Wow....another stunner from JP Delaney. Different in style, and interesting in that the characters are not always likable (or indeed, what they seem), still a compelling read.

The protagonist in this story is Claire, an extremely talented, but very unlucky actress. Due to the lack of green card and work, she is forced to work as a decoy in catching out cheating spouses. Until one dies. Who is the killer? Is it Claire? Is it a victim’s husband? Or is it someone else altogether? You will have to read it to figure that out! 😛

This book has a very interesting variety of characters, we have elegant and artistic actors; classy, intelligent and very poetic victim’s husband, and like always, insightful police. But the real star in this book was Claire. Her ability to transform into different characters was absolutely stunning, and I really loved that she shared how these transformations made her feel. I think it was a great insight into actor’s psyche.

The narrative always kept me on the edge. There are so many twists and deception, that you never know what to expect next. Sometimes it feels, that the plot is slowing down, but that is just a very creatively incorporated “quiet before the storm” phase. 😉 The narrative was told from a single perspective, but that was necessary to keep the suspense going, and it was fully sufficient for me. This novel discusses quite a variety of topics, such as foster families in the UK; actor’s struggles in the market; kinky sex community; mental institutions and their work methods; art, and when it becomes a danger to society; etc. Due to this wide variety, the plot didn’t have the chance to be boring for me. 🙂

I really enjoyed the writing style of this book, it was very insightful and creative. The ending was absolutely mind-blowing, it left me absolutely baffled. I had to sit down and rethink all the plot, to figure out what was real and what was the illusion. The chapters are pretty short, and once I started, they just flew by. 🙂 I liked that the setting of this book was constantly changing, that created more intrigue to me, as a reader.

So, to conclude, it is a very artistic, poetic and sophisticated psychological thriller, where suspicions and illusion plays an integral part. I absolutely loved the complexity of the characters and unexpected turns and twists, that is why, I strongly recommend to read this book, and I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did. 🙂

Claire is a British drama student, in New York without a green card, She takes the only job she can get: being used as a honey trap to entrap straying husbands.

One of her targets becomes the subject of a murder investigation, the police/fbi ask Claire to use her acting skills to get the widowed husband to confess to the murder of his wife. But right from the beginning, Claire has doubts Patrick Fogler: is he really a killer or the only decent husband to have turned her down?

This was a curious read, in some ways quite good with the physiological elements of the story but when it mixed with the acting classes or we saw the events as a screenplay it got a bit hard to digest. The over use of the poetry made it not my cup of tea entirely and whilst it helps explain the story it pops up far too often. Overall, it's a story that until the end you dont know who's still playing a part.

I received this book from netgalley in return for a honest review.

Sorry but this book was not for me. I couldn't relate to this character or the story. I thought I would try a novel that I wouldn't normally choose but in the end I couldn't finish it.

Plot: Claire is a struggling actor, having moved from the UK to America to try to make her way, with a slightly unusual job – she’s works as a decoy, cash in hand, for a firm of divorce lawyers, trying to trick partners into giving themselves away so their client can get the best deal. When the wife of one of her targets is murdered, the husband becomes the number one suspect and her skills are employed to try to catch him out. But is he really the killer and how can she found out what’s really going on?

My thoughts: Wow, was this a twisty read! I love psychological thrillers with twists that keep you guessing, and this truly fit that description – you’re never quite sure who’s the victim, who’s playing who, and “believe me” (ha ha…), trust no one. Like many books of this genre, the protagonist isn’t a particularly likeable character, but boy, is she an interesting one! Seeing the story through her unreliable eyes is what gives it such a unique view point. At times, the storyline did seem to run ahead of itself and slightly out of the realms of realistic, but like I’ve already said, it was twisty and a really fun ride. Highly recommended if you’re a fan of books like Gone Girl – and that’s not a claim I make often!

The main character is extremely likeable and this is what will draw you in. If you read her previous book you may find this different. It’s about a girl without a green card in NYC who has an acting scholarship and unfortunately needs to earn money any way she can. Give this a go!
4/5 on goodreads

Having previously read The Girl Before Me I couldn’t wait to get my hands on Believe me so thank you very much to NetGalley and the author for the arc of Believe Me my review is honest and unbiased.

