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3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
WOW
This was amazing! So many twists and turns!
The writing style was so good, I loved the acting aspects of the story!
This was amazing! So many twists and turns!
The writing style was so good, I loved the acting aspects of the story!
Thanks to Ballantine Books and Random House for the free advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.
Last year I read Delaney's debut novel, THE GIRL BEFORE, and I loved it. It definitely helped rekindle my love for psychological thrillers, so when I saw there was a follow up novel coming, I couldn't wait. BELIEVE ME is another twisty psychological thriller that will keep you guessing and turning the pages.
This one is incredibly hard to talk about without giving anything away. I think that the synopsis is the most information I can give away about the plot:
"One out-of-work British actress pays the rent on her New York City apartment the only way she can: as a decoy for a firm of divorce lawyers, hired to entrap straying husbands. When the cops begin investigating one of her targets for murdering his wife--and potentially others--they ask her to lure the suspect into a confession.
But with the actress pretending to be someone she isn't, differentiating the decoy from the prey becomes impossible--and deadly."
Needless to say, we had one hell of a ride with this one. An unreliable narrator, plenty of twists, short chapters, and so many questions will keep you flipping the pages. I definitely had a couple moments where I had to stop and reread the last sentences of a chapter because I couldn't believe it. Delaney does a great job weaving the story and intertwining the characters. Claire is so fascinating and you never really know what to believe as the story continues. If you're looking for a great thriller this summer, then this needs to be on your list. Now to anxiously wait for Delaney's next release!
I give this 5/5 stars!
Last year I read Delaney's debut novel, THE GIRL BEFORE, and I loved it. It definitely helped rekindle my love for psychological thrillers, so when I saw there was a follow up novel coming, I couldn't wait. BELIEVE ME is another twisty psychological thriller that will keep you guessing and turning the pages.
This one is incredibly hard to talk about without giving anything away. I think that the synopsis is the most information I can give away about the plot:
"One out-of-work British actress pays the rent on her New York City apartment the only way she can: as a decoy for a firm of divorce lawyers, hired to entrap straying husbands. When the cops begin investigating one of her targets for murdering his wife--and potentially others--they ask her to lure the suspect into a confession.
But with the actress pretending to be someone she isn't, differentiating the decoy from the prey becomes impossible--and deadly."
Needless to say, we had one hell of a ride with this one. An unreliable narrator, plenty of twists, short chapters, and so many questions will keep you flipping the pages. I definitely had a couple moments where I had to stop and reread the last sentences of a chapter because I couldn't believe it. Delaney does a great job weaving the story and intertwining the characters. Claire is so fascinating and you never really know what to believe as the story continues. If you're looking for a great thriller this summer, then this needs to be on your list. Now to anxiously wait for Delaney's next release!
I give this 5/5 stars!
Thanks to NetGalley and Ballentine Books for an ARC of this book! Release date - July 24, 2018
More than ever I wish half stars were allowed, because this is a prime example of 3 being definitely too low, but not quite achieving a 4.
This book is very well-written. It had me turning pages non-stop, never wanting to put it down. When I wasn't able to read, I was thinking about what was going on. I feel like the overall storyline was really great - an actress hired to try and smoke out a suspect in a murder case, to get him to completely trust her and reveal whether or not he is guilty. But the kicker is that the actress gets completely invested in her "role," and then it's unclear what's real and what's not throughout.
Every character was a perfect mixture of likable yet untrustworthy, even the narrator Claire. Sometimes you'd know for sure that she was telling the reader everything, and other times you weren't so sure. It was also always unclear if she was completely sane or a bit delusional. Patrick was at times very charming and sweet, but then you'd wonder if he was hiding something or if it was all in Claire's mind. There were quite a few twists and most I didn't see coming.
The main problem I had though, while the overall concept of the plot was really excellent, it didn't feel executed properly. For such a short book SO much story was covered - the beginning where Claire is working for the divorce firm smoking out cheating husbands, then it transitions to the murder investigation and working with the cops, then a main characters is in a mental institute and that felt like it lasted forever, then all trace of the previous creepy murder plot seem to vanish and the characters are innocently putting on a play, and then back to the murder investigation. The beginning was awesome, really well-written and creepy and dark and had me not wanting to put it down to see where it went. The ending was great too, once creepy dark things started to happen again. But the middle was just BORING. It was like the author wanted the book to be a little longer but didn't know where to go with the story. It just completely dragged, and dragged my rating down with it.
I also feel like too much emphasis was put on the poetry that the murders were based on, and the poet, and later the play based on the poet, than the actual murders. I thought this dragged the plot down as well.
Like I said, the ending was good and surprising and well-executed, if not a tad bit rushed after the long dull middle. The book was well-written and made me want to keep reading. I enjoyed the characters and the overall concept. There were just some boring parts I wish could have been made better. All in all though I would definitely read this author's books again.
More than ever I wish half stars were allowed, because this is a prime example of 3 being definitely too low, but not quite achieving a 4.
