3.5 stars

'Odd' is the word that springs to mind whilst reading this book. And 'original'. With its unusual mix of genres this book is unlike anything I have read before.

It was certainly thought-provoking but also chilling, captivating and so cleverly constructed, that the reader is able to feel and take on board all the emotions that the co-bot (companion robot) is feeling and what a great, unpredictable ending! Overall, a slow-burner but one that I strangely enjoyed.

Wow what a book! I loved it. It has restored my faith in psychological thrillers.
The storyline develops and twists and you become fully invested in the characters. The past becomes clearer and clearer the more you read, things aren’t always what they seem and you’ll keep turning the pages to find out more.
There may not be a perfect wife or a perfect life but this is a perfect read.
Thanks to Netgalley for an advance copy for an honest review..

Thank you netgalley for this review copy. I have read the previous 2 books by this author. I did enjoy this book just not as much as the previous 2 which is a shame.
This book is about Tim and his wife abbie who has disappeared five years before he even got arrested for her supposed murder. But 5 years after her dissaperance abbie wakes up in what she thinks is a hospital but it's not it's where her husband works and she is a robot or AI as they are called to start with she thinks Tim has brought her back as he can't live without her but it turns out she's hoping to help him find out what happened to abbie. It is a good book I found the first half a little more of a struggle it picked up around half way. But I'm not a massive sci fi fan sadly and things with robots don't really work for me sorry. Shame really as I was really looking forward to the book it was ok but not there best one.

Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for a copy of this book for an unbiased opinion.

This was a clever book. A futuristic story set today. The quest for the perfect wife by a husband who is less than perfect.. He made her in the image of his wife who disappeared under suspicious circumstances. The question is is the wife alive or dead ??.The book did get a bit complicated at times however I enjoyed the story and it kept be guessing to the end.

# ThePerfectWife (QuercusBooks)

This is an author I like having read his 2 previous books I was eager to read this and I was not disappointed.

This book crossed a number of genres, murder mystery, science fiction and thriller. The central characters were Tim Scott, his missing wife Abbie, their autistic son and a “Cobot” Companion Robot that Tim a rich scientist working in robotics created when his wife went missing. Tim is a thoroughly unlikeable person but makes for a good character.

The timeline jumps around and the chapter numbers reflected that. I found this confusing initially but soon got over that.

AI is featured heavily in the story and if any of this materialises in the future it will be a scary world we live in.

The author deals well with the subject of autism which is understandable as from the notes at the end of the book the author himself has a 21 year-old autistic child so speaks from experience.

I found the end confusing and I had to re-read some of it to fully understand it hence only 4 stars.
On the whole this was an excellent read and I would highly recommend it.

I am really disappointed to say this but I have read the 1st chapter and I am probably not going to stick this book out unfortunately. I’m sure it will be brilliant for those that enjoy a more sci-fi genre but for me I am not interested by the fact that the main character turns out to be a robot within the 1st few pages. Such a shame as I have enjoyed the author’s other books very much. Each to their own.

This was an intriguing and unusual storyline in that the main character is a cobot. I found it difficult at times remembering that Abbie wasn't human. I must confess that Sci fi isn't my favourite genre of fiction but, having said that, I did actually enjoy reading the book. I was rather confused by the ending so will probably read the last few chapters again. Hats off to the author for producing such an original story.

Third book that I read by JP Delaney and this author just gets better and better.

His topics are usually quite different to any other thriller book and "The Perfect Wife" lived up to the hype.

It was a weird start. I was super lost during the first 50 pages. I didn't know what they were talking about but I found it so interesting that I just had to keep reading!

The main character develops a kind of futuristic ?? dead wife? It was weird. Really weird but it hooked me up straight away and I couldn't put it down.

There was some mystery behind this creation. Why did he recreated his wife after killing her? Because he killed her, right? Or was it an accident? How are we gonna be able to find out? I couldn't wait to actually know what had happened and what were the reasons behind it!

The chapters were narrated by them. Who were them? I don't know! The co-workers? The police? The public of the show? I had no idea and I liked that. I like when books are different, intriguing and with a lot of suspense.

Some of the chapters were told in the present and some of them were from the past. Although I thought it could be a little bit confusing mixing both stories, I found it quite easy to follow and it was good to know how this unconventional couple got where they were

I found Abbie, the main character, quite lovable. She was as lost as me at the beggining and it was kind of nice discover the truth at the same time. Step by step she discovers everything with such a care that it amazed me. She worked out what had happened before, pretty much alone, and planned a way to make it right all by herself.

