When you sign up to be in a psychology moral study but you get in my cheating...

Jessica is a struggling make-up artist in New York City. She thinks quick cash, answer some moral questions... easy peasy but she is quickly in over her head. She desperately searches for ways to get away from her involvement with the study & the Dr conducting the study.

This was a good entertaining thriller! I would recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen for an ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

I received this free ARC from Netgalley in exchange for my opinion and review. This book is about a questionnaire gone bad. There many twists and turns that had me second guessing who might truly be the “bad guy.” I couldn’t put it down!

This is the type of book where I don't want to say too much in fear I will give something away. But, I will say this, the storyline was so original and captivating that I couldn't put it down! This left me feeling speechless and saying to myself "what did I just read"... but in a very good way!

The writing was brilliant and flawless! I'm waiting on the edge of my seat for the next book these awesome duo writers come out with next. Highly Recommend!

*Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

This was so unlike anything I've ever read that I didn't really know what to expect. Did I love it? Yes. Did it completely mess with my mind? Yes. Did I anticipate a strange and somewhat unsatisfactory ending to a strange, unpredictable plot? No. I loved every bit of this book because it was so unlike any other thriller/mystery novel I've read. I wasn't thrilled with the ending only because I feel like it was a predictable way to end an otherwise unpredictable novel. But this book consumed me all day, from start to finish.

Ohhh mama this was good!! Great way to end my 2018! This author duo has got.it.down. I enjoyed their first book but LOVED this one, read it in a day! It started off strong, and started to lull just a wee bit and then BOOM here is a twist and it never stopped from there! This is a great psychological thriller that kept me guessing on a couple of things, and I love when authors can do that.

Official pub date is 1/8/19. Go get it as soon as it is released!!!

Thanks to NetGalley for the electronic ARC in exchange for my review. All opinions above are my own.

An Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen was one of those books I couldn’t put down. I pretty much read it in one day. I kept turning pages trying to figure out what was going on with Dr. Shields and where the story was going to go next. The readability was definitely a strength of this book. However, some of the reveals were a letdown and became somewhat predictable. I kept waiting for an explosive event. Instead this books proceeds at an even, though intense pace. Regardless it was an interesting book that got me thinking. Recommended.

Thank you to Netgalley And the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book!

. Morality and truth are difficult parts of life. The author explored this theme through the eyes of Dr. Shields, her husband and the subjects of her morality study. I enjoyed how the authors developed characters that were believable and for which I found myself alternating between love and hate for all of the main characters. The story builds to a conclusion that leaves the reader unsure what the truth is until the final word.

Sometimes a test is so small and quiet you don't even notice it's a test.

Uhm. Wow.

What starts as a study and answering a few questions, escalates to something way bigger than Jess had anticipated. She wasn't supposed to be part of the study, but she lies in order to secure a spot because she could really use the money. Before she knows it, she is pushing moral boundaries and wondering why Dr. Shields is asking her to do these things. After some digging, it all comes to light. And it's way more than Jess bargained for.

An Anonymous Girl sneaks up on you. You start reading and before you know it, you're engrossed in the story. I liked that there wasn't a HUGE plot twist like in The Wife Between Us. There were smaller, shocking moments, that kept the momentum of the story going. It just kept picking up speed, until all is revealed at the end.

This one is a definite Must Read.

If you’re into screwed up marriages, twisted sociopaths and brilliant stalkers, then you’d better grab a copy of An Anonymous Girl when it publishes on Jan. 8, 2019. Because this psychological thriller from bestselling authors Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen will give any lovers of Gone Girl, The Widow, or Girl on the Train their fix.

THE STORYLINE
An Anonymous Girl begins by following Jessica (friends call her “Jess”)—your typical poor, young makeup artist living in New York City. Like many struggling artists in The Big Apple, Jess has secrets from her past she doesn’t want to face, which makes finding a relationship a tad difficult.

