Believe Me: A Novel

Claire Wright, escaped from Britain to New York City, but her secret no one knows. At the moment she is pursuing a career in acting. Claire has been working with a retired cop, Henry. Henry has now become a private investigator for a law firm, who catches adulterers. Claire uses her acting skills to catch these adulterers on tape, after they solicit sexual favors from her. The monies she makes working with Henry goes towards her acting lessons, and living expenses. The next job that Claire has accepted is to persuade a college professor to make a move on her. The wife, Stella Fogler, wants Claire to see if her husband, Patrick Fogler, will submit to her charms. However, Professor Fogler, doesn’t react in the way that she thought he would. He basically rebuffs her. She sees a book he has even reading, Les Fleurs du Mal by Charles Baudelaire. She expresses interest and reads part of a poem to him. He’s impressed and leaves the book with her. She reports back to the wife, but the wife believes that they have scared him off, and that he knows what they were attempting to do. Little did they all know, that they next day, Stella Fogler would be found dead by hotel staff. When Claire was approached by the FBI to help flush out a murderer, she wasn’t too thrilled. Especially since they knew that she was in the United States illegally. She had no choice but to help them, or she would be sent back to London. The FBI had the Professor in their sights, and start to groom Claire to get the Professor admit on tape that he killed his wife. What a true psychological thriller this was. Just when the reader thinks that they have it all figured out, the plot turns in another direction. Will Claire be able to find out who the murderer is? Is it the Professor? What’s the motive for the murder? What are the dark secrets that have been hidden? The plot was genius and the character development was superb! I truly enjoyed this book. It kept me totally enthralled until the very end.

I loved JP Delaney's previous book, The Girl Before. I've been eagerly awaiting this newest release - Believe Me.

Delaney starts things off with a great prologue that immediately hooked me - yes, a murder.

Part one introduces us to Claire, an actress who works as a decoy for a law firm, entrapping philandering husbands. "I'm not proud of the stuff I do for Henry. But sometimes I am proud of how well I do it."

Her last job takes a bad turn when the wife is found murdered. The cops suspect the husband, but to prove it, they need more evidence. Claire is approached to go undercover, get close to the husband and see if she can gather enough evidence to prosecute. It sounds like a good, if somewhat iffy, plan. But Claire is a complicated person. She sees the world and her interactions as though written as a screenplay. (I really liked this as a plot device - it was really effective.) She tailors her behaviour and actions as she thinks they would best present. "But then, this isn't lying. This is behaving truthfully under imaginary circumstances."

There is most definitely something 'off' about Claire - she is the epitome of an unreliable narrator. What is truth and what is imagined is very hard to determine with her. And as part one ends and part two began, I was riveted. Is Claire doing the manipulating or is she the one being controlled? There really are no likable characters in Believe Me, they all seem to have their own hidden agenda.

Charles Baudelaire's book of poetry, Les Fleurs du mal (The Flowers of Evil) plays a pivotal role in Delaney's plot. Dark stuff. Some scenes may be too graphic for gentle readers.

As I started reading part three of Believe Me, it seemed a wee bit of a stretch. But at this point I was so intrigued by Delaney's storytelling, I didn't give it another thought and kept turning pages. I had no idea where things were going to go. And I was rewarded at the end by a twist that I didn't fully expect. I'm not sure I completely bought it, but believe me, it was a good read!

Claire has a problem. Well, several problems, actually. She's a Brit in America and she needs a green card. She's behind on her rent and she needs to get caught up. And she has to convince the police that she didn't kill a woman brutally in her hotel room. 

To make enough money for her rent and acting classes, Claire sometimes works under the table for a former cop, testing married men on their faithfulness. As a beautiful young woman and a talented actress, she is very successful. But when she tries to get incriminating tape on Patrick, he smiles and walks away, leaving her with nothing more than a book of poetry by Baudelaire and a lingering memory of a genuine moment of connection. 

It was Patrick's wife who was brutally murdered, and in order to prove her innocence, Claire goes to work with the police and a forensics psychologist to try to bring him down. But as a dedicated actress, as a former foster child, as an outsider in America, can Claire find the strength she needs to find the truth, or will the experience of trying to catch a killer finally break her fragile ego? 

JP Delaney, author of last year's popular The Girl Before, is back with a new take on a twisty tale. Believe Me is a fast-moving story of trust and vulnerability, of strength and fragility. It goes deep into the dark side of humanity to find out what's true and what's real. 

Believe Me is a quick read but not an easy one. It is a deep dive into some of the seedier edges of love and sexuality. Based on some of the more disturbing poems of Baudelaire, the crimes described in this novel are difficult to read about. There is some mild BDSM and talk of images on the darknet, a suicide attempt and some time in a psychiatric institution, and none of that is easy to take. But if you can make it to the end, the payoff is well worth it. This story twists and turns, back and forth, until you can no longer tell for sure what is real. It's a crazy ride, but one I thoroughly enjoyed! 

Galleys for Believe Me were provided by Random House's Ballentine Books through NetGalley, with many thanks.

