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3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
“Believe Me” opens with a prologue that both entices and frightens readers, a foreboding hint of what is to come. Lexington Hotel service workers just hate it when a luxury suite is left a mess. What were these people thinking? Employees have to clean up this mess they left behind, and it is even more annoying when there is a body.
With that, the story rewinds to five days earlier. In a first person narrative, readers meet Claire Wright, just another young professional waiting for her date. This is her story, her chronicle; things are seen through her eyes, a young actor desperate for money, needing a green card, and willing to take any role. She talks to herself, and readers listen in, “No big deal. You do this all the time… Why else would you become an actor, if not to edit reality?” She talks directly to readers; “So now you’re wondering who I actually am, and what I’m doing here in New York… This isn’t lying. This is behaving truthfully under imaginary circumstances. Which, as you’ll discover, is very different.”
Claire lives and breathes the theater. Her conversations are written as a script dialogue. She is, above all, always, and every minute, an actor, playing unusual roles in Theaterland.
When the police come knocking on her door, she is unprepared for what they report. Something is wrong, very wrong, and she then begins a darker, more desperate acting gig. “I know my job. And, it’s called acting. That’s my area of expertise.”
Delaney perfectly sets up the tension, slowly at first and then growing at a frantic pace. Readers watch Claire as if in the theater. It is a cat mouse drama, almost a classic Agatha Christy play. Everyone has a part to play, and everyone is a very good actor. When the final curtain falls, readers contemplate who will be coming back onstage for the final bows.
I was given a review copy of “Believe Me” by JP Delaney, Ballantine Books, and NetGalley. This thrill ride started with a real book of poems written by a real person in 1857, and it keeps readers dreading what might be next. The past is reflected in the present, and nothing is as frightening as history. It is a creepy book, about creepy people doing creepy things, and I could not read it fast enough. And always, if in doubt, it's Constantinople.
With that, the story rewinds to five days earlier. In a first person narrative, readers meet Claire Wright, just another young professional waiting for her date. This is her story, her chronicle; things are seen through her eyes, a young actor desperate for money, needing a green card, and willing to take any role. She talks to herself, and readers listen in, “No big deal. You do this all the time… Why else would you become an actor, if not to edit reality?” She talks directly to readers; “So now you’re wondering who I actually am, and what I’m doing here in New York… This isn’t lying. This is behaving truthfully under imaginary circumstances. Which, as you’ll discover, is very different.”
Claire lives and breathes the theater. Her conversations are written as a script dialogue. She is, above all, always, and every minute, an actor, playing unusual roles in Theaterland.
When the police come knocking on her door, she is unprepared for what they report. Something is wrong, very wrong, and she then begins a darker, more desperate acting gig. “I know my job. And, it’s called acting. That’s my area of expertise.”
Delaney perfectly sets up the tension, slowly at first and then growing at a frantic pace. Readers watch Claire as if in the theater. It is a cat mouse drama, almost a classic Agatha Christy play. Everyone has a part to play, and everyone is a very good actor. When the final curtain falls, readers contemplate who will be coming back onstage for the final bows.
I was given a review copy of “Believe Me” by JP Delaney, Ballantine Books, and NetGalley. This thrill ride started with a real book of poems written by a real person in 1857, and it keeps readers dreading what might be next. The past is reflected in the present, and nothing is as frightening as history. It is a creepy book, about creepy people doing creepy things, and I could not read it fast enough. And always, if in doubt, it's Constantinople.
3.5 stars--had a really hard time getting past the mistake with Claire's alibi for Stella's murder--she went out and partied at Harley Bar the NIGHT BEFORE the day where she pulled a gun on the music video sleaze/night she met Stella and Patrick and she gave it as her whereabouts AFTER she left Stella's hotel room ...
My favorite of J.P. Delaney's has been my first experience, "The Girl Before."
My favorite of J.P. Delaney's has been my first experience, "The Girl Before."
dark
mysterious
Can you say suspense to the umpteenth power? My heart has been on a roller coaster ride! JP Delaney is brilliant! I read this book within 24 hours. This psychological thriller will have you in a suspense labyrinth and guessing up until the very end. Well-developed characters, bursting with mystery and suspense as well as unpredictable outcomes. This is instantly a favorite. JP Delaney never disappoints.
I received an advanced review copy (ARC) of this book from the publisher through NetGalley for my honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
I received an advanced review copy (ARC) of this book from the publisher through NetGalley for my honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Zgodba prevar, ki te omreži.
Knjiga me je pritegnila že na samem začetku. Claire nas popelje v svoj svet in nam ga pokaže, ne le opiše. Zgodba je super. Začne se zanimivo in poraja se nam kar precej vprašanj. Dogajanje se odvija hitro. Preobrati so dokaj nepredvidljivi. Glede konca pa imam mešane občutke.
Zanimivost: zgodba je osnovana na resničnem dogodku. Avtor v enem izmed intervjujev pove, da je dobil inspiracijo pri operaciji pod krinko iz Velike Britanije. V Operacija Edzell je policija za vabo serijskemu morilcu postavila privlačno žensko, ki je bila seveda policistka.
Več pa preberi na blogu: Verjemi mi – zgodba prevar, ki te omreži
Knjiga me je pritegnila že na samem začetku. Claire nas popelje v svoj svet in nam ga pokaže, ne le opiše. Zgodba je super. Začne se zanimivo in poraja se nam kar precej vprašanj. Dogajanje se odvija hitro. Preobrati so dokaj nepredvidljivi. Glede konca pa imam mešane občutke.
Zanimivost: zgodba je osnovana na resničnem dogodku. Avtor v enem izmed intervjujev pove, da je dobil inspiracijo pri operaciji pod krinko iz Velike Britanije. V Operacija Edzell je policija za vabo serijskemu morilcu postavila privlačno žensko, ki je bila seveda policistka.
Več pa preberi na blogu: Verjemi mi – zgodba prevar, ki te omreži
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes