Holy cow! This story is....disturbing.... yet mesmerizing. I know other reviews and even the book blurb spoil the story a little bit....but I'm not going to say a word. It's best to enjoy this story with no prior knowledge. If you haven't read anything about this book.....don't. Get a copy and read....don't read other people's opinions, summaries, or blurbs. Just pick up this book and let JP Delaney traumatize you. Seriously.....it's quite the psychological roller coaster!

After reading Delaney's Believe Me in 2018, I knew I was going to enjoy this book. I just didn't realize the emotions and questions this story was going to elicit in me. As a mom, portions of the plot were rough for me...but I had to know what happened! Not an easy tale to read, but a very very enjoyable one! I'm still thinking over the ramifications of several plot points were they to happen in real life.... Any story that leaves me thinking deep thoughts deserves full stars from me!

I had an egalley of this book, but I chose to listen to the audio book version. I'm glad I did....having this story read to me as I puttered about my daily Mom-chores made the plot hit home even more with me. Several great voice actors narrate the audio book. I love it when audio versions use full casts! It made for a very enjoyable listening experience. The audio book (Penguin Random House Audio Publishing) is almost 11 hours long. I whizzed through it in one day ..... I couldn't stop listening! I listened while working in the yard and garden. I listened while folding laundry. I listened while cooking dinner. I listened in the car. I had an earbud in while grocery shopping. This story just sucked me in and I had to know what happened next! It has been a long time since I binge listened to an audio book. While the story was emotionally difficult for me in places, it was awesome!

JP Delaney is quickly becoming one of my favorite suspense authors. This story is different, creative and complex. I didn't see the end coming until it smacked me in the face. I love it when that happens!

**I voluntarily received an advance readers copy of this book from Random House via NetGalley, although I chose to listen to the audio version from my local library instead. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

Abbie wakes up in bed, surrounded by machines. She has no memory of how she got there. By her side, husband Tim tells her there was an accident five years ago. With the help of technology, she is back with him.
He takes her home, where she slowly begins to piece together what happened.
Abbie is an artist who went missing while surfing during a storm. Mother to Danny, their nine year old autistic son.
Tim is the founder of Scott Robotics, an unconventional tech company. He has recreated his "perfect" wife in the form of a cobot, a "companion robot".
She has some of Abbie's memories and thoughts, but she is also developing her own.
She tries to find out what really happened five years ago. Is Abbie dead? Did Tim kill her, or was it a tragic accident?
This sci-fi domestic thriller keeps the suspense level high.
I really liked the unique story, it felt very realistic and believable. And despite all the technology, there was an emotional depth to it.
Learning more about autism and the treatments available was very interesting and heartrending.
A bit lengthy in the telling, but an ending that is definitely worth getting to. A thought provoking story.
Thank you to Random House Publishing Group for the e-ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

3-3.5 Stars
Not everything is as it seems with The Perfect Wife.
First things first, I enjoyed this but quickly realized it wasn't quite what I thought it would be. It's more of a sci-fi thriller than it is a psychological thriller - which I'm still okay with because I love science fiction. But based on the synopsis, I initially thought it was about a woman miraculously woken from a coma after 5 years only to discover her marriage - and life before her mysterious accident - isn't what it seems.
What really happens is Abbie is brought back as an AI 'cobot' - an empathetic one at that - with the previously deceased Abbie's memories.

It's certainly a unique read. The idea of bringing a deceased loved on back as a robot is...crazy. And terrifying to be honest. I've seen enough sci-fi movies to know that allowing robots to think for themselves almost never ends well.
The chapters alternate between the present - cobot Abbie - and the past with an unknown POV of Tim and Abbie's history. We are given a look into who Tim really is and well, it's not pretty.

The Perfect Wife is full of twists and turns meant to mislead you all leading up to an ending that in my opinion was quite surprising. And for the most part, satisfying.

Despite not being what I expected, I was pleasantly surprised with where the story went. There's still plenty of family drama and suspense as we follow Abbie's adaptation to 'life' and the mystery of what really happened to the real Abbie. Was it truly a tragic accident or was Tim somehow involved in her disappearance? Or did she simply leave to start a new, easier life?
It's disturbing how far Tim goes and the way he views the world/others. This begs the question, when it comes to AI, how far is too far?

What an expected read! This theme wouldn't normally capture my attention, but I loved The Girl Before and couldn't resist picking up another book by the author. I was surprised by how much this robot-thriller-myster-love story held my interest. The story is well-paced and the back and forth between Abbie's POV and how her officemates saw her keeps it moving. While this book still hit a little too close to sci-fi for my regular reading, I still found it enjoyable and it felt original.

