Oh my, did I enjoy this book.

My mind reeled at Dr. Shields' habits and meticulous nature. While she was the antagonist, she was by far my favorite character. Unbeknownst to me, I secretly identified with her thought process and orderly behavior. I was not a fan of the protagonist. For the same sad reason I loved Dr. Shields, I did not like Jessica because she reminded me of how weak and vulnerable I can be.

Fictional words are powerful, for they can show us glimpses of ourselves- past, present, and future.

As the story moved along, I noticed shifts in my mood as the points of view alternated. This dynamic duo masterfully penned a story. Where one point of view was first person, the other was second person. While not a common writing style in today's literary market, the execution was flawless.

The power of the second person point of view is that it draws the reader into the story. I was drawn in so much that I sat erect and hung onto every one of Dr. Shields' insights and thoughts.

An Anonymous Girl left has an indelible mark and gave me, not only hours of precious entertainment, but plenty to meditate open.

Hat tip to Greer and Sarah!.

Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen have done it again with the twisty and unpredictable plot of An Anonymous Girl. It’s everything you want a suspense thriller to be with an added hint of psychotic. Morality, truth and lies become a jumbled mess that you’ll rummage and sift through till the very end as you try to fit the pieces together.This unique story is a must read!

Let’s just pretend you’re Jess. Late twenties and a hardworking cosmetic artist, you need to find a way to make some extra cash to send home to cover the expenses of a disabled sister.
An opportunity presents itself.
You take it.
At first, getting paid to be the anonymous subject in an ethics study seems pretty harmless. It’s an easy way to make some good extra cash. Just sit at a computer and answer some questions. Ok well the questions start to get personal and you convince yourself that no one will ever know. Just type your answers and collect your money. Done.
But one day, you aren’t subject 52 anymore. You are the sole subject in Dr. Shield’s study. You meet her. Your relationship gets personal. You reveal things about yourself that seem to flow out of your mouth. Dr. Shields seems so helpful, so professional. Will you regret getting involved? But the money is so good. Her help is so welcomed. Why YOU? Does Dr. Shield’s want to help you or does she have an ulterior motive?
This is a chilling story of a vulnerable young woman who has some secrets she is hesitant to reveal to a Dr. who also has secrets she is hesitant to reveal! LOVED this story. Two talented authors strike again!

Creepy and intriguing! It took me a little while to fully get into this book - I had a hard time delving into the mind of the psychiatrist - but I'm glad I stuck with it. There were a lot of twists that were interesting and even a few I didn't see coming!

Full stop thrill ride that’ll probably set your mind at unease.
This is the perfect antidote to all the precious Christmas/holiday themed books I managed to consume in December. My deep hope is that Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen continue with their team writing for many more years. I love the unpredictability of their stories. I used to NEVER read thrillers because I’m not a Jason Bourne kinda gal. I’m a twisty, mind-manipulative, physchological thriller reader. This jagged, bumpy road, out of control funhouse ride of a story from a crafty female perspective was wholly satisfying.

Ps - what is it about the young us-es of the world who agree to these weirdo studies, anyway? I did it myself as a 20-something student. Brilliant concept for a book, especially in an age where we give up so much of ourselves for everyone anonymous around us.

A Haunting Psychological Thriller

Jessica, a free-lance makeup artist, is trying to help her family and make ends meet. There’s never enough money, so when she hears one of her clients decide to dump an appointment to act as a participant in a psychological study where the pay is good, she decides to take her place. What can it hurt?

The study requires sitting at a computer screen answering questions. At first it’s easy, but as the study progresses, the questions become more and more personal. The further she goes into the study the more paranoia she experiences until her life starts to spiral out of control.

This book will keep you reading. It’s addictive. The story is told from two points of view, Jessica, and Dr. Schields, who runs the study. Through the questions and answers Dr. Schields begins to mold Jess. It is truly frightening. How do you break free from someone like that? How far will you go before you try?

Each tells her own story in the first person. I don’t always enjoy first person narratives when two characters are involved, but this works well. Jessica is likable. It’s easy to identify with her. Dr. Schields is creepy, but the character works well for the story.

The writing is clear. It pulls you into a world that is progressively more strange. At the end, you will be surprised at the twists that create a masterful ending.

If you enjoy psychological thrillers, this is a good one.

I received this book from St. Martin’s Press for this review.

