I had to give this some thought before writing a review because I kept going back and forth between 3 and 4 stars and I needed to let the book resonate a little. I absolutely loved Delaney’s first book, the Girl Before, which is one of my staff picks at work. This one didn’t quite hit the mark for me, unfortunately. I do feel that the plot is refreshingly original. It involves a struggling actress named Claire who becomes involved in a very complicated relationship with the husband of a murdered woman. What makes it especially unique is that Claire’s dialogue often comes in the form of a script, clearly demonstrating the way in which she perceives the world. I found this to be interesting and different from other psychological thrillers.

What I didn’t care for so much were all the constant and over-the-top references to Baudelaire. Obviously the author was making this an integral part of the plot and showcasing his extensive knowledge of the writer, but I found the quotes to be longwinded and disjointed and I eventually took to skimming through these passages. At times, especially toward the last 1/3 of the book, I found the plot to be a little confusing.

With all they said, I would encourage anyone who is a fan of psychological thrillers to read this and form his or her own opinions. It is most definitely original and thought-provoking. 3.5 stars.

Many thanks to Netgalley, Ballantine Books and J. P. Delaney for providing me with a complimentary e-copy ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a fun and twist filled story. This is definitely one of those books I want to re read and “see” it from the perspective of knowing the twist. This book was nothing like what I thought it would be based off the synopsis. It was so much darker and I love the whole idea of the story. I read this book in less than two days because I just had to find out what was going to happen next.

The main character, Claire, was such a complex character who was constantly surprising me. She could be so upset, so smart, so vulgar, so sad and I really felt her emotions with her. She is an actress, and acting takes center stage in this story, so if that is something that you aren’t interested in, you might not like this story as much as I did. I don’t ever want to act but I found it fascinating to read about her acting classes and I felt like I got an inside look into an acting class/school. Delaney did such an excellent job of writing the character of Claire and felt so connected to her the whole story. There was even a couple of times where I held my breath because I was that into the story.

The ending was so surprising to me. I’m usually pretty good and guessing at least parts of an ending correctly and I never saw this one coming. Just like with the rest of the book, the ending had so many layers to it. I feel like Delaney did such a beautiful job with this story. It was so rich and complex and it was all balanced out so well. I felt all the emotions and I was so confused at who to trust and who to believe. Believe Me is, in my opinion, a flawless thriller.

I read The Girl Before last year and loved it right up until the ending and then did a little head scratch and wasn't sure how I felt. I did know that I liked Delaney's writing style so was excited to get a chance to read Believe Me and I love it when I read another book by a same author and LOVE LOVE IT. This is why you should never judge any author by just one book.

Have you ever just wanted to pretend to be someone else - even if just for a night? A few minutes? Forever? YOU GUYS, THIS BOOK!!! I absolutely loved it. It seems to take left turns with each part and I almost feel like I read three different books that circled right back to the start to make it complete. Sometimes I had no idea what was going on and felt about as nutty as Claire came across.

How do you know what's real when you can fully immerse yourself into the role that you're playing? Method acting at it's finest. This one is definitely full of twisty little turns and I was pleasantly shocked each time. Some might say it went a little bit overboard but man, I gotta say, I did love that ending. A part of me felt like maybe it got a little Hollywood, but in terms of what this book was about and Claire needing her audience... well, it just seemed fitting in more than one way. Just yes yes yes for me!

A fast, taut ride that will continually keep you guessing. I highly recommend.

Well if you are looking for a thriller than will shock you at every turn...then look no further!
This book was so full of surprises and twists that I was in danger of getting whiplash,

Claire is a young actress from England now living in New York City looking for her big break! She attends acting school yet is always in need of money to continue school...and of course to just survive in the big city.

Her latest gig is to to work for a law firm’s investigator. Only one assignment may be more than she can handle.now where does her acting stop and reality take over. Will she survive to act another day....or will this be her swan song?

An absolute fast and furious read! Who to believe? Who to trust? Hat is real? And what is fiction? This book will keep you guessing right up until the very end.

A buddy read with Susanne!

