THE PERFECT WIFE by JP DELANEY

"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? 

I really enjoyed The Girl Before and Believe Me, so I was curious about this one too. As soon as I picked it up, I was hooked.

When Abbie wakes up in a hospital room, she can't remember how she got there. Luckily, her husband is there to fill in the blanks and tells her she had an accident. He also claims it took him five heartbreaking and work-consumed years to figure out how to get her back.

Yet, the deeper Abbie tries to settle into everyday life, the more she realises things aren't quite as simple and definitely not what they seem...

That's all I'm going to say about the actual story because the less you know about this fantastic book, the more you'll enjoy it.

OMG. This book was SO addictive. I couldn't stop reading because I was hanging on every word and couldn't wait to see what was going to happen next.

The story alternates between the POV of Abbie and a mysterious narrator watching from the sidelines. Abbie's POV was written in second person, a style that I usually find jarring. Yet, for this story it was perfect. And the mysterious POV was very cool because it filled in a lot of the questions gathering inside my mind.

There's just so many awesome things about this book: the intriguing characters, the techie side bordering on SF, the mystery at the core of everything, the writing style that keeps you hanging on until the very end, the unreliable narrators, and the incredible surprises that pop up when you least expect them.

Everything builds at a nice pace, slowly setting the scene until the narrative reaches a point where everything clicks into place. And it's jaw-dropping.

Okay, I can't say more without spoilers.

The Perfect Wife is another gripping story by this great author. It deals with a lot of very interesting and complex things, especially about what really makes someone human. The unique way the story addresses this issue really makes an impact, and made me despise one of the characters.

Also, it's got such a twisty ending that you'll probably find yourself reading the last four chapters several times to make sure you got it right. And when you realise you did, can't help but admire its brilliance. 

JP Delaney is definitely an author that hits all the right mystery/thriller notes. As well as tapping into the darker underside of human nature, and how it can complicate the simplest of situations until they become outrageously dangerous.

Thank you Hachette Australia for sending me a copy.

The Perfect Wife, January 2020, ISBN 9781786488558, Quercus