A fascinating psychological thriller ! I love this book and how the plot had so much subterfuge.!
This book kept me reading long into the night.
The book was told from the point of view of Claire, an actress who is broke from the UK. She is living in NY and desperate to make money so she takes on a job as a decoy and is to wait until one of the philandering husbands attempt to pick her up. She is employed by a law firm who is doing this scam with her on a thin line between what is legal and what is illegal. She is never to approach the men first, then the law firm has the evidence for the wife that the husband is cheating and was not "entrapped". Her job seems to be going along as planned then a crazy twist takes place after a murder.
One of the wives of one of the men turns up dead. The police believe it is the husband, or so that is what they tell Claire. She agrees to to see if she can get a confession . Or is Claire being set up? She doubts the police and does not trust anyone involved. Claire realizes she is in danger of being the primary suspect and begins to follow leads herself to save herself . Who is after her and can she find out who the real suspect is in time? The plot twists kept turning and I was more intrigued at every chapter.
This was very well written. Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the ARC which does not influence my review. This is one very compelling read. I look forward to further work by this author.

Ballantine Books and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of Believe Me. I was under no obligation to review this book and my opinion is freely given.

As a student who is constantly short on cash, but unable to legally work outside of the college system without a green card, Claire takes jobs for cash that help her develop her acting skills. Working for a divorce attorney by catching cheaters on tape, Claire gets in over her head one fateful evening. With no choice but to work for the police, Claire quickly realizes that her acting skills will be strongly tested. As she helps the police search for evidence of wrongdoing, will Claire's deceptions leave her deceived? Will the search for the truth lead to a dangerous situation?

Believe Me is a psychological thriller with so much back and forth with regards to the plot that readers will feel like they are watching a tennis match. If the rating system would allow, I would give the novel three and a half stars. As the book is written in the perspective of an unreliable narrator, it is too hard for the reader to forge a connection with her. The "is he or isn't he" part of the plot was too repetitive and ruined some of the suspense for me. Overall, the author does a good job of keeping the reader on their toes, as the evidence points in one direction or the other. Believe Me is a quick read and is a novel for those who like psychological thrillers and suspense.

Claire Wright is a British immigrant in NYC with a passion for acting.  While waiting for her big break, she moonlights helping a private investigator catch cheating spouses.  Until one night, a client is brutally murdered.  Was Claire the last person to see the client alive?  Did Claire go too far and commit murder?

Another great book by JP Delaney! I should have known better than to think I had Believe Me all figured out halfway through.  It is a roller coaster ride with an epic conclusion.  This book is only similar to his previous book, The Girl Before, was my favorite book of 2017 because of it’s twisted ending that had me floored.   It is very heavy on theater as a whole as well as heavily focused on the poet Charles Baudelaire making the extreme research very apparent.  

However, I did take one star away because although the main character, Claire, was dark and complex, I couldn't feel connected to her.  She seemed very self-centered and shallow for most of the book.  This is told mostly in Claire's perspective with the occasional input from other characters in script form (again, heavily focused on theater).    

For those who may be sensitive to certain themes or triggered: there was mild foul language, graphic violence, sexually explicit scenarios, mental illness, stalking, and manipulation.

Please note: An electronic ARC of this book was generously provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

4-4.25 STARS

Hoping to jumpstart her acting career in the states, British actress, Claire Wright, is struggling to make ends meet while attending a prestigious acting course in New York City. Without a green card, Claire is hard pressed to make enough cash to cover her living expenses. Hence, she agrees to act as a decoy for a firm of divorce lawyers who seek to entrap cheating spouses. But when the wife of one of her targets turns up dead, Claire suddenly finds herself entangled in the ensuing police investigation, agreeing to help lure a confession out of the guilty party before the killer can strike again. Yet nothing is exactly as it seems, prompting the reader to wonder if something more nefarious has been going on all along.

A psychological thriller boasting a unique premise and a myriad of twists and turns, author JP Delaney’s latest novel, “Believe Me,” takes the reader on quite an incredible ride. Unfortunately, by the journey’s end, I was left feeling a bit ambivalent about the story as a whole. Overall, the storyline was intriguing and enjoyable—grabbing my attention right from the very start. But guessing the killer’s identity early on, coupled with an unexpected detour that was too unrealistic for my personal liking, only served to detract from my complete enjoyment of this book. That aside, “Believe Me” is still a very compelling story—one that I personally had a hard time putting down.

I voluntarily reviewed an advance complimentary copy of this book, which was provided to me through Netgalley.

There are other schools of acting theory, but Stanislavski's System, which was developed a century ago, remains one of the most important. Claire Wright, Age: 25 (can play 20–30), Height: 5’7”, Nationality: British, Eye color: Brown, Hair color: Flexible, is deeply into the System as she trains in New York City.

Claire's here on a legal student visa, but that visa restricts her ability to work. She has no outside source of income and finally takes a job as a decoy, a woman who works for wives looking for incriminating evidence against their wandering husbands. Claire doesn't like deceiving people and the job is not quite legal on her visa, but she needs the money and thinks she is safe in the care of her handler, an ex-cop turned private detective.