Abbie has amnesia and as she is regaining her memory, a series of weird things are happening with her husband and doesn't seem right.
I recommend this book.
Review given honestly and freely after receipt of a reader copy. This opinion is completely my own and was not influenced in any way. Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher.

This book surprised me. A lot. I’m not into Sci-Fi at all.... usually! But, this book was a Sci-Fi kind of book and was excellent. From the very beginning I wanted to know what was happening and why it was happening. I wanted to know exactly what happened to Abbie. Why was there a need to bring her back from whatever happened to her? Who is Tim besides being her husband?

They have supposedly been very happily married for a long time and have a son who is autistic and the light of their eyes. Tim would do anything for him and Abbie. The best school for their son to help him live as normal a life as possible. A beautiful home for them and a beach house he had built for Abbie that was beyond anything she ever dreamed of.

But what happened? Why did Tim tell her she was a “cobot?” Cobot, a companion robot for someone who can’t handle grieving for a lost family member. That is what Tim told Abbie she was now. It was his field of expertise and he loved her so much he could not move on even after she had been gone five years.

Something sinister is going on though. Abbie is finding things that are not exactly as he said. She wants him to love “her” but he still can’t let go of “Abbie”. There is more to this than meets the eye.

This book was well written and you won’t look at Abbie the cobot as anything other than human. Her thoughts and the way she interacts with others and their son is phenomenal. She seems like a real person with somewhat real feelings.

Tim though is a very sick man. Things he does are so perverse. Not to Abbie but to other women. He seems to treat women like they are nothing. He put Abbie up on a pedestal to not be touched after giving birth to their son. Things changed after they had their son, Danny. It was like he only needed a son then their sex life was over. Theirs but not his... He was a sick sick perverted man.

This book goes from present day Abbie the cobot to past Abbie the woman. It’s the story of how the cobot came to be and why. It’s a very good book indeed.

It kept my interest very well and I loved the characters. Even Tim for a while. But he did finally make me love to hate him. He treated everyone like they were so stupid and inept. Like he was the only person who had any sense at all.

This book truly is a good read. You will not think of it as a Sci-Fi except when you think about Abbie the cobot. The ending was truly amazing. I thought I had this one figured out but I sure did not. That ending truly blew me away. I was shocked. I would love to have read a little bit more but the ending was done in a way that fit this story perfectly in my opinion. It all comes together. All of your questions are answered at the end but one..... Which one would that be???

Thank you to #NetGalley and #Random House publishers for this review copy. These thoughts are mine and mine alone.

I have to give this book a huge 5 stars. It was well written. The characters well developed. Questions you will have answered. It was just an all around good book.

Well done J.P. Delaney. I will be reading more of your work!

4.5 stars
Finally, a mystery with some meat on it.
Did the pages fly through the night? Check.
Were there points where my heart was in my throat? Check.
Did he have me convinced that I figured it all out, then blindside me with a devastating twist? Check.

<b>The Perfect Wife</b> has all the elements of a good mystery but it goes further to ask its readers:
<i>What makes us human?
How is our individual identity formed?
What role do memories play in making us "US"?</i>

In part a science-fiction novel that uses AI to examine the crossroads between science and morality, perhaps the most moving part for me was Delaney's treatment of autistic children and the challenges they and their parents face. Certainly his personal experience allows him to bring a level of empathy and sincerity to the story.

I know that <b>The Perfect Wife</b> won't win a Pulitzer or anything like that but I enjoyed it and would definitely recommend it to my friends.

<i>Special thanks to Random Jouse Publishing, NetGalley, and J.P. Delaney for the special invite.</i>

Imagine you wake up from a dream and think you’ve been in an accident only to learn that what you dreamt never actually happened to you—it was an upload. And you are not human, but are a cobot (companion robot, designed to be empathetic).

Tim Scott, CEO of Scott Robotics, meets Abbie Cullen, falls in love with her and marries her. She was the perfect wife for him—until she wasn’t.

This story has such a crazy plot, but is so original and different that I had to and wanted to keep reading. There are twists that I did not see coming (that I thought I had figured out...love that). Major topics include Artificial Intelligence, autism and ABA protocol for autism. I went into this story completely blind. I just knew that JP Delaney wrote it and I wanted to read it. I am so glad I did.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

My mind is officially blown after finishing this one. I really had no idea what to expect then I'd first come across this book but it went above and beyond all of my expectations. It kept me guessing the entire time and that ending left me with my jaw on the floor.

