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.

Completely unbelievable, yet totally enjoyable!

A psychological study on morality turns into a game of cat and mouse. Who will come out on top? The subject of the study or the doctor who is playing much more than a game.

That’s all I am going to say about the plot. It’s best to go into this blind.

I didn’t love The Wife Between Us due to the number of twists and some other elements. I decided to go into An Anonymous Girl with an open mind. I knew this was going to be over-the-top, but I decided to suspend my disbelief over the plot. Once I did, I had a lot of fun reading this.

The narrative alternates between doctor and patient. I found the former to be cartoonish, but the latter was intriguing.

This is a fast-paced, entertaining read that requires one to suspend disbelief. There might have been a few times where I was laughing out loud at moments that probably were not meant to be funny, but I found them so. With that being said, the plot is original and engaging. There were a few threads that felt incomplete and I was left with some questions. However, in spite of these moments, the entertainment factor won out in the end.

I received an ARC of this book from St. Martin's Press and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Tightly written psychological thriller that explores fidelity, loyalty, moral flexibility. Intriguing beginning, a looser and more distracting middle, but a satisfying ending.

Really tightly written thrilled. As a psych major, I was intrigued by the premise, but it dragged a bit past the middle. I did figure out most of the resolution as we went along. I enjoyed the read.

This book was so bizarre! Lol I loved it. It was dark and intriguing. It didn't have as much of a holy crap factor as The Wife Between Us but it was still crazy!

An Anonymous Girl is the second book I’ve read by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen and it’s also the second book by them that I can’t say a lot about without potentially ruining the story for you. Because of that, just trust me when I say that this book takes the “I don’t know who to trust” lens to a whole other level.

Jessica Farris is the main character although this story is really told from multiple perspectives. With that said Jessica’s actions really kick off what happens in this book. As a makeup artist in New York City, she isn’t really making a ton of money so when she hears about a paid psychology study being conducted by a mysterious Dr. Shields, she jumps at the opportunity to participate. Little does she know that there is something at the root of the study being conducted and as Jessica gets pulled deeper and deeper into the doctor’s world, she finds herself mixed in something that she never could have imagined.

Jessica is an interesting character. She’s had some traumatic things happen in her life that have pushed her to make some questionable decisions but ultimately, she is trying to move on and do things that will make things better for her and her family. Unfortunately, she can’t control everything and just when she thinks things might be taking a turn, she gets pulled into the world of Dr. Shields.

I’m not going to say too much about the doctor and her story because it would ruin the book but trust me when I say that I wasn’t clear on her motives until the very end. She takes Jess on some twists and turns but she never thought Jess would be one to deceive her and that is when things get really interesting.

If it tells you anything, I read this book in one day because I couldn’t even force myself to put it down. I really wanted to know how things were going to end up and every chapter revealed something new that made me want to turn the next page to see what else was going to happen.

If you are looking for a story that will keep you interested and wondering what will happen next, make sure you pick this one up when you can. Hendrick and Pekkanen have written some very interesting and twisted thrillers and I can’t wait to pick up whatever they write next!

Mark my words; even those this releases in January, it will be one of the best books released in 2019. I was on the edge of my seat the entire book, the suspense built from the very beginning. The characters were very well written, BUT it was so hard for me to pick who to trust and who was lying. I love this about psychological thrillers—another winner for this writing duo!

I received an advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

So who is the one that has the mental problems? That is a question you will ask yourself through out this book. There are a lot of twist and turns in this book. Once I started reading this book I did not want to put it down. Each person has a lot of their own problems going on which mixes with the study Lydia is doing. Is everything as it seems, who do you trust, can you even trust yourself? These question will also be asked while reading this book. If you like psychological thriller books you will really enjoy this book.


*I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.*

What a ride!
Wonderfully creepy, fascinatingly nuanced, and very nerve-wracking - Hendricks and Pekkanen have a winner here! I found I didn’t want to read this right before I went to bed at night for fear it would keep me from sleeping. It really pulled me into Jess’s world. She was relatable and sympathetic, even though her choices weren’t always smart. I really wanted her life to go well and things to improve. She was someone who might be a friend. So I watched in horror as the web closed around her. I enjoyed the intelligent point and counter-point between Jess and Dr. Shields, and tried to guess what would happen next, but rarely succeeded. If you enjoyed Gone Girl, or The Girl on the Train, you will LOVE this!

