I really enjoyed JP Delaney's debut last year and if anything this impressed me more.
Claire is an aspiring actress desperately trying to make it in the cut-throat New York film industry without a green card. Whilst auditioning she takes the only job she can get, trapping cheating husbands. When one of her 'clients' is suspected of murder the police employ Claire to catch their suspect out but is there a lot more to this investigation that meets the eye? Dark, twisty and thrilling, you won't put it down!

Having read The Girl Before I couldn’t wait for Believe me to be released, I loved it from the start, just when I thought I had guessed the twist it twisted again. I would recommend and I’m very much looking forward to The Perfect Wife being released in 2019!

A great read, not just a thriller, this has a touch of romance / mystery as well. Heartily recommended for htose evening when you just want to have a wine and relax with a good book

I haven’t yet read Delaney’s debut psychological thriller “The Girl Before” as its still sitting amongst many others in my To-Read pile. Having heard good things though and as it is to be made into a film directed by Ron Howard, when a chance to read his latest novel came up I jumped at it.

Claire is an aspiring British actress residing in New York, having left her previous life following an incident at work. Struggling for work, she will stop at nothing to fulfil her dreams of being an actress even if she can’t pay her rent nor afford to live. Alongside taking her drama classes, she takes a job for a legal firm as a honey trap – playing easy to get to catch cheating husbands. Soon however the police ask her to become a decoy in a set up to snare a client whose wife has been murdered… but all is not what it seems as the story twists and turns along.

The characters, especially Claire, are very well written. It’s interesting to see a best-selling male author (JP Delaney is the latest pseudonym for author Tony Strong who has also published as Anthony Capella) write so confidently and seemingly easily from a female point of view. Claire is well-rounded and though I disliked her nature at times, I found that I understood her and she intrigued me more and more as I read along. The structure of the novel is unusual – a mix of first-person narrative together with conservation and dialogue written as a play script, a clever way to resonance Claire’s compulsion and infatuation with all things acting. Having the translations of Baudelaire’s works interspersed and so in-twined into the storyline was well-done – it did not matter that I had no prior knowledge of his poetry, they added extra meaning and depth to the plot. The action is fast-paced and addictive that you will keep promising yourself just one more chapter until you find yourself at the end of the book!

4/5 – A well-crafted thriller that kept me guessing until the end. I look forward to reading more from Delaney and seeing how “Believe Me” translates onto film when the time comes.

Thank-you to NetGalley for providing me with an Advance Readers e-proof copy from publishers Quercus. All opinions are my own and are impartial and free from bias.

Hell's bells this was good! I had to wait to catch my breath, get my heart rate under control and pick my jaw up off the floor before I could write my review.
This is a book in which no-one and nothing is as it seems. Claire is a character actor and one of the most unreliable narrators I have had the pleasure of reading. She is devious, cunning and able to slip into someone else's skin at will. Yet she is also vulnerable and in need of someone to care for her. She is also resilient and brave, foolish and headstrong. I absolutely adored reading from her perspective and didn't want to the book to end, whilst simultaneously rushing towards the conclusion in my eagerness to devour more of this sinuous story.
I am now going to rush out and buy 'The Girl Before' and I'm on tenterhooks for his next release.

Many thanks to the publishers, Net Galley and the author for the opportunity to read an advanced copy in return for an honest review.

I was disappointed with this book although I liked the previous novel by the same author. The basic premise is Claire is an aspiring actress living in the US but as a British native she struggles to find work. Claire works for a Lawyer as a honey trap. This is where she meets Patrick Foglerwho doesn’t fall for the trap but when his wife later dies Claire becomes embroiled in the investigation. I didn’t like the characters and there were so many twists and turns that I got bored. In the end I didn’t care who had killed Patrick’s wife.
Don’t read this as a first book by the author as ‘The girl before’ is far better.
I’m not sure I would read this author again it would depend on the next synopsis and it would not be on the top of my pile.
Thanks to NetGalley and Quercus for an ARC.

I couldn't get into this book at all. The characters were not pleasant or interesting and the story was just a big jumble up.

This book had a lot to live up to. I loved The Girl Before - one of my favourite psychological thrillers of the last few years. But Believe Me did not disappoint! I read it in a matter of hours, keen to discover how Claire’s story would end. So many twists and turns and I loved the darker elements, the Baudelaire poetry and that the plot kept me guessing right until the end. Well done Mr Delaney!

I was really looking forward to this book as The Girl Before was one on my favourite reads of 2017. Overall it was a good storyline but it didn't grip me like his previous book, which was disappointing. It was a good book with a good storyline but it wasn't amazing.

I’m sure this will only echo other reviews but this is a must read.
Find yourself completely pulled into the world of Claire and the thrilling undercover work she carries out to catch a serial killer, or does she? I ran through all the scenarios trying to guess what was going on...
Fantastic read and easily one of the best of the year.

Not for me , I prefer a bit more meat on the bones of a novel. It’s dark and sexy and if you liked Fifty Shades you might well like this

A proper messed up book that twists and turns a lot! Thoroughly enjoyed reading this as things kept changing and there was never a dull moment!