Tim, however, I didn't like him at all from the start. I though he was fake, very selfish, egocentric, despicable and misogynistic. He had every single ingredient for me to hate him.

I don't know much about autism, to be honest. There were a few scenes that were hard to read because they were described in a way that seemed very real and I can imagine how hard can that be on the children and also the parents.

The end was somehow satisfying but not. I had this weird feeling at all times about the book as it was quite a different topic and one that I don't know much about (Technology). But I couldn't stop reading. I found it very addictive and I wanted to find out what was going to happen.

I know I'll read every single book JP Delaney publishes as I always find his books different and very hard worked!

Thought-provoking, intriguing and utterly fascinating. The idea of a sentient cobot (a companion robot to replace a departed loved one) does not seem so far-fetched given that I finished this book on the day it was reported a robot beat world champion poker players because “the bot figured out how to bluff on its own”!’ (TheTimes 12/7/19)
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/poker-stars-no-match-for-robot-that-knows-when-to-hold-em-t2lpdcgqv

I was fascinated by Abbie, the sentient AI manifestation of the missing Perfect Wife. I loved the author’s use of second person narrator ‘you’ when the cobot is telling her/its(?) story, ‘we’ for the narrative strand telling the back story of the real Abbie’s disappearance and the eventual stunning emergence of the ‘I’ narrator! (Intrigued? You should be!). The writing is taut and thrilling as the chapters alternate between past and present. And there is so much to think about - not least the ultimate moral dilemma of what makes a human being. I wish I had someone to talk to about this story right now because it’s still buzzing around in my head! Highly recommended.

When I read the synopsis for this book, I had no idea what I was letting myself in for. All is not as it seems. A little bit on the Sci – Fi side, which is not my cup of tea.
The first few pages had me thinking of The Stepford Wives, but they were all real people drugged to be submissive perfect wives. Abbie is a Cobot, an empathetic robot based on the real Abbie, who has disappeared.
The story is told mainly from Abbie the cobot and an unknown narrator.
I really got into this story, lots of intrigue as to what was going on.
I then got to the end and I am really confused and I still can't work out what happened!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC copy in return for an honest review.

I chose to request this book based on how much I enjoyed The Girl Before. Delaney is unquestionably a good writer and knows how to produce a suspenseful novel. That said, the subject matter of this book troubled me a little as I can’t stand science fiction or techie books and feared that was where this one was heading. In fact I would have probably read it a lot quicker if robots hadn’t been central to the plot! It turned out, for me at least, that I could get over the Silicon Valley side of things because I was interested in the missing person thread and the way in which autism was portrayed and handled. The plot twist at the end was unexpected and clever and whatever your view of AI is,this is definitely a book to get you thinking about the possibilities it presents.
I know people who will devour this book because, for them it will tick all the boxes and I won’t hesitate to recommend it. I may even find myself suggesting that other sceptics (like myself) give it a go because if interested in the psychological side of things they may be pleasantly surprised to find they actually quite enjoy some very different subject matter to the run of the mill.

Really enjoyable book that I will be rereading soon, now that I have read all the unexpected twists!
This was my first read by this author but it won’t be my last.
Perfect holiday read.

Careful – enter at own risk. Because under this innocuous title hides a story that is just INSANE! My mind is still reeling from the roller coaster ride, and I’m not sure that my simple hippie mind really understood it all in the end.

Take my advice and go into this one blindly. The title really doesn’t do the book justice, so don’t expect a run-of-the-mill thriller here. It will blow your mind. It will challenge the way you perceive reality, and you will never look at that stranger on the bus quite the same way again. I won’t give anything away here, except that this is one of the most original thrillers I have EVER read. If I could sum it up in just one word, the term “disturbing” comes to mind. This book was a minefield of moral and ethical dilemmas for me as the doomed characters played out their part in the plot. I am so glad I read this as a buddy read, because all I could do after turning the last page was getting online, mouth agape, and write WTH have I just read??????? If not for the inconvenience of work, and family, and actions of daily living, I would have devoured this in one sitting, because it utterly consumed me. I am still waiting for someone to explain the ending to me!

What I can safely say without spoilers is that Delaney incorporates a theme close to his heart here, which is autism. In a heartfelt postscript he writes about his own son and the heartbreaking journey his family went on to help make his life with autism easier. These emotions shine through in one of the characters in the book and added additional depth and heart to the story.