Hardly a week goes by without someone asking me to recommend a really good psychological thriller. Thanks to this ARC from St. Martin's Press through NetGalley, I have a new candidate: An Anonymous Girl.

This story was so well-paced that it carried me along, again and again past the short spell of reading I'd allotted myself. (Very hard to put down.) Something indefinable in the simple, direct prose created a sense of dread, present from the beginning and steadily building.

You know that response to a spooky movie where you're warning the characters -- aloud -- "No, don't go near the pool. Stay out of the kitchen. Close your damn drapes," etc. That was my experience with Jess, the main character. She's a young, suburban middle-America woman making her way in New York City, but her impulsivity and lack of caution had me shaking my head throughout the book.

The plot was strong, the premise was original, and the dialogue flowed, but I was disappointed that none of the characters was memorable for depth or complexity, particularly Jess's nemesis, Dr. Shields -- who bordered on caricature. Still, none of that occurred while I was reading. This book just swept me through on its current of apprehension, and I went along quite willingly.

An Anonymous Girl was one of those thrillers that was a really fun read. The surprises didn't feel like tricks- instead, I'd be fully immersed in the story when suddenly there would be something I didn't expect. Having been a fan of Sarah Pekkanen's books for years, I'm not surprised that these books include great characters and good writing, and I've been impressed with the way these cowritten books are turning out! The Wife Between Us was a good first collaboration, but I may have actually liked An Anonymous Girl a little more.

This was a great thriller that I got more and more interested in as it went along. I really wanted to know what was happening. It is about a woman who inserts herself into a study about morals. She ends up befriending the psychologist that is doing the study and their lives intersect. I would recommend this to people who enjoy the thriller genre and have read many of the books that have come out in the last year. I think they will enjoy this one!

found that the story developed at a slower pace that i’m used to, with a slight inability to set up a tension rising storyline in the second half. I wouldn’t say that I found this book boring because I didn’t, it just wasn’t as fast pace as I am usually used to, with a (personally) rather anti – climatic ending. I would possibly recommend this book for someone who enjoys a slow – burning thriller, but not for those who enjoy the exciting unpredictable read. But like I’ve already said, I really enjoyed the first half of the book.

The characters were developed really well, I love when books give characters a proper back-story, I think it helps to personify them. Jessica seems like a naïve woman, who obviously loves her family a lot. She feels relieved to be able to reveal her secrets to a complete strange, secrets that she wants to keep hidden from those she loves. Dr. Stein reminds me of a character of Desperate Housewives, although she fits the bill perfectly well, I can just imagine her living on Wisteria Lane.

The premise of this book intrigued me from the very first page...a young woman becomes part of a study on morality, but we found out early on that there is much more to the study that meets the eye. I loved that the story was told from the points of view of both the young woman and the psychiatrist who is running the study. A tangled web of lies and deceit, this book kept me turning pages long into the night.....

I read a good amount of thrillers and An Anonymous Girl was one of the best I read this year. A 28 year old girl in New York City signs up for a study on morality and ethics with a psychologist, when lines become blurred and their relationship becomes closer. This is truly a page turner and will keep you guessing.

Greed, obsession, guilt, and revenge combine with unreliable narrators and a thoroughly sinister vibe for another unputdownable read from this duo. While the storyline here does go a bit over the top on the believability scale, it still kept me turning pages to see what would happen next between Dr. Shields and Jessica - what else this woman could convince Jessica to do in the name of research as she also compiled a detailed summary of all of Jessica's secrets. But the good doctor isn't the only one out to discover secrets, and all three of the main players in this game have quite the list of things to hide between them. The twists in this one are more subtle than the typical thriller, sneaking up on you even when you think you see it coming. The thing about these characters is, other than those on the periphery, they are not likable, and the more I discovered about them, the less I liked them. In most cases, there needs to be a redeemable character, someone to root for in a story like this one. But it was different with these characters and this story. As they become more and more enmeshed in each other's lives, I couldn't stop reading. I had to see who would come out ahead in the tangled mess they managed to create. Even when I reached the conclusion and thought I knew how it would go, I was still second guessing myself about how I wanted it to play out - and I'm still thinking about that final twist. So, while I normally prefer a faster pace, this one did hold my interest from start to finish. All in all, another page turning domestic suspense from these authors.