Wow! What a thriller! This book moves so fast, I was so encapsulated by the story that i dreamt I'd finished it. I was guessing all of the way through and I won't be saying anything to give it away..
I can see this being turned to the big screen and I just hope they would do it justice.

An absolute cracking read which will be a tough act to follow.. If you love a thriller and a 'who done it' - read this book!

A psychological thriller that tries too hard and winds up with far to many holes!
Claire is training as an actress in New York and has a complex past. To earn extra money, she works with a private detective to ensnare cheating husbands and provide their wives with proof. Until one of the wives wind up gruesomely murdered. Claire's acting talents are put to the test, as she tries to lure the killer.
What is right with the book - the writer creates some interesting characters and delves into their psychology.with great thought. The book has some sensationalist topics. The book is unpredictable and keeps you interested and guessing till the end.
What is wrong - the writer tries so hard to keep it unpredictable that the book flips and flops all over the place, switching perspectives and truths. Successful books in this genre leaves a trail of crumbs that the savvy reader can follow and create their own theories. This book just aims to confuse the reader and it feels gratuitous. In addition, there are so many holes, that even though we all knew how it would end, it doesn't make sense once we get to it.

Claire, a British drama student in New York, is struggling to make ends meet without a green card. She is asked to use her acting skills to lure a murder suspect into revealing that he murdered his wife.

I found the build up to the real action and suspense took quite some time but the pace picked up and the real drama started unravelling, I was hooked. The story is told from Claire’s point of view. Claire had a troubled upbringing in foster care and is aware that she is a slightly unstable actor, putting on a mask to cope with the world. The narrative is disjointed, with Claire inserting mini scenes in the style of a script in her narrative. This took a while to get used to, but adds to the idea of Claire’s character being a little detached from reality, obsessed as she is with acting.

Murder suspect Patrick is a researcher and lecturer of Charles Baudelaire, whose poems seem to have inspired a series of murders, including that of Patrick’s wife. But Patrick seems like a nice, stable guy, and the police can’t get any proof of their suspicions about Patrick. It is up to Claire to go deep undercover, resulting in the formation of an intense and fiery relationship with Patrick. The lines between reality and fiction blur for Claire and the reader as Claire falls in love with Patrick and is unsure if he really is a murderer. I found the premise of the story and the narration fascinating, unsure whether to trust Claire, Patrick, or the police. I was kept guessing until the very end, and found the conclusion clever and satisfying.

Wow what a page turner a phycological thriller that keeps you hooked right up to the last page lots of twists and turns with interesting characters felt like I was living the story with them didn't know where it was going sometimes and didn't guess the ending which makes for a great book a 5 🌟 read

Claire Wright is a young wannabe actress who travels to New York to try to realise her dream of acting on stage but problems arise when she fails to get her green card that will allow her to work. She ends up working for Henry, a lawyer who sets up honeytrap meetings for women who suspect their husbands of cheating. That's when Claire meets Stella Fogler and her first meeting with Patrick Fogler. Patrick rejects her advances and Claire thinks that is the end of the job.... until Stella is found murdered later that night. Claire is questioned and is drawn into working undercover to find out if Patrick is guilty... or is it to prove she is? A few twists and turns that gets you suspecting several different people right up to the end.

Claire lives her life as if watching a movie so it does read a bit like a script in parts which helps to show the way her mind works but can be a little distracting. Apart from this one downside the story line is good and well written. The characters are believable and you start to feel for each of them.

Claire is a struggling actor in New York. She is talented but is missing that elusive green card she needs to get on. In an attempt to pay her rent, she agrees to work for a firm of divorce lawyers catching out erring husbands. When one job goes horribly wrong she finds herself a suspect in a murder case.

After managing to convince the police she had nothing to do with it, a profiler & a cop offer her the role of her life- can she get the evidence to prove the guilt of their number one suspect. Claire agrees but is unprepared for the results. Is she acting or is she living the life she longed for? Is she becoming too involved & should she be finding the danger unable to resist?

This was a roller coaster of a book where no-one was who they seemed & you didn't know who was the hero & who was the villain. I certainly kept me guessing right to the end.

Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book- it was a cracker!

A psychic murder mystery, based around the poems of Baudelaire. Set in America, involving a young aspiring English student actress trying to make her way in life earning money without the use of a Green Card. She ends up involved with helping the police solve a murder. The scenarios are believable and it is not until the very end of the book that you fully understand all that has gone on before. A good read that kept me caught up in the intrigue until the end.

I was a little shocked when I realised this was by the same author as The Girl Before (see my review). This one is way better believe me (see what I did there). It can be a book or three before I get to read the latest ARC’s I get sent so I usually go in blind with no idea what the synopsis is, I just know there must have been something that appealed to me when I downloaded it. It makes my books so much more intriguing as I don’t even have an outline in my head as to what’s going on or what’s going to happen. This book kept me guessing and wanting to know more, one minute it was him, then it was her, then it was someone else altogether! I found it fascinating and educational, I even googled Baudelaire to find out more about him. I loved how our [budding actress] protagonist ran scenes and acts in her head. Way more gripping than TGB, this is an excellent read. I hope JP Delaney’s star goes up and up and I look forward to reading more of her books.
Thank you to Quercus & Netgalley for my advance copy in return for an honest review.