Occasionally I start a book and don’t like anything about it. Believe Me is one of those. I didn’t like the characters; I didn’t like the premise of the book; I didn’t like the story line; I didn’t like the scenarios. Although J P Delaney is a good writer and can tell a story, this story isn’t one I could get into or finish. The protagonist has no morals and it’s hard to like someone who is so disgusting. This book is one that I would not recommend because I can’t find one reason to like anything it.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a copy of this novel.

Thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Believe Me when I say this book is NOT believable. I had high hopes for this- the premise really intrigued me. A struggling actress making side cash by getting skeezy married men to go for her (all being recorded on camera) in order for the spouse (and the lawyer that hired her) to win in the divorce. Things get weird and someone ends up dead and that's where the book loses me. Everything that transpires just simply is not believable and you are left scratching your head about what you just read. This book is categorized as a psychological thriller- and psychological it sure was- I could not guess the true murderer. Seriously, for the whole novel any of the characters could have taken the blame and I would have believed it.
I don't know what to think of this. I give it a few stars because I did devour the book in matter of a couple of days, but this could have gone in a different direction and have turned out a much better book.

This was an enjoyable read and quite twisty but I found myself wanting more from this book. The characters were well developed.

Claire is a young Londoner in New York to pursue her acting dreams. In order for her to be able to afford her classes though, she sometimes does some “off the books” work with a law firm’s private detective, catching cheating husbands on video for those wives who are in doubt about their spouse’s faithfulness. One night Claire gets called to meet with the wife before her meeting with the suspected husband, and although it’s a bit strange, Claire goes along with the plan. The next day, that same wife is found murdered….and this is where the story just falls apart, at least for me. Lots of leads in this mystery that go nowhere, lots of scenarios where Claire suspects just about everyone, and lots of questionable leaps in the overall storyline. I was not a fan of this one.

Special Note: Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the author's previous work, The Girl Before, and was hoping this one would be just as good. I enjoyed this book and would recommend it.

Having a career as an actor in America is a second chance for Claire, after leaving England. Not having a green card leaves her limited for jobs she can accept. Claire works side jobs for an attorney, catching (or, setting them up) cheating husbands. When one of the wives she was helping is found murdered, the police enlist Claire and her acting abilities to help catch the husband, whom they suspect is the murderer.

While I wondered how realistic the premise was (why would the police hire Claire?), I liked Claire as a character. She had depth, emotions, and faults, and I had a hard time putting this down. If you can suspend reality over the premise and enjoy a good page-turning thriller, you'll enjoy this one, as well.

was unable to read because of a family loss. I am a serious reader though and would love to be considered for more netgalley ARCs. I will review every one that I am allowed to.
thank you
Marla

Unique. That is the first word that comes to mind when describing this book. The story is from Claire's perspective, a wannabe actress. Like most wannabe actresses, she's living paycheck to paycheck trying to make ends meet doing random jobs...like baiting men whose wives suspect cheating. One day the police seek her help baiting a suspected serial killer, and well...you gotta read the book to find out the rest.

What's particularly unique about the story is the dialogue format, written in a screenplay style, which suits Claire's character as an actress. While at first it felt a little disjointed, I quickly got used to it and slipped right into the story. If you're looking for something a little different that is equally engaging, Delaney offers it here.

This book just tried too hard. It was complicated and convoluted without any reason to be. I felt like the author was purposely trying to confuse the reader. Interesting premise, but the execution wasn't there.

Claire was a fascinating character, and while the story did not initially grip me, once I was hooked I finished the majority of this book in one burst of reading! This dark and twisty tale has been on my recommendation lists since I read that last scene.

Having read and loved both The Perfect Wife and The Girl Before, I kind of knew what to expect with this one. Lots of twists and turns that leave you completely clueless as to what is really going on and what will happen next. This book was slightly different than the others due to content/plot but still a great read. I would suggest checking out one of the above mentioned books prior to reading this one so you know what to expect and aren’t turned off by the directions the author goes in. Not my favorite by this author but still a good book.

I seriously was not disappointed when I read this book. I loved it so much. I can’t wait to read more by this author.