One night, though, one of the wives is murdered and the MO is that of a serial killer the police have been tracking. Claire was the last person to see the victim and the police trap her in a merry-go-round of deception. Is Claire the suspect or is the husband the suspect or is someone else the suspect? Are these people really even police?

It's a fascinating story that gets into the mind of a young actor. The structure is like a play, with a story arc and even some dialogue, the kind of inner dialogue that Stanislavsky's actors are taught to use.

I recommend it highly.

I received a review copy of "Believe Me" by JP Delaney (Random House-Ballantine) through NetGalley.com.

Who can you trust? Everyone in this book seems to be playing a role…and they are all very, very good at it. When I began reading, I found the play script format a little distracting, but as I got into the book, I understand how and why the device was being used. There is a good deal of theater lore, literature, and a great deal of background and theory about Baudelaire's famous volume of French poetry Les Fleurs du mal. If this was an action movie, I would say the main characters played the roles of Mr. & Mrs. Smith. Despite the deux ex machina ending, the book kept me riveted throughout. According to the author, this is a rewrite of a novel she wrote a while ago – I’d say the revision and updating succeeded. I highly recommend this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for an Advanced Reader Copy (e-book).

This was definitely a rollercoaster of a thriller. The book had a great premise, an actress that was hired to act the part of a woman interested in married men, typically hired by their wives, to see if they were being unfaithful. I love the way the format of the story, it almost reads like a screenplay.

This book was so well-written that I found myself immersed in it immediately. I could not put the book down and found myself staying up way too late to read it. An excellent thriller/mystery that I definitely recommend to lovers of the genre.

*I would like to thank the author/publisher/Netgalley for the opportunity to read it in exchange for a fair and honest review*

This book will make your head spin. What can you believe? What is the truth? The lead character is an actress, a very good actress. She was once told that some actors pretend, but the best actors become. And she seems able to mold herself into anyone she wants to be. She puts on their skin and becomes. Her childhood left her feeling alone and unloved. I think reality has no appeal for her since her reality was so damaging. When she gets involved in a murder, she is asked to get close to the main suspect. Is he guilty? Or is she the guilty one? There is a dark poet whose poems become an intricate part of the story. The detective and the psychologist try to advise her and keep her safe, but.... she has to become.... pretending won't work. Or has she become a murderer?

When I said your head will spin, I wasn't kidding. The book is written in the first person and the narrator is the actress. So you never really know what is real. The book is both fascinating and frustrating. And I guarantee you won't know the ending until the end. I don't know if it's really true that some people aren't capable of knowing their own truth. But I suspect it is. Get the book. See what you think.

I borrowed this book from my local public library through the store.

If you love twisty psychological thrillers, you'll love 'Believe Me' by the talented author, J.P. Delaney.
Nothing is what it seems and nobody is who they seem, and yet finally everything is exactly as expected, falling into place, with a nerve wracking, yet satisfactory ending.
There was so much to enjoy in this novel, especially the constant references to Baudelaire and his work, Les Fleurs du Mal, as well as references to acting techniques, and personality disorders.
It's true that the fine line between reality and fiction is pushed to the limit, especially regarding US police procedure and the Dark Web, although I'm no expert and overall it rang true to me.
What I can guarantee is a well contrived and twisted plot and engaging characters.
I highly recommend the audiobook version because of the excellent, multiple (5) audio narrators, and because there are some scenes which are written and read as scenes from a screenplay, which were vividly brought to life.
Believe Me is undoubtedly the best audiobook production I've ever listened to, and I've heard plenty in the last two years.
By the way, I also recommend The Girl Before, another complex, psychplogical thriller by J. P. Delaney.

Believe Me absolutely captivated me. It has such a unique premise- Clare is a young British woman who has come to New York to pursue acting. She works for a law firm in Entrapment - she gets hired to try and get cheating husbands to sleep with her to get evidence for the wives. She's working on her acting skills and getting by, until one of the clients turns up dead the next morning.

The book took many turns and I never could tell what was real and what was an act. I loved the author's last book, The Girl Before, and I think I enjoyed Believe Me even more. Warning: this is one dark book so if you're sensitive to violence, you might skip. From this depraved reader, it gets 4.5 stars.

Wow!

A riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma......

This book has more layers than an onion.....every time you think you have it figured out....another layer comes off.

This is an amazingly, well thought out deeply psychological story within a story. I could not put it down. It is the story of an inspiring actress who is studying acting in New York City. She has a scholarship to the acting school, but she does not have money on which to live. Oh, and she is from England and has no green card. So she results to off-book gigs that just a bit shady....And then there is a gruesome murder....and who did it? The police are looking for the truth. And thus the story begins......

This will be made into a movie, and actors and actresses will kill to get these roles.

Read this book. You will not be able to put it down. Six stars for this book!

Claire is British and living in the United States as a struggling actor. Not only does she need money, she needs a green card, too.

Her ship comes in when she is hired to become a decoy for a law firm of divorce lawyers. Her aim, to catch husbands cheating on tape...with her.