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and JP Delaney. For an ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

I was excited to read this book because I FLOVED THE GIRL BEFORE and couldn’t wait to see what Ms. Delaney was going to do next. TBH, I wasn’t thrilled with this one at the start. It took me awhile to get into it. I found the script style of story telling was too much for me and distracted from the story. After going back and rereading the blurb, it made more sense though. I also thought at the time that her 17y/o backstory was more interesting than this plot. But to the authors credit, she was able to weave such an intricate story that once it finally grabbed my attention I couldn’t put it down. I was shocked, jaw droppingly shocked multiple times. I always find it crazy what types of stories people can come up with.
(4.25-4.5 stars)

Believe me- that’s what actress Claire wants everyone to do. And she’s good at it, setting up honey traps for her investigator boss. One mark is different though. His nervous panicky wife is looking for information to protect herself but when Claire meets the husband she gets the brushoff. Later that night the wife is robbed and murdered in a manner consistant with the writings of her husband’s favorite author. Claire is asked by the police to help catch their prime suspect, the husband, and so the chase is on. But are they really afer the husband or is it Claire who is in their sites? Are they hoping she will reveal herself as the real killer? Just who is playing whom? This well written hard to put down book will keep you guessing. JP Delaney made a believer out of me.

3.5 Stars* (rounded up)

A Wicked, Wild and Wacky Novel.

What is real and what is not? That is the question. The mind is a tricky tricky thing and if you trust it, you are being very silly.

Claire is an Actress and a Brit in the U.S. without a Green Card. She can’t get a decent job and the kind she can get is heavily frowned upon: she becomes a decoy, a woman who seduces men, just to catch them cheating on their wives. Then something crazy happens - one of the wives who hires her is murdered and then everything blows up Claire’s her face.

Just like that however, things turn around on a dime - and what you see is not what you get. Claire has a new employer. Her new job is quite dangerous. Can Claire be trusted? Can her employers? Can her new boyfriend Patrick? Color me intrigued. And scared half out of my wits.

What JP Delaney does here is as cray cray as Ben & Jerry’s best ice cream flavors: picture Cherry’s Garcia or Stephen Colbert’s AmeriCone Dream. It’s shocking, delectable, wacky and wild all at the same time.

This was a buddy read with Kaceey. Thanks for keeping me company during the wackiness Kace! This storyline was so out there that I had no idea where it was going to go and while I admit that the ending was a bit too much for me, it was an entertaining, enjoyable read.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing - Ballantine and JP Delaney for an ARC of this novel in exchange for for an honest review.

Published on NetGalley and Goodreads on 8.5.18.

I first want to thank NetGalley for sending me this book.
Wow! What a dark and twisted psychological thriller this turned out to be! Not for those who are easily disturbed. I love unreliable characters, and Claire turns out to be the ultimate in unreliability as she not only holds back from sharing her tumultuous past, but by also being an extremely talented actress. She finds herself hired to hit on a man who may or may not be involved in a murder, as well as being obsessed with a poet whose poems focus on murder of the darkest sort. As she gets tangled up with him- the dark and twisty ensues and it is quite the ride for the reader!
I read this book quickly- wanting to know where it was going and never getting bored. 4 starts from me!

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This was a great psychological thriller and hooked me from the start. Set in New York, Claire Wright is a british citizen without a green card, so she works for a law firm investigator for cash. Her job is to catch married men who cheat by role playing and getting them to solicit her. She is attending a prestigious acting school where she is a top role playing student, so this is the perfect way to pay the rent for her. While on a job, things go awry and the woman who hired Claire is murdered. Now Claire has to take on the role of her life....one that could cost her her life. There are lots of twists and clever turns, and I was clueless as to who the killer was, as well as who could actually be trusted, including Claire. Believe Me...you will be glued to every page!

The story focuses on Claire, a struggling actress who came to America from England to pursue an acting career. Except a million people come to America, New York City especially, to pursue an acting career and they don't come with black marks on their record like Claire does. So she finds a job with a divorce lawyer and basically makes money by tricking men into thinking she wants to sleep with them while she records their conversations.

Through her work, Claire meets Stella and then Stella meets dead. Claire gets arrested for the murder. And what comes next is such a twisty, turny, upside story that you have to read it to believe it. When the book ended, I sat there staring and thinking WTF did I just read? I almost feel like I need to go back to read it again just to see if there were clues I totally missed along the way. Seriously, did not figure it out until the author told me what happened.

One bit about the story that annoyed me were the chapter openings that read like a script, including stage directions but you get used to it. None of the characters are trustworthy and I'm not even sure they are likeable but it's definitely a story you need to read to believe.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC.

