JP Delaney succeeds with yet another readable page-turner that has more than your average curve balls!
In a leap from the usual first person unreliable narrator who may not be who you think they are, Abbie is an AI who is a replicant for the late wife of Tim, a tech wunderkind. Mysteries abound over what happened to the original Abbie - is she dead, is she alive, what does Tim want with a substitute wife..
There is certainly an extra dimension to this thriller when considering the rights of the AI and the legality in copying somebody's memories and likeness for all the remaining family.
If this wasn't enough we also get a lot of insight into what it must be like looking after an autistic child. It is treated with understanding, compassion and humour - not surprising, when you discover that the author has personal experience and has a 21 year old son that he has to shave.

This was a fairly gripping story about life after death in the form of AI. It was an original take on a typical plot of a missing wife, however I felt it was more sci fi than I first thought compared to thriller. The characters were interesting and compelling and it was well written. I'm glad it focussed on Danny's autism rather than dismissing it and not exploring the effects of it on the family. It took a little while to get into with the alternating viewpoints and flashbacks and the ending felt a little rushed and unclear, but overall I enjoyed reading and was eager to find out what had happened to Abbie. Would recommend!

“What Gates was to personal computers, Jobs was to smartphones or Musk was to electric cars, Tim Scott was to AI.” But when Tim , the successful, single-minded, domineering CEO of a Silicon Valley robotics company falls in love with his artist-in-residence Abbie Cullen no-one can quite believe his transformation. We are introduced to Abbie as she wakes up in ‘hospital’ some five years after what’s described as a fatal accident. For Abbie now faces life as a cobot, an AI reincarnation with emotion aka the perfect wife. The story unfolds in flashbacks as cobot Abbie uncovers more and more memories of her human counterpart and, in particular, her relationship with her severely autistic son Danny. J P Delaney not only explores the future of robotics and AI but the harsh realities of dealing with autism while juggling with an autocratic husband who demands perfection. The Perfect Wife manages to combine a futuristic peak into the world of AI and robotics, the bewildering and frankly shocking variety of treatments for autism with a cleverly nuanced psychological thriller. This would make a fantastic film. Thanks to Quercus for an ARC of this book.

An insightful, provocative look at the ethics of technology and living with a neurodiverse child from an author at the top of their game! I have been a fan of Delaney's other works, and this continues their winning streak!

This was a very different book to one that I would normally read.. it was certainly unusual covering many topics, AI, robotics, autism, love, marriage and death. The start of the book was not easy as chapters alternated between the past and the present and it took a while to get into the flow. Having said that it has been extremely well written and it is scary to think that this could be our future.
The ending was a tad confusing and I felt very rushed. I think I know what happened but not totally sure, I would have loved to see a few more ends tied up clearly to complete the story..

A slightly terrifying insight into how robotics and artificial intelligence could impact on our lives in a not too distant future.

When Abigail disappears while surfing, assumed dead, she leaves behind tech entrepreneur husband Tim and an autistic son. Tim’s company has already started to develop intelligent robots so for him it’s a natural step to create a “ Cobot” in his wife’s image . The new “Abbie” starts to develop her own personality and begins to dig deeper into her predecessors disappearance.

A fabulous, fast-paced thriller.

I can honestly say this is the best book i have read so far in 2019. It was gripping from start to finish.
I felt i learnt so much about autism, and human frailties alike.
I just hope this book is made into a film as it would make a fantastic one.

I nearly didn’t persevere with this book when it became clear that one of the central characters was a cobot. However how wrong could I have been? I found it a highly original take on a standard thriller with more than the usual unexpected twists.
Tim Scott is a multimillionaire with a highly successful business specialising in developing robots. His wife Abbie has been missing for five years and Tim has never recovered from the loss. How she disappeared remains a mystery and Tim has been accused of her murder but was exonerated. They have a son, Danny with severe autism and no one believes that Abbie would have abandoned him.
Tim has created a cobot in Abbie’s likeness. It looks just like her and is capable of independent thought. Tim hopes it can draw on Abbie’s past thoughts to establish what happened to her.
The story is related pre and post Abbie’s disappearance. The timeline is a little complicated at times - but stick with it. The plot is full of surprises right up to the end. I did not guess what was going to happen. Fascinating and gripping.

Having devoured JP Delaney’s other books “The Girl Before” I couldnt wait to start this one.
The main character Abbie wakes in a hospital bed with no memory of how she got there. The man by her side explains that he's her husband.He tells Abbie she's a gifted artist, a doting mother to their young son, and the perfect wife.
But Abbie is not whom she thinks she is as the real Abbie died 5 years ago!!
Looking forward to JP Delaney’s next book.

The Perfect Wife

Although the premise of this novel was quite strange, at first I enjoyed it although I can’t deny that I found it very far fetched to the point where eventually as I read on, I couldn’t comprehend anyone believing it. It was totally off the wall at times and I got lost particularly in the last 10% or so finding it very difficult to follow who was who and what actually happened to Abbie. I found the ending rushed. I didn’t find it to be properly sewn up. I thought there were a lot of loose ends and some didn’t make sense. I’m not a fan of Sci-Fi and I found this book fell under that category more than any other novel I’ve selected to read before.

