Review: Believe Me by J.P. Delaney

Title: Believe Me

Author: J.P. Delaney

Published: July 2018, Ballantine Books

Format: ARC Paperback, 352 pages

Source: Publisher

Summary:

In this twisty
psychological thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of The
Girl Before, an actress plays both sides of a murder investigation.

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.

My thoughts: Last year, I read and really enjoyed The Girl Before by J.P. Delaney and knew that I would be reading everything and anything this author wrote. Well, here is the latest book and once again, I found myself completely engaged by this psychological thriller – a book with such a unique plot that I devoured it in just one day!

What’s interesting to note about this book is that J.P. Delaney actually wrote a story about an actress given a role in an undercover operation years ago. It had a different title and was published under a different name, but it didn’t do as well as he had hoped. After the success of The Girl Before, he decided to revisit this earlier book, but not just republish it as it was…he gave it a whole new life…and that is what we have here.

Let me just tell you…this author is quite a genius when it comes to spinning a tale. And this new title – the old title, by the way was The Decoy – is just brilliant, because at the end of the day, you will find yourself doing just the opposite and believing no one! I think that’s the best part of this book – not knowing who you could trust or believe. 

The characters in this book, while not necessarily likeable, are still compelling and hard to walk away from. They are complex, interesting and mysterious. You just need to know what it is that they are going to do next. 

This is a dark, thrilling read, no doubt about that. The cat and mouse game that is going on will keep you reading until you reach the final conclusion. And the short chapters just add to the frantic page flipping…as do all the questions that keep popping up the further you get into the story. J.P. Delaney sure knows how to rope you in to keep you hooked, there is no doubt about that!

If you are looking for a good page-turning thriller with an unreliable narrator, a murder and deception, than look no further than here.