This book is very well-written. It had me turning pages non-stop, never wanting to put it down. When I wasn't able to read, I was thinking about what was going on. I feel like the overall storyline was really great - an actress hired to try and smoke out a suspect in a murder case, to get him to completely trust her and reveal whether or not he is guilty. But the kicker is that the actress gets completely invested in her "role," and then it's unclear what's real and what's not throughout.
Every character was a perfect mixture of likable yet untrustworthy, even the narrator Claire. Sometimes you'd know for sure that she was telling the reader everything, and other times you weren't so sure. It was also always unclear if she was completely sane or a bit delusional. Patrick was at times very charming and sweet, but then you'd wonder if he was hiding something or if it was all in Claire's mind. There were quite a few twists and most I didn't see coming.
The main problem I had though, while the overall concept of the plot was really excellent, it didn't feel executed properly. For such a short book SO much story was covered - the beginning where Claire is working for the divorce firm smoking out cheating husbands, then it transitions to the murder investigation and working with the cops, then a main characters is in a mental institute and that felt like it lasted forever, then all trace of the previous creepy murder plot seem to vanish and the characters are innocently putting on a play, and then back to the murder investigation. The beginning was awesome, really well-written and creepy and dark and had me not wanting to put it down to see where it went. The ending was great too, once creepy dark things started to happen again. But the middle was just BORING. It was like the author wanted the book to be a little longer but didn't know where to go with the story. It just completely dragged, and dragged my rating down with it.
I also feel like too much emphasis was put on the poetry that the murders were based on, and the poet, and later the play based on the poet, than the actual murders. I thought this dragged the plot down as well.
Like I said, the ending was good and surprising and well-executed, if not a tad bit rushed after the long dull middle. The book was well-written and made me want to keep reading. I enjoyed the characters and the overall concept. There were just some boring parts I wish could have been made better. All in all though I would definitely read this author's books again.
**I would like to thank NetGalley and Quercus Books for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.**
Believe Me by JP Delaney is a rewrite of a previous work by the author. It would be interesting to read the original version and compare it to the current book. The main character, Claire Wright (which is also my maiden name!) is struggling actor from Britain who has aarrived in NYC looking for fame & fortune. She finds it isn't as easy as that and so the story unravels.
The storyline kept me interested as there were so many twists and turns, you never knew who was actually telling the truth. At one point, I thought it was heading down the Shutter Island route then **boom** another twist, nothing could be predicted because of the mind games being played between the characters.
It is a beautifully written book which is unique yet twisted. JP Delaney certainly knows how to keep the readers guessing and I'm sure any future works will be just as successful.
Believe Me by JP Delaney is a rewrite of a previous work by the author. It would be interesting to read the original version and compare it to the current book. The main character, Claire Wright (which is also my maiden name!) is struggling actor from Britain who has aarrived in NYC looking for fame & fortune. She finds it isn't as easy as that and so the story unravels.
The storyline kept me interested as there were so many twists and turns, you never knew who was actually telling the truth. At one point, I thought it was heading down the Shutter Island route then **boom** another twist, nothing could be predicted because of the mind games being played between the characters.
It is a beautifully written book which is unique yet twisted. JP Delaney certainly knows how to keep the readers guessing and I'm sure any future works will be just as successful.
Ένα βιβλίο με το οποίο θα περάσετε μερικές ευχάριστες ώρες, αν δεν έχετε ιδιαίτερες απαιτήσεις.
Διαβάστε περισσότερα στο blog μου.
Διαβάστε περισσότερα στο blog μου.
NetGalley provided ARC.
Great read full of twists. So many that by the end I couldn't tell who to believe.
Great read full of twists. So many that by the end I couldn't tell who to believe.
My Review:
What I Liked:
Middle Twist. I had no idea that the first twist near the start of the novel was coming at all. It was shocking and made the story even more compelling.
Characters. The novel only follows Claire's point of view, a character that you both like and dislike. She does stupid things (some of the twists explain it) but is still an interesting characters. The other side characters were well done.
Writing Style. This was my first experience with the work of Delancey and I went in blind. The novel flew by because of the short chapters and the author's writing style. The prose flowed really well and I enjoyed how much detail went into the story.
What I Disliked:
Unrealistic. I felt that aspects of the novel, and some of the twists were a big too unrealistic for me. It took me out of the story and ruined the conclusion for me.
Ending Twist. The novel reveals another big twist at the end that once again changes the whole story. However, I felt that the twist was not realistic and did not fit with the whole plot so far.
I recommend checking out this interesting thriller. It is well-written and suspenseful.
My Rating:
4 Stars Out of 5 Stars
What I Liked:
Middle Twist. I had no idea that the first twist near the start of the novel was coming at all. It was shocking and made the story even more compelling.
Characters. The novel only follows Claire's point of view, a character that you both like and dislike. She does stupid things (some of the twists explain it) but is still an interesting characters. The other side characters were well done.
Writing Style. This was my first experience with the work of Delancey and I went in blind. The novel flew by because of the short chapters and the author's writing style. The prose flowed really well and I enjoyed how much detail went into the story.
What I Disliked:
Unrealistic. I felt that aspects of the novel, and some of the twists were a big too unrealistic for me. It took me out of the story and ruined the conclusion for me.