When the opportunity for some easy cash practically falls onto her lap during a makeup session one day, Jess signs up for a mysterious study on morality from the esteemed Dr. Shields. But as Jess becomes Subject 52, she begins to learn this study isn’t what it seems and now she’s in so deep, she’s not sure she can make it out alive.

WHAT I LOVED
The story’s pace is so fast—with its short chapters and cliffhangers—I found it hard to put down (even when I was exhausted from a long day at work). An Anonymous Girl switches point-of-view between Jess and Dr. Shields, which adds a layer of psychological depth to their newly forming, toxic relationship.

I don’t go for cheap thrills, instead preferring story arcs that allow me to understand a character’s motivations. I want to know the why and An Anonymous Girl delivers, developing a complex, fascinating and terrifying villain in Dr. Shields. In the end, you might find yourself empathizing with this cold, calculating doctor.

WHAT NEEDED WORK
I wanted more punch from the end. The story’s intensity developed so well, but the end wasn’t as strong as the buildup. It wasn’t ­bad, per say; in fact, the final note still completed the story nicely and gave me a sense of satisfaction. It just wasn’t enough.

THE FINAL NOTE
A story of obsession and control, An Anonymous Girl will chill you to your bone and leave you pondering its intricate and dark characters. This is a strong book, a quick read—and I promise, it will be worth your time.

“It’s easy to judge other people’s choices... We all have reasons for our actions. Even if we hide the reason from those who think they know us best. Even if the reasons are so deeply buried we can’t recognize them ourselves.”
.
.
I loved The Wife Between Us; it was one of my top reads from 2018. I was so excited when St Martins Press sent me this ARC of An Anonymous Girl. Between the cover and first page, I was lured in. It was a slow start for me but once I hit halfway I couldn’t put the book down and breezed right through to the end.
.
.
Jessica Farris is a 28 year old, struggling makeup artist traveling from client to client in NYC. Her life was normal and uneventful until one 45 minute makeup secession lead to one overheard voicemail about an upcoming NYU psychiatrist’s study and Jess makes a snap decision that changes her life. I don’t feel like I can say much without giving anything away. But Jessica is asked a series of questions based on morality and ethics and given various scenarios. Based on her answers she becomes the perfect subject for a study conducted by Dr. Shields. Jessica becomes Subject 52, and no only discovers the premise of the study but also more about the past she, herself, had previously hidden.
.
.
“A secret is only a secret if one person holds it.”
.
.
An Anonymous Girl is out January 8, 2019. A must add to your January reading if you haven’t read it already. Thank you St Martins Press for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Jess is a cash-strapped young woman who lies to get into a study on ethics and morality. Ironic, no? I was immediately hooked.

The study starts out with her answering simple ethics questions for which she gets paid handsomely. Apparently, Jess forgot these adages: 1) if it looks too good to be true, it is too good to be true and 2) you don’t get something for nothing.

As the financial compensation increases, Jess is required to do field work in real life scenarios, which makes her increasingly more uncomfortable and suspicious. Jess soon finds herself up against a diabolical schemer.

The first half of the book is a slow burn. It was interesting enough, but I had no trouble putting the book down. However, in the last half, the suspense builds and I finished the book in one sitting.

Twisty tales that deliver twists only for the shock value leave me cold. But twists combined with secrets, obsessive love, the psychology of motives, honesty, and ethics and I’m in 100%. I was kept guessing as to who was the villain and which one would outsmart their opponent in this cat and mouse game. One twist I saw coming but it didn't ruin the fun and the ending still surprised me.

For me, a psychological thriller has to be fun, and this one delivers. Plus, it features a psychiatrist, always an added plus, since I love to delve into what makes people tick. There are a lot of interesting themes explored that kept me invested. Anyone who knows me knows I’m a stickler for believability but who cares about total believability when you’re having this much fun?