If you liked the creepiness of the techno-house in Delaney’s book THE GIRL BEFORE, then I think you will enjoy this one. Allow your mind to be blown. Read it with a buddy or a group so you can text them at 2 a.m. with questions. Readers who have been disillusioned with predictable thrillers will find that there is nothing predictable or run-of-the-mill here. Readers who think that their smartphone is scary technology may want to have a stiff drink before embarking on this one. Thank you. J.P. Delaney for blowing my mind. You have restored my faith in the genre for being able to surprise and astound. Mind blown .....

I’m not sure where to start with this novel other than to say I am still a bit stunned! I thought it was amazing and I would love to sit and discuss some of the issues raised with the author! I love the start with the dream of Diwali in Jaipur and then wham! You realise that it is Abbie’s dream - an empathetic Cobot (companion bot) created by her husband Tim in Silicon Valley. This is a very hot topic and so very relevant. Where real Abbie is remains a mystery for much of the book which keeps you guessing. Tim is passionate about cobots - ‘Cobots aren’t slaves or pets. They’re people. Just in another form’ which of course many would disagree with! Tim is driven, obsessive, controlling, hypocritical and a sexist misogynist. Real Abbie is an artist - not that I thought her art was particularly clever but who am I to judge? Their relationship was/is odd as a lot of things that Tim did for her smacked of desperation and certainly their marriage was/is unconventional.

This book deals with so many issues - science and technological advancement of course, morality and ethics, addiction, relationships (adult to adult and family), feminism and one of the biggest themes is autism. One of the loveliest characters in the book is Danny who is Abbie and Tim’s son. Danny has Hellers Syndrome, a rare childhood disintegrative disorder which affected Danny from aged 4. I loved his obsession with Thomas the Tank Engine books and that bot Abbie used this to communicate with him. I thought this aspect of the book was very relevant too and the author cleverly wove all these disparate themes into a cohesive whole with occasional flashes of humour, often from Danny. I thought one of the most thought provoking insights was that Danny is a human with impaired empathy and bot Abbie is an empathetic machine.

This is a fantastic book which I found hard to put down. It’s thought provoking, relevant and has elements of mystery. Parts of the story are very moving and I thought the end was amazing.

I've read all three of the recent JP Delaney books now, and I don't really understand the hype around them.

The premise of this book is, quite frankly, ridiculous. Tech genius Tim lost his wife Abbie 5 years ago and decided to make a robot version of her in order to cope. So far, so Black Mirror. But there's a murder mystery element to the story as Abbie-in-robot-form starts to remember things which have happened in the past, and wonders what Tim's true motivation is.

The problem with this book is that there is a Black Mirror episode (Be Right Back) which does a really good job of making you feel incredibly sorry for a person who resorts to technology to try to bring back their dead partner because they are suffering so profoundly. It's really stunning. This book carries almost none of that emotion. You don't feel overly sorry for anyone, you don't really believe any of this could feasibly happen, and as per previous Delaney books, the ending is straightforward and not at all surprising.

I can't recommend this, it was a really disappointing experience.

Abbie awakens to be told by her husband Tim that she died 5 years ago and now has be brought back as a robot version of herself. A miracle of the tech world!

As she pieces together memories she begins to find things were not so rosy in her marriage and there may be much more to the story of what really happened.

I found this completely different to anything I’ve read before and more science fiction than anything else but I still enjoyed it! Thanks to netgalley for the copy of this book to review! #netgalley @QuercusBooks #ThePerfectWife