Ending Twist. The novel reveals another big twist at the end that once again changes the whole story. However, I felt that the twist was not realistic and did not fit with the whole plot so far.
I recommend checking out this interesting thriller. It is well-written and suspenseful.
My Rating:
4 Stars Out of 5 Stars
Wow! This book sure is a wild ride!
Claire is an actress studying in America. She has her reputation "ruined" in England and escapes to the US to become a star. There is only one problem: she doesn't have working privileges in the US. Therefore, she finds herself working slightly shady jobs for cash under the table to pay her living expenses...
One such job leads her to a mysterious man--an academic--enthralled by dark, murderous poetry. That same night, she encounters his wife, and by the next day, her murder is all over the news.
Who is the killer? Is Claire involved? Did the husband do it?
Claire is offered the chance of a lifetime--"star" in an undercover investigation to find out just who killed the wife and in the end, secure a green card. But the line betweens acting and being is blurred, and the best stars, as Claire learns, become their roles anyway....
Though this story is extremely unrealistic--using a civilian as a decoy in a murder investigation does NOT seem legal--it is engaging, thrilling, and took me just 2 days to finish. There are two huge twists in the story, and enough minor ones in between to keep you guessing as well. You will not be able to put this book down.
This book is great for book clubs (lots to discuss).
I received an advanced readers digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review and unbiased opinion. Thanks NetGalley!
Claire is an actress studying in America. She has her reputation "ruined" in England and escapes to the US to become a star. There is only one problem: she doesn't have working privileges in the US. Therefore, she finds herself working slightly shady jobs for cash under the table to pay her living expenses...
One such job leads her to a mysterious man--an academic--enthralled by dark, murderous poetry. That same night, she encounters his wife, and by the next day, her murder is all over the news.
Who is the killer? Is Claire involved? Did the husband do it?
Claire is offered the chance of a lifetime--"star" in an undercover investigation to find out just who killed the wife and in the end, secure a green card. But the line betweens acting and being is blurred, and the best stars, as Claire learns, become their roles anyway....
Though this story is extremely unrealistic--using a civilian as a decoy in a murder investigation does NOT seem legal--it is engaging, thrilling, and took me just 2 days to finish. There are two huge twists in the story, and enough minor ones in between to keep you guessing as well. You will not be able to put this book down.
This book is great for book clubs (lots to discuss).
I received an advanced readers digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review and unbiased opinion. Thanks NetGalley!
Rarely do I find a thriller that actually "thrills" me a engages me to the end, but this book did that!
As a former drama club member I enjoyed the way the story was told incorporating scene and stage directions; it made it very easy to visualize.
Claire, the protagonist of Believe Me is not in a word; believable. She's an English actress trying to make it in NYC who will do whatever it takes to finish her acting classes, get stage roles and get her green card. She's the definition of unreliable narrator as she goes undercover to help solve a murder and possibly catch a serial killer. I didn't like Claire, but I found myself intrigued by her and so I kept reading and I'm glad I did. Twists abound and I liked the way the author incorporated snippets of Charles Baudelaire's poems into the story too.
The only downside was the plot got a bit convoluted at parts.
4.5 stars, good strong female characters, made me think and had some brutal murder.
As a former drama club member I enjoyed the way the story was told incorporating scene and stage directions; it made it very easy to visualize.
Claire, the protagonist of Believe Me is not in a word; believable. She's an English actress trying to make it in NYC who will do whatever it takes to finish her acting classes, get stage roles and get her green card. She's the definition of unreliable narrator as she goes undercover to help solve a murder and possibly catch a serial killer. I didn't like Claire, but I found myself intrigued by her and so I kept reading and I'm glad I did. Twists abound and I liked the way the author incorporated snippets of Charles Baudelaire's poems into the story too.
The only downside was the plot got a bit convoluted at parts.
4.5 stars, good strong female characters, made me think and had some brutal murder.
3.5 ⭐️ review will be on lifewithemilyblog.com later this month!
Claire is a British actress living in NYC who has a slightly odd job working for a lawyer to help catch cheating husbands with the help of a hidden camera in her purse. One night, she is hired to hit on a woman’s husband, and hours later, the woman is found brutally murdered in her hotel room, and Claire becomes a prime suspect. Did she kill Stella? As an actress and student of the Stanislavski method, she turns out to be the perfect person to help the detectives catch the real killer. At first I found the book a bit hard to read and get into because of the play script- but once it got going, I couldn’t put it down! The ending totally threw me for a loop! rating: 3 out of 5 stars ⭐️
Claire is a British actress living in NYC who has a slightly odd job working for a lawyer to help catch cheating husbands with the help of a hidden camera in her purse. One night, she is hired to hit on a woman’s husband, and hours later, the woman is found brutally murdered in her hotel room, and Claire becomes a prime suspect. Did she kill Stella? As an actress and student of the Stanislavski method, she turns out to be the perfect person to help the detectives catch the real killer. At first I found the book a bit hard to read and get into because of the play script- but once it got going, I couldn’t put it down! The ending totally threw me for a loop! rating: 3 out of 5 stars ⭐️