Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for a free copy for my review.

I was unsure where this plot was going, but I’m glad I held on because this roller coaster of a story is worth the ride. At first the sci-fi aspect threw me off, but it pans out so well and the creativity of the writing is so on point. A lot of times I read thrillers and enjoy them in the moment, but in a month I forget the plot. That will not be the case with this book. It left me with a lot to ponder. It touches on autism, motherhood, sexism, artificial intelligence, and the ethics around all those things. I enjoyed The Girl Before by Delaney, but this one was leaps and bounds more interesting to me.

** spoiler alert ** I have to say I am freaked out after reading this book. This is too close to what happens in the Terminator movies. This was so not where I was expecting this book to go. It was really hard to think about Abbie as an AI bot and not a real person. It was also interesting to see what happened to the real Abbie. But the whole AI thing creep me out and I hope we aren't anywhere near that close to making this happen. This was completely different take on a mystery/thriller book and I enjoyed every minute reading this book.


*I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.*

The Perfect Wife by JP Delaney really threw me for a loop. It was very different from my usual read, but also very similar. I am not usually a science fiction fan, but I love thrillers. Abbie wakes up years after an accident, she thinks, but really Abbie is now a robot created by her tech-genius husband. The new Abbie has many of the original Abbie’s memories thanks to social media accounts. And as the robot Abbie learns more memories, it learns things are what they seem…what happened to the original Abbie?

There are chapters from the past, with the real Abbie, interspersed with the chapters from the present, with the robot Abbie. I finished this book days ago, but it took a while for me to write a review. The ending really shocked me. Immediately I wanted to deduct a star because I disliked the ending so much, but it also surprised me so much that I wanted to add a star. The more I thought about it, the ending was amazing, the book was great, and everyone should read it.

My head is spinning after finishing this insane story! I was iffy in the beginning but once I got a feel for the various points-of-view, it was an incredibly interesting read. It's very quickly obvious that something is off about Abbie's life and the circumstances surrounding her being 'brought back' by devoted husband/tech CEO Tim. A good thriller makes you think and this one does just that. What does it mean to be human? If an AI-capable robot was brought to life with your memories and consciousness, would it have rights? Would you want it to? Where do rights begin and end?

The humans in this book are by-and-large not good people. They are self-interested and manipulative, driven by desire, greed, and lust. They are *human* and Abbie, as an AI, is uniquely poised to show the reader how destructive those impulses are even when they're framed by supposed logic. I really enjoyed watching Abbie come into her own power and realize that what makes her different makes her stronger. I loved that in this instance she is a perfect match for the controlling antagonist, manipulating them as they attempt to do the same to her.

I was unsure about the multi-POV at first, as well as the use of second-person. In the end I agreed with the usage but it did make it a little difficult to get into as a reader. The coworker chapters in particular though were incredibly insightful and the reveal at the end when you realize who it is was done fantastically. The last 50 pages of the story are absolutely breakneck which was really enjoyable after the slower-paced psychological thriller feel of the rest of the book. And the final twist! Holy wow, it was mind blowing. The pieces were all there when the reader looks back which is incredibly satisfying. That being said, I do think the ending could've been a little more clear. A few extra pages would've helped because after such a big twist revelation I found myself rereading the final few pages to make sure I didn't miss anything.

All in all, a very strong thriller any genre reader would love. I'd definitely recommend it as well to those who have an interest in tech/AI or who appreciate philosophical questions on the nature of humanity and rights.

Note: I received a free Kindle edition of this novel via NetGalley in exchange for the honest review above. I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher Ballantine Random House, and the author JP Delaney for the opportunity to do so.

Abbie is either a miracle or an abomination, depending on who you ask. After she died, her genius husband spent five years figuring out how to turn her texts and Facebook feed into a digital copy of her mind and inserted it into a (creepily sexless) robotic replica. Although she is happy to exist in some form, she keeps discovering disturbing truths about her current existence and her previous life. And always one vital question: what exactly happened to Abbie 1.0? The scifi trappings and thriller premise are background for an exploration of who counts whom as human.

This thriller was just OK. I didn’t really love it, just did not resonate with me. Perhaps the fantasy aspect was just too much, but I found the middle 20% of the book to be a bit boring. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing an advanced copy of the book! 3/5 stars.

I love this author! This latest book is a little sci fi with just the right amount of thrills!! You definitely won't want to put it down!

Not your typical psychological thriller! Following the story of Abbie and Tim left me guessing until the end. The author explores the complexities that technology can add to relationships tokeep us from knowing the people we are supposed to be closest to. What really happened to Abbie five years ago is the question that kept me reading. I would recommend The Perfect Wife for anyone that enjoys mysteries and thrillers. I would definitely read more from JP Delaney.

Abbie wakes up confused about who she is and how she got there. The man next to her claims to be her husband, Tim, who runs a famous technology startup. Abbie learns she's an artist, wife, and mom. Tim tells her she had an accident several years ago and now Tim has used technology to help her recover.

