Anthony Capella

Until I reached the final chapter, I was ready to heap praise on this novel, which is best described as Gone Girl meets Rebecca, if the second Mrs de Winter had been a robot. So clever, I thought! What a great concept! And Abbie - version 2.0 - is a brilliant character who actually grows, from a 'perfect wife' into a rogue AI with a deadly line in sarcasm. Better than Tim the Victorian gothic villain, anyhow.

'I made her better, I fixed her,' Tim told Mike in the same location, a couple of show more days later. 'Anyone would do the same for someone they really loved.'

I thought, from the blurb, that the twist in the tale would be the discovery that 'Abbie' was a machine, so I was somewhat taken aback when her situation was explained in the first chapter. Tim Scott, her husband and a modern day Dr Frankenstein, is creepy from the outset, however, and imagined that I knew exactly what was coming, expecting more of an unravelling than a revelation. Wrong again! Well, I was sort of right, but also satisfied by how Abbie took back her story, which is told in the second person. Even the subplot of the autistic son, taken from the author's own personal experience, was realistically and sympathetically told - I'm not in the slightest bit maternal, but loved how poor Danny's condition helped Abbie to form a human bond with one person in her fake family.

The ending was a disappointment, and the reason for a last minute drop from five stars to four. One minute I was thrown by Abbie's dark turn and eagerly awaiting her final battle for existence - only to be rewarded with evil bots and a distinctly Asimovian solution. I was left scratching my head, I must admit.

Overall, though, I hugely enjoyed this psychological thriller, racing through in a day, and will be reading more from the author. show less

Yes.

So many yeses.

And so many nos!

This book had me absolutely reeling with excitement from the first chapter. I was all over the place guessing what was going to happen, if there was a bad guy, who it was if there was, what the characters were going to do next... absolutely everything had me completely involved in this book. I read the first couple of chapters before sleeping and realized I was going to have to empty my schedule for the next day to binge read it.

I was kind of worried that show more everything would play out in an entirely obvious fashion, but this twisted and turned and kept me on my toes just when I thought I had figured everything out. I realised that I like thrillers a lot more than I think I do sometime while reading this; I'm always a little hesitant to pick up a book with the tag.

I loved the psychological aspects of this though and how drastically different each character was from each other. Emma and Jane weren't the simple damsels in distress that I thought they were going to be, and the romances involved were complex and muddy just like real life. I hated people I wanted to love and loved people I ultimately detested. Smaller characters like a psychologist and a detective were probably my favourites because of how well drawn they were. Everyone had their own backstory and agenda and it was fabulous.

Lots of minor details in this book are incredibly well thought out and add to the story by providing more interest without detracting from the main plot. The entire concept of minimalist living is really intriguing and I loved hearing about the architecture. Medical malpractice played a small element, and there was another element of law I learned about.

I so recommend this one. It'll keep you on your toes, that's for sure, and it'll have a diverse group of characters to keep you thinking afterwards.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. show less

As a mystery/thriller, I enjoyed “the abomination”…once I (sort) of got past what the title refers to. The idea that a woman priest, or even a woman dressed as a priest was referred to as an “abomination” – just really bothers me. That is a word that should be used to describe the worst acts imaginable. The most inhumane, terrifying, cruel, destructive things ever. It seems very wrong that a woman giving her life to God and to helping others gets put in the same category.

“And show more if a bishop decides to ordain a woman, then as soon as that woman has received the Sacrament of Holy Orders she is a priest, in the eyes of God. A heretic one, perhaps; even an abomination.”

And yet – once the book moves further into the questions surrounding the death of a woman dressed as a priest – I couldn’t help but be drawn in. The main female characters are interesting and pretty well drawn. I wouldn’t say there is anything fantastically original about them – but their strength and determination to find those responsible for that crime (and numerous other ones against other women) went a long way towards making up for the sexist and misogynistic themes. And when the book introduces a new angle – and adds another layer to the story - part of the bigger picture is revealed. The greater mystery of which this crime, this conspiracy is just a small part. (Which one would assume will be further explored in the next books of this trilogy.”

The book ends on a strong note. One of the central characters, Kat Tapo of the Carabinieri) sums up her frustration with the system. With the treatment and experiences of women throughout time. “She said slowly, “It’s not you, Aldo. It’s the system – the way it assumes that it’s me, rather than you, who’s got to be shunted off sideways.”…..”and my own grandmother, who fought alongside male partisans in the war but was made to go back afterwards to baking cakes and having babies. It’s the women who aren’t allowed to be priests, because the Church looks at a two-thousand-year-old tradition of misogyny and calls it Holy Law. “

The treatment of women, not the clothing they wear nor their quest for dignity and respect, is the abomination. show less

Believe Me is a dark and twisted thriller that managed to snag my interest from the very beginning and never let go. It's a game of cat and mouse where you're not always sure of who is the cat...and who is the mouse.
The format took some getting used to but considering the main character - Claire - is an aspiring actress, it works.

What I enjoyed most is that Claire is an unreliable narrator. This is something I love when reading psychological thrillers because it keeps you guessing. Given show more what we know of Claire's past, you're constantly questioning her sanity or wondering if she's even capable of separating reality from the 'roles' she plays.

Personally, I feel as if this would have benefited from being a bit longer. So much happens toward the end that it felt a little rushed and after the pacing of the middle, maybe drawing things out just a tad would have made the ending even better. The ending by the way, was phenomenal!

This was probably one of the first thrillers I've read in a while that actually had some surprising twists. That is, twists I didn't see coming from a mile away.

*ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. show less