The collaboration of these two authors in An Anonymous Girl really showcases both authors’ talents by having two clearly differentiated voices. I found this much more clear and suspenseful than their previous work “The Wife Between Us”. I found myself peeling through the crazy hoops that Dr. Shields had Jessica jumping through. This manipulative game of cat and mouse had me guessing until the very last page.

This is a conflicting book.The characters aren't particularly likable.The pacing is is strange but gets better towards the second half.The plot is too convoluted and it's hard to suspend disbelief.Despite all this I was intrigued enough to continue reading till the end.

I won't say don't read it but it isn't the best in the genre.I think it would work better in a visual media due to all of the description that bogs down the book.

I give it 2 1/2 stars overall and a maybe on recommending it.

Subject 52, “Could you tell a lie without feeling guilt?”

An Anonymous Girl is a story that slowly lures you in a deep into a labyrinth of half-truths. Jessica is a struggling make up artist that inserts her way into a psychological research study on Morality. After all, the session will pay $500 dollars. Working at Beauty Buzz does not always pay the rent.

“Dig deeper.”

But Dr. Shield’s study takes on a new life with an even more handsome reward. Dr. Lydia Shields reals Jessica’s in with lavish gift she could never afford. She is tasked with small missions to engage or rather to entice the opposite sex to elicit behavioral responses. The checks are given and the payout is needed. But suddenly she begins to realize that this study is turning out to be an unorthodox game.

“Moral questions lurk everywhere.”

Who is this man with the Sandy hair? The man named Thomas. And what is Dr. Shield’s trying to unravel in her research. It is Jessica who starts to ask questions about Dr. Shield’s study. And the more she asks, the theories are unveiled. And the twisted intentions of Mrs. Lydia Shields.

“You may have given up your dreams of theater, Jessica but you have earned a starring role in the next act of this unfolding drama”.

This complex tale is told in alternating perspective seamlessly in Jessica’s and Dr. Shield’s voice. As we start to learn more about the fracture in Dr. Shield’s marriage, we see a professional woman becoming unhinged. Dr. Shield’s uses Jessica in a pawn to test the ice her marriage. And of Jessica’s moral character. And it’s failure may come with a punishment she never saw coming. But number 5 did.

"Oh Jessica, You have made a grave mistake. Do victims have the right to take retribution into their own hands?"

Greer Hendricks and Sara Pekkanen are masterful storytellers weaving details of a complicated plot neatly while developing two juxtaposed characters. Jessica is young, working a dead-end job but carries a guilt, a secret she has kept from her family. She also has a habit of avoiding relationships that last more than a few hours. Dr. Shield’s is a sophisticated psychiatrist that carries her grief with subliminal rage. As Jessica is tested in Dr. Shields reality experiment, we see these characters morph into cat and mouse. Although Dr. Shields is the cat praying on an “injured mouse” the mouse may be one step ahead.

“It’s like she is writing my script, and I’m just reciting the words now.”

The sign of a great book is the inability to put it down. The compulsion to see what is coming next. This is that tale. I look forward to the next read by the collaborative duo of Hendricks and Pekkanen.

Thank you, NetGalley, the authors, and St. Martin’s press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I found it very interesting to get Dr. Shields' perspective on what is going on and why she is having Jess perform the tasks she is performing, and then to hear Jess's take on what she is doing. While this book didn't have any major plot twists like the first novel by the same authors did, I still really enjoyed this one and would definitely recommend to other thriller fans. I also thought both Jess and Dr. Shields' characters were well thought out and very decipherable in how each chapter was written.

I was enthralled by this psychological suspense novel! The juxtaposition between the core idea of ethical behavior and the menacing actions they provoke will keep readers unsettled and uncertain of who to trust. As the lies stack up in an ever more precarious tower, the sense of dread just keeps building, and the power struggles between the characters are made even more disparate by a perversion of the doctor/patient relationship. The final few chapters weren't quite as strong as the rest of the story; I thought things wrapped up rather abruptly with a certain element of convenience, but it wasn't a detractor to the book, it just didn't enhance it. Overall, An Anonymous Girl is a dark exploration of morality, the danger of willful ignorance, and the facades we present to the world.

