Believe Me, J.P. Delaney's Latest Will Blow Your Mind

Good Morning Readers, 

Today we're talking about J.P. Delaney's newest book, Believe Me. 

I loved The Girl Before, and found Delaney's writing to be delightfully twisty then, this novel is so much more; and to be truthful, Delaney's writing style has hit a new high with Believe Me. (YAY for authors KILLING IT with their sophomore novels!!!) 

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

A struggling actor, a Brit in America without a green card, Claire needs work and money to survive. Then she gets both. But nothing like she expected.

Claire agrees to become a decoy for a firm of divorce lawyers. Hired to entrap straying husbands, she must catch them on tape with their seductive propositions. The rules? Never hit on the mark directly. Make it clear you’re available, but he has to proposition you, not the other way around. The firm is after evidence, not coercion. The innocent have nothing to hide.

Then the game changes.

When the wife of one of Claire’s targets is violently murdered, the cops are sure the husband is to blame. Desperate to catch him before he kills again, they enlist Claire to lure him into a confession.

Claire can do this. She’s brilliant at assuming a voice and an identity. For a woman who’s mastered the art of manipulation, how difficult could it be to tempt a killer into a trap? But who is the decoy . . . and who is the prey?"

There is so much here I'm just going to dive in. 

For starters, I did this on Audio and I have to say it enhanced my experience. Yes, I do A LOT of books on audio, that's how I get away with reading at work, but because of the stylized writing of Believe Me there really is another level added. Written from Claire's perspective, much of the story is told like a scene from a play or a movie, "interior, Kathrine Latham's Office," etc. which certainly helps the reader get inside Claire's head and gives you major Hitchcockian vibes. 

WHICH CAN BE SUPER CONFUSING! As much as I loved how twisty and sexy this story is I had to re-listen to conversations between characters and even whole chapters because the story is constantly moving at a pace that makes you think you're caught up, but you're actually behind. Not the worst thing in the world, and I still loved the book, there were just a handful of times where it felt as though the plot had changed and I missed something. I wasn't missing anything, the plot just jumps, frequently, and Claire's scenes are the only way you get to stay on track. 

Hands down this was a great follow up to The Girl Before and hands down you'll enjoy this novel, you'll just feel confused until the end and maybe a little turned on by a few of the scenes, and for the vanilla types just lean into it. 

Until next time, 

XoXo
BrainyHeroine

Innocent, or Indecent?

Hello Readers!

Over the next few weeks I'm going to be publishing reviews on some of my favorite books I've read this year. Many will be ARC's, some coming out soon, some already published, all will be books I think everyone should read. Starting with...

Indecent by Corrine Sullivan.

Wednesday Books
304 Pages
Published 3.6.18

Indecent is the debut novel from Corinne Sullivan. Smart and sexy, Indecent tells the story of Imogene Abney, a twenty something teacher's assistant who begins a salacious and illicit affair with one of her students: Adam Kipling. Adam is the classically handsome, privileged, and much younger than Imogene, boy next door student at the Vandenberg School for Boys. All to quickly Imogene is swept up in the affair, and finds her self caught in a dangerous world of lust, love, obsession, and one where victimhood and blame get redefined.

Corinne Sullivan Studied English with a creative writing concentration at Boston College, where she graduated in 2014. She then received her MFA in fiction from Sarah Lawrence College in 2016. Her stories have appeared in Night Train, Knee Jerk, and Pithead Chapel, among other publications. Indecent is her debut novel.







Review:

I received my copy of Indecent January of this year. It was a quick and steamy read that I was thankful didn't just feel like a genderbent Lolita. No, this novel has something else. Imogene feels familiar somehow; Ms. Sullivan doesn't do her the disservice of writing her with an immature voice however, instead she is written innocently only to have her unfold throughout the story. She's boy crazy, like any girl in high school who grew up in a small town. She's idealistic, and hedonistic. The woman knows the power of the flesh and the potential enjoyment of that flesh. In many ways her mental age remains that 16 year old who maybe wasn't that cute in high school, but grew up to be beautiful. That being said Imogene is one of the most slapable characters I've ever encountered. There were times her actions just truly didn't make sense, and irrational doesn't even begin to describe them. Ms. Sullivan wrote a truly passionate book, but it is also a bit on the batshit side. I loved reading it, mainly because it was such a good distraction from my life at the time. It is impossible to say that this book is flawless, no book is, but Indecent will become a great beach read with a narrator that is horny and unreliable. It's great! There were times I threw this book down because of the self destructive actions of Imogene, there were times I was simply laughing out loud, and since I didn't know what to expect going into this story, as it isn't my usual genre, I am forever glad to have read it. Additionally, after reading Indecent, I was in a much better place to enjoy Tampa by Alissa Nuttig; a story that genuinely feels like Imogene's story ten or so years from now.

Until next time,

XoXo
BrainyHeroine