It has been a few months since I read An Anonymous Girl, but I wanted to get my review posted. I was a huge fan of the authors' previous work, The Wife Between Us, so I was excited to receive a pre-release copy of An Anonymous Girl. I tried to wait until closer to release date to read it, but read and finished it in October. Overall, it is an enjoyable read, although without the big twists and turns (and really without the suspense) that I felt with The Wife Between Us. Yes, I had a bit of a creepy vibe while reading. And yes, I wanted to know what happened. But in the end, I felt a bit disappointed. It was far-fetched and the ending didn't seem to fit. For me, this was an average suspense read, but not one that I'd highly recommend to all. I think if you're a fan of suspense and want a psychological twist, then this would likely be a good fit for you!

I honestly did not believe The Wife Between Us could be beat. Not that this one is better, it’s a tie.

I loved this book from cover to cover. I recommend that you read it if you enjoyed The Wife Between Us by the same authors. They do a brilliant job of writing that keeps you turning pages late into the night.

I have to thank NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for an ARC of this in exchange for my unbiased review. It’s such a good book. Great characters and surprise ending. A thriller that will keep you guessing and on the edge.

A big 5 star read.

Back with another amazing suspense filled read, Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen prove once again that their union as writers is strong and cohesive. An Anonymous Girl is smart and leads the reader chasing down the story and wondering just where things are going. I loved every minute reading this book and when I had to put it down I couldn't wait to get back to it. The story is brilliantly plotted with two central characters; Jessica Farris a mid twenties make up artist and Dr. Shields, psychology professor.

Told in alternating POVs, the readers' psyche is infiltrated and at times you wonder if one of even both narrators are reliable. The suspense is masterfully built as Dr. Shields pushes on Jessica's moral boundaries through her study and experiments. It's clear Jessica is uncomfortable at times (which left me uncomfortable to0), but she finds the money she's making a boon to her families situation. The reader spends time in Dr. Shields head and we witness her ministrations to manipulate Jessica's feelings and her life. There are definitely moments where I fretted over the good doctors motivations. As Jessica begins to question her role as Subject 52 and Dr Shields increases the pressure on Jessica the tension escalates.

There's truly a maze of conflicting evidence but it turn out Jessica has a good sense as a detective. By now the players include family members and past participants in the study and we're left to wonder if the risk is greater than the reward. But this isn't a game that Jessica can easily remove herself from as Dr. Shields is conniving and her motivations convoluted and eerie.

When all is revealed you'll find yourself reading and re-reading passages to piece it all together. This #MustRead duo has delivered another stellar and story centering around a duplicitous woman and her cunning plan to extract revenge and administer punishment. 5 Stars and recommendation!

Jessica is an Anonymous Girl in a New York City. She works hard as a freelance makeup artist, while waiting for her big break into Broadway plays. She has had a bad experience with her last off-off-Broadway theater makeup position but hopes to move past it soon.

Working as a freelance makeup artist doesn’t pay much over what the clients tip her as her agency takes most of the fee. Jessica is perennially broke. When Jessica hears a client talking about a psychological experiment that pays $500 for a two-hour session, she sneaks into the session using her client’s name. How hard could a series of questions on ethics be? However, the questions seem to get very specific and very personal quickly. As Jessica opens up more and more, the therapist behind the survey, Dr. Shields, offers Jessica additional money to participate in studies in the real world. Her first is to seduce a married man in a hotel bar. As Jessica is increasing sucked into Dr. Shields’ web, she struggles to free herself.

The first two thirds of an Anonymous Girl had me reading at a breakneck speed just to see what would happen to poor Jessica. Then the plot made a few turns that just didn’t seem believable. Plus there were absolutely no redeeming characteristics in some of the characters. Toward the end, I even stopped sympathizing for Jessica. This book is great until it isn’t. However, I still give it 3 stars. I just wish the ending was better.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

After Jessica impulsively enters a psychology study without even knowing its subject, her life takes an unexpected turn. Struggling to make ends meet as a makeup artist in New York City, Jessica has a difficult time turning down what sounds like easy money. Answer some questions on a survey for $500? Sold. But, what happens when the study escalates into real life scenarios? Are the ever-increasing paychecks worth it?

"It's remarkable how the simplest of decisions can create a butterfly effect; how a seemingly inconsequential action can cause a tsunami."

