The Perfect Wife is based on an interesting concept which seems increasingly relevant in an age of sophisticated technology. As something of a technophobe, it did take me a while to figure out exactly how the technology worked, but once I got to grips with it I was fascinated by the way it could be used  It exposes both Tim and Abbie as flawed characters, who at times were quite unlikeable, but nevertheless, I was very interested in what happened to them. 

The chapters in The Perfect Wife are set in two different timelines: before and after Abbie's death  As Abbie's memory slowly begins to recover, the reader gradually learns more about what happened in the months leading up to her disappearance. As secrets and lies are uncovered, the tension is extraordinary and I was keen to find out the truth. 

There are several themes explored in The Perfect Wife including disability, feminism and sexuality. These add an extra layer to an ultimately intelligent novel.

Wow doesn't even begin to cover my review to The Perfect Wife. I strive to find a thriller that is a bit out of the ordinary and boy is this it.

I want to say something in particular here but I fear it may put people off this book. My comment would not be negative but the reader of this review may be put off The Perfect Wife. Maybe similar mentions have been put out there already but I want to be the one to spoil it for the reader. I was certainly unaware of the avenue this book would go down.

A brilliant topic, in fact 2 brilliant topics are covered in this story so they may trigger some discussion(s). That's what you want in a book, to linger in your thoughts long after you've finished reading.

Like with my other 5 star review for 2019 the author had personal experience of the delicate matter used for the story which then makes the book that extra special to me too.

I must say that should anyone ask me which should come first, chicken or the egg then I now know what to say :)

If you're looking for a thriller that stands out far more than any other thrillers out there then I would highly recommend The Perfect Wife

This is one of the most unique thrillers that I have read.
This book is mesmerising, disturbing and compelling.
It has the wow factor

Abbie wakes to find herself a cobot.
An advanced AI companion/robot Invented by her genius husband Tim five-years after her demise and implanted with her memories and personality.
Returning with Tim to her former marital home Abby #2 attempts to acclimatise herself to her new reality with her husband and disabled son.
Told in a then and now fashion this skips between the two-time frames the then narrated by an unknown observer and the now with Abbie the Cobot.
Gradually a picture of events stars to emerge.
This was such a unique and unusual story that captured my imagination almost instantly.
This took me places I wasn't expecting and that finale caught me completely by surprise.
This was not incredibly complicated but it was just so gripping a really great psychological thriller that I managed to read in one entire sitting.
I also loved the inclusion of Danny and how his autism was addressed.
My son has Aspergers totally different end of the scale in terms of functioning but I can still relate somewhat.
I enjoyed this one much more than I thought I would the only thing that let this down for me was as much as I adored being lead down the garden path here in terms of the grand finale I would still have perhaps prefered a different final destination.
That still doesn't take away from the fact that this was such a unique piece of fiction.
That kept me on my toes right until that finish line.
I voluntary reviewed a copy of The Perfect Wife.

The Perfect Wife is like no other book I have ever read ! It has science fiction mixed up with plainly weird ,a missing wife and a creepiness about it.Full of the unexpected I found the story quite thought provoking and very cleverly written .Tim Scott has lost his wife Abbie ,the love of his life and five years later he has a robot made using her memories but all is not as it seems as Abbie the cobot becomes more and more human ! I really enjoyed this very clever and different book .Many thanks to the Publisher ,the Author and NetGalley for my preview copy in return for an honest review .

My second book by this author. The first book I read was The Girl Before which was a tense thriller with a big lean towards futuristic technology. This book was no different! As I knew the type of writing this author does, I settled down to prepare myself to be taken out of my usual comfort zone and into the world of Artificial Technology!

The story revolves around Abbie Cullen who is married to Tim Scott. According to her husband Tim, they have the perfect marriage. The thing is, Abbie died 5 years before and the current Abbie isn’t who she really thinks she is. Abbie is a clone, made by Tim using his dead wife’s memories. He makes the clone to be as similar as he can to his wife, but with a few adjustments so she is the perfect wife. As Abbie begins to remember more from the memories that Tim has used, she begins to look at the real Abbie’s death in more detail.

