Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for this ARC.

Diehard JP Delaney fan here. I have avidly devoured two other books under this pseudonym in a number of hours but this one took me by surprise a bit. I thought, this author can do it. This author can swing my thriller driven tastes toward sci-fi and make me love it. Alas, this was not the case. The writing is solid, as always, but I truly could not sink my teeth into this the way I wanted to, the way I did with the previous two. Still, if you’re into robots, give this a try.

I found the book to be well-written and interesting. It's a novel that pursues the robotic scares in the vein of the movie "I Robot". So it wasn't my favorite storyline. Yet, quality writing and storytelling compelled me to finish it. For those who prefer sci-fi, I'd include this on my must-read list. For those interested in good story-telling, go for it.

Getting to the bottom of the problem by creating an algorithm robot to help solve the mystery behind Tim’s wife’s disappearance.
The mind is a terrible thing to waste, yet a wonderful thing to invest in. Tim owned and operated Scott Robotics. He has built a reputation for himself in the robotics world. Tim was a workaholic spending every waking moment behind his desk designing code for his inventions. When Abbie became a part of his life he adapted a new lifestyle one in which his employees noticed.
The perfect wife come in the form of a robotic replica of his own wife. Four years ago, his wife vanished. Meanwhile, the husband worked feverishly to rebuild his loving wife.
Trapped in a nightmare where memories were limited to what Tim deemed acceptable Abbie strives to become the perfect wife.

I can’t help picturing the characters in the show Humans where advanced humanoids were designed to help out at home with household chores.

Overall:
The delivery switched from the past to the present without notifying the reader which was confusing. Eventually referring to Abbie as Abbie made it difficult to distinguish which Abbie we were reading.

The concept was fantastic, but the execution was challenging at times. The terminology was intelligent and well researched.

Often times I thought the robot was given Abbie’s actual brain. This was a thought provoking story that had me running various scenarios through my mind. I also thought Danny might also be a robot.

The first thing I hope for in a psychological thriller is a fast pace and hard action style story, but this didn’t have those two qualities. It was still good in a slow and steady way. I found it thought-provoking and informative.

The unusual speculative element of the story was interesting but I kept waiting for something far more sinister. With Danny’s condition I kept envisioning a different outcome. I thought Tim with his robotics abilities had the means to cure Danny.
It wasn’t the outcome I was hoping for or expecting. Just the same it was a spectacular ending and one that I didn’t account for.

The Perfect Wife by J.P Delaney is a psychological thriller, but with a sci-fi vibe. The whole premise of this book is creepy and stalker-ish, and lord help us if it one day becomes reality.

Tim is a millionaire tech-guy, think Steve Jobs, who owns a software company that is researching the use of artificial intelligence that can be used in our every day life and functions. When his wife Abbie wakes up in a hospital bed, five years after a terrible accident, with no memory of those years, her husband Tim explains how she is his perfect wife, and mother of their son Danny, who is happens to be autistic. Even with Tim’s limited admissions of life before, Abbie soon realizes she’s not really the same person she was back then. She is a creation of Tim’s Silicon Valley company...as a cobot, a companion robot, using the software programs and Abbie’s previous memories. The creation of Abbie is largely due to Tim’s immense love for her, or is there more to his madness of this creation.

When Abbie starts remembering things Tim doesn’t want her to, or has programmed her for, she starts to question exactly what happened to her five years ago...did she commit suicide, run away, or was she murdered by her loving husband? As the pieces start to fall into place, and Danny seems to be a pawn in his parents emotional tug of war, the lines of the story become more blurry and you wonder if the truth will ever be told.

This is very different than anything I have ever read. I admit, I am not a fan of Sci-fi,a and I did find the tech talk a little difficult to follow, but all that aside, I did like this book. The story is very interesting, and the reader is forced to face the facts that this reality could be part of our future, but can we really ever clone the emotions of a real human into an artificial intelligence robot? It’s thought provoking. The author also does a good job of facing the reality of life of a child with a disability. It is exhausting, and terrifying, and you fear the unknown...yep, I have a child like this. I really did like the relationship of Danny with his cobot mother.

I would like to thank Netgalley, Ballantine Books and J.P. Delaney for an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for something different and thought provoking, certainly makes you think outside the box!

Loved this book! It kept me guessing g and I did not see that ending coming. Loved the topic of AI as I had not read a book with that subject before.

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.


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