I'll be honest and say that I didn't understand the hype about this writing duo's debut, The Wife Between Us (3 stars). While I liked the writing style, I didn't find it very suspenseful, the plot was lacking, and the twists were just ho-hum. This one, however! This one was just ... WOW. It was intense, suspenseful, and compelling. It kept me on the edge of my seat for the duration as I tried guessing what would happen next. It made me feel tense and uncomfortable in the best of ways ha. If you love suspenseful page turners with complex, intriguing characters, then this is a must read! Just beware that reading it might make you paranoid about who you should trust. ;)

"Sometimes a therapist who coaxes out all of your secrets is holding the biggest one in the room."

Location: New York City and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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

If you're looking for a book that's going to suck you in immediately and keep you locked into place with it's twists and turns, then this is the book for you. Following a woman named Jessica, it shows her life in the first person viewpoint as she works her makeup job, helps her parents pay for her sister's medical bills in secret, and lives in her apartment with her dog Leo. That is, until she happens upon a paid psychiatric study.

The study is simple at first, it's anonymous and all she really has to do is answer a few questions over the course of a couple days on a laptop. She never suspects that the person running the study, Dr. Shields, would take a shine to her specifically, and change her life in ways she doesn't even realize. The study is a questionnaire about morality, things like; could you tell a lie without feeling guilt, and; describe a time in your life when you cheated.

The viewpoint switches about every chapter or so, from Jess's view into a second person recording of what she's doing, and then even sometimes to Dr. Shields herself. I never expected this book to go to the lengths it did to confuse me, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It reminded me a lot of the tv show Hannibal, specifically because of the psychiatrist/patient relationship that Hannibal Lecter and Will Graham have in the show.

Every single page of this book was exciting, even when the characters were just doing mundane things. I couldn't wait to see what was going to happen next, and at almost four hundred pages, this epic novel kept my attention from the very first page. It's an easy read that kind of creeps up on you, before you know it you're completely invested and absolutely NEED to finish it. I imagine that's how Jessica felt in the story.

Overall if you're interested in a psychological mystery page turner, than this is something you need to read as soon as possible. The characters are probably some of the most realistic that I've ever read about, and the world that they live in is our own, which just adds to the terror I felt reading this. I would say with one hundred percent certainty, if you think that this is a book that you'll like, you need to pick it up. It's something I would love to have on my bookshelf.

Thanks for reading!
(Radioactivebookreviews.wordpress.com)

Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen are fantastic writing partners and, in my opinion, the new queens of psychological suspense. I loved their debut thriller, The Wife Between Us, and it definitely will not be a one-hit wonder for this team. An Anonymous Girl is very different but also every bit as good as their first.

Jessica Farris is a makeup artist living paycheck to paycheck. She is at a client’s apartment one day for an appointment when she realizes her client is supposed to be going the next day to participate in an anonymous psychological study on morals and ethics that pays good money. When the client doesn’t go, Jessica slips into the survey in the client’s place. She becomes Subject 52 for Dr. Shield’s research and is asked personal questions about whether or not she has done various acts of a questionable moral nature or how she would handle various situations. Soon she is singled out by Dr. Shields for more questioning and then asked to do some experiments under Dr. Shields direction. Even though she begins to get nervous because she feels like Dr. Shields can read her mind and is manipulating her, Jessica continues to participate because the payments are so lucrative. Quickly, Jessica starts questioning what is real and what is part of the experiments.

At first, I was drawn in by the ethical questions that were being asked, but the story itself quickly took over. These two authors have mastered the technique of capturing the reader’s attention in a well-developed, page-turning story. They kept me guessing as to what was going on the whole time. The characters all have their own secrets and are well-drawn, too. It’s hard to say much more without giving too much away, but by the end of the book, my heart was racing, and I could almost feel Jessica’s fear.

This book was getting a lot of pre-press buzz, and it is certainly well deserved. If you like suspense, I highly recommend that you rush out and get this book. You won’t be disappointed.

Thanks to Netgalley for an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

My Rating: 5 Big Stars

Thank you St Martin's Press for the advanced copy of this book - all opinions are my own.

Yet again, Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen have knocked it out of the park for a psychological thriller and character drama that you just cannot set down.