This was so completely weird! It was like your usual thriller of bad husband/good wife, but with the added futuristic element of cloning and artificial computer intelligence. From the blurb, I had no indication as to what this book was about, but as I had read a previous book I knew it wasn’t going to be like a normal thriller read. I think if I had known it would be so futuristic, I may have passed on it as it’s not my normal genre, but I’m really glad I didn’t!

The story was hypnotising and kept me on the edge of my seat. It was hard sometimes to remember that Abbie wasn’t “real”, but Abbie’s character was really well written and kept my attention throughout. The story is written from some strange perspectives of different characters, and it does take a little time to get into this author’s style of writing but once you get the hang of it, you’ll be well and truly hooked.

The book was very modern with the AI element, but I found it easy to follow and there wasn’t too much computer or technical jargon to get your head round. The storyline twisted and turned and as it was coming to the end, it had me biting my nails with anticipation! This definitely is a book worth reading, it’s filled with suspense and tension and is completely original – definitely nothing like anything I’ve read before!! Would recommend!

It's the first book I read by JP Delaney and won't surely be the last.
I was attracted by the blurb and all my expectations were met as it's an enthralling, engrossing and entertaining book.
Everything is as it should be: the style of writing, the cast of characters, the plot.
I loved the mix of sci-fi and thriller, it worked wonderfully as I can say this is an excellent book that keeps you on the edge and never gives you respite.
Even if I'm not a huge fan of psychological thriller I look forward to reading other books by this author.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to Quercus Books and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Loved this book. Abbie wakes up in hospital from what she thinks is a road accident, but finds something completely different has happened to her, or is it her?? If it isn’t, what happened to Abbie??? Abbie’s husband Tim is obsessed with her and their Autistic son Danny. This story is gripping. Couldn’t put it down. Highly recommend.
Can’t wait for J P Delaney’s next novel.
Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

When Tim’s wife, Abbie dies, he is not ready to let her go,so using his AI experience, he creates the perfect clone and uploads her memories and emotions so their lives together can continue. Sounds perfect? This is an intriguing book that combines suspense and drama with a supernatural tone. While not as gripping as The Girl Before (which is my favourite book of the last few years), it does have great pace and enough twists and turns to keep you engaged and wanting to find out more about how their relationship will adapt as Abbie’s consciousness develops. This author never fails to enthral - each book is completely different and this is definitely that - I can’t wait to see what he comes up with next!

This is a book that will stay with me forever. So many twists and turns with two thought provoking main characters who you love (her) and hate with a passion (him) and you genuinely feel like you're watching this tale unfold in real life.
Such a well written psychological thriller, I can't recommend it enough! If I could give more stars here I absolutely would - my best book of 2019!

When I requested The Perfect Wife it was solely based on the author’s name. As I didn’t even read the synopsis I thought I was in for another enjoyable though forgettable psychological thriller but was I wrong. I don’t want to ruin the surprise discussing the plot so I’ll just say this book has one of the most unique and original premises I’ve read in a while. Though it’s not action packed, the story is full of twists and turns right until the very end so even when I thought I had it all figured it out I still got a few surprises. The only reason this is not a 5 stars for me is the ending felt a bit rushed and some things could’ve been better explained.