I found this book to be highly disturbing and dystopian. I don't normally read Sci-Fi books, some are too weird, they make me think I don't want any part of a future like various books predict, others are intriguing and full of promise and hope for a brave new world, albeit with awful consequences. This book started with a fascinating premise , of death not being the end, but was creepy, in a sexual, voyeuristic manner.
Tim works with the future world of robotics. He is obsessed and crazy, following the death of his wife Abbie, in a surfing accident, some five years ago. He creates a robotic replacement for his wife, and downloads all her emotions and memories, but doesn't create the wherewithal for sexual relations to resume. The idea of a robot, peeling off its skin to show a perfect, plastic body is madness. Tim has created this robot to help him cope with the trauma of losing his wife, but robotic Abbie has flashbacks, which suggest that her memories are being carefully selected. What is her purpose in life? Is she to be a perfect, yet sexless wife? A selfless career for Danny, their son,who has Autism?
The question that runs through this book is, what happened to the original Abbie, was she murdered, or did she escape from a controlling husband.
The concluding chapters are confused in narrative and seem to be seeking a logical, yet contrived ending. The ending was rather surprising, and rather too human for a robot!
I respected the personal experiences in the notes at the back of the book, but found the modern day treatment of Autism to be very disturbing. It made me think of cattle prods with electrical charges. BF Skinner is mentioned frequently, a behaviourist with extremist views, that were popular some decades ago. Did I enjoy this book? On reflection, it posed questions about how death and bereavement affect couples, we wish not to be separated from loved ones, but we know it is inevitable . Nothing is perfect in life, and death doesn't make for a perfect robot. It was an unusual reading choice for myself, and it has made me think.
I will post this review to NetGalley . These views are mine, indeed, who else would want them?!

When Abbie wakes up in a hospital bed after 5 years she is told she is the wife of the wealthy CEO of a robotics company, Tim Scott and they have a 10 year old autistic son. A technological breakthrough has helped bring Abbie back to life, and although she can never be the same person as she was before, she looks perfect. Abbie's memories slowly return and she remembers how she first met Tim when she became an artist in residence at his company. Although she was stunningly beautiful, fit and strong and a free spirit, she and the nerdy, obessive Tim fell in love and married despite their very different personalities. However, she also starts to remember arguments with Tim over their son's treatment and schooling as well as secrets she was keeping from him before her accident.

This is an inventive and engaging read which raises some philosophical and ethical questions about how far we are prepared to use AI in our lives and what makes us truly human. The work being done by Tim's company seems perfectly feasible with the current advances in AI and does not stretch credibility too much <spoiler>although we shall have to wait and see whether it will ever be possible to capture and transfer memories to an artificial brain</spoiler>. It's also an intriguing family drama with a mystery surrounding what happened to Abbie five years ago. There's plenty of suspense as the plot twists and turns it's way to the unexpected climax and plenty of food for thought on the nature of perfection. 4.5 stars

I really wanted to like this one, but it fell apart for me more and more as it progressed. I would absolutely give the first 2/3 of the book more stars than the last, unfortunately.

I think it was just too many plots and too little time. It was a murder mystery, it was a story about AI, it was an autism story. Each of these plots were interesting and I would have happily spent more time on them but we kept cycling too the next so quickly that there wasn't time to interrogate the themes at work! Let's talk about the Galatea Syndrome, let's talk about the AI lived experience, lets talk about intellectual property, let's talk about the weird creepy computer mindreading thing... I don't know, I just wanted more than I got.

To be fair, this was twisty and turny and edge-of-your-seat and perhaps to genre enthusiasts it'll hit home more than it did for me.

J.P. Delaney's latest book is a futuristic dystopian and cautionary tale about AI and our obsession with technological advances. Tech entrepreneur and AI robotics genius Tim lost his beloved wife, Abbie, 5 years ago and has created a robot version of her to overcome his grief. The robot looks and talks like Abbie and even has her memories uploaded, making it the "perfect wife" and replacement for the Abbie Tim has lost. But as Abbie-bot regains more of her memories and is contacted by an anonymous person on a hidden iPad, she starts to question Tim's motives and begins a secret quest to find out what really happened to Abbie. Abbie-bot is also getting closer to Tim and Abbie's autistic son, who - ironically - she can at times understand and interact with better than his parents can.
Simultaneously, the reader gets insights into Tim and Abbie's relationship and Abbie's art works at Tim's AI robotics company through flashbacks told by the other staff members of the company.
As some others have rightfully pointed out, the book seems to be more of a futuristic sci-fi mystery, than a psychological thriller - which I think I would have enjoyed more. I enjoyed reading J.P. Delaney's first two books, "The Girl Before" and "Believe me" and unfortunately I didn't enjoy reading "The Perfect Wife" as much. It took me a while to get into the book and I would have liked some red herrings and/or several murders, although the ending was somewhat unexpected. The different perspectives in the book were well-narrated. I liked the inclusion of background information on different approaches to caring for ASD children and the heartfelt note at the end by the author J.P. Delaney.
The book addresses several important and contemporary issues, such as the ethics surrounding AI and robotics, using a person's likeness and or memories in AI development, the consequences of our technological advances, and therapies for ASD.