I received an ARC of this book in exchange for my review.

I’ve read of all of JP Delaney’s other books and this one was a fun twist on a thriller with the high tech/Stepford Wives thrown in. I felt like I was racing through the book to find out what happened to Abbie and I couldn’t stop turning the pages! The ending was very interesting and made you wonder if it was really over. I also like how it made you ask yourself questions, especially when it came to AI. I definitely recommend if you enjoy thrillers and a little bit of sci fi too (although not too much!).

Abbie wakes up and has no idea who she is. The man standing next to her tells her that he is her husband and that she had a bad accident 5 years ago but that his tech company has fought to bring her back and they have finally succeeded.

Thought-provoking, filled with twists and turns and told from a seldom used second-person point of view which makes the reader the main character.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for allowing me to read an advance copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Unputdownable-ness: Medium-High
Ugly Cry Potential: Low
LOL: Low
Steaminess: Low
Character Development: Medium
Originality: High
Quality of Writing: Medium
Intellectual Depth: Medium-High
Emotionally Trying/Hard to Read: Low

So I read this and wasn't sure what I thought about it. I liked it but it was so different than other books Delaney has written because this is more along the lines of sci-fi. Tim is a Steve Jobs type guy that starts an artificial intelligence company that makes customer service robots. He's got the "crazy" reputation similar to Jobs - screaming one minute, happy-nerd the next. His wife Abbie is hippy dippy and super cool and kinda idolized by all of the nerds in Tim's company. Next thing we know she goes missing and Tim is a suspect. Five years later Tim has built a robot in the image of Abbie with many of her memories and expressions built right in. Super creepy and weird, right?

As the AI Abbie starts recalling memories, she (it?) begins to figure out what happened to the "real" Abbie and if Tim was really involved. A quick read and enjoyable.

Thanks to NetGalley for the Advanced Copy in exchange for review.

This was an excellent psychological thriller. I am glad the description was vague. If it had revealed the premise behind the story I would not have read the book. I would have assumed it would be too sci-fi for me. J.P. did an excellent job with character development making the story believable and intriguing.

This was a book I could not put down until I finished it. Very well written and a fast read.

I don’t usually read the acknowledgments. I am glad I did this time. J.P. explains his personal experience with autism. He also tells us that ABA is a real technique used for autism. This was a very enlightening and thought-provoking book.

This was the first book I have read by JP Delaney. I plan to read JP’s The Girl Before next. I really enjoyed his writing style and creative storyline.

I received this galley from NetGalley.

JP Delaney is an excellent writer. His books always capture me and pull me in. Great suspense and characters. Great exploration of morals and technology.

Thank you to Ballentine Books, JP Delaney, and NetGalley for proving me an ecopy in exchange for an honest review.
I was thrilled to receive The Perfect Wife as I had read my first JP Delaney novel last year, Believe Me, and loved it. Initially, when I began to read reviews and saw that there was a sci-fi element to the novel, I was wary as I have a rocky history with that genre. However, the book proved my worries were unnecessary. The novel was much more a psychological thriller just with a bit of sci-fi in it. The main narrator is a sentient robot made in the image of a tech giant's deceased wife, Abbie. The second narrator is an employee of her husband's company, whose point of view is helpful in understanding how Abbie and Tim's relationship developed from its beginning until the end.

Abbie is an artist who was hired by Tim for a year to bring some creative spirit to his more science -and-computer-minded employees at the tech company where they are attempting to make human-like robots for retailers to use. They eventually start dating, fall in love, get married, then have a son. That son develops a severe form of autism.

So five years after Abbie's death, Tim completes a robot that looks, sounds and thinks like her. Her creation is controversial in many ways. Some think it will prevent the natural grieving process for Tim. Some think it is unethical to have created such a robot without Abbie's express permission to do so. Some at the company think that the robot has been taken out of the "lab" environment too soon before it has been appropriately tested and developed.

Robot Abbie begins to realize that Tim may not be being entirely truthful about his and Abbie's perfect relationship. However, because she has been created to be as emotionally close to human as possible, she is in love with him. She tries to be the perfect wife he claims Abbie was. As she learns more about Tim, Abbie, their marriage, their parenting, their friends, and their lives, she becomes determined to find out everything she can to ensure nothing can destroy the life she has with Tim and their son.

I enjoyed reading the book from Abbie's perspective. I liked the unnamed employee's narration as much, and sometimes more. I was wondering how it would all turn out and was surprised multiple times throughout. While much of the book reminded me of Stephenie Meyer's The Host, that wasn't entirely a bad thing. The parts about the autistic son, his interactions with them, as well as the treatment decisions they were always making were the highlights of the story for me. That aspect gave the novel more depth than many psychological thrillers published today. Finding out the author has a personal interest in this same issue really brought the story a sense of reality for me. I really enjoyed it.