A super enjoyable and thought-provoking psychological thriller. 4.5⭐️

I enjoyed both The Girl Before and Believe Me when I read them so I was quite excited by this book, so much so that I didn't properly read the blurb before diving in so I really wasn't fully prepared for what I got!
Abbie wakes up in hospital with scant memory of why she is there. Luckily Tim, her husband, is on hand to guide her through things. It transpires that "Abbie" is a CoBot - a companion robot - and her memories are actually downloads.
Once I had got over that shock - which isn't really a spoiler as it happens very early on in the book - I made the decision to read on, even though it wasn't what I thought I was getting but, to be honest, the premise piqued my interest enough to keep going. That and the fact that, as already mentioned, I already had a good track record with the author.
So, Abbie returns home with Tim. Home to their son who has his own challenges. Tim was going to take time out from his cutting edge techno firm - the one responsible for pioneering the technology responsible for the creation of Abbie - but he is called back to work, leaving Abbie with a lot of time on her hands. So, she does what anyone would do in her position (that reads weird but you know what I mean) she googles herself to find out what happened to her. But her endeavours fall short as she is blocked from the information. Then she finds an iPad and becomes even more determined to find the truth.
Meanwhile, our story splits. We go back to the past - to where Abbie first met Tim - told in flashback by an anonymous employee, we learn more about their relationship and the days leading up to what happened. Meanwhile back in the present, we follow Abbie as she tries to figure things out. These two threads meander around each other until they eventually merge and the whole truth comes out. A really rather shocking truth...
Despite the shocking, surprise start (which was really my own fault for not being prepared) the way the story then unfolded was both interesting and intriguing. I can't say too much more about it as to do so would inject spoilers and that's not done. Needless to say it had me running about chasing my tail as I, along with Abbie, tried to figure out what in the heck was going on. Who to trust and who was playing both sides. It all got a bit busy at times so I did have to pause a couple of times to rethink and regroup before ploughing back on with it.
As well as Abbie's story we also have another character and the challenges that they face. This I found to be extremely well handled and also, and it's the wrong word but I can't think how else to describe it, fascinating. I have no experience with this stuff but I found this element of the story to be quite eye-opening and rather shocking in places. Reading the afterword I see that the author does have personal experience in the matter and this explains some things that were in the text.
And then we have the ending and here's where it fell a bit flat for me. I have read quite a few sci-fi books recently and some of these have ended in a similar way but I have found them to work better than this one. Can't quite put my finger on why but it might be to do with the hybrid nature of combining this type of ending with what is billed as a psychological thriller.
All that said, there is plenty of food for thought regarding how technology is going and how close to this fiction actually becoming fact in the not too distant future. It definitely highlights the need for regulation especially regarding how it sits with the law.
All in all, despite certain reservations, this was a good solid read that kept my attention nicely for the majority and left me mostly satisfied at the end. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

I wouldn’t have read The Perfect Wife if I’d known what it was about, but I’m grateful I did. I loved it!
Although futuristic, this intriguing story didn’t feel weird or unbelievable and I became totally absorbed. Featuring a mix of loveable and loathsome characters, it’s clever and often surprising.
There’s a mysterious narrator whose identity you’ll never, ever guess. To begin with, I wasn’t sure I liked the author’s use of this omniscient commentator, but when I found out who it was, only towards the very end, it became clear why he chose this device. It added yet another sophisticated, brilliant layer to this mind-blowing novel.
Tim is a high-tech guru with a fascinating vision. So quite apart from a rip-roaring storyline there are insights into our future and I was fascinated by the ethical dilemmas that emerged. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a treatise on artificial intelligence or high-tech. Instead, it’s a very human psychological thriller, packed with suspense. Tim is extremely difficult to live with, but Abbie, who suffered an accident, doesn’t remember this at first.
They have an autistic son, Danny, with his “rigidity of thought, his love of schedules and his lack of imagination”. Typical of Tim’s character is his comment when they learn of Danny’s condition, “If he can become autistic, he can become un-autistic.”
I adored dynamic, artistic, free-spirited Abbie, but just as she had totally won my heart, she came up with a strategy that totally blindsided me.
JP Delaney is a master at letting his readers believe we know exactly what’s going on, and then gradually revealing that things are not quite what they seem. At times the reveal is gradual; at others it’s like having the carpet ripped out from under you.
The story is frighteningly credible. There’s such a satisfying symmetry as the story unfolds, and even though it is multi-layered, it’s written so well it never becomes complex. What could have been a very convoluted plot unfolds logically with a beautiful simplicity. I found it extremely clever. I know I’m gushing a bit, so I’ll stop here. Highly recommended.

