignment or wind up a victim.
Delaney is a good writer - I liked her first book better, but this is a good read.

Wow, this book was twisted. I wasn’t really sure what to expect but it was far from what I imagined. It was hard to follow sometimes due to the monologue but this book twisted and turned and kept me on my toes the entire time. I never even came close to guessing how it would end. It wasn’t my favorite book ever because this was a little more intense than I normally read but I was very impressed. The author did an amazing job of keeping me hooked and then blew me away with the surprise ending.

3.5 stars.

I liked this book, although not as much as "The Girl Before."

The middle of the book briefly sagged for me but boy oh boy did the last quarter fully redeem it. Twists and turns galore!

I would recommend this "Believe Me," but if you haven't read "The Girl Before," definitely make sure you catch that one!

Ohhh my goodness! JP Delaney had me immediately captivated with Believe Me! I decided to dive into this novel completely blind -which I highly recommend! I found the storyline well developed and loved the fact that many of the twists and turns were total shockers for me. I felt JP Delaney did a great job of letting the reader know just enough information at just the right times which made for seriously good suspense. Believe Me is a 4 star read that keep you up waaaay past your bedtime! I cant wait to read whatever JP Delaney comes out with next

Although I really liked the style that the author used in writing, I cannot say that I enjoyed this ultra-noir novel. Within the clever use of style and poetry, I found the story of the struggling, desperate actress, Claire, too violent and painful for my taste.

I found the characters, including the heroine, unrelatable and unsympathetic. It was hard to separate the bizarre assignment that Claire took on with the truth about her own life.

The topics of bondage and S & M practices are simply too foreign for me or my readers to enjoy.

Wow!! I'm not sure how I feel after this one! I read it really fast - almost in a day. Those short chapters made the story fly right by.
The first two parts were great - I was hooked, I was intrigued, I was confused. I didn't trust anybody!
The third part almost seemed like a different book. It focused on the play and the actress and the love between Claire and Patrick. Then the ending! Wow! It's not over until it's really over. I wasn't satisfied with the story at the end of the play, but once they moved on and it really ended.... It definitely blew me away.
It's absolutely one of the better thrillers/psychological thrillers I've read in a while. And this one is definitely a psychological thriller!

I am extremely torn on how to rate this book honestly. It wasn't very good until about half way through and the best part of the book was the end. It wasn't particularly poorly written it just seemed to drag on and wasn't exactly one of those books that kept you at night because you couldn't stop reading. In some parts it didn't seem detailed enough where maybe it should have been. I really wanted to love this book more.

I loved this book. It was very fast reading, with an intriguing plot and characters. It was written in a different style than the traditional thriller, and that made it very engaging. Highly recommend.

The book begins in a busy New York hotel. It then jumps to five days earlier taking off like a rocket. Just when you think you know what is happening, everything changes and off it goes again. I really like the book. The plot was well written and held my interest from beginning to end. The characters, even minor ones, were developed in such a way that they seem to come alive. Delaney makes you feel for the characters--sometimes sorry for them, sometimes happy, and sometimes 'oh my, how could she/he be so stupid'. It was an exciting book. I received this ebook free from NetGalley for an honest review.