Got turned on to Delaney's books with "The Girl Before," and this one is equally enjoyable. If Delaney isn't already on your list of authors to give a try, he should be. Adding to the mystery is just who is behind this pseudonym!

This book felt like an episode of Black Mirror. Honestly there is even an episode that feels like it tackles a pretty similar topic, but from less of an angle of mystery. If Black Mirror is your thing- this is for you.
This is also a great book for people who like the movie Her. It tackles to topic of AI and whether or not a robot/computer can have a soul, or feelings. I was actually less interested in the mystery aspect of this story than I was in the ideas behind an AI narrator and whether or not I felt like an AI could be a reliable narrator, or if they could only express to you the feelings that they have been programmed to have.

Part SciFi, part psychological thriller, part love story. Once into this book, I had my questions if it was for me. Science Fiction is not something I enjoy, or ever read. But, something kept me going. I’m glad I did. It was an enjoyable read, going back and forth from the Robot Abbie to Abbie in real life to Tim’s work environment seamlessly.

This book delves into AI (artificial intelligence) companion robots (cabots) made by a Tim a tech genius after his wife, Abbie disappears and is presumed dead. He is left with their small autistic son, Danny. The robot is eerily the exact replica of Abbie, with a few small tweaks. Memories have been downloaded. Was Tim’s love for Abbie so strong he couldn’t bear to lose her? Or is he a mad scientist?

I haven’t read this author’s previous best sellers, although I have them. I look forward to reading the. The writing style sucks you in immediately. I recommend this book if you want something to think about, out of your normal genre or just a quick thriller! Great vacation read!

Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for this ARC of this book. Opinion is mine alone!

Sent from my iPhone

When I read the description of The Perfect Wife by J.P. Delaney, I thought the plot sounded great. I was really looking forward to reading it. Then when I started the book, I was so confused and wasn't even sure I had the right book.

Tim Scott, a tech billionaire, has lost his wife Abbie, but is she missing or dead? In an effort to bring her back, he creates an emotionally intelligent companion robot, or a cobot, in her image with her memories. Did Tim create her as a replacement for the wife he loved, to act as a mother to their autistic son, to launch his career even further, or for some other reason entirely?

When I read the first chapter and learned that Abbie was an AI I was so confused. Sci-fi isn't really my genre, and I don't think I would have requested this book had I realized that's what it was. However, I did find it intriguing and wanted to keep reading to see where it was going. I almost DNF this book, but decided to stick with it. The plot was well paced and moved quickly, and the chapters were shorter which I prefer.

This book is told from two different perspectives, one from Abbie, the cobot's point of view, and one from the point of view from someone who worked at Tim's tech company. We don't learn who is telling the second point of view until the end, and it was a big surprise. I honestly didn't see the ending coming which was nice for a psychological thriller.

What this book does is question is the difference between being human and being a self-aware AI. The author has a child with autism, and brings up some different teaching methods for Danny, Tim and Abbie's son throughout the book. The biggest question is could the cobot possibly be the one to help Danny with his learning and behavior and could it do it better than an actual human?

I think this book would be good for anyone who likes thrillers with some sci-fi mixed in.

Thank you NetGalley and Ballentine Books for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The Perfect Wife from JP Delaney was a book I could not put down. It’s part sci-fi (think AI) and part psychological suspense and one hell of a story. It’s an interesting speculation on morality with relation to technological progress but at the same time it explores more personal aspects like marriage and parenthood. I enjoyed previous books by JP Delaney and this one did not disappoint either. A highly recommended read.

Whoa!

I was rather startled by the direction this book was going after reading only a few pages. I didn’t expect the book to fall so completely into the sci-fi category with technology playing such a major role, and almost quit reading then and there. But I continued anyway, and the story completely captured my attention after a short period of time.

This book is definitely an original! Lots of writers seem to come up with variations of the same plot—often quite successfully, but I have never experienced a story like this one before. Since it is a psychological thriller, I expected some twists and turns, and I wasn’t disappointed in that regard. The story plays out beautifully. The main character, Abbie, was truly brought to life in more ways than one, and I was actually left feeling sorry for her after the experiences she had upon awakening to this new way of life.

Since I don’t want to give anything away, that’s all I have to say. Read it for yourself, since this is a book that people will be talking about for some time to come.