I was going to get so much done yesterday – but first I would just set up the next book to read in my Kindle, just read a few pages – then 4 hours later, the day gone, nothing I had planned even started, but “The Perfect Wife” completely read. I had to know what had happened in this really enthralling book, which started brilliantly – and then got better.
At the start, I thought it might be a “Stepford Wives” type of book – but I was quickly dissuaded from that idea. Abbie is a robot built to resemble Tim’s wife, who disappeared five years ago, supposed dead. She looks like the wife, has many of the wife’s memories, and unless she peels off her ‘face’ to reveal the hard, white plastic beneath, is pretty much indistinguishable from the original. More importantly, she has been programmed to learn and for empathy, and (as is quickly clear) has free will – that is, at least she can doubt and argue with her creators, and act against their wishes. In particular, she is NOT a sex-bot. Her designation is co-bot: a robot designed to be a companion. Tim, with his IT company, has built her to help him through his grief at the absence of his adored wife. Not everyone at the company is completely happy with the outcome – and not just for commercial reasons.
“‘He loves me,’ you say defensively. ‘Some men build a memorial. He built an AI.’ ‘Memorials bring closure. You’re the exact opposite. Think about it – for as long as you exist, he’ll never get over the death of the real Abbie, or know what it is to have the love of a new woman in his life. At best, you’ll only ever be a pale shadow of the person he once loved. How is that a meaningful relationship?”
The book is told from the point of view of someone in Tim’s IT company – but is not identifiable until right at the end. A lot of the time, the narrator appears to be speaking directly to Abbie, reporting either what she is currently doing or what the original Abbie did in the past – here using the second person. At other times, the first or third person voices are used. This method of narration makes you feel that Abbie is being observed and assessed all the time – even when she may believe that she is alone.
Since the original Abbie disappeared, Tim has been left to bring up their autistic son, Danny, by himself. He has employed an Applied Behavioural Therapist, Sia, to help Danny re-engage with the world. The book compares Danny’s learning process with that of Abbie, and the difficulties they both have understanding and communicating with the world.
“it also strikes you that in some ways Danny and you are in the same boat, both struggling to make sense of a world you don’t really fit into”
The book also debates the definition of being human. As Abbie says to her sister:
“It is me. At least, I think it is. It’s my mind, Leese. A very small sliver of it, I gather, but enough to feel like me. You can debate whether that makes me AI or trans-human … but the point is, I’m not just some electromechanical lookalike.”
and later
“I have Abbie’s thoughts, Abbie’s consciousness, Abbie’s memories. What is identity, if not that?”
"It makes you think about the nature of being human. It seems to you that you’ve met many people over the last few weeks who weren’t, not fully. … To the judge, mechanically applying the rule of law to every situation that comes before him. To Tim’s employees, diligently turning his wishes into lines of code while ignoring the toxic, misogynistic environment he’d created. And to Tim himself, believing that every problem of the human heart must have an engineering solution."
The co-bot Abbie has empathy, she can love, she has a fear of no longer existing and an ability to decide her own course. As you read the book, in your mind you treat Abbie as another human being, you feel for her, empathise with her and want her to thrive. Is it right that someone should be able to turn her off or disassemble her at will? It reminds me a lot of the excellent TV drama series “Humans” (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4122068/?ref_=nm_knf_i1) where sentient, empathetic robots, known as Synths, are seeking legal rights and protections.
"And Danny? Is he more or less human than others? Some might see his rigidity of thought, his love of schedules and his lack of imagination, as robotic. When people talk about their ‘humanity’, after all, they generally mean their empathy, their compassion, their moral code.
But of course Danny isn’t any less human just because he doesn’t have those things. He’s just differently human: someone with an unusual ratio of rigidity to empathy.
Perhaps the real test of someone’s humanity, you think, is how tenderly they treat those like Danny. Whether they blindly try to fix them and make them more like everyone else, or whether they can accept their differentness and adapt the world to it."
As the book continues, Tim becomes less and less likeable and his reasons for creating the Abbie cobot increasingly suspect.
“‘I made her better. I fixed her,’ Tim told Mike in the same location, a couple of days later. ‘Anyone would do the same for someone they really loved.’”
Tim’s concept of love is somewhat adrift of most people’s, and rather creepy. The book also debates death and immortality – is the latter a desirable aim? Or should we just accept the finality of death? Something that Tim, clearly, cannot accept.
I found this book fascinating and thought provoking, as well as being a very exciting , fast-paced read, and would recommend it unreservedly.

The Perfect Wife by JP Delaney.

Artist Abbie Cullen has no memory, every part of her body hurts and her neck is covered in bandages. She is waking up wondering where she is, it sounds like a hospital as she can hear machinery beeping. She wonders if she has been in an accident, is her husband Tim and five year old autistic son Danny alive and safe? A moment later Abbie is told it’s been five years since her tragic accident.

