Review - The Perfect Wife by JP Delaney

The Perfect Wife by JP Delaney
Publisher: Quercus Books
Release date: 8 August 2019
Back cover blurb: "There's something I have to explain, my love," he says, taking your hand in his. "That wasn't a dream. It was an upload." Abbie wakes in a hospital bed with no memory of how she got there. The man by her side explains that he's her husband. He's a titan of the tech world, the founder of one of Silicon Valley's most innovative startups. He tells Abbie she's a gifted artist, a doting mother to their young son, and the perfect wife. Five years ago, she suffered a terrible accident. Her return from the abyss is a miracle of science, a breakthrough in artificial intelligence that has taken him half a decade to achieve. But as Abbie pieces together memories of her marriage, she begins questioning her husband's motives - and his version of events. Can she trust him when he says he wants them to be together for ever? And what really happened to her, half a decade ago?

The Perfect Wife is a unique novel. Focusing on the world of Robotics, Autonomy and real life relationships, it might sound a little scientific, but I think this is a novel for any fan of a gripping thriller.

Five years after a mysterious accident, Abbie wakes to find her husband Tim at her bedside. She is confused about what has happened, but ecstatic to be alive. Until Tim tells her that she isn't actually alive.

Abbie died five years ago, and genius Tim has spent all this time perfecting her replacement - or replica self.

Abbie is a Cobot (A Collaborative Robot) - and yes, I did have to look that up to see what it meant! A Collaborative Robot is one that is intended to physically interact with humans in a shared work space (as opposed to a normal 'robot' that are designed to operate autonomously).

Abbie has been 'uploaded' with software to give her Abbie's memories and personality, so that her still grieving husband can continue his life with his 'wife' by his side.

It's a touching story, and one that Abbie initially finds difficult to believe. Until she 'remembers' how determined her husband is, and what a scientific breakthrough 'she' is.

As Abbie begins to gather more 'memories' she begins to really question her husbands motives for creating her, and his version of events surrounding her mysterious 'accident'. Can she trust the man who bought her to life, or should she be fearful that he is trying to end it? 

The Perfect Wife is available from 8 August 2019.

You can pre-order it now via Amazon online and all good book shops.

Thank You to the publishers who approved my request via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Review - Looker by Laura Sims

Looker by Laura Sims

Publisher: Tinder Press

Release date: 25 July 2019

Back cover blurb: The Professor lives in Brooklyn; her partner Nathan left her when she couldn't have a baby. All she has now is her dead-end teaching job, her ramshackle apartment, and Nathan's old moggy, Cat. Who she doesn't even like. The Actress lives a few doors down. She's famous and beautiful, with auburn hair, perfect skin, a lovely smile. She's got children - a baby, even. And a husband who seems to adore her. She leaves her windows open, even at night. There's no harm, the Professor thinks, in looking in through the illuminated glass at that shiny, happy family, fantasizing about them, drawing ever closer to the actress herself. Or is there?

The Professor has separated from her husband. Her inability to bear a child for them to love and cherish, has torn the once happy couple far apart.

The Professor is about to embark on a dangerous journey with one of her students.

The Professor is totally obsessed with The Actress.

The Actress is blissfully unaware that she is being constantly observed by one of her neighbours.

Both of their lives are about to be turned upside down...

Looker is quite an unusual novel, in that we don't really find out the infinite detail of our two main characters (i.e. their names), but we know every other little detail of their lives.

I would say that Looker is an intriguing novel.

And, although the novels pace and narrative keep it gripping, I wouldn't describe it as a thriller, psychological or otherwise, nor is there any police involvements for it to be a procedural - or even a mystery. 

It is more of an enigma. A novel on it's own. As it should be.

A very clever, quite twisted and dark novel it is too!

Looker is available now via Amazon online and all good book shops.

Thank You to the publishers who approved my request via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Review - Stop At Nothing by Tammy Cohen

Stop At Nothing by Tammy Cohen

Publisher: Transworld Digital

Release date: 18 July 2019

Back cover blurb: A mother’s job is to keep her children safe. Tess has always tried to be a good mother. Of course, there are things she wishes she’d done differently, but doesn’t everyone feel that way? Then Emma, her youngest, is attacked on her way home from a party, plunging them into a living nightmare which only gets worse when the man responsible is set free. But what if she fails? So when Tess sees the attacker in the street near their home, she is forced to take matters into her own hands. But blinded by her need to protect her daughter at any cost, might she end up putting her family in even greater danger? There’s nothing she wouldn’t do to make it right . . .

When Tess' teenage daughter Emma is attacked on the way home from a party, Tess is determined that the perpetrator be bought to justice.

But Emma fails to identify the attacker in a Police line up, and both Tess and Emma are distraught that the attacker is still roaming free.

Then Emma believes that she sees her attacker, one day when she is coming home from school and Tess is willing to do anything she can to ensure that he ends up behind bars.