I was heavily anticipating this read this winter, as I loved their last book together. This was completely worth the wait - this is a story that is fast paced, dark, twisting, clever and written in their signature crisp prose. I fell right into this story as Jess sneaks into a psychological study and finds herself in deeper than she bargained for.

I had previously heard the argument that something like this would never happen, as Dr Shields is in fact a doctor but I disagree - I loved the premise regardless of whether it could or could not really happen. I loved the twisting, psychotic nature of Dr Shields, and I loved that there was no way to sort out what the ultimate motive was for the study itself until the bitter end.

I won't give too much away, as readers will want to enjoy the twists for themselves, but I will say that I think this is the perfect snowy day read - creepy, atmospheric and guaranteed to hold your attention to the very last page.

Let’s just say these two incredible authors collaborations are the best!! They know how to keep their reader at the edge of their seat flipping pages as fast as they can. Totally captivating from beginning to the very end! Their writing style is flawless and seamless! A dynamic duo of authors!! Growing suspense you’ll want to know what happens next!! I highly recommend this one!!!

Thank you Netgalley and to St. Martin’s press for the advance copy for my honest review!!

Makeup artist Jessica Farris sneaks into a psychological study to make some extra money. Just answer some questions honestly and off you go with the much needed cash in hand. Nothing is ever as simple as it appears. Jess becomes enthralled, borderline hypnotized by the very sophisticated, beautiful woman named Dr. Shields who is running the study. Jess becomes extremely paranoid and although she sets out to be as honest as possible, there is information she holds back to protect herself and those she loves. The more data Dr. Shields gathers, the more Jess becomes obsessed with finding answers to the mysteries that unfold during the study. Suddenly an academic view of morality becomes very personal when Dr. Shields is using Jess to uncover her husbands supposed deceit. Full of exquisite twists and turns, it is not clear until the very end if there is anyone left to trust. If you like suspenseful thrillers, An Anonymous Girl will not disappoint. Thanks to co-authors Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen, for another unpredictable, unputdownable and truly creepy novel.

Subject 52. Jessica thought she was trading a few hours of her time answering survey questions about morality and ethics for a quick $500. Simple, right? Little did she know that she was getting in way over her head. Who is Dr. Shields and what is her study really about? What does she ultimately want?

An Anonymous Girl was absolutely fantastic! I LOVED Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen's earlier effort, The Wife Between Us, and couldn't wait to get my hands on this one. Once I started reading, I absolutely devoured it. The chapters alternate between Jessica and Dr. Shields and you slowly get insight into each of them and what they really want (and how far they'll go to get it). The pacing is perfect and this book is nearly impossible to put down. Just one more chapter before bed!

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

The story is divided into three parts. I didn't become very invested until about the 20% mark, but after that it really had my attention. I thought it was impressive how the two points of view never became confusing.

I didn't necessarily like Jessica all the time, but I understood her way of thinking. The authors did a nice job of tightening the net around Jessica gradually, so that it wasn't completely implausible that she could remain in in an increasingly disturbing situation.

Things were resolved in a much simpler way than I was expecting. I didn't think that was a bad thing, but it did surprise me. The very last part left a little bit of a bitter taste for me.

Overall, the story was very interesting and the suspense was beautifully built.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.

I have never read a book like An Anonymous Girl. It is so unique with interesting characters and a concept that has you wondering what would I do…

The novels goes back and forth between Jessica and Dr. Shields and just when I thought I had things figured out, the novel takes a different turn. My Christmas holidays were busy, but I found myself trying to find time to read just a little bit more.

I’m giving the An Anonymous Girl a lower rating because I didn’t enjoy it as much as The Wife Between Us (which I also gave 3 stars). An Anonymous Girl had a bit of a slower build and it didn’t have nearly the amount of twists as The Wife Between Us.

Check it out, it’s such an unique creepy read!

My head is still spinning from all the lies, and manipulation, and power plays that ran throughout this story. Who is telling the truth? What is the actual truth? Would anyone within these pages even recognize the truth anymore? How is Jess going to get out of this mess? Who is manipulating who? So many questions. I couldn't flip the pages fast enough. I was down to my last 10%. I was breathless. I'm finally going to get my answers and understand what in the hell is actually going on. And, I did get those answers...and sadly I wanted more. I wanted different answers. I expected a more complicated outcome. The writing here is phenomenal. The storyline unique and well thought out. The premise was simply brilliant. I just wanted a more power-punched ending is all.