I won't go into a lot of detail about this one, but it totally took me by surprise! I don't want to spoil it, but it's riveting!! I was hooked from the beginning! It's so fascinating and makes you really think about technology and humanity. Abbie's character is really interesting, and there's a great mystery that keeps you clued to the pages. Plus, there's some wonderful insight and thoughts about autism, sexism in the technology sector, and so much more.

Definitely recommend this fascinating thriller! 4+ stars.

There was a NetFlix movie recently where a woman woke up and a man said he was her husband - but she had no memory of him or their life. The movie was terrible. This book is what that movie wanted to be.

Abbie wakes up, confused and in a hospital bed. Her husband Tim says she's perfect. The perfect wife, the perfect mother. The problem....Abbie isn't not who she thinks she is.

Buried in secrets and with a nice healthy Twilight Zone feel, The Perfect Wife is a quick and chilling read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

3.25-3.5 STARS

While sci-fi is not a genre that I generally read, the premise for “The Perfect Wife” was intriguing enough for me to give it this book a go, especially since I have enjoyed other books by author JP Delaney in the past.

With characters that felt flat and a story that unfolds at a super slow pace, I just wasn’t “blown away” by this reinvented version of the “Stepford Wives.” Still, I found the story compelling, despite the scientific holes that the author chose to sidestep, but which took away from my overall enjoyment of this book.

For those of you who are still eager to delve between the pages of “The Perfect Wife,” my advice would be to suspend belief from the get go, in order to fully immerse yourself in this futuristic psychological thriller--something that I should have done, but didn’t.

Oh boy you guys - this one is a head scratcher for me. I read Delaney's Believe Me last year and absolutely loved it. I also read The Girl Before, which also hits on the techy, sci-fi, domestic thriller vibes like The Perfect Wife. Opening chapter had my mouth open. I had no idea what to expect going into this read but THAT wasn't it. I am instantly intrigued and hooked. I still wasn't sure what was going on or where the author was taking us for most of the book. Like with The Girl Before, I was all in the story until the very end. I have questions! And I'm not entirely sure how I feel about the whole thing.

I love where the author's mind is and intrigued with the concept of this story, absolutely. It's and engaging and interesting premise that will certainly keep you wondering. Certainly for those who love artificial (or autonomous) intelligence and robotics interspersed with domestic drama, manipulation and lies... then I think this would be a great read for you. I love all of that and Delaney has a knack of keeping you on board. I just need some answers as the ending left me with more questions than not. Maybe that's precisely what it was supposed to do!

I definitely look forward to seeing more from this author and will absolutely continue to read more by JP. I wonder which road he'll lead us down next.

This is my first J.P. Delaney book. I have heard lots of great things about previous books, so I was really excited to get my hands on this one.

I felt it started a little slow, but after I got to the 30% mark it stayed entertaining until the end. If the book had a stronger start, I would have given this a 5/5 instead of a 4.5/5 rounded down.

This book was different from anything else I have read before. I would classify this is part mystery and part Sci-Fi. I think some people might be turned off because of the Sci-Fi aspect, but I really enjoyed it.

Through out reading this I kept thinking what a great movie this would make, and after finishing I did some research. I found out that the rights to this book were sold back in 2017, so hopefully one of these days we will see this in the theater.

I would highly recommend this book for those who enjoy Sci-Fi and are looking for a different mystery then the typical domestic thriller.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Abbie is beautiful, creative, and smart. But is she the Perfect Wife?

Tim is the intelligent and driven founder of a tech firm designing robots that include state-of-the-art artificial intelligence. First, the robots are used for phone call centers. The next step is shopbots to replace salespeople in high-end clothing stores. Tim is also socially awkward. It surprises his staff when he starts romancing the free-spirited artist-in-residence Abbie. Could Abbie fit into his work-obsessed life?

Wow, just wow. The Perfect Wife is the perfect merging of science fiction, science fact, and thriller. The best thing is not to learn anything about the plot before reading this excellent thriller. However, I can guarantee you will enjoy it so much it will be as difficult to stop reading as it is to stop breathing. Don’t start reading it a half-hour before work begins unless you plan to call in sick. It is that good!

Again, I can’t recommend this tale highly enough. I also enjoyed the expert use of tenses to delineate timeline and foreshadow the extremely clever ending. 5 stars!

Thanks to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

Fascinating, indefinable and stupendous are the words that come to my mind while thinking of this novel. The book lures the readers into its pages and story from chapter one and crips them there until the last page.

Tim Scott is an innovative genius in the robotic industry. After his wife's disappearance, full of grief - Tim invests all his time and power into bringing his wife back. And he succeeds.

Abbie and Tim's romance began shortly after her arrival in Scotts Robotics. And just as fast the two have tied the knot. Their family was extended with the same speed. However, this time the couple was hit by an obstacle - their beloved son was diagnosed with autism. This put a heavy string on the couple's marriage. And shortly after another tragedy struck Scott's family - Abbie's disappearance.