Absolutely brilliant book. I loved every minute of it. You are never quite certain what is the truth and what happened 5 years ago with Abbie. Definitely not to be missed.
I admit I did struggle a bit with the autism theme although after reading about the author I can understand perfectly why this is included in the book.
I think I understood the final twists although I did expect one more hidden page to overturn what I thought/understood.

A unique story that is compelling from the first chapter. A quickening pace as the story moves along, you want to know the end, get to that point in the memory where the events are revealed, but it's too good a story to end. Such a different storyline to anything I have read before, very enjoyable and exciting. I am starting to look round at people now, could they be walking amongst us? the story was quite frightening in parts too, I found, and really widens the thoughts on artificial intelligence. A great inside into autism too I thought. Well written, an enjoyable and exciting read and recommended as a great escape from the mundane.

Suspend all phones and lock the doors, JP Delaney is back with another humdinger of a read!

So go with the flow, don't try and make sense of some of the AI bits (that have bigger holes in them than most) and just revel in the anguish and virtuality of our heroine. I read it in one sitting, very late into the night, but I didn't care. Good books deserve such treatment in my opinion!

I was so excited when i heard about an upcoming new book from this author as i really loved the previous two and when i read the premise of this one i thought it sounded really interesting!

For me though, this one just didn't compare to the previous two, i felt like i was going to like it when i started it and had high hopes , but i just found that it fizzled out towards the middle and then i lost interest on the plot. It did pick up towards the end for me but then left me with more questions that answers which is never really ideal.
I felt that the main central inclusion of A.I and the afterlife in general just made this story feel so heavy and in depth , more sci-fi than thriller overall and that ruined my enjoyment of it in general.

I will say though that like the previous two , the writing is still brilliant, and engaging. I enjoy the characters that he creates and the situations he puts them in, so on the whole i assume readers who liked his first two books will no doubt enjoy this one. Just for me i had very high hopes and don't feel they were met or exceeded.

Maybe i will come back to this book at a later date and re read it , give it another go because i feel it's a shame to have one by him that i didn't enjoy as much but that's how it goes sometimes i guess.

I will say this book has a broad range of topics that it covers - love , death , family drama , secrets and lies. Also the more in depth and moral questions by covering mortality , the afterlife and the whole options of A.I too. It was very interesting but i just felt that the heaviness of the robotics side just left me feeling very indifferent to this book and not in a way that it was as gripping or exciting as previous.

I did really love the character of Abbie , and following her trying to crack the code of her life , and uncover the secrets that had been buried within her , and her home.

If you enjoyed his previous books then i recommend this , even though i might not have loved it doesn't mean to say it was bad by any means. Also if you are maybe after a thriller that has more elements to it, then i would recommend this too.

Before reading this book, I would have said I don't like the sci-fi genre but after reading this, I am a convert! This beautifully written book is about artificial intelligence (with emotional intelligence) and whilst it's not an edge of your seat read, it will keep you guessing right until the end. I devoured this in two days, having read JP Delaney's other books and I will be eagerly awaiting the next one!

Abbie Cullen awakes in what appears to be a Hospital. She aches all over, has she been in an accident? What about her husband Tim Scott and their son Danny?
Tim arrives at her bedside, but what he has to say is very shocking. Abbie went missing five years ago and is presumed dead! Tim and his business partner Mike Austin own Scott Robotics based in San Francisco USA. He tells Abbie she is a Cobot. An engineering likeness, complete with the human Abbie's DNA. Although her memory is incomplete, the cobot Abbie has good memory from the human Abbie.
Eventually it is revealed that the Police arrested Tim for Abbie's murder, but it couldn't be proved, because Abbie went missing in a surfing accident. The cobot Abbie learns that Danny is autistic and Mike and his wife Jenny ( who is a senior programmer at Scott Robotics ) are concerned at the treatment Danny is getting at a Specialist school. However Tim has a temper and is very controlling and refuses to listen to any criticism.
The cabot Abbie cannot cry but she feels for Danny's predicament, but what can she do? Does she have any rights?
This is a very unusual story! The author's previous books were "The Girl before" and "Believe me". This one is equally good, very enjoyable. Recommended. I will review on Amazon on publication day.

I loved JP Delaney first book and really enjoyed the twist and turns so glad I received this one to read. What can I say, it does not disappoint. I flew through this one. I really like the style of writing and they was we are kept guessing. Highly recommended.

Ive always been a fan of JP Delayney and some of his books are in my Top 10 ever so I was over the moon to be able to read this book. The plot was great send captivating from the start. Unusual and a great twists - a great combination in a brilliant story. Loved it so much and would highly recommend.

JP Delaney never fails to surprise me. His books are so unique, and he’s now an auto buy author for me. I was so excited to read this one and it didn’t disappoint. It’s an odd mix of genres, and not something I would typically enjoy, but I loved this one. I was hooked and demolished it in two days. I couldn’t put it down. I was a little disappointed because I thought I had predicted what was happening, but I was completely wrong and very shocked. Fantastic characters and a really gripping storyline. I’ve loved all books by Delaney and I’m already excited for the next one.

This book is certainly different to my usual reading matter. Having said that I did enjoy the book once I got the story line in my head. It was exceptional writing with the robotic theme, which I did find a bit hard to understand, I had to keep reading to find out the ending.