All seems to go as planned until the wife of one of the target’s is murdered. Claire is now asked by the police to ensnare the husband in a confession for the murder.

Believe Me is both enthralling and icky for different reasons! It reminded me of reality shows where women have gone undercover to trap men in theses types of scenarios. Throughout, I never knew who to trust, including Claire.

If you enjoy darker, twisted thrillers, Believe Me should be on your radar!

Thank you to the publisher for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Claire is a struggling actress in New York City. She needs money and has a hard time getting decent acting jobs, so she works undercover with a law firm to catch cheating husbands. It's not glamorous, but it pays the bills. When her latest client ends up dead, the husband is suspect number one. The police hire Claire to help catch him. They are certain she will be able to get him to confess, but nobody expects the twists involved with Claire on the case.

A fast-paced psychological thriller. This novel keeps the reader guessing as to what is really happening, but it also gets a little confusing. I really enjoyed the first half of the book, though things got a little too twisty for me as the story progressed. Good for fans of twisty thrillers.

I received an eARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

My head is spinning..spinning..spinning..There were so many curveballs that I couldn't keep them straight.( I state that in the best possible sense.) Be prepared to empty out your calendar and dig in because this is an all encompassing novel. However, be forewarned as it is dark and if this is not your cup of tea you will not be happy with the results.
Claire, an unemployed actress, is behind in her rent and needs to find a way to make extra money. At first she entraps and records dealings with men who are cheating on their wives for an investigator. Then she is offered a new way of making money by beguiling a man that the police feel is involved in shady rituals and murders. Who is the real victim and who is the real murderer? Delaney takes us on a exciting rollercoaster rider up to the very last minute until all we can say is ,"WHEW!"

Believe Me had more twists and turns than a roller coaster ride and was equally as thrilling and (a tad) scary. I was drawn to J.P. Delaney’s latest release primarily because I thought her previous book, The Girl Before, was a page turner based on an original concept.

I was not disappointed by this title which took on more of the psychological, and somewhat dark, side. It wasn’t without a few bumps- a couple of slow spots and an important scene that wasn’t nearly as intense as it should have been. This did not change my overall opinion but I did remove one star.

Claire is a Brit, without a green card, living in New York City. She is a struggling actress attending classes at a prestigious acting school here in the States after a bit of an unfortunate relationship with her leading man back home. To make ends meet, she works off book in the role of a decoy for a divorce lawyer. One such job lands her in the middle of a brutal murder and subsequent investigation. Woven throughout the story are connections to Charles Baudelaire, a nineteenth century French poet. Baudelaire’s work was considered scandalous to the point of being censored due to his themes of sex and death.

Believe Me will have you wondering exactly who and what to believe. Did she or didn’t she? Did he or didn’t he? Or, perhaps, the murderer was someone else?? You’ll have to read it all the way to the very end to find out.

FYI - I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Claire is an actress that supplements her income by doing freelance work for a lawyer, who is investigating husbands who cheat on their wives. When one of Claire's clients is found dead, the police hire Claire to become involved with the husband, who likes to quote from Baudelaire's poetry. Claire enters a very dark world while trying to know the husband better. Claire works with a psychologist who is profiling psychopaths, but Claire starts to wonder if she is the one who is a subject. There are a lot of twists in this novel!
Tense and surprising, this is a really great psychological thriller. I was quite surprised by the ending!
Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for providing me with an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
#BelieveMe #JPDelaney #NetGalley

I raced through this compelling read and highly recommend it if you enjoy thrillers that play with your head. From being a part-time bit player for a law firm, amateur actress Claire Wright is suddenly thrown into the most serious role of her life – hunting a serial killer. Or is she? Who on earth to believe! JP Delaney’s story teased me all the way through – and I loved it. I enjoyed the insights into acting classes and Baudelaire’s poetry. And the book was cleverly structured as, Hamlet-like, it turned almost into a play within a play. There were layers upon intriguing layers and I was totally caught up – so much so that I finished it in an afternoon. I was never quite sure what was true, who was simply acting or who to trust as the characters were believable and engaging. Simply wonderful.

This was a great psychological thriller and hooked me from the start. Set in New York, Claire Wright is a british citizen without a green card, so she works for a law firm investigator for cash. Her job is to catch married men who cheat by role playing and getting them to solicit her. She is attending a prestigious acting school where she is a top role playing student, so this is the perfect way to pay the rent for her. While on a job, things go awry and the woman who hired Claire is murdered. Now Claire has to take on the role of her life....one that could cost her her life. There are lots of twists and clever turns, and I was clueless as to who the killer was, as well as who could actually be trusted, including Claire. Believe Me...you will be glued to every page!

I was taken with this book from the very beginning. I loved the characters and the story being told from more than one perspective. I was sailing along reading and thought I had a handle on everyone and everything and then, there I was, back at square one, thinking that I sure didn't see that coming.
This didn't happen to me once in this book....it continued to happen. And it was marvelous.

