Wow!! This book was INCREDIBLE! A little wordy but I was entranced on the first page. It’s a little dark but very thought provoking. Can’t wait to recommend this to friends!

This is certainly an original premise that I was not expecting. The author’s previous books had unexpected surprises but the one in The Perfect Wife is so shocking that it blew my expectations out of the water. First and foremost, this is a domestic thriller with a twist that places it on the science fiction side. Everything is recognizable and all the usual ingredients are there. You’ll learn what it is right off the bat, but since it’s not included in the description I rather not spoil it. This will make reviewing the novel harder so I’ll still to the basics. First of all, the plot, which is really fast and steady. The characters have hidden layers and it’s not easy to realize who has out heroine’s interest at heart. I mostly liked Daniel, Abbie’s autistic son. Some other characters sometimes are a little stereotypical (egomaniacal husband, best friend with a crush…) but Daniel is full of warmth. The author’s son is autistic so it explains how Daniel never falls into clichés. Abbie’s relationship with him is the most poignant, as she will literally do anything for him. Some chapters are flashbacks to Abbie before the incident, but most of the story is placed after it (and told in second person, an unusual choice that ends up working perfectly). And the ending… oh what an ending. It was the perfect way to close an unusual but solid novel.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine!

I love JP Delaney’s books and he did not disappoint with this novel. I loved the SciFi aspects of this novel. I thought I knew what was going to happen at the end, but was surprised with the plot twist.

The Perfect Wife is a modern day Stepford Wives-esque tale. It didn't read to me as a fast-paced thriller, but it did keep me reading. The characters are all a bit shady and feel unreliable which lends itself to being creepy enough to keep you unsettled, but not enough to qualify as horror. In addition to the suspense, the reader is compelled to ponder some very deep ideals. Family, marriage, parenthood, gender, childhood disability, etc. There are some great plot twists and surprises. I don't feel I can say anything more without giving something away. Go into this expecting high entertainment. I recommend this with a 4-star rating. I received this as an advanced copy from Netgalley and Random House in exchange for an honest review.

I honestly did not read the description closely before starting this so I was incredibly surprised right out of the gate. This is a sci-fi thriller that fans of a psychological thriller should also thoroughly enjoy. As much time is spent exploring relationships as it exploring technology making it even more enjoyable for me. This story also explores being a parent to a child with autism which I thought was an interesting angle to explore. Overall really liked this one.

This was different than Delaney’s previous novel. I haven’t read anything like this before. It is a well thought out plot. Looking forward to more in the future.

Very interesting. Great concept. Artificial intelligence getting so good you can "replace" your spouse after-death. How intriguing! Much potential here, but I felt like towards the end it got a little too weird.... which you think would be fine, you are already accepting a somewhat alternate (or at least futuristic) reality. But no, even in context, it felt TOO weird. I would give 3.5 if half stars were available!

This is the first book I have read by J.D. Delaney and will definitely not be the last. This author has created a tapestry of a book that tells a story that really makes you think. I like that the book discusses what is currently going on and also goes back in the past to give the story context. Ultimately, this book all prefaces from a relationship between Tim, Abbie, and their special needs son. Abbie has disappeared and Tim has replaced his wife with a robot.version who he hopes can help find his wife. The robot becomes extremely enmeshed in his life because it has been given empathy and begins to have feelings for Tim and about what is going on. I really enjoyed this book and found it to be not only thought provoking, but interesting overall.

I loved JP Delaney's The Girl Before so instantly when I received an email about this one I was excited. Typically, I'm not much a sci-fi fan but a massive thriller\mystery suspense fan, when I first saw this book combined the genres I was skeptical but intrigued, curious on if I would be able to get into it or not....two chapters in and I was HOOKED. This book was a wild ride I could not get off from, suspenseful, eerie, fascinating, reminiscent of a Black Mirror episode, it really gets your mind going about the future of AI’s. I found myself rooting for new Abbie to succeed, sympathizing with the situation she was built to accomplish, desperately wanting to know what happened to the real Abbie, how, when, who, why. I felt sorrow for her and the situation with Danny, I felt anger and repulsion towards Tim. This book was written so well and realistically, packed with plot twists and turns. I’ll admit, parts were definitely a bit predictable but Delaney still found a way to shock you with even the parts you’d figured out. The ending I did not see coming, that completely threw me and I ended the book with a bit of sadness for both Abbie’s but joy for Danny’s new journey.

An interesting take on the "wife gets amnesia and can't remember her husband story". Years ago I read a book like this, without all the science robot aspect, so this made a theme that has been done, much more entertaining.

Very thought provoking novel! I enjoyed the Sci-Fi/ Mystery/ Suspense of it all and was disturbed that a husband created a robot duplicate of his missing/ dead wife. I don’t usually read sci-fi, but I liked this book!

I truly enjoyed reading this book even though it was somewhat off my usual genre. Part Suspense, Psychological Thriller and Sci-Fi, blended together to make this story very interesting indeed.and well worth the read. I will be reading more by this author.

A futuristic novel about a woman who disappeared and the husband created a robot to replace her. Some parts of it were very dry and then other parts were rather garish as the robot develops feelings for the husband, but has no female parts to consummate the relationship. Not my forte.

