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.

I wonder if the robot revelation could have been drawn out a bit more, made to feel a bit more, ironically, human, but other than that I think this was well paced and intelligent, certainly much more thought provoking than I expected.

I tried to like this book, but ended up only reading about a third of it. It just wasn't for me. To the point I felt I had wasted my time and was irritated. That being said, I know a lot of people liked it. Just not for me.

So, I took the leap and read this one blind. I knew and liked the author, so I read it without reading the plot of the book. Oh, I’m so glad I did – there were so many surprises!

This is a clever and compelling read.

I loved Abbie, hated her husband, and was just so worried about how everything would turn out!

No spoilers here – I’ll just say that it ended in a way that made perfect sense and definitely shocked me.

Loved this book and happily on board for whatever surprises the author has in store for us next.

*ARC Provided via Net Galley

The Perfect Wife was definitely an very interesting story and super unique. The story gives you a look into the future as technology evolves and it’s fascinating and creepy at the same time! You develop empathy for Abbybot and want her to succeed. Her human qualities take over and make her someone you want to fight for. A very good story and another winner by JP Delaney!

I do not feel I’m the right audience for this book. I don’t want to leave a review if I’m not the right fit for it. Thanks for the opportunity!

This is an eerie warning for the not-too-distant future. Compassion and love for human life loses its value as the ability to create the perfect companion increases.
Beautiful, talented and smart Abbie is disgusted and revolted when she realizes her rubber skin can be peeled away to expose plastics and circuitry. But don’t let this instantly turn you away from the story; it’s not science fiction or fantasy. It’s very much a psychological thriller. So very much that you will identify with robotic Abbie much easier than identifying with 95% of the other human characters in this novel.
As Abbie tells you her story, a third-person perspective gives you some previous history of when Tim met Abbie and the effect their relationship had on his work ethic. You’re continually guessing who’s sharing this perspective and where their unique opinion of the relationship will lead. Surely the two will cross paths at some point, right?
What an addictive page-turner and an imaginative look at what our future may hold. Or maybe it’s not so imaginative and our future is already here?
(I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks so much to Random House-Ballantine and NetGalley for making it available.)

Great book and i love the author. This is certainly a must read for all the bookish bibliophiles out there. I high ly recommend this to people. Thank you for the approval.

Just like The Girl Before, this book grabbed me in the prologue and never let go. Combining high tech with unique characters in a fast paced psychological thriller. I loved this book! Highly recommended!

I wasn’t quite sure this was a book for me when I first started reading as I am not a big fan of futuristic type books. But, once I started reading I was hooked. It kept pulling me in with the twists and turns and had me guessing to the end. Great book. Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I expected this book to be a good thriller, with elements of sci-fi mixed in. It was indeed a good thriller but it was so much more than that. This book touches on issues such as the treatment of women in the tech industry, parent’s heartbreak and struggle with having an autistic child, as well as philosophical questions about what makes a person a person. I was truly blown away by how much this book affected me. It was so much more than I expected and I thought it was excellent.

As you all may know by now, I am a psychological thriller buff, so when I picked up The Perfect Wife by JP Delaney, I was expecting this book to have a little bit of that element. However, what I got with this book was so so so so much more entertaining. 

We start the book out waking up in the hospital. The first thing I notice about this book is that it is written in second person, which is where the author uses phrases like you, you're etc, rather than he/she (third person) or my/I (first person). It's not an easy perspective to write it, but it's probably one of my favorites. It really pulls you into the story, and makes you feel as if the character being explored is actually YOU.

The next thing I noticed was the very crazy cliff hanger thrown in at the end of chapter one. Now, I love a good cliff hanger, but this one actually made me GASP out loud. To which my husband perked his ears, and I had to read the entire chapter to him. He seemed intrigued as well. That doesn't happen often with books, especially when he's playing video games. That right there should tell you how good this book is.

As I kept reading, I just got more and more interested in this book. The thing is, I don't even want to tell you what it's about, because I truthfully think it's best to go in not knowing what's going to happen, so you can get that awesome gasp at the end of chapter one (and probably like 15 other chapters as well). 

Here's what I will tell you, Abbie wakes up with no memory what so ever. She looks around and notices that her husband is sitting with her. He tells her all about who she is, and explains that she died five years ago. He also explains that she's a miracle of science, and they are so happy to have her back...

Now, go out there and pick up this book because you will not be disappointed. It's freaky, it's creepy, it's insane. Just go. Now. I give this book 5 out of 5 stars, this brilliant masterpiece will be on every bestseller list, just watch.

The Perfect Wife: A Novel by [Delaney, JP]

This is one of the best books I have ever read, and it makes me sad that it will probably be marketed and received as an "airport paperback, beach read, psychological thriller" kind of book when it is so much more than that.



Review copy provided by publisher.

4.5 stars I love Delaney. The premise of this idea was mind-blowing; it seemed unimaginable until I read the author's note. My only criticism was the very end, as I found it such a smooth read until then. I recommend to all psychological thriller fans.

What a great beginning, Abbie wakes up with her devoted and beloved husband, Tim, who tells her she just woke up from a bad accident she had 5 years ago. Great premise until it is explained to you that Abbie is a robot. I'm just not into sci-fi but, I was curious what the 'accident' was and what happened to the real Abbie and I did enjoy the telling of the story #theperfectwife #netgalley

The Perfect Wife is a thriller that continues to spin to the end. I love the modern up to date dialogue, mentioning Twitter, Facebook and Twitter as well as online dating. Delaney keeps the reader wanting more with each new development and twist. I will definitely recommend this novel to library patrons that follow my favorites.