Fast forward five years - we are introduced to a new, shiny and in all words "perfect" Abbie the cobot. Tim's perfect wife is back in her full glory. But one question still remains unanswered - what has happened to "real" Abbie.

"The Perfect Wife" is an exhilarating novel, full of thrilling secrets and new innovations. I was mesmerized by a human vs robot theme. Thank you, NetGalley and Ballantine Books Publishers for a free advanced copy of the book, and J.P. Delaney for a phenomenal story.

I think this was an interesting premise, you have a tech millionaire that is funding a company to further the advancement of different ways to use A.I. bots to help business with a long term goal that is not really defined. However when his wife goes missing he finds a way to bring her back, five years later.

This explores the path of just how evolved is A.I. Can they be empathetic, learn as they go. There is a lot of sinister parts of this book as well. When the family tries to shutdown the bot, the idea of intellectual property is discussed. Parts of this were really intriguing, but I could not stand the husband character. Probably how the writer intended. Also the ending was very confusing, with it constantly changing POV's and leaves you seeing doubles. It left me completely disconnected and uninterested. The technology aspect is interesting and how it can possibly be here sooner rather than later it is good to contemplate.

Generally, I’m not the biggest fan of thrillers with a sci fi element to them, I’ve only read a select few that actually worked for me but this one sounded too bizarre and fascinating to pass up and I’m so glad I gave it a chance because it turned out to be pretty awesome.

I don’t have a lot to say in terms of the plot itself with this one because it unfolded in such a delicious way that I would hate to ruin it for anyone else. It was pretty twisty though and had lots of surprising moments, and the turns were really well executed and not added just for the sake of a shocking plot twist, they actually added something to the story. It also brought up some really interesting moral type questions that would be fun to discuss with a group of friends, so keep this in mind for a buddy read or a book club.

Anyone who has been bored to death of thrillers in general lately should give this one a try, it was highly unusual as far as the storylines goes but it still had the same elements that a great thriller has as well. Definitely recommended by me based on originality alone!

The Perfect Wife in three words: Original, Slick and Advanced

The Perfect Wife was different, but in a good way. I would say it only has a small sci-fi element to it... and it was well done. Enjoyable book. Would read more by this author.

“The Perfect Wife” by J P Delaney puts a technology twist on a psychological thriller. I must caution readers that the family includes a child with a significant developmental disability, and the storyline contains some nonstandard intervention strategies.

Delaney immediately pulls readers into the story, using a second person narrative to establish a sense of participation, thus making, even commanding, readers to become involved in the here and now, the complicated present
Abbie Cullen-Scott, wife of technology genius and multimillionaire Tim, is stiff, confused, and immobile with shock. “You’re saying the real me died— what? Five years ago. And you’ve somehow brought me back like this.” She is a robot, a very sophisticated and life-like robot, one capable of fooling many people. Everything seems genuine, her appearance, her conversations, even her signature, but it is all digitally generated, just a facsimile of what she once was.
“It’s incredible how quickly you forget she isn’t real. For a while back there it was just like talking with an ordinary person.”
There is a shift in structure and tone to a first person plural past tense. Someone is speaking to readers or to an unknown interrogator, reporting on events, detailing the workplace, and describing people in the wild world of technology and artificial intelligence. These chapters provide background information, both the innocent and the traumatic, and reveal just how the participants got to where they are in “the now.”
“We were engineers, mathematicians, coders, developing intelligent mannequins for high-end fashion stores— shopbots.”
The narrative continues with verb voices and tenses alternating chapter by chapter. Abbie’s life with Tim gradually evolves through uploaded remembrances, but the past tense chapters reveal that theirs was not the idyllic life that memories have painted. Questions, troubling questions, proliferate and readers cannot help but wonder what is really happening. The “A” in “AI” does not seem to stand for ‘artificial’ anymore but for autonomous. Moreover, Tim runs a tech company; what are the business implications of this robot? What drives Tim? Is it love, devotion, technology, or a cult-like obsession?
Delany adds another complication, a nine year-old child with a significant degenerative disability. Of course, Danny has a personal aide and attends a school specializing in education for students with autism. The school utilizes an intense applied behavioral analysis program. (Note: some extreme approaches described in the book are not part of educationally accepted strategies for students with disabilities.)
Delany raises questions about the future of technology. Could technology enable people to live forever? Could people work endlessly with just replacement parts as needed? Would this be a person or a marketable commodity owned by a corporation? I received a review copy of “The Perfect Wife” from J P Delaney and Ballantine Books. It was both compelling and thought provoking. Perhaps we should be mindful of what we wish for when it comes to technology.

Thank you netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review. This book was a bit different for me than others I have read by the author. Maybe it was because of the robot? Maybe because the husband wasn’t a reliable character? Neither were the memories that were uploaded to the robot. I liked the unpredictability of the story and never knowing who was going to be waiting at the end. Again I won’t spoil the book.
I still enjoyed this and was glad to have read it but maybe I would have been better prepared if I had realized it was going to focus on this type of technology.