This book will hold you, twist you, turn you and set you talking to yourself. We all know that's why you should read it. Those of us who love this genre search for books that leave us feeling just like this.

This one does that in a wonderfully written way.

This book was provided to me by NetGalley and the publisher. Thank you.

Believe me- that’s what actress Claire wants everyone to do. And she’s good at it, setting up honey traps for her investigator boss. One mark is different though. His nervous panicky wife is looking for information to protect herself but when Claire meets the husband she gets the brushoff. Later that night the wife is robbed and murdered in a manner consistant with the writings of her husband’s favorite author. Claire is asked by the police to help catch their prime suspect, the husband, and so the chase is on. But are they really afer the husband or is it Claire who is in their sites? Are they hoping she will reveal herself as the real killer? Just who is playing whom? This well written hard to put down book will keep you guessing. JP Delaney made a believer out of me.

Believe Me wasn't believable at all. I know this is fiction, but at some point the story has to be somewhat believable, but the story just grew out of control by the end.

I enjoyed the first half I really did. It wasn't completely realistic, but I could still go with what the author was throwing out there. By the end though I was just at a lost for words. It felt like the author just wanted it all to end and couldn't figure out the best way so they decided to go in a totally different direction with the story to tie up loose ends. It all just fell apart for me.

I liked the writing and the story did have a sinister feel to it which was great, I just think the overall story needed less plot holes and some tightening up.

I sat down yesterday afternoon to start reading Believe Me by J.P. Delaney and then suddenly and without warning, it was dark and I was at 83%. It is RARE that a book pulls me in too such an extreme degree. I finished the remaining 17% on my break at work today and then spent several minutes going over it all again in my head making sure I had it all straight. There was a LOT of twists, surprises, unreliable narration and second-guessing going on.

I feel like the first three-quarters of the book were really well done and had just the right amount of drama and suspense. I was all in and honestly had no idea who was trustworthy and who wasn’t. I was poised on the edge of my seat, ready for a great ending.

Unfortunately, in the final chapters of the book, everything got so complicated and convoluted that it was hard to keep up. I’m still not entirely sure how to sum up what happened but here goes…

Claire is a struggling British actress living in NYC. When she is desperate for money, she works as bait for a law firm; catching philandering husbands on behalf of their (soon to be ex) wives. When one of the wives ends up dead, Claire is hired to work undercover to try and draw out the killer. Okay, let’s say I buy into this (already extremely unlikely) premise, what follows is every single twist the author could possibly have jammed in there.

Delaney makes it extremely difficult to predict where the story will end up. It is even hard to get a grip on the main character as we wonder if we can trust anything she says at all. And although I was consistently mistrustful of the husband (Patrick), there were moments when I wondered if I was being too harsh. I just never knew who I could trust.

It’s true that toward the end, the reader has to suspend their sense of disbelief, but overall I found it to be an entertaining thriller that was quick, fun, and kept me guessing to the very end.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Claire is a broke English actress who is reduced to working for a detective setting up cheating husbands for rent money. Her last job for the detective was unusual as she had to meet with the client, a woman named Stella. Stella’s husband didn’t fall for Claire and returned, reported this and collected her fee. The next day she is questioned by the police, Stella has been murdered and she is a suspect, as is the husband, Patrick. Claire is then recruited to go undercover by who she understands to be the police who are investigating Patrick for other murders. But who is being investigated and who is playing a role and who is being themselves.

Another winner from the author of The Girl Before,
.

Review I admit, psychological thrillers are my favorite genre to read. BELIEVE ME by J.P. Delaney did not disappoint me. It had all of the twists and turns that I love in a thriller. You had to keep guessing who the murderer was, and when I thought I figured it out, it would go down a different path. Was it Claire, the actress who was hired to prove that husbands were cheaters, or was it Patrick, the man wrapped up in French poetry? The book was somewhat demented, although I have no doubt that people choose to participate in the experiences described in the book. After this book, I think I read to read a book about puppies and babies. It is definitely not a book I would recommend to my students, but I would recommend it to my friends.

I thoroughly enjoyed J.P. Delaney's (pen name) other book THE GIRL BEFORE, and I am so glad that I read this one.

I was given this book in exchange for my honest review.

Believe Me A Novel by JP Delaney published by Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine
Ballantine Books is by far my stand out book for 2018. If you fallow my reviews then you know The Girl Before is my favorite book from 2017. Do you see a pattern here? Like The Girl Before this book is very well researched and is in the first person perspective and making it a horrific joy to read. But unlike the previous novel it is not about buildings and lines but about acting. My thoughts while I read this is who is fooling who. Claire is a fantastic character making the story well-paced making Claire feel put together yet not all there in the same breath. But what is more intense in the story is Claire’s decisions and connection with the male character. I get the feel that Claire does not feel loved by many if she even loves herself. Before you think that this story is just like the previous book this is it’s own mix of crazy special. I found this book like a puzzle that works your brain from page one until the last page. I find myself conflicted because there is so much that could be said but I don’t want to give it away to anyone so I will say that this is a book you must read when you have more time because it is a book you can and will want to read in one sitting. What’s next for this author? I am all in for the Perfect Wife insomnia welcome!