Claire Wright is young British actress. But she's struggling in New York City--she's in an acting program, but she has no green card and no job or money. So when she's offered questionable work by a law firm, Claire agrees. She serves as a decoy to trap cheating husbands and catch them on tape. But when one of Claire's clients is violently murdered, the police need a suspect. They seem to be considering her husband, whom Claire saw--in the name the job--just that evening. They want Claire to try to lure him into a confession. Claire is sure she can do this: she's a great actress. But soon she's wondering who the police really suspect.

This one got off to a slow start, but once it picked up, it drew me in. After reading Delaney's recent book, THE PERFECT WIFE, which I really enjoyed, I knew I had to go back and read this one. I'm glad I did. It was just a fun, twisted ride, and an enjoyable quick read.

There's no one to really root for in this tale, but that's okay, because the journey is interesting enough to keep you hooked. Claire is a fascinating character: you're never sure how much to trust her, what's she's telling us, or what she's doing. At first, I found the confusion a little off-putting, but I soon learned to go with it and just enjoy the ride. And what a crazy one it is.

"I want to be other people. I've never wanted anything else."

This is a dark, bewildering read with some great twists and turns. There's a literary aspect with the work of the poet Baudelaire woven throughout. Claire is a focused actress and the whole "decoy" idea is turned on its head several times. I don't want to tell more and ruin anything. Just know that this book kept pleasantly surprising me, and I loved that--even when I thought I had things figured out--I was never sure where things were going.

If you're looking for a crazy, quick thriller that will keep you on your toes, you'll definitely enjoy BELIEVE ME.

I really enjoyed all the twists and turns and unreliable characters. I didn’t trust anyone! This book definitely messed with me and it was hard to tell what was real and what wasn’t. I love that in a book. I liked the psychological profiling as well. I enjoyed this book and it kept me guessing right up to the end!

JP Delaney did an outstanding job with his latest novel Believe Me. I was hooked from the first page and could not put it down.
Claire is a struggling actress trying to make it big in New York. Without a Green Card, she has trouble get and keeping jobs. She works for a divorce firm, who hires her to be a decoy to catch cheating husbands. When the wife of a targets is brutuelly murdered, Claire finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation.
I don't want to give too much away because, believe me, you want to be surprised in all the right places. It's a psychological thriller that kept me guessing til the end.

Another great thriller by JP Delany that kept me on the edge of my seat! I love this author and again was not disappointed. Highly recommended.

Okay look, this is going to be short and not so sweet.

This book had potential because the audiobook was super unique. They had like scenes from a movie, complete with background noise. Super cool and when I first heard it I was like “whoa, whoa what is this cool aspect?” So that was awesome.

And then around the half way mark I lost interest. There was so much doubt throughout this entire book. Is Claire crazy? Is Patrick a killer? Who is the innocent one here? So much back and forth, yoyo-ing throughout the ENTIRE STORY that my brain hurt. It honestly hurt.

The ending was unbelievable and a letdown. And by then, my brain hurt so much from the possibilities that I didn’t even care how it ended. Plus all the damn references to that author/poet… I was like am I reading fiction or historical fiction because this was like an English lesson.

But this is one of those books on my TBR list that I am so happy to get crossed off. I was starting to get sick of seeing it.

Huge bummer, but I still want to read the next one, The Perfect Wife because I loved The Girl Before and won’t give up on this author just yet.

What a twisty, paranoid thriller of a book. Centered on a British actress named Claire, who desperately wants to work in the US, she somehow becomes involved with the police in a sting operation against a powerful man who they believe killed his wife. If Claire will play the role of a lifetime and get his confession, she gets a green card. Ok, right. But is that what’s really going on? If so, why does Claire end up in a mental hospital? Why does she think people are following her? Why does her “mark” rescue her? It is a very contrived and unbelievable plot that had me wishing it was over long before the actual end even though the idea was great, but the execution was not. I know the though behind it, but it came across as disjointed.

Claire is a British drama student trying to get by. She takes a job with a law firm who sets up cheating husbands. Her life is about to change!

Another riveting read by JP Delany that kept me engrossed from cover to cover! I loved this author's previous book, The Girl Before, so I was very excited to receive an advanced copy. Believe Me left me shocked with that ending... I love a great thriller mixed with secrets & lies and of course throw in some actors!

I wanted to like this, but I just couldn’t get invested enough in the main character to believe her actions, motivations, or any of the twists and turns of the plot. She seemed kind of shady and the ending felt a little bit unfulfilling. Ultimately, there was too much happening in the plot for any of it to work for me.