JP Delaney’s The Perfect Wife is a mind-bending psychological thriller that blurs the lines between love, obsession, and the ethics of technology. The story begins with Abbie, who wakes up with no memory of the past five years and learns that she is an AI replica of her husband Tim’s missing wife. Tim, a tech genius, claims to have created her out of love—but as Abbie uncovers disturbing secrets about her past and Tim’s true motives, the story takes dark and unexpected turns.

Delaney masterfully combines elements of science fiction and domestic suspense, crafting a narrative that’s both gripping and thought-provoking. The alternating perspectives, including an intriguing second-person narration, add layers of mystery while keeping readers questioning what’s real and who can be trusted.

The novel delves into complex themes such as identity, grief, and the boundaries of artificial intelligence, raising unsettling questions about the nature of love and control. The pacing is brisk, with twists that keep you on edge until the final shocking reveal.

The Perfect Wife is a compelling read for fans of psychological thrillers with a futuristic twist. It’s not just a story about a marriage gone wrong—it’s a chilling exploration of what it means to be human.

I will never say no to a new JP Delaney book! If you haven’t read his work before, expect an innovative, heart-pounding, thought-provoking thriller with a stunner of an ending. The Perfect Wife delivers all of this and has a fascinating concept. I can promise you haven’t read anything quite like this lately!

What is The Perfect Wife about?

When Abbie Cullen awakens from what she thinks was a dream, she realizes that she has no memory of how she ended up in the condition she is in. Abbie has always been human and has no reason to think otherwise, until her husband Tim tells her about an accident 5 years earlier that took her life.

Tim is a true titan of the tech world and had been working for years before Abbie’s death on “cobots”—humanlike machines that are able to bring back the memories and body of a loved one…sort of. And now Tim was able to bring Abbie back the same way, as a cobot. Abbie looks exactly as she did before, and she’s been loaded up with all of Abbie’s memories.

As Abbie tries to understand and adjust to her body and piece together her memories, she begins to notice troubling and conflicting things about her husband…and her former self. Can she trust her husband’s version of events? What really happened to Abbie?

What did I think?

There’s so much to this story that I want to talk about. The book opens with Abbie the cobot waking up and learning what her husband Tim has done to bring her back and what her life is like. Tim had been working on this technology before, and the reader gets insight into that through narration from an unnamed male employee who worked for Tim during the years Abbie was there.

Abbie and Tim met through work and eventually fell in love and had a child named Danny who is diagnosed as autistic. Abbie the robot seems to not have full memories of this time, but of course, as robot Abbit learns—Tim controls the memories being uploaded. How does she know what may have been left out?

Things seem great at first, other than some judgment when the news breaks that famous tech mogul Tim Cullen has created a robot version of his wife to bring her back. At first the obvious take from many is that Tim has created some sort of sex robot version of his wife. But as Abbie herself confesses in an interview on national television, she doesn’t even have genitals. She looks like Abbie and has her memories and some of her personality, but she’s certainly not there as a sexual play thing.

But Abbie starts to find other clues that are misleading her. What was the human Abbie up to before she died? And are Tim’s motives pure? Abbie is in the unfortunate position of not trusting either. She begins receiving anonymous, troubling text messages on her cell phone. She finds a secret iPad that she had hidden away and takes it to a tech shop to see if the data can be recovered. And the more she learns, the more complicated it all gets.

This truly is the exact type of book that the term “unputdownable” applies to. I was hooked by the premise, even though it sounded like it could be too sci-fi for me at first. Delaney takes many of the stereotypes about the tech industry and tech genius and flips them around. Tim is unlike any character I’ve read before, and there is a lot to learn about Tim. We get some of it from Abbie, but a different side of Tim from the anonymous employee. I was fascinated by that entire thread of the story—what did outsiders think about Abbie and Tim’s relationship, and Tim himself?

Through the artificial intelligence spin on this story, Delaney makes a bold statement on whether AI that is modeled after a specific person can ever be considered human? What really differentiates humans from computers? And is it possible for one to ever cross that line into the other? An interesting thing about robot Abbie is that she sees herself as a different person than human Abbie, though she recognizes she’s the same.

At one point there is a storyline about a legal battle over the technology and use of personal data to create robot Abbie, and she begins to question what would happen if her memory is wiped. This is troubling to Abbie because she doesn’t see herself as a computer, she sees herself as Abbie—a person with thoughts, feelings, and memories.

There is also a strong storyline about misogyny and how women are viewed. Aside from Abbie, you’ll hear about other women particularly in the tech industry and working for Tim—what is their experience? The book opens with a quote from Ovid’s Metamorphoses.

“When Pygmalion saw the way these women behaved, he was disgusted by the many flaws nature has instilled in the female sex, and for a long time lived as a bachelor, without a wife to share his bed.”

This really captures the main theme of the book. Tim wanted to create a version of his wife to bring back—an act that seems to be out of love. But Tim is controlling what memories she has, whether she is able to experience intimacy and other human activities, and what Abbie thinks is normal. She’s the perfect wife, but is that who she was before, or who Tim made her into?