Just when you think you know whom to trust, Delaney rips the rug out from under your feet. A delightfully unpredictable thriller.

Interesting book that kept me guessing from beginning to end! It also made me wonder how much their roles impact actors in real life.

First book by this author, but I will be looking into her other works. Enjoyed the story, easy to follow along.

Believe Me absolutely captivated me. It has such a unique premise- Clare is a young British woman who has come to New York to pursue acting. She works for a law firm in Entrapment - she gets hired to try and get cheating husbands to sleep with her to get evidence for the wives. She's working on her acting skills and getting by, until one of the clients turns up dead the next morning.

The book took many turns and I never could tell what was real and what was an act. I loved the author's last book, The Girl Before, and I think I enjoyed Believe Me even more. Warning: this is one dark book so if you're sensitive to violence, you might skip. From this depraved reader, it gets 4.5 stars.

JP Delaney does it again! "Believe Me" was a total page turner that kept me guessing up until the very last page. Unreliable narrator? Check. Twists on twists on twists? Check. The story is well paced and every new development somehow managed to be both surprising yet completely inevitable, when you look back.

When struggling actress Claire Wright finds herself in dire financial straits, she takes a job as a law firm decoy, helping wives trap their potentially cheating husbands. She's good at her job, even though she loathes it. Then one night, everything changes when one of the clients is found murdered and she gets dragged into the investigation. The suspect? The woman's husband. Claire is recruited by the police to go undercover to seduce the hubby and discover if he's the serial killer he's suspected to be. As Claire goes deeper undercover and falls for her target, the question arises-- who's the real mark? Is he guilty? Did she fall in love with a sadistic killer?

Loved the book, I couldn't put it down! Equal parts disturbing and fascinating, I questioned everything just as much as Claire did. Don't want to give too much away, so all I can say is add this one to your reading list, stat!

Claire dreams of being an actress. Once a orphan in Britain, being shifted from foster family to foster family; she knows nothing in the world comes without a price.

Claire, never one to quit, finds herself in New York, she’s broke, without a green-card but still chasing her dream to be in the limelight - to be centerstage. To get money to pay for her acting classes and rent, Claire takes a job as a “decoy” with a local divorce legal agency. Her job is to get the target to proposition her all while catching their guilt on tape. After all Claire has no intentions of catching the innocent. With a cash payment of $400 a job, Claire is doing well - that is until her meets her match, Patrick.

Patrick can not be enticed or swayed by Claire’s charm. No worries though right? After all, Stella, Patrick’s wife should be thrilled that her husband is innocent, right? Wrong. Within hours of Claire revealing her fruitless effort to sway Patrick to Stella, Stella is found brutally murdered in her hotel room.

The story then takes a turn for the macabre. Believe Me reinforces what we all know already - evil exists. For, without evil lurching about taunting and tempting, how would we be able to distinguish all that is good in the world? With that said, how can you tell who is the hero of the story and who is the villain?

Believe Me was a fast, frenzied, frightening tale of just how evil can wear many masks leaving you guessing - who is the good guy and who is bad. 5 stars for this read!❤️

This is the first book by this author that I have read so I was not sure what to expect, except that a lot of people seem to love it. The description is so intriguing. I feel like this book would make a fantastic tv show or movie. I wasn't completely blown away but this was a really good book. I kept second guessing everything in it.

Are you paying attention? You'll need to be; because J. P. Delaney’s new thriller will test your brain and it's a page-turner to boot. This is a high-octane cat-and-mouse psychological thriller offers relentless suspense, quicksilver pacing and unusual characters.

Once again the reader is confronted with an unreliable narrator, an actress who, as Stanislavski suggested, immerses herself in the emotional truth of her part until it becomes part of who she is. Her dedication to “the part” lands her in a mental institution at one point and high on a list of murder suspects at another.

Some of the action is a bit far-fetched, but the pacing is persistant in a way that allows readers to suspend disbelief easily. BELIEVE ME has so many twists, turns and surprises that the less reader knows, the more they enjoy the journey.

Believe Me was a quick thriller with many twists. Unlike many mysteries though, not full of overly ridiculous plot turns to avoid predictability. The characters are well written and as a reader I wasn't sure who to like or relate to, which kept it interesting and open to plot twists.

A constant guessing game of what's real and what isn't. A mystery within a mystery. The writing is believable and you become lost in the story within the story. A good read for mystery fans.