Abbie goes on to piece together memories of her marriage to Tim and life before the accident, what really happened to her?

This psychological sci-fi thriller has an unique storyline, it’s something so different and not the theme I was expecting therefore I’m not going to give away any clues and spoil your reading experience. It’s a fascinating and suspenseful story that makes you reflect upon the future of humankind.

Thank you to Netgalley/Quercus Books for the ARC

Wow once I’d got my head around the basic concept of AI this book opened up so much discussion and thought provoking moments. I was hooked from the beginning and thoroughly enjoyed the tense drama and the various characters. I felt the denouement was a slight let down in parts but overall a great read.

Marriage Domestic Noir merged with Artificial Intelligence!

3.5.

Technical whizz Tim Scott was devastated by the loss of his wife Abbie in a surfing accident.

Five years on he's designed the perfect solution to his grief – a world-first companion ‘cobot', capable of emotional intelligence – an exact replica of Abbie. But can the replaceable ever live up to the original?

An unconventional, imaginative concept in the form of science fiction applied to a domestic thriller. The legal, moral, and ethical issues regarding AI versus human conscience presented a scary, as well as thought-provoking, reality, and there were questions raised that I hadn't ever considered. Quick, easy-to-follow, and readable – I raced through this in a day.

However, I felt the story dragged, and that the types of POV’s the author chose to use, particularly the unknown third person omniscient narration, contributed to this. None of the twists really surprised me – I had a fair idea where the story was heading.

J.P. Delaney’s first novel The Girl Before really made an impression on me in 2017, but this one just didn't live up to her debut. I'm ‘alone in the crowd’ on this one though, as most reviewers loved it.

Abbie wakes up in hospital to the perfect husband, a special child, home and life. Except she can't remember anything prior to waking up in hospital. Her husband, encouraging, loving and willing to help Abbie do anything to feel comfortable in her life is not what he seems and as Abbie begins to unravel the threads of her memories revealing the hidden truths of her 'perfect' life this thriller ramps up the anticipation to a solid 10. Having thoroughly enjoyed J.P. Delaneys previous novel The Girl Before I was eagerly anticipating a solid plot packed with plenty of interesting characters and intense twists and boy did this latest book deliver. Many thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Wow this book was sensational. I could not stop reading this book wanting to know more . This book was a roller coaster ride . This has a sci fi element to it. I was so intrigued.

Imagine you wake up in what you think is a hospital. You don’t know what happened but your memory is coming back to you. Your husband is by your side, smiling. And then he tells you that you had a reset instead of some kind of accident. You are a robot, or cobot, a robot companion. You think you know who you are. Abbie, wife to Tim and mother to Danny. But you are not. You are not even human. But you feel like one. What a horrible perception. And a brilliant start into a very unique story.

Abbie, the cobot, is the substitute for the real Abbie. Tim owns an IT company and after the dead of his real wife, he got that idea to create her likeness. He misses her so much that he does not want to live without her. Abbie feels almost like a real human. She has to get accustomed to the fact that she is not. The story is told alternating through Abbie’s eyes and from some mysterious third person. They tell us how the real Abbie and Tim met and how their relationship developed. This POV is a bit weird but in the end you find out what this is about. The book touches a lot of themes. The most interesting one is what the mechanical Abbie is. What happened when robots can develop a consciousness and feel empathy? The memory and a lot of the real Abbie’s personality was transferred to the robot Abbie. Now she feels like her, have her memories. How weird is that!

This is one of the most unique books I have ever read. It is a sci-fi story as well as a psychological thriller. There is not much talk of how this is all possible. So don’t be afraid of too many technical details. There are almost none. I liked the idea and the story. My major problem here and the reason I give only four stars is the fact that this book is very slow. There is almost no tension. I was really interested and engaged in the story but I also had no problem to put the book aside. On my day off I did not read at all because doing other things was somehow more important. The book was not as gripping as it should be. It took me a whole week to read it, which is long and speaks for itself. But don’t get me wrong. It is still a unique story and I appreciate this very much