This is my first read by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen, but I can tell you that these two are definitely onto something magical when they get together to write! I have never read a psychological thriller like this one at all! I was hooked from beginning to end. Literally!! Such a great read!

Jessica is a make-up artist that travels to her clients houses. She works for a company that schedules her appointments and she shows up. Jessica is scooting along in life just trying to make ends meet, but we soon discover that she has many secrets that she has hidden for quiet some time.

When Jessica was at a clients house, she overheard her talking about an opportunity to make $500 for just being part of a study that a professor is conducting at the college. When her client says that she is just going to skip out, Jessica decides that this is an opportunity for her to make some extra money to try and help her parents out. As the research questions begin for Jessica, we are thrown onto a psychological speeding train with Dr. Shields and Jessica that you will not want to get off of until you know the outcome.

We learn tons about Jessica as well as other characters in the story that play important roles. I thought at one time I knew how this was all going to end, but boy was I wrong! You will have to put everything on hold while you read this one because you will not want to put it down so just beware.

I am not sure how these two authors came up with this story, but I am so glad that I had the opportunity to read this one! Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author's for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own!

An Anonymous Girl is a psychological suspense novel that has some fun surprises. It does not follow a prescribed path, especially the one for all the recent books with "girl" in the title. This book isn't what I expected. However, it's a very slow build with a lot of character development that is a bit dull. About halfway through the story picked up and it got more interesting, but that level of interest just wasn't sustained for me. Expect female characters, gaslighting, frustrating decisions, and a slow burn of a story. It may work well for some but for me it was not memorable.

This book was amazing until I got to the end. I kept turning page after page because it was addictive and well thought out. Then I reached the end and was confused. Did I miss something? That was the end? It fell flat at the end and was almost reminiscent of Baby Teeth for me. So much build up and then the story line fell off a cliff. I'm really disappointed as I really liked The Wife Between Us. I'm not giving up on this duo though. Their ideas are there and interesting. Now if the ending could match' that'd be great.

This was a totally unusual story. It was hard to figure out what was going on, which I guess was the author's plan.I was on vacation while reading it. Not a light beach read for sure. I almost gave up in the beginning, but glad I didn't.I would recommend if you're looking for something different. Makes you think about choices we actually make vs what we think is right.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC that I could not put down! I finished this book in less than a day! The webs woven throughout this book will pull you in until the very last page! The author did an incredible job of keeping you guessing, uncovering small pieces of information and making you want more! There were times I hated Dr. Shields and times I wasn’t sure if I should feel sorry for her - it was a fast-paced suspenseful story that really made you feel like you were part of it along with the characters!

I gave this book a 5 out of 5 star review. It was an enjoyable thriller and I would recommend. to others. Generously provided to me through NetGalley

Cheers to another successful collaboration of Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanan! Five stars for AN ANONYMOUS GIRl!

Protagonist Jess, is a young woman, trying to make it on her own in NYC, as a makeup artist. In fact, not only is she barely scraping by, she's also helping her parents (a great subplot behind that). She suddenly has the opportunity to make some extra money; an easy peasy interview... Not so fast, the simple interview is the beginning of a twisty dance of psychological obsession and suspense.

AN ANONYMOUS GIRL, which is beautifully written as a dual narrative, Jess and her psychiatrist, is immediately consuming and hard to put down, It's a page turner, to be sure. I absolutely loved this book, and will definitely read their other collaborative efforts!

Thank you very much to NetGalley and St. Martin's press for the ARC, in exchange for my honest review,

This is the second book I’ve read by these 2 authors and I really enjoyed both of them!