JP Delaney is a must-read author for me. I still need to go back and read his first hit, The Girl Before.

Wow this was original. JP Delaney always writes such interesting stories. I love his writing style and vivid characters. I didn't quite know what to expect going into this story but the ending totally chilled me. This story, besides being mystery and thriller, was so thought provoking as to AI and our society's advancement of technology and what that means! Can't wait for the next book!

This was one of those books that left me with the feeling of “WTF did I just read???” The Perfect Wife is definitely an engaging psychological thriller and was on pace to earn 4 stars from me. I read it while on vacation and I definitely looked forward to pool time so I could get back to it.

And then… the end. What?!?!?! Look, I’ll be honest here, Sci-Fi is not my usual genre but with Dark Matter, Recursion and 11/22/63 under my belt as of late, I thought I had made significant strides in this genre. And I was really hooked on Abbie for about 90% of this book. I couldn’t wait to see how things were going to shake out. And when they did, well, I just couldn’t.

I am in the minority here, so I would still encourage you to pick this one up for yourself and see what you think. But for me, this was one of those instances where the ending did me in.

Well holy cow, what a wild ride that book was! This book was full of twists and turns I didn't see coming. This was my first experience with this author and it won't be my last. I feel like it's creepy, but in the best way possible. I don't think this is my normal style of books, but I was really into the writing style! Great read.

**3.5-stars rounded up**

CAUTION: This review may contain minor spoilers.

When Abbie Cullen mysteriously disappears, her husband, Tim Scott, creator and owner of Scott Robotics, does what any Titan of Tech would do. He creates a sentient robot to replace her. Well, maybe replace her isn’t the correct term, find her?

It is clear from the start that you are in for a unique experience when you open this book. The writing is strong but quirky and it took me a while to get used to it due to the different perspectives.

In particular, you get Abbie’s present timeline perspective told in 2nd person. This seemed a bizarre choice at first but I did get used to it as the narrative progressed. You also get Abbie’s past perspective in the days leading up to her disappearance, as well as an unknown narrator who is an employee at Scott Robotics.

Abbie, as we meet her, is a very likable character. There is a lot of mystery surrounding her. How she came to be and who knows what about her disappearance and apparent regeneration?

A lot of the emotional turmoil of this book comes with Abbie adjusting to her every day life. Reintroducing herself to the world. They have an autistic child, Danny, and his schooling and daily care were discussed in some detail.

As a Sci-Fi fan, I felt this was a very pertinent and cutting edge Techno-Thiller. If you are someone who is interested in the advancement of technology, in particular, the future of AI, you should definitely pick this up.

Part psychological thriller, part cautionary tale, I thought Delaney kept this believable enough to really cause the reader to think about the use of robotics in the home and whether we think that is a good thing of a bad thing.

It also explored topics like data ownership and consent that I think are equally important. Basically, the cobot (companion robot) who knows herself as Abbie, was made by uploading a compilation of the real Abbie’s data, such as social media posts and text messages.

Thus, through these ‘memories’, the cobot is able to develop the characteristics and personality of the original creator. It is a bit more complicated than that but you get the gist. It’s very Stepford Wives.

If it wasn’t for the last three or four chapters, this would have been a solid 4-star read for me. Sadly, I was a little disheartened with the run-up to the conclusion. There were some sharp turns that I would have preferred to go a different way.

Of course this is entirely subjective but I do have to be honest about the fact that it ultimately did affect my overall enjoyment of the story. With this being said, I still do recommend this one!!!

Thank you so much to the publisher, Ballantine Books, for providing me with a copy of this to read and review. I truly appreciate the opportunity and did have a lot of fun with my first, but certainly not my last, J.P. Delaney book!

The premise is very original, which was a big draw, but I just couldn't get into the sci-fi storyline. The writing was too disjointed. It was hard to decipher who was speaking. And honestly, I'm still not sure I understand what happened in the end.

I was very excited about the new book by JP Delaney as I was a fan of The Girl Before and Lie to Me. The Perfect Wife was very sci-fi and, unfortunately, was not a book that could keep my interest. I stopped reading after only a few chapters and could not find anything that kept me gripped to the story or even to a character. It seems as though the plot can easily be figured out but, being a seasoned reader of JP Delaney, I am sure nothing is what it seems. I would recommend for fans of sci-fi and psychological thrillers as this seems to combine the two.

Thank you to the publisher and author for providing me with a digital ARC of this title via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

This book intrigued me right away. I thought the cover was pretty and between the cover and the title, I expected a good murder mystery. However, when I started reading I found it to be much more of a science fiction fantasy book. Not what I expected, but I was immediately drawn into the story and didn't mind that it wasn't what I originally thought. It was a very creative, original story and I was enjoying it. I continually was surprised by it, again finishing it it wasn't what I expected. It was a good murder mystery based on a fantasy story that was really quite interesting. I found the ending to be a little weird but overall quite enjoyed this title and appreciated a mystery without a lot of violence or language.