Claire Wright is working her side job of entrapping cheating husbands for a law firm while going to acting school. Her job turns dangerous when one of the wives is found dead and she was the last person to see her. The victims husband, who Claire was trying to entrap, but failed, is also a suspect. They are both investigated by the police. When Claire is asked to go under cover to get a confession from Patrick, the victims husband, the cat and mouse game begins.

This story is full of twists and turns that keep the reader guessing. Just when you think you have it figured out, things change again. A very riveting read that doesn't disappoint.

*Given ARC through NetGalley for honest review

So I have mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, I couldn't put it down because I was trying to figure out what was going to happen next in the story. On the other hand, I found it hard to keep up with the story line sometimes. Claire is a very complicated character with some deep issues. The way the story is written where it appears there are scenes as if it's from a script made it hard to figure out what was really happening & what might be in Claire's head. All in all I would recommend reading this novel if you're into suspenseful books that keep you guessing right up until the end!

(Disclaimer: I received this free book from Netgalley. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)

There's not a lot I can say about this fast-paced thriller, except Delaney will take everything you assume and turn it on its head so many times. There is a special talen to misdirection, clever plot twists, and big reveals. I am tricked almost every time by Delaney. Even the things I thought I knew for certain, there was all this doubt thrown on top of it. Believe Me completely captivated me. I binge read it a day, which says a lot, but also I basically was late to an event because I had to finish it.

“Believe Me” is a story built around French writer Charles Baudelaire’s book of poetry, “Les Fleurs du Mal” or “The Flowers of Evil.”
It is an interesting concept.

Our heroine, Claire, is an actress who is in the U.S. illegally. She can no longer find work in her homeland, Britain, where her scandalous behavior during the production of a play has caused her to be shunned by British theater.
She has fled to the U.S. to escape her reputation and start her career anew, somehow forgetting to secure a green card in the process.

Claire is a very good actress. She puts her whole self into the roles she plays.
In fact, she does this to the extent that she literally loses herself in her work.
This translates into a serious personality disorder for Claire.

To pay her bills while she looks for gigs, Claire joins a somewhat shady detective agency.
Women hire the agency to determine the fidelity of their husbands. Claire's role is to lure the husbands without actually seducing them.
If they bite, their wives have a case.

Claire is almost always successful, until she is assigned to a case initiated by a very distraught woman, Stella, who warns her, “He's like no man you have ever met. I mean it. Don't turn your back on him. Don't trust him. Do you promise?”

Stella’s husband, Patrick, is not the least bit interested in Claire initially, so the sting fails.
Yet Claire is fascinated by Patrick, and by the book of poetry he is reading: Baudelaire’s “Les Fleurs du Mal.”
Eventually, a relationship between Claire and Patrick begins, then deepens throughout the book.

As it turns out, Patrick is suspected of grisly sex murders a la Baudelaire’s dark poetry, and eventually Claire is coerced (by using her lack of a green card among other things) by the police to use her acting skills to get a confession out of him.

Because Claire herself confuses her part with real life, we are not sure when Claire is in character and when she is not.
To further complicate matters, Claire is deeply conflicted about her feelings for Patrick.
She is also a liar, adding to the confusion.

In my opinion, the book is not well-written.
Too much of it just doesn't make sense.Ms. Delaney has worked at trying to craft a unique and edgy tale; unfortunately, it comes across as stilted and at times incoherent.
The denouement is abrupt and about as far-fetched as any I have ever read.
Basing the story upon Baudelaire’s “Les Fleurs du Mal” was a clever idea.
Apart from its absurd ending, the story line imagined by Ms. Delaney was a very good one.
But in being too clever by half in some aspects and failing to keep the plot tight and coherent in others, Ms. Delaney wrote a book that just doesn't live up to its potential.

This book was a wonderfully dark. Exploring the depths that we will decend in order find truth and love! This book will intrigue you from the begin. Claire, who is a young aspiring actor, whom has a disastrous affair on a London movie set. Moves to New York without getting a green card; making work difficult to obtain. Out of desperation, she takes a job with a PI, to set up cheating husbands. Once she's hired to entice, Patrick, by a frantic wife. The real shenanigans begin!

I read this book in one evening because it kept me guessing until the very end!! If this is NOT on your tbr list---it SHOULD be!!! ?

This was a twisty little tale! Every time I finally settled on a direction the plot was headed the story did an about face. It is really hard to determine which character(s) to root for, if any??

Because the main character, Claire, is an actress the story reads as a play in snippets. Some people found this off putting but I found it sort of clever. Claire was a great character which is funny because I bypassed this one for a while thinking I wouldn’t find reading about an actor interesting.