The Perfect Wife by JP Delaney is a very unusual and thought provoking novel. I have never read a novel like this before. It has a very unique plot dealing with the ideas revolving around artificial intelligence and how a robot becomes a duplicate of one of the main character’s wife who is either missing or deceased. There are also subplots revolving around autism and the ways of dealing with it. There is also the idea of a possible murder and the sexual harassment that happens in the workplace where the sexual harassment occurs. At times the idea of using a robot to substitute for a missing spouse seems absurd. There are other times in the novel where I was routing for the robot to succeed. I learned many things about autism, artificial intelligence . This novel will really make you think about what exactly life is all about. I have received thus novel from the publisher and netgalley for free in exchange for a fair and honest review .

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing for the opportunity to read this novel.

Abbie wakes up in what appears to be a hospital room with no recollection of who she is. Her husband or, someone claiming to be her husband hurries her home and patiently explains that her memory will come back in time with his help. Gradually she learns that she had died 5 years prior, her death sadly a mystery. Her husband, a genius in the tech world has brought her back to life in the body of a robot because he claims he couldn't live without her - they were everything to each other - or were they?

On the whole, I really enjoyed this novel. The characters were well-written and convincing. I really felt for their predicament. If I have one complaint, it's that towards the end, I had to go back and re-read the ending because I found the point of view it was written from a little confusing.

I'd like to add that I am not able to post to Amazon at this time (there is no way to post a review currently), but will do once the novel has been published.


(less)

This is not the type of book that I usually read but I enjoyed it It is a very well thought out and we'll written story. Maybe this is the way of the future. Robotic retail sales people? That would be something huh?
Thanks Net Galley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for a honest review.

This book is incredibly nuanced and layered and ever so thought provoking. I am amazed at how well crafted it was and even more so by the fact that I was annoyed by it at the beginning. You see what the description does not state is that Abby was not brought back because of a breakthrough. A few pages in we find out along with her that she is not Abby. She is in fact a robot that has been programmed with Abby’s imprint. Gathered from her social media and texts she has been programmed to remember and act like Abby. I was not expecting this novel to be from the POV of a robot and I did not think this would have the suspense to carry my interest but I was very wrong.

This Abby is an AI that is programmed to be adaptive so she is always learning and filling in the gaps of her knowledge. At first she is horrified to find herself as an it. This obviously brings up the implication for real world applications that have been discussed and always horrified me. What if a program was created to reflect you after your death? What if that program was appalled to find itself stuck in a machine? So the novel begins with this fascinating construct and non-human but very life like character.

Again I was not sure about this book when I thought it was some sort of technical sci-fi novel but it really is a great suspense novel. Our AI Abby finds herself trying to make sense of her present. How much of the memories she has can she trust? After all they were put there by Abby’s husband Tim and how accurate are they? Tim is an AI Silicon Valley tech genius. The character is very much modeled on Steve Jobs as a brilliant but horrible person. While Jobs might be known for his villainous antics with his employees Tim takes it further. AI Abby finds herself wondering exactly what happened to the fully human Abby she is replacing which carries the novel forward as she puts the pieces together. Overall a brilliant novel that does an amazing job keeping the reader guessing all the way to the end. It’s rare that I’m as surprised by a novel as I was with this one which is fun but at the same time there were no cheap stunts done just to trick the reader which I always hate. Just clever writing and fascinating ideas that will stick with you.

This mystery is captivating from page one. Abbie discovers she’s a robot! Her husband is a genius whose business is creating and producing robots. After the death of his artistic wife Abbie,Tim downloads Abbie’s memories into a robot to have his wife back. The robotic Abbie cannot believe she isn’t human as she has feelings, can think and reason. Soon, the new Abbie begins to doubt that she has been created because Tim cannot live without the love of his wife. She learns that Abbie’s body was never found and that Tim had been accused of killing her. Abby begins to discover more information leading her to believe that the original Abbey is still alive! There are many twists and discoveries in this storyline which is interestingly told from the robot’s point of view. I received a free, prepublished copy of this book and am voluntarily writing this review.

Our world is riding a technology-driven current that is increasing in intelligence at an unprecedented rate. As soon as one technology is invented, spin-offs occur that lead developers down new paths while improving upon the invention. But what use to take years, then months, now can take weeks, possibly even days, before an improvement has been created or an update must occur.

Humans are quite finicky about these things. We love to chase the unknown, to invent something not seen before, to improve upon greatness. But if it interferes with our humanity, do we keep pushing, or do we stop before we alter who we are as a race?

This story takes the complex topic of AI (artificial intelligence) and ponders what could happen if we give it human emotions? Will it have a conscience? Will it think faster than us, or will it be just as stymied as we are? Can it be flustered or can it always find a solution?

Delaney makes sure to note that the book is not about the technology, but rather, it is about a psychological thriller that has technology in it. While I do appreciate that, I do wish that more thought would have gone into how AI reacts (or could react). The AI in this case is too human for me. She was too much like a human with the same issues we have and not AI enough. Though, that in itself is a terrifying thought and could have been deliberate, but I don’t think so.

The writing is also a bit jarring, but I think that is to keep you off-balance throughout the story. It is written in second-person, which makes you feel as if you are part of the AI as well. If Delaney wanted to make us part of a collective, as an AI would be, then this style of writing does that. I really hope that was deliberate because it worked!

In any case, this was a great story with a fast pace and definitely a twist of an ending (well, more than one). It is worth the read!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an advanced copy to read. All opinions are my own.

Interesting story thats for sure. It was a tad out there for me. However, the writing style was great and the author was good at plot development. I am trying to branch out in my genres and I am glad I got to read this book. Thank you netgalley for the copy in exchange for a review.