Gripping

Twists at every turn. It's a story that makes you doubt every character, and never can quite predict what's around the bend. Loved the unique mixed presentation of the story - it really added to the effect.

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enjoyable listen

While I did enjoy this book, the story was a tad farfetched. it was well read through, And I enjoyed the character voices, and sound effects. very well done

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Fantastic voice acting lifts the book up a notch

Yikes. Be prepared for the push and pull as your suspicions settle on one person and then are shunted briskly away to lay uneasily on the head of another. Rinse and repeat.

Listened to as an Audible title, the superb acting talents of the primary voice actor in BELIEVE ME lift the work up another notch. There are other actors featured too, but the lead is so convincing it’s hard to ever hit the pause button on her classy narration. You’ll want to immediately search up all her other voice work after listening to BELIEVE ME.

There’s a lot to like in this novel and there’s also a lot that simply doesn’t work. It’s clever or very clumsy in parts and there’s no continuity with either intent. Claire’s character is suitably complex and we’re all for seeing female characters showing their dark sides, just as male characters have been able to display for the last billion years in fiction. As you progress through BELIEVE ME you are never quite sure if you are dealing with an unreliable narrator – and this can brand a thriller as a one trick pony with there being so many novels about now of this type – or whether this is someone who makes a practice of making monumentally unwise decisions.

Does the reader become invested in the outcome of BELIEVE ME? Not really. We know where we are headed. Second novels following blockbuster debuts can have a terrific weight of expectation placed on them well before release and BELIEVE ME was no exception. The sub culture of sexual fetishes is in interesting inclusion, as is the plot device of selecting certain works of French poet Charles Baudelaire to illustrate the motivations of a killer. BELIEVE ME fires well straight out of the gates but credibility is stretched to breaking point as soon as Claire is asked to contribute her acting talents to the investigation.

BELIEVE ME waxes and wanes between holding your interest and pushing you off to do other things when it gets a bit tedious. You do need to fully invest in Claire and her nebulous reasonings in order to finish this book. Modern relationships are hideously complicated and hats off to BELIEVE ME, as this thriller takes that certainty to a whole new level of dangerous complexity.

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Beautifully dark and twisted

Brilliant!!! Amazingly dark but creative characters in a super twisty tale. The juxtaposition between beauty and horror make this a startlingly vivid book. I loved The Girl Before but Believe Me is even better.

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great story and excellent narration

Lots of twists and turns in this book, and the character narratives made the audiobook storytelling flow well.

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This was not great.

Poorly written and not at all believable, but still mildly entertaining. Frustrating... as this could have been good.

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Suspenseful right to the end - fantastic read!

Some parts of the book at a little far fetched, but I do love a good conspiracy!

Great read - the audio & the narrator were great- making this fab to listen to

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great

I'm looking forward to re- reading this one, i think its the kind of book that will take you on two different adventures the first & second time around. I found myself getting too confused towards the end, but the author ties up just enough lose ends to make it "click" without spelling it all out.
the narrator was mostly great but made some rookie accent mistakes, the American pronounciation of "Stella" for instance kept breaking the illusion for me. but the emotive performance was great, i know understand are very hard

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Variation on a theme with literary twist

An interesting follow up to the ‘Girl Before’ and in a similar genre with parallel male-female roles. A good read for those that like stories rather than literary challenges. Ideally suited to film and TV adaptations. This one reads on part like a radio play. All in all very enjoyable and relaxing. Narration quite good with a few twists to keep you guessing. As for Beaudelaire, well now that sounds more challenging!!

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1 person found this helpful

Confusing with too much subjective violence

I nearly gave up many times finding it too gruesome sometimes. I sort of guessed the ending but not it’s full implications and am still guessing at the truth

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