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.

Received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I was unable to get into this book and I had the same problem with their previous book. I felt that the writing was contrived, the flow was terrible. I was confused from page one. There has been a lot of hype on this book but I, for one, so not see why! I hope others enjoy it though.

Wow - this dynamic duo has done it again! An original storyline follows Jessica, a traveling make-up artist, who happens to oversee a text message come in for a client, while on the job; an invitation to take part in a study of morality. With the client unable to make the appointment, Jessica decides she will respond in her place - it can't be too hard and will earn her a lot of extra, much needed cash. This quick moving story is a great psychological suspense novel you don't want to miss. While Jessica responds to the questions within the study, the reader may find themselves answering the questions and becoming lost in what's right and wrong given the circumstances, or maybe some incidents' deserve the ultimate revenge, or is it justice? When the questions become more than questions and the doctor asks for a more intimate exploration of answers to bring the study to another level of understanding, Jessica may find herself getting in way too deep, but is the sacrifice worth the end result? Readers won't be able to put this new novel of suspense down - keeps you hooked until the very last words on the page!

Did you ever have a book you saved because you knew it would be good, and even though you got a copy really, really early? I didn’t want An Anonymous Girl to be over long before I ever started reading it. The year-long wait until another book from this dynamite duo feels longer than a year! That’s a great thing in this case, these two authors are perfection together.

The Wife Between Us by these Hendricks and Pekkanen is my favorite thriller of 2018, and An Anonymous Girl is already vying for top position for 2019! Sarah Pekkanen and Greer Hendricks have topped themselves with this smashing effort. Wow! It's written how all thrillers should be, with page-turning, effortless writing, and characters that keep you on your toes...a villain like no other. A fallible but relatable victim. This book is perfection. Gosh!

A few details about the story just to pique your interest...

Jessica Farris is a make-up artist living paycheck to paycheck in NYC, and money is an issue for her like it is for many people. She finds herself participating in a paid psychological study on ethics...But from the start, something doesn’t feel right with it...But then again, Jess needs the money.

The study keeps going, becoming more invasive, and eventually Jess begins interacting directly with the psychiatrist in charge of the study, Dr. Shields. Jess develops a strong amount of paranoia early on, which never wanes though she doubts herself, again, because money is an issue.

An Anonymous Girl is a story of obsession, right versus wrong, and betrayal. There are creepy characters that will make your skin crawl, a character you may champion (I know I did), and a few characters in the middle that you just can’t figure out.

The chapters are the perfect length, as I mentioned above, the writing flows perfectly in a race to the finish of the book, and the tension builds at a nice pace. I was hooked very early, and I never lost my connection to this book. The storyline is massively original, full of twists and turns, and I will never forget this dark tale of suspense, deviousness, and obsession.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for the complimentary ARC. All opinions are my own.

I received a free copy of An Anonymous Girl from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. An Anonymous Girl is about Jess, a makeup artist who works as a beauty consultant for Beauty Buzz. Jess signs up to participate in a research study on ethics and morality in hopes of making a quick buck that turns into much more that she anticipated. She is soon being paid more than she could possibly imagine, but some of the things she is being asked to do make her extremely uncomfortable.

It is difficult to describe what happens without giving away any spoilers, but it definitely was not what I was expecting. I found the first half of the book to be rather slow, but it picked up considerably at the midway point. By the end, I did not want to put it down. If you like twisty psychological thrillers then be sure to add Anonymous Girl to your list!

What a rollercoaster ride! I admit I have not read Hendricks & Pekkanen's A Wife Between Us, and now I feel like I have been living under a rock after finishing An Anonymous Girl. I will also never sign up for a study in exchange for money.

Protagonist Jessica sneaks into a study on morality and ethics that is being conducted by a well respected and published university professor. The study pays well, and Jessica is selected for additional tasks. However, these tasks take a dark and manipulative turn and the reader is quickly thrust into a dark and devious place where manipulative lies, love and sex push the characters to their limits.

The characters took turns with appalling actions and trying to stay ahead of each other, and it really kept me guessing. The protagonist is well written and developed so I did empathize with her at times, particularly with the relationship with her family. The relationships between the main three characters were exceptionally well plotted and drawn out - there were times when even I was hoping to receive Dr. Shields' approval.

If you love thrillers, this book is a must. Go and get it and start it on a Friday night because you won't be able to put it down. Or start it on a Monday and then call in sick to work (but that would be lying, wouldn't it?).

Thank you so much to St Martins Press and Netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for review.