The book is broken up in three parts and I really consider DNFjng during the first part but I had a lot of people tell me to just keep going because things will get better and I’m glad I did. I didn’t get hooked into the book until part 2. What I liked is how the book has short chapters but I didn’t like the second POV chapters. They creeped me out lol. I can’t even go into the details of the story but this book was really crazy. I never knew what to believe and I feared for Jess every time she was with Dr. Shields. Who is a crazy lady may I add?

I may have to read the authors first book because this one was fairly good.

This was a fast-paced psychological thriller that I gave 3/5 stars. I enjoyed it, but I found the ending to be slightly anticlimactic. I did like the protagonist, a young woman named Jess who does makeup for a living, but gets herself caught up in a psychological experiment that doesn't turn out to be quite what she expected. It was an interesting read, and I liked the way the psychologists perspective was written as though it was her notes. Objective. Scientific. And, I guess the ending did fit with the rest of the plot when I think about it now, it just makes sense, but I thought with such an uneven playing field between antagonist and protagonist, it would've been a lot harder for our young heroine to triumph.

This book is already earning a lot of hype, so when I was given an ARC By NetGalley, I was excited to be one of the firsts to read it.
I liked this book, and it was different from other thrillers but, I found Jess the protagonist a little annoying. Jess was annoying because she was earning and saving money to help her family out, due to a secret she carried for many years. Call me selfish, but I would never work that hard to give all my money to my parents to care for my sister. There is another layer to the plot, a woman you later meet named April and I would’ve liked to learn more about her and less about Jess’ horrible secret, that really wasn’t even a big deal.

I am most certainly in the minority with my feelings on this book, if the other reviews here are any indication. Wondering if that will change once the book is released.

The premise here is an intriguing one. Jessica Farris, the struggling makeup artist, finds out via one of her clients that there is a psychological study paying $500 for a few hours, and elbows her way in. It's a study on morality and ethics, so she's already winning by lying her way into it. After answering some essay questions in the strangest TMI manner ever, the doctor behind the study takes a very real interest in her, and decides to make her the focus of their entire study.

Or so it seems.

The number of times I could hear the stage cue for dramatic music throughout this book was so painful.

This book is just so freaking dramatic, and honestly, there was no need for it. The plot, while not the best thing I've read this year, was really decent. My biggest complaint about The Wife Between was that the authors included WAY too many out of nowhere twists. And in this case, we didn't actually have any twists.

Or, if we did, they were way too gentle and felt more like steady curves in the road, rather than abrupt bends.

But I swear to god, every time we got a Dr Shields POV, I could picture them in a dark trench coat, in a poorly lit room, with the light only shining on their eyeline. And whenever we had a Jess chapter, she was huddled in a corner, or walking down a street hunched over, casting glances behind and all around because she was so damn paranoid.

It was so. un.necessary. Especially considering that for the first 70% of the book, Jess thinks Dr Shields is a totally normal human being with no dastardly agenda. Like, the summary of this book kind of ruins that turn of events by saying Dr Shields Knows Too Much About Her.

I don't know, this book felt so disjointed and I couldn't take any of the events seriously. It never felt like Jess was in real mortal peril. Was Dr Shields manipulative as shit? God, yes. Was it annoying? Incredibly so. Was Jess a real moron for handing over so much information to this "anonymous" study, and for spilling her verbal diarrhea all over the place with these questions?

Good grief, what even were those answers?

I will say one thing, though. While trying to figure out where this was going, I came up with a hell of a plot that would fix this. Maybe one of the British thriller authors can pick that one up. They're impressing me more and more lately.

I received an e-ARC of An Anonymous Girl from NetGalley. The book is officially coming out in the US on January 8, 2019. This is a psychological thriller focused on love, guilt, jealousy, obsession as well as the issues of honesty and deceit. Since a big part of reading a psychological thriller is experiencing the sense of suspense, I cannot summarize the plot without revealing too much.