I somewhat figured out early on what was going on in this book, but that did not take away anything from it. I was still on the edge of my seat wondering what craziness Dr. Shields was going to create next. And poor Jess, I felt sorry for her throughout the entire book. But was happily surprised at the way she grew as an individual, as her story progressed.

If you like psychological thrillers, hen I would definitely recommend An Anonymous Girl. Not only is the writing fabulous, the story was great as well. I will be adding these authors to my automatic buy list when they release a new book!!

An Anonymous Girl had me hooked from the very beginning. I found myself constantly asking, "what is happening right now?" Unlike the Wife Between Us, there are no huge twists but instead, they just keep hitting you with small ones throughout the book. What makes this book so eerie is how realistic it seems. It all starts at a simple study for the psychology department with a seemingly upstanding professor, but it quickly goes dark. You get so deep inside of the heads of the characters but it is still impossible to know if what they are saying is the truth. With strong themes of truth and morality, you really get to thinking. What would I do in this situation? How important is money when it comes to testing your morals?

Thanks so much, Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced copy of this book! I'll be thinking about this one for a while.

The authors of The Wife Between Us are back with another collaboration, and it's every bit as good as the first. In An Anonymous Girl, Hendricks and Pekkanen tell us the tale of Jessica Farris, a struggling New York makeup artist who signs up for a psychological study as a means to earn some quick cash. Doctor Shields' study on ethics and morality turns out to be far more involved than the question-and-answer sessions Jessica expected them to be, and it isn't long before she begins to question whether events in her life or real, or just another manipulation of the enigmatic Doctor Shields.

Like many readers of their previous book, I had high expectations for engrossing read that would keep me on the edge of my seat. The talented duo definitely delivered on both counts, keeping me on my toes with surprising twists that had me frantically rereading previous portions of the book in a bid to see if I'd missed any hints that the story was headed in that direction.

I'm not going to discuss specifics of the story in this review, because knowing anything more than what it given in the blurb would ruin all the fun of reading this twisty novel for those who are interested in it. What I will say is that I found the premise of a morality study to be unique and more than a little fascinating. The questions Jessica had to answer in the initial stages of the study often made me pause to consider what my own answer would be, if I were in her place, and the personal introspection sparked by events in the story made the novel even more enjoyable for me. There's nothing I love more than a book that makes you think!

This book firmly places Hendricks and Pekkanen on my must-read list. They excel at creating captivating stories that blow me away with incredibly tense situations and shocking reveals that are completely unpredictable, and I can't WAIT to read their next book!

I received an advance reading copy of this book courtesy of St. Martin's Press via Netgalley.

An Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen is an absolute five star, must-read. These two should ALWAYS write together, because the results are golden! I was absolutely captivated from the very first sentence and devoured this book within 24 hours. It might give me pause about ever filling out surveys or being involved in marketing research again, but I’m okay with that, because it was that good.

The characters were so thorough and well thought-out, down to the minor characters. Jessica Farris is all of us. She is hard working, wants to do right, and loves her family. She is approached with an opportunity that is literally too good to be true, but once she is involved, there is no turning back. She gets involved in a web of deceit (from multiple people) and is left with an internal moral struggle and finds herself in need of saving. She’s the only one who can save herself from the lies that surround her.

Lies. Doubt. Secrets. Scandal.

This was definitely a PSYCHOLOGICAL thriller. This is easily one of my favorite thrillers ever and I am so honored to have had the chance to read an ARC. Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press. I will look forward to seeing this one at bookstores in January. It needs to be on my shelf!