I won’t say any more on the plot so I don’t spoil it, but know that not only is this a completely engrossing story, but it also delivers a few head-spinning plot twists. I loved the way the story ended at the very final moments and what it made me think about after closing the book. This is a brilliant novel and will appeal to sci-fi and thriller fans alike. Captivating!

Originally I wasn't sure if this book would interest me. Tech, AI, and robots aren't really my jam. However, J.P. Delaney crafted such an insanely wild (yet seemingly plausible) plot that I couldn't put this novel down. The idea of robots with emotions and memories and the ability to "upload" a lost loved one is wild and scary. With all the plot twists, my mind is blown. Overall, a great read!

This was my very first NetGalley book, and I was absolutely blown away by it! This was one of the most original books I've read in the past few years. For not knowing anything about this story before reading it, I wasn't at all disappointed. The loss of a loved one leaves a grieving partner, and they find a way to cope with that loss. Very twisty, and surprising actions were taken, and while I was taken aback, I could see the justification for those actions.

I feel like this book is one of the first of its kind but it’s not (ha!). It’s just a new storyline for me- and I LOVE IT!

A robot wife mom? Yes!

This was one of the first books I read for this author. Although it did get back logged in my kindle for a time. I enjoyed the storyline and I was so close to guessing the ending.

Co-bots? Robots? This seems pretty sci-fi to me and I'm not a sci-fi reader. Once the co-bot was introduced in chapter two, I knew this wasn't going to be a book for me. So I DNF'd.

Giving a three-star rating to fall middle of the road because it may appeal to some. Just not me.

This book must have gotten lost on my Kindle because I just came across it and I loved it. It was such a change of pace from the stuff I've been reading lately. It was smart, creative, and well-paced. I think this is my favorite by this author so far.

J.P. Delaney’s books are so highly readable and entertaining, and this was no different. I enjoyed every twist and turn that kept me guessing. Everything I look for in a psychological thriller.

Thank you to Random House for the gifted copy.

I am a lover of thrillers, but did not realize this would have a bit of sci-fi in it. However, that did not deter me from finishing because the book was so enthralling. I don't want to spoil anything to summarize, so all I can say is that you should read this book!

JP is an instant buy for me! I absolutely devoured this book. It had me guessing and at the edge of my seat until the very end!

This was an unsettling yet completely engrossing read. You quickly learn what is going on with Abbie, on a surface level, and then spend the rest of the book following along as she uncovers the deeper truth.

This was a strange book. It was very different than what I had expected. I was thinking it was going to be an ordinary mystery but had a sci-if element. I almost gave up a few times but stuck it out until the end. The huge shock at the end saved it.

I was drawn to this book because I recently watched Made for Love on HBO and this seemed like the same feel: tech is used to create the perfect wife. I initially had a hard time getting into the book because Abbie's chapters are told in second person, but once I got over the POV, it was easy to get sucked into all the mysteries surrounding Abbie and her marriage to Tim. Abbie was very likable and had more personality than a lot of the human characters, honestly. I actually thought the book was just a standard thriller, but it really becomes so much more. It makes you really question the ethics surrounding AI. My son is autistic, so I also appreciated the sections that explored the relationship between Abbie and her ASD son. Highly recommend to those who are fans of thrillers with a techno twist.

JP Delaney writes a good book.
I'm looking forward to more!

The Perfect Wife has a nice thriller element to it. It's interesting to see the mix of thriller goodness with the godlike tech-bro fuckery. My favorite bits of the book, though, were in the attempts to communicate with her young, autistic son. I loved seeing the ways a robot might be able to see past emotion and more towards data.

I have read quite a few books by this author but this was one I just couldn’t get into. I was eagerly waiting to read this one since all the others were fantastic. Sadly I was a bit disappointed. I couldn’t bring myself to finish the book mainly because it didn’t seem real to me.

I would describe this book as a sci-fi psychological thriller. It felt very much like a man’s book. I did not enjoy the writing or the story, unfortunately. I was hoping for more suspense, and I didn’t find the characters or the plot compelling at all.

While I wasn’t a fan of The Perfect Wife, I can see why some have enjoyed it. It just did not keep my interest and ultimately wasn’t for me.

Thank you to #netgalley and Ballantine Books @randomhouse for my advanced e-galley in exchange for an honest review.

In The Perfect Wife, Abbie awakens in a daze with no memory of who she is or how she landed in this unsettling condition. The man by her side claims to be her husband. He tells Abbie that she is a gifted artist, an avid surfer, a loving mother to their young son, and the perfect wife. He says she had a terrible accident five years ago and that, through a huge technological breakthrough, she has been brought back from the abyss.

The book is one of those edge of your seat books. Great storyline and well-crafted characters make this a must-read book.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a strange book. T was very different than what I had expected. I was thinking it was going to be an ordinary mystery but had a sci-if element. I almost gave up a few times but stuck it out until the end. The huge shock at the end saved it.