However, here are a few essentials: the main character - Jessica Farris - is a 28-year old make-up artist living in New York who decides to earn a quick $500 by participating in a morality and ethics study conducted by a psychotherapist at NYU. We slowly learn more about Jessica, as well as the guilt and secrets she harbors.

The other voice in the book is that of the psychotherapist conducting the study. The chapters alternate the points of view between the subject and the researcher. Jessica's chapters are written in the first person, whereas the researcher's are constructed in the second person - you - addressing the subject. All the actions performed by the psychotherapist are described in clipped passive voice sentences that sound clinical and precise (e.g. "a beverage is offered" instead of "I offered her a beverage").

I devoured the book in two days, which is an impressive feat for me (I am not a fast reader). In the beginning, I had doubts about whether the book would be able to pull me in. Mostly, this was due to the fact that I did not like the main character. She immediately struck me as someone who makes questionable moral choices and I could not easily relate to her. On the other hand, such emotional divesting allowed me to focus on the plot and not feel anxious while reading. (I do feel anxiety when I read thrillers if the character seems like someone I could really relate to).

A couple of warnings: the books is focused heavily on cheating, jealousy and romantic obsession. If those are the topics you'd rather not read about, I would pass this book. 4 out 5 stars overall. A good choice to read over a weekend or on a long airplane ride.

Thrilling and edge of your seat.

Jessica is a struggling young women working her hardest to become a successful, financially stable make up artist in New York. She becomes entangled with a clinical study on morality. Little does she know that Dr. Sheilds who is the professor running the trial is not what or who she seems. She is a psychologist running the study. She is attempting to prove that her husband, who does not live with her, is not loyal. She uses Jessica as a pawn to catch her husband being unfaithful.

A book full of twists, turns and shocking revelations.

I give this book 4.5 stars. I absolutely love the way that this book was written. There are POV chapters, but aren't labelled between Jess and Dr. Shield's characters. You can certainly tell the difference in the tone and the word choices. Dr. Shield's seems to be talking directly to Jess's character as if she is omniscient.

Jess is Dr. Shield's lab rat throughout this story, but toward the end of the story, Jess seems to be picking up on some of the things that are a bit unnerving and eventually starts to gain some control over the situation and realizes that this is a game of chess. She needs to stay one step ahead of Dr. Shields, though Dr. Shields has been setting up all of the rules of this game.

“Seeking women ages 18–32 to participate in a study on ethics and morality. Generous compensation. Anonymity guaranteed.”

Struggling financially, Jessica Farris, a makeup artist, signs up to participate in a study conducted by Dr. Shields for some extra cash. As she sits at a computer alone in a classroom, she is asked questions like:
* When was the last time you treated someone unfairly and why?
* Could you tell a lie without feeling guilt?
* Should the punishment always fit the crime?

This book had twist upon twist and I never knew what to think or who to trust. As a psych/research nerd, I absolutely loved the concept for this cat-and-mouse thriller and the detailed observations noted throughout. I don’t even want to say anything else about the plot, just read it!

An Anonymous Girl is made up of short chapters that kept me turning pages and switches frequently from the perspective of Jessica Farris and the mysterious Dr. Shields. Thoroughly enjoyed this one from start to finish.

Thank you, St. Martin’s Press for the advance reader copy!

This review can be viewed on Goodreads, Instagram, and Twitter @kaylagetsread by 12/29.

After a lukewarm reaction to the first collaboration of Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen, I was hesitant to pick up the invitation extended to me by St Martin's Press for their Sophomore release, An Anonymous Girl. I must say that I enjoyed this novel more than I did "The Wife Between Us". The structure of this narrative lent itself much better to the team approach to writing since there were very different voices between the two main characters that came through very well.

The psychology behind the premise is compelling but if you are looking for something that will keep you on your toes with twists and turns, this one is fairly straightforward as far as the plot is concerned.

Definitely pick it up for a light and fun read.