An Anonymous Girl is another psychological thriller from the writing team of Hendricks and Pekkanen. They have a penchant for female characters that are never who they claim to be and this go around is familiar territory for them. While the storyline is not new, Hendricks and Pekkanen have a way of drawing the reader in even as the narrative seems old hat, due in part to a strong blurb and a decent opener that makes the main character relatable. There is little ebb and flow in this story, instead, it focuses on the widest flattest foundation on which to build the tiniest climatic exchange. Anonymous Girl lacks the requisite tension to be a true thriller, but you will feel wrangled after reading it, if only because it feels like a bait and switch. I was expecting a dark and twisted mystery, instead, it's more overcast with bends you can see from miles away. Jessica Farris, the not so anonymous girl in question, is seemingly in over her head, but not because she's naive or ignorant, she just doesn't have the grit to match wits with the so-called villain. Anonymous Girl could have been an ode to female empowerment, but Jessica does not develop into a woman who commands respect or attention. Jessica begins this story under the veil of deceit, is she amoral, unredeemable? No, she's too bland to be bad and her dishonesty and the subsequent reveal is anticlimactic. She doesn't win against evil, the villain just decided to end play. It ends with a whimper instead of a bang. It is not badly written, it's just not memorable enough to stand out in the crowd or the shelf.

Would you participate in a study on ethics and morality...maybe not after reading this...

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~BOOK BLURB~
An Anonymous Girl
Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen
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Seeking women ages 18–32 to participate in a study on ethics and morality. Generous compensation. Anonymity guaranteed.
When Jessica Farris signs up for a psychology study conducted by the mysterious Dr. Shields, she thinks all she’ll have to do is answer a few questions, collect her money, and leave. But as the questions grow more and more intense and invasive and the sessions become outings where Jess is told what to wear and how to act, she begins to feel as though Dr. Shields may know what she’s thinking…and what she’s hiding. As Jess’s paranoia grows, it becomes clear that she can no longer trust what in her life is real, and what is one of Dr. Shields’ manipulative experiments. Caught in a web of deceit and jealousy, Jess quickly learns that some obsessions can be deadly.
 
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~MY QUICKIE REVIEW~
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This was slow-building psychological suspense…that didn't have me hooked until the last 1/3 of the book.  At that point, everything starting clicking together and then...the sh*t hit-the-fan.  I have to say…I thought this was going to disappoint me just like The Wife Between Us did, but by the end, I was pleasantly surprised.
 
An Anonymous Girl is a smartly written and cleverly plotted novel.  With decidedly flawed characters and an interesting storyline.  I recommend to anyone who likes a slow build-up to an intense ending.  Sadly though, you may have to wait until it comes out in January 2019.
 
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~MY RATING~
☆4.5☆STARS - GRADE=A-
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~BREAKDOWN OF RATINGS~
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Plot~ 4.5/5
Main Characters~ 4.5/5
Secondary Characters~ 4/5
The Feels~ 4.3/5
Pacing~ 4.3/5
Addictiveness~ 4/5
Theme or Tone~ 5/5
Flow (Writing Style)~ 4.2/5
Backdrop (World Building)~ 4/5
Originality~ 5/5
Ending~ 4.7/5
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Book Cover~ It's nothing special…
Setting~ New York City
Source~ I received an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
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Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an eARC of this book.
There is a plethora of "psychological thrillers" out there this year. While I think I am reaching my saturation point, I have to say that his book ranks near the top of the list. Strange and creepy and more than a little scary, it digs into one's psyche and provides things unexpected to keep the reader guessing. While I can't imagine this happening in real life, it's worth going along for the ride.

I might be in the minority with this one but I didn't really love it. Jess sneaks her way into a psychology study where she receives compensation for answering some questions based on ethics and morals. The questions seem easy enough and when the psychiatrist asks if she'd be interested in round two with real-life scenarios, she's game. Plus, the money doesn't hurt. Chapters alternate between Dr. Shields, the psychiatrist running the study, and Jess. The concept of the book piqued my curiosity at first but once I found out why Dr. Shields was running this study (basically a personal agenda), I lost interest and the chapters seemed slow. There were no major twists (or maybe they were predictable for me) but if you like thrillers that are a little more subdued, you might enjoy this one.