This story wasn’t at all what I was expecting and I mean that as a compliment. I didn’t read much going into it and was glad I didn’t. It was entertaining from start to end! Thanks NetGalley, the author, and Random House Publishing for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

What a rollercoaster ride this was! Claire, a troubled and out of work actor, is offered a job helping with a criminal investigation. She had previously worked for a divorce attorney getting the goods on straying husbands so she was a natural to try to get close to the main suspect in a murder investigation. Claire is an unreliable narrator so you are never sure what to believe throughout the story. There were several shocking twists which keep me reading to try and sort it all out. It did have some sexual scenes and violence against women but, in the context of this twisted tale, it did not bother me. I would recommend this book.

I sat down yesterday afternoon to start reading Believe Me by J.P. Delaney and then suddenly and without warning, it was dark and I was at 83%. It is RARE that a book pulls me in too such an extreme degree. I finished the remaining 17% on my break at work today and then spent several minutes going over it all again in my head making sure I had it all straight. There was a LOT of twists, surprises, unreliable narration and second-guessing going on.

I feel like the first three-quarters of the book were really well done and had just the right amount of drama and suspense. I was all in and honestly had no idea who was trustworthy and who wasn’t. I was poised on the edge of my seat, ready for a great ending.

Unfortunately, in the final chapters of the book, everything got so complicated and convoluted that it was hard to keep up. I’m still not entirely sure how to sum up what happened but here goes…

Claire is a struggling British actress living in NYC. When she is desperate for money, she works as bait for a law firm; catching philandering husbands on behalf of their (soon to be ex) wives. When one of the wives ends up dead, Claire is hired to work undercover to try and draw out the killer. Okay, let’s say I buy into this (already extremely unlikely) premise, what follows is every single twist the author could possibly have jammed in there.

Delaney makes it extremely difficult to predict where the story will end up. It is even hard to get a grip on the main character as we wonder if we can trust anything she says at all. And although I was consistently mistrustful of the husband (Patrick), there were moments when I wondered if I was being too harsh. I just never knew who I could trust.

It’s true that toward the end, the reader has to suspend their sense of disbelief, but overall I found it to be an entertaining thriller that was quick, fun, and kept me guessing to the very end.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Claire is a broke English actress who is reduced to working for a detective setting up cheating husbands for rent money. Her last job for the detective was unusual as she had to meet with the client, a woman named Stella. Stella’s husband didn’t fall for Claire and returned, reported this and collected her fee. The next day she is questioned by the police, Stella has been murdered and she is a suspect, as is the husband, Patrick. Claire is then recruited to go undercover by who she understands to be the police who are investigating Patrick for other murders. But who is being investigated and who is playing a role and who is being themselves.

Another winner from the author of The Girl Before,
.

Review I admit, psychological thrillers are my favorite genre to read. BELIEVE ME by J.P. Delaney did not disappoint me. It had all of the twists and turns that I love in a thriller. You had to keep guessing who the murderer was, and when I thought I figured it out, it would go down a different path. Was it Claire, the actress who was hired to prove that husbands were cheaters, or was it Patrick, the man wrapped up in French poetry? The book was somewhat demented, although I have no doubt that people choose to participate in the experiences described in the book. After this book, I think I read to read a book about puppies and babies. It is definitely not a book I would recommend to my students, but I would recommend it to my friends.

I thoroughly enjoyed J.P. Delaney's (pen name) other book THE GIRL BEFORE, and I am so glad that I read this one.

I was given this book in exchange for my honest review.

Believe Me A Novel by JP Delaney published by Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine
Ballantine Books is by far my stand out book for 2018. If you fallow my reviews then you know The Girl Before is my favorite book from 2017. Do you see a pattern here? Like The Girl Before this book is very well researched and is in the first person perspective and making it a horrific joy to read. But unlike the previous novel it is not about buildings and lines but about acting. My thoughts while I read this is who is fooling who. Claire is a fantastic character making the story well-paced making Claire feel put together yet not all there in the same breath. But what is more intense in the story is Claire’s decisions and connection with the male character. I get the feel that Claire does not feel loved by many if she even loves herself. Before you think that this story is just like the previous book this is it’s own mix of crazy special. I found this book like a puzzle that works your brain from page one until the last page. I find myself conflicted because there is so much that could be said but I don’t want to give it away to anyone so I will say that this is a book you must read when you have more time because it is a book you can and will want to read in one sitting. What’s next for this author? I am all in for the Perfect Wife insomnia welcome!

J.P. Delaney’s newest contribution to the book world is Believe Me, the story of aspiring actress Claire as she navigates through a twisted world of lies, confusion, and paranoia. Shortly after Claire has separate meetings with a man and his wife, the wife is found murdered, and Claire is enlisted by the police to find out if the husband is guilty… but does Claire know the full story?

Told from Claire’s point of view, the story is sometimes written like a play script as Claire imagines herself playing her role in this investigation in different ways. I like the use of this tool by the author; it is very effective in creating Claire’s character, and it continually reminds me as the reader that I may not know who the real Claire is. Can the reader differentiate between Claire and the character she creates in different circumstances?

Like this author’s first book The Girl Before, Believe Me has strongly-written characters and a story that really draws in the reader. I was, however, uncomfortable with a few scenes and descriptions, just like with the previous book. While I felt like the middle of the book dragged a bit, the majority of the story kept me anxious for more. Although the story and interactions of the characters with one another really didn’t seem wholly believable, Believe Me was an enjoyable read.