Loved it! Especially the ending. There was no way to see that coming. I was expecting a good twist, but hoping for a happy ending. Turned out to be a mindblowing twist and a satisfying ending.
The creativity of centering the story on the memory and emotions of the AI, was great! Many twists and turns that kept me reading on. I would definately recommend to friends and family.

4.5 stars

Loved the premise of this book- it still has me thinking about it. I give it 5 stars for creativity and 4 stars for how it all came together.

AI is our future, and Delaney has presented us all with a sneak peak of what that future could be like.
At times I could see the benefits, at others I could see how disastrous it would be.
Very thought-provoking!

ARC provided by NetGalley

4.5 stars. What does it mean to be human? A great psychological thriller/mystery with a touch of science fiction. Very interesting and engaging characters . . . a young autistic boy, a megalomaniac father, and an AI robotic mother. Whew! Keeps the reader engrossed with an intriguing mystery while still managing to include some deeper family, health issues and questions on humanity. Another winner from JP Delaney.

How would you feel if you discovered that your life is not really your life, but instead a compilation of data gathered from various sources? And you are not really you. This is what happens to Abby. When she first awakes, she is not sure where she is or what has happened to her. She has memories, but there are holes in her memories. At first, she believes that it is due to the accident, but later discovers that it is instead something totally different. What if your whole being was controlled by the whim of someone else, your spouse for instance? Well, that is the reality that Abby is living. She is not human but instead an AI built by her grieving husband. What happens next will truly astound you.
This is a riveting and thought-provoking story. What helps to make it so special is the fact that the story is told from multiple points of view. This allows for the reader the ability to learn about the characters in different ways. Overall, I found this to be a fascinating read that will have you hooked to the very end. This novel was fun, but informative at the same time. I thoroughly enjoyed it and would recommend it to family and friends. Thank you to NetGalley, the publishers and author for the opportunity to review this book.

This is a book which will stay with you. There is a futuristic reality of Artificial Intelligence (AIs) taking over the everyday world that is spooky in its possibility. Start with the advancements made by the companies run by the tech billionaires, add in a slightly off-center tech genius, add in a disappearance, or is it murder, then finish it off with a cobot, a companion robot, who takes on the appearance of the person you love and there you have “The Perfect Wife”.

There were parts of the book that confused me. How could a preprogrammed AI, with data gathered from social media accounts, have what from the outside appears to be insider knowledge of the person they have replaced? Granted, in this book AI is not technically artificial intelligence, but rather autonomous intelligence, yet Abbie seems to know more than “she” should.

There is a side story around the son of Abbie and Tim. Danny developed a disintegrative disorder called Heller’s syndrome which is often referred to as late-onset autism and you see the battle between Tim and AI Abbie as to what is the right care for Danny. This had introduced me to Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy. Doing a little side research, it is no wonder they disagreed as to what is best for their son and why Abbie fought so hard to find a stable environment for him.

It is the ending that will make you say “oh, I get it now”. Where it should have all made sense in the beginning, when you realized what a self-obsessed narcissist Tim was and as you reflect, you realize the clues were there all along.

JP Delaney is an author that has psychological twists down to an art. You know there is a bombshell waiting for you, you just don’t know when or where it will land and when it does, you are blindsided.
This is a book which will stay with you. There is a futuristic reality of Artificial Intelligence (AIs) taking over the everyday world that is spooky in its possibility. Start with the advancements made by the companies run by the tech billionaires, add in a slightly off-center tech genius, add in a disappearance, or is it murder, then finish it off with a cobot, a companion robot, who takes on the appearance of the person you love and there you have “The Perfect Wife”.

There were parts of the book that confused me. How could a preprogrammed AI, with data gathered from social media accounts, have what from the outside appears to be insider knowledge of the person they have replaced? Granted, in this book AI is not technically artificial intelligence, but rather autonomous intelligence, yet Abbie seems to know more than “she” should.

There is a side story around the son of Abbie and Tim. Danny developed a disintegrative disorder called Heller’s syndrome which is often referred to as late-onset autism and you see the battle between Tim and AI Abbie as to what is the right care for Danny. This had introduced me to Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy. Doing a little side research, it is no wonder they disagreed as to what is best for their son and why Abbie fought so hard to find a stable environment for him.

It is the ending that will make you say “oh, I get it now”. Where it should have all made sense in the beginning, when you realized what a self-obsessed narcissist Tim was and as you reflect, you realize the clues were there all along.

JP Delaney is an author that has psychological twists down to an art. You know there is a bombshell waiting for you, you just don’t know when or where it will land and when it does, you are blindsided.