Alright, guys. I've read a lot of thrillers. Sometimes, I feel like I've read too many and books become predictable... BUT... not this one! I honestly went into it not knowing what it was about, I've read books by JP Delaney before and requested it just on author alone. I'm so glad I went into it with an empty slate and an open mind.

Without giving anything away,,.. read it! I loved it!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Published for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Wow. I went into this book with no idea about the plot at all. I had read and enjoyed other books by JP Delaney, saw the cover and title - figured it would be a psychological thriller and went in blind.

Right from the start - I could tell this was something different. I’m not going to share any plot summary - you can look it up if you want, but I also loved going into it without.

This is a psychological thriller - but with some sci-fi elements that gave it a really different twist from most. If you are a fan of the tv show Black Mirror, I definitely think you should check this one out. I also suggest being sure to read all the way through the author’s note (book equivalent of suggesting you stay through the credits?) - I thought the epigraph and author’s note both added a lot to the experience.

Thank you very much to the publisher and Netgalley for the advance reading copy. Available now!

Abbey Scott wakes up from a five-year coma and has no idea who or where she is. Tim, her tech genius Husband, is right by her side trying to help her regain the memories she’d lost. Tim tells Abby about how she was a great cook, artist, surfer, and Mother to their autistic son, Danny. What Tim doesn’t tell her is how she died. Abbey was in a surfing accident and was presumed dead since they never found her body. Enter the sci-fi elements here.
We learn that Abbey may or may not be the real deal. Tim has dabbled in AI (Artificial Intelligence) and has made a replica of his dearly departed. When Abbey wants to learn more about things is when the thriller begins. Tim has only “downloaded” what he wants Abbey to know, nothing more, and nothing less. When she begins to try and piece the puzzle together, she discovers more than she bargained for. There are several different points of view to keep track of as third and first-person narratives are used in alternating timelines. I think it would have been interesting for the story to have been told from Abby’s perspective. The ending was unexpected, but there were a few unanswered questions I had. That was a slight disappointment.
Overall, I am not a sci-fi buff, but The Perfect Wife had the elements of mystery/thriller that kept my interest. This is a unique storyline that really makes you think about Artificial Intelligence and just how far it can go. The AI in this story was way more advanced than Siri could ever be. The premise reminded me of the Stepford Wives. To think, act, and look a certain way. What Tim didn’t realize is that sometimes the tables can be turned against you. Technology is here to stay, but just how far are we willing to take it?

The Perfect Wife is something I would classify as a suspenseful sci-fi mystery/thriller. Abbie wakes up in a haze and quickly learns from her creator Tim that she is a co-bot: a companion robot, that was created in the likeness of her Tim's dead wife. She has the real Abbie's memories and appearance. She was created so that Tim and his son Danny wouldn't be alone. Sounds perfect, right? The perfect wife and mom, gone too soon, but thanks to scientific advances and plenty of money, your loved one can be recreated to be just like the real thing! 

Abbie and Tim had a seemingly perfect marriage, but of course nothing is ever as it seems. Diving between the past and present, co-bot Abbie comes to realize something is amiss. She has to figure out what Tim is really all about and what happened to Abbie so that she won't become just a discarded pile of technology.

This book was really creepy and unique. I can't give too much away but this one will definitely shock you and keep you reading for hours if you enjoy sci-fi books that really mess with your mind!  Just when you think you've figured it out you're hit with something crazy! 

Thank you to Netgalley for an advance copy of this book!

This book had me from the first chapter. It was an interesting premise and I was pleasantly surprised as sci- fi and the occasional 2nd person point of view aren't usually my jam.

Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I spent virtually the entire month of August trying desperately to get into this book and just could not do it. I felt no connection to the characters and kept reaching for other books to avoid reading this one. It was definitely not a book for me. Perhaps others will like it, but I decided it to call it quits at 30%.

When Abbie wakes she has no memory of who she is or what has happened to her. She is told by a man who says he is her husband that she had an accident 5 years ago and thanks to a technological breakthrough she has been brought from near death.

He tells her she is an artist, a surfer, the mother of a young son ... the perfect wife. She is a miracle of science.

But Abbie isn't so sure of what he's telling her. She comes to doubt what he says ... but what his motive be? His version of events just doesn't add up to what she believes. What really happened to her 5 years ago?

THE PERFECT WIFE seems, to me, to be more science fiction than thriller. This was a disturbing story and frightening in thinking of these things in today's world. I wonder ..is this what comes next in future technology ... or has it already happened? It kind of put me in mind of the Stepford Wives. The ending left me in goosebumps.

Many thanks to the author / Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine / Netgalley for the digital copy of this most intriguing book. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.