Even if she has to break the law herself.

She will stop at nothing....

Meanwhile, both Emma and Tess are finding comfort in their new found friendship with Frances, who stopped the attack before it became any worse, and bought Emma home to her Mother on that fateful night.

As someone who was caught up in the events of the night, Frances perhaps has a biased opinion when she encourages Tess who is thinking about taking matters in to her own hands as the police don't seem to be getting anywhere.

But Tess will do anything to keep her daughter safe.

No matter what the consequences.

Stop At Nothing is available now via Amazon online and all good book shops.

Thank You to the publishers who approved my request via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Review - Beneath the Surface by Fiona Neill

Beneath the Surface by Fiona Neill

Publisher: Michael Joseph

Release date: 11 July 2019

Back cover blurb: After a chaotic childhood, Grace Vermuyden is determined her own daughters will fulfil the dreams denied to her. Lilly is everyone's golden girl, the popular, clever daughter she never had to worry about. So when she mysteriously collapses in class, Grace's carefully ordered world begins to unravel. Dark rumours swirl around their tight-knit community on the edge of the Fens as everyone comes up with their own theories about what happened. Consumed with paranoia, and faced with increasing evidence that Lilly has been leading a secret life, Grace starts to search for clues. Left to her own devices, ten-year-old Mia develops some wild theories of her own that have unforeseen and devastating consequences for the people she loves most. Beneath the Surface explores the weight of the past upon the present, the burden of keeping secrets and what happens when children get caught in the undercurrents of adult relationships.

I have to be honest that this was a slightly different novel to the one I was originally anticipating, but an enjoyable read nonetheless.

Beneath the Surface focuses on family relationships, and the fact that no matter how well we think we may know our parents, children, friends etc, there is always something new to discover. 

Everyone lies, even if they appear to be the most honest person on the outside.

Lilly is everyone's golden girl, beautiful, bright and popular. When she collapses in an English lesson, her friends and family are distraught, their world turned upside down.

But this is only the beginning of their nightmare.

Told from alternate characters points of view, this is a novel that requires concentration, and I'm not sure the ending will satisfy all, but it's a good character driven novel nonetheless.

Beneath The Service is available now via Amazon online and all good book shops.

Thank You to the publisher who approved my request via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Review - Then She Vanishes by Claire Douglas

Then She Vanishes by Claire Douglas 

Publisher: Michael Joseph

Release date: 27 June 2019

Back cover blurb: THE ONLY THING MORE SHOCKING THAN THE FIRST CHAPTER . . . IS THE LAST. Everything changed the night Flora disappeared. Heather and Jess were best friends - until the night Heather's sister vanished. Jess has never forgiven herself for the lie she told that night. Nor has Heather. But now Heather is accused of an awful crime. And Jess is forced to return to the sleepy seaside town where they grew up, to ask the question she's avoided for so long: What really happened the night Flora disappeared? 










Jess is an investigative reporter, exactly the kind of reporter that you don't want hanging around the family home when one of your children is suspected of a heinous crime, and even you as their Mother are not sure if they are innocent.

But Jess is an old family friend, and believes that Heather isn't capable of murder. So Heather's Mother agrees to let her in, and tell the story from their side. Jess is sympathetic to the family's plight, as she has known them for so long, and is unable to tell the story as her ruthless boss would like her too.

She knows of course that the family has secrets. Which family doesn't?

But she is determined to stick to the known facts.

Jess however, cannot keep the past from her boss, and soon he is asking her to answer questions that she is unable to. Heather's sister, Flora went missing when they were teenagers and hasn't been seen since. It was presumed that her boyfriend had something to do with at the time, but now questions are being asked, that no one wants to answer.

Is Heather really as innocent as she seems?

Could she have had something to do with her sister's disappearance?

Or is the truth much more complicated than that?

Then She Vanishes is a twisty roller coaster of a novel that will have you second guessing every characters movement.

Then She Vanishes by Claire Douglas is available now via Amazon online and all good book shops.

Thank You to the publishers who approved my request via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Review - After The End by Clare Mackintosh

After The End by Clare Mackintosh
Publisher: Little Brown Book Group
Release date: 25 June 2019

Back cover blurb: Max and Pip are the strongest couple you know. Only now they're facing the most important decision of their lives - and they don't agree. As the consequences of an impossible choice threaten to devastate them both, nothing will ever be the same again. 

But anything can happen after the end . . . .













I'm not sure where to start with this beautiful novel, but I do know that I haven't been able to read for a few days after finishing it, because it has left such an impact.

From her very first novel, I Let You Go, I have been a Clare Mackintosh fan, and I have to admit, I was slightly worried that I wouldn't enjoy this departure from the usual psychological thriller genre. I couldn't have been more wrong.