Claire is a struggling British actress who moves to New York but as she has no green card so she has to work under the radar. She lands a job in a law firm catching cheating husbands on tape she propositions their husbands but never sleeps with them and she records them and gives the tapes to their wives. All goes well until one of tge husbands doesn’t take the bait and his wife is found dead the next morning and Claire finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation! This book kept me guessing the whole way through and kept me absolutely hooked so i highly recommend it!

Not as amazing as the girl before, but this book still held my interest- the second half in particular was fast paced and captivating. This had an odd eerie feel to it that added to the interest for me.

Read this book on holiday and ended up not being able to put it down. Although completely unbelievable it was a great fantastical read. Cat & mouse from start to finish and I am still not entirely sure who was kidding who.

Many of my friends have told me that if a book does not captivate them in the first page, they are unlikely to read on. Indeed, I have said this myself. However, in the case of Believe Me, I would advise you to read on.
I admit that I was not captivated in the first page, nor even in the first two chapters. Despite that, I persevered and I am very happy that I did so.

The opening is supposed to be shocking, but it is like so many other murder scene reveals. I was irritated by the random capitalisation and the need to tell me who was speaking at any particular time, just like a script. Perhaps this is because the main protagonist, Claire, is a wannabe actress. I never really understood this style.

For example:
GooD-lookInG BARMAn What can I get you?
Me (shouting over the noise) I’d love a martini.
GooD-lookInG BARMAn Coming right up.
He fills a shot glass to the brim with….

I continued to read. All the way through, I was wondering who was crazy and who was sane. Let me tell you that not many of the characters turned out to be sane.

The more I read, the better it got, right up to the final pages.

There are twists and turns and tensions and surprises.

I can’t tell you much more without giving it away. All I can say to you is that I recommend this book to you and I urge you not to give up in the early stages. Your perseverance will pay off.

Oh wow I am still reeling from this, read in one sitting. This is a proper cat and mouse chase, so many twists and turns....you are eager to read what happens next. Loved it as with the last book.

Was very disappointing, started off reasonably interesting, but quickly lost its way. This book deals with psychological mind games, and has the feel of a cat and mouse game. The police sting operation was a bit far-fetched and over the top. I don't believe any police department would be able to invest that amount of time and money in such an elaborate attempt to catch a supposed serial killer.

I loved the authors previous book and this is no different....the book takes you on so many different turns, you don’t really know exactly where it’s heading but it grips you! Really enjoyed this, thanks!

Intriguing and fast paced. I really enjoyed this thriller and dare I say preferred it to the previous book. Obviously there are many references to Baudelaire which actually piqued my interest and has encouraged me to find out more, but for those non classic literature readers - please do not be put off as a prior knowledge isn’t necessary. This book is written from one character’s point of view which I thought worked well. A well deserved four stars.

At first, I was really intrigued by the story and wanted to keep on reading but by half way through I just got bored. The script-like parts of the story just annoyed me and the main character, Claire, I found irritating.
I knew there was to be some sort of thrilling ending to all this, but I really couldn't care less and abandoned it.

I was looking forward to this book having read The Girl Before and it didn't disappoint. Full of twists and turns that it was hard to put down at night. I really enjoyed this but have to admit I didn't warm to the characters at all which made it a bit of a chore to begin with, but the storyline more than made up for that.

I thought this book started well and initially thought I was really going to enjoy it, but as it went on and the plot unfolded I found it less and less to my liking. I found the main character, Claire, to be irritating and self obsessed and perhaps this coloured my judgement of the book overall as the plot and twists and turns in the story were good - though at times there was so much going on it became confusing. I appreciate that much of the story was based on Patrick's loving of the works of Baudelaire and his most famous book 'The Flowers of Evil' but I thought there was too much emphasis on this book and it did detract from the story.

I thought The Girl Before was ok so decided to give Delaney’s new book a go and wasn’t disappointed. I thought the story was starting to get a bit drawn out by the midpoint, but it picked up again towards the end. An interesting plot that highlighted a huge gap in my knowledge of Baudelaire, Flaubert and French writing in general. A good effort in what is a very popular genre and a quick read too.

I really wanted to enjoy this book but I found my interest fading towards the end. It starts very well although the main character Claire is somewhat unlikeable I think this is what we are supposed to feel regarding her. It is an interesting concept of how actors approach their work and ultimately the twist lies within this.

From the author of last year’s runaway bestseller The Girl Before comes Believe Me, a psychological thriller that will have you second, third and fourth guessing yourself. With an incredibly intriguing premise and a plot full of twists and turns, this is one dark, addictive read where nothing is what it seems.