Thank you to publisher Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine Books, author J.P. Delaney, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Claire Wright is working her side job of entrapping cheating husbands for a law firm while going to acting school. Her job turns dangerous when one of the wives is found dead and she was the last person to see her. The victims husband, who Claire was trying to entrap, but failed, is also a suspect. They are both investigated by the police. When Claire is asked to go under cover to get a confession from Patrick, the victims husband, the cat and mouse game begins.

This story is full of twists and turns that keep the reader guessing. Just when you think you have it figured out, things change again. A very riveting read that doesn't disappoint.

*Given ARC through NetGalley for honest review

So I have mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, I couldn't put it down because I was trying to figure out what was going to happen next in the story. On the other hand, I found it hard to keep up with the story line sometimes. Claire is a very complicated character with some deep issues. The way the story is written where it appears there are scenes as if it's from a script made it hard to figure out what was really happening & what might be in Claire's head. All in all I would recommend reading this novel if you're into suspenseful books that keep you guessing right up until the end!

(Disclaimer: I received this free book from Netgalley. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)

There's not a lot I can say about this fast-paced thriller, except Delaney will take everything you assume and turn it on its head so many times. There is a special talen to misdirection, clever plot twists, and big reveals. I am tricked almost every time by Delaney. Even the things I thought I knew for certain, there was all this doubt thrown on top of it. Believe Me completely captivated me. I binge read it a day, which says a lot, but also I basically was late to an event because I had to finish it.

“Believe Me” is a story built around French writer Charles Baudelaire’s book of poetry, “Les Fleurs du Mal” or “The Flowers of Evil.”
It is an interesting concept.

Our heroine, Claire, is an actress who is in the U.S. illegally. She can no longer find work in her homeland, Britain, where her scandalous behavior during the production of a play has caused her to be shunned by British theater.
She has fled to the U.S. to escape her reputation and start her career anew, somehow forgetting to secure a green card in the process.

Claire is a very good actress. She puts her whole self into the roles she plays.
In fact, she does this to the extent that she literally loses herself in her work.
This translates into a serious personality disorder for Claire.

To pay her bills while she looks for gigs, Claire joins a somewhat shady detective agency.
Women hire the agency to determine the fidelity of their husbands. Claire's role is to lure the husbands without actually seducing them.
If they bite, their wives have a case.

Claire is almost always successful, until she is assigned to a case initiated by a very distraught woman, Stella, who warns her, “He's like no man you have ever met. I mean it. Don't turn your back on him. Don't trust him. Do you promise?”

Stella’s husband, Patrick, is not the least bit interested in Claire initially, so the sting fails.
Yet Claire is fascinated by Patrick, and by the book of poetry he is reading: Baudelaire’s “Les Fleurs du Mal.”
Eventually, a relationship between Claire and Patrick begins, then deepens throughout the book.

As it turns out, Patrick is suspected of grisly sex murders a la Baudelaire’s dark poetry, and eventually Claire is coerced (by using her lack of a green card among other things) by the police to use her acting skills to get a confession out of him.

Because Claire herself confuses her part with real life, we are not sure when Claire is in character and when she is not.
To further complicate matters, Claire is deeply conflicted about her feelings for Patrick.
She is also a liar, adding to the confusion.

In my opinion, the book is not well-written.
Too much of it just doesn't make sense.Ms. Delaney has worked at trying to craft a unique and edgy tale; unfortunately, it comes across as stilted and at times incoherent.
The denouement is abrupt and about as far-fetched as any I have ever read.
Basing the story upon Baudelaire’s “Les Fleurs du Mal” was a clever idea.
Apart from its absurd ending, the story line imagined by Ms. Delaney was a very good one.
But in being too clever by half in some aspects and failing to keep the plot tight and coherent in others, Ms. Delaney wrote a book that just doesn't live up to its potential.

This book was a wonderfully dark. Exploring the depths that we will decend in order find truth and love! This book will intrigue you from the begin. Claire, who is a young aspiring actor, whom has a disastrous affair on a London movie set. Moves to New York without getting a green card; making work difficult to obtain. Out of desperation, she takes a job with a PI, to set up cheating husbands. Once she's hired to entice, Patrick, by a frantic wife. The real shenanigans begin!

I read this book in one evening because it kept me guessing until the very end!! If this is NOT on your tbr list---it SHOULD be!!! ?

This was a twisty little tale! Every time I finally settled on a direction the plot was headed the story did an about face. It is really hard to determine which character(s) to root for, if any??

Because the main character, Claire, is an actress the story reads as a play in snippets. Some people found this off putting but I found it sort of clever. Claire was a great character which is funny because I bypassed this one for a while thinking I wouldn’t find reading about an actor interesting.

This story wasn’t at all what I was expecting and I mean that as a compliment. I didn’t read much going into it and was glad I didn’t. It was entertaining from start to end! Thanks NetGalley, the author, and Random House Publishing for a copy in exchange for an honest review.