Meet Max and Pip, they are the strongest couple, facing the most difficult and important decision of their lives. Their three year old son Dylan is battling a brain tumour, but requires further treatment in order to survive.

The prognosis is bad enough, but then they are hit with another blow. The treatment Dylan requires to stand a chance of survival is not available on the NHS.

Max and Pip must decide whether to let their son go and release him from further pain, or to battle for treatment in the USA. After a period of time, it becomes clear, that they must battle - against each other.

Max and Pip's perfect relationship is suddenly, brutally torn apart by each parent believing they know what's best for their son and his future. They must go to court to decide, with their doctor and the hospital trust on one side, and one parent alone on the other.

So, what happens 'After the End'?

As the book's tagline suggests, anything can happen after the end. We are treated to two alternate versions of the future after the court hearing, mostly from the perspective of Max and Pip, but with an occasional chapter from Dylan's doctor.

I really can't say any more without giving anything away, but I urge you to read this novel - including the author's notes. It is heartbreaking, yet beautiful and one of my reading highlights of this year so far.

After the end is available now via Amazon online and all good book shops.

Thank You to the publishers who approved my request via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Review - I Looked Away by Jane Corry

I Looked Away by Jane Corry

Publisher: Penguin Books

Release date: 27 June 2019

Back cover blurb: THE GRIPPING NEW THRILLER FROM THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF MY HUSBAND'S WIFE AND THE DEAD EX. Every Monday, 49-year-old Ellie looks after her grandson Josh. She loves him more than anyone else in the world. The only thing that can mar her happiness is her husband's affair. But he swears it's over now, and Ellie has decided to be thankful for what she's got...Then one day, while she's looking after Josh, her husband gets a call from that woman. And just for a moment, Ellie takes her eyes off her grandson. The accident that happens will change her life forever. Because Ellie is hiding something in her past. And what looks like an accident could start to look like murder . . .

I think this is my favourite Jane Corry novel to date. As with all Jane's novels, it is a plausible plot focusing on how life can change in an instant with a momentary lapse of concentration. Family relationships are also explored, how easily we are influenced from a young age, and how we are bought up defines our future.

The novel is told mainly from two perspectives, those of Ellie and Jo.

Ellie is determined to focus on the positives in her life, even after her husband's latest affair. She cannot let her family be torn apart. She has a charmed life otherwise, and she knows it, a lovely house, a beautiful grandson and two beautiful children.

Jo is living on the streets, living a polar opposite life to Ellie. She moves from city to city, seemingly determined to get away from someone, or something. Something terrible has happened in both Jo and Ellie's past, and we believe at first that this is the only thing connecting these two characters.

But their lives are connected in a way that you wouldn't think possible, until the final stages of the novel, when all becomes clear, and you wonder how you didn't see the connections before. I Looked Away feels very real, and is wonderfully written.

Jane Corry's writing style always has me gripped from the first page, and I Looked Away is no exception.

I Looked Away is available now via Amazon online and all good book shops.

Thank You to the publishers who approved my request via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Most Difficult Thing by Charlotte Philby

The Most Difficult Thing by Charlotte Philby

Publisher: Harper Collins UK

Release date: 11 June 2019

Back cover blurb: On the surface, Anna Witherall personifies everything the aspirational magazine she works for represents. Married to her university boyfriend David, she has a beautiful home and gorgeous three-year-old twin daughters, Stella and Rose. But beneath the veneer of success and happiness, Anna is hiding a dark secret, one that threatens to unravel everything she has worked so hard to create. As Anna finds herself drawn into the dark and highly controlled world of secret intelligence, she is forced to question her family’s safety, and her own. Only one thing is certain: in order to protect her children, she must leave them, forever. And someone is watching. Someone she thought she could trust. Someone who is determined to make them all pay.Stylish and assured, The Most Difficult Thing is an irresistible combination of contemporary espionage and domestic suspense, and a compulsive, highly charged examination of betrayal.

Anna Witherall has it all ... or so it seems. Married to David who she met at University, she has a successful career, a beautiful home and three year old twin daughters, Stella and Rose.

But Anna is hiding a dark secret, one that could bring her carefully constructed life crashing down around her ears at any given moment.

And so she is forced into making a decision.

The most difficult decision of her life.

Anna knows that if she herself doesn't make the decision, then someone may make a very different decision for her. And that definitely won't be a decision that Anna wants to be on the receiving end of.

This novel is one of those that you will find yourself unable to put down for any length of time. It's a bit of a roller coaster at times, and you need to pay attention if you don't want to fall off...

For me the most difficult thing about this novel, is the ending ... you never really get a satisfactory conclusion, and whilst for some novels that is absolutely fine, others need the loose ends tying up, and I feel as if this is one of those.

Overall a great novel though.

The Most Difficult Thing is available now via Amazon online and all good book shops.

Thank You to the publishers who approved my request via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.