Summary:
Delaney’s tale of a Silicon Valley tycoon and his made-to-order, robotic wife – and the feelings of repulsion it encapsulates about women are the central theme that brings this gripping psychological thriller to life. When Abbie Cullen wakes up from what feels like a dream, she’s certain she’s human, until her husband Tim tells her she’s a “cobot”, aka a humanlike machine whose presence “may alleviate the loss of a loved one, providing solace, company and emotional support in the aftermath of a bereavement”. In other words, according to Tim, the real Abbie died and he missed her so much he built her again, as a robot, to fill the void his beloved wife left in his life.
Verdict:
Initially I found this book hard to get into, following reading a previous book ''Th e Girl Before'', I almost gave up on it but following a slow start ,it eventually hooked me, and the need to know what happened next took over. Answers are delivered, naturally, in small, mysterious titbits. Flashbacks shed new light on Human Abbie’s relationship with Tim, and how she found herself in his path in the first place. Through the character of Tim, we are engrossed in a man who in this case is in equal parts admired, feared and loathed by his employees. Artificial intelligence might seem like a risky plot device, and the premise of the novel itself is tricky at best, but Delaney pulls it off brilliantly, with an intoxicating knack for suspense. This is the kind of novel words like “unputdownable” were meant for. With every thriller must come a plot twist , as is definitely the case here. Some readers might wish Abbie’s story had a slightly different ending, as I did, but regardless, everything about The Perfect Wife feels earned and satisfying. Thrillers, after all, are more about the journey than they are about the destination – and this journey is a captivating, deeply engrossing one.
Rate: 4 ****
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