“””I don’t fear strangers, though. I’ve learned more harm can come from familiar faces”””

“””Every family generates its own particular dysfunction”””

Jessica signs up for a paid psychology study being conducted by Dr. Lydia Shields. Question #1: could you tell a lie without feeling guilty. The study pays well, but is it worth it? This twisty, mind bendy, suspense filled, paranoia infused book will keep you turning the pages to see how Jessica’s psyche survives. Not the holy crap ending I was waiting for, but still worth the read.

I really enjoyed this book, but not as much as The Wife Between Us, which led me to expect more twists in this. Still Pekkanen and Hendricks did it again. I enjoyed this suspenseful read and alternating narrators. I noticed that one of the dates was off - November 7th jumped to 9th the next day, I believe. Great book, and I'm looking forward to more by these authors. It was a great premise of a psychological study gone out of control

If you read and enjoyed The Wife Between Us, you will definitely enjoy this book. It starts off with Jessica, a make-up artist in New York eavesdropping on a client's conversation about not wanting to go to an interview for a psychologist's study the next morning, even though it will pay $500. Jess needs the money, so she decides to go in her client's place. The questions in the interview are very personal and all about morality and ethics (i.e. would you lie, cheat or steal), all of which force Jessica to think about things she has done in her past.

Little does Jessica know that this starts off a chain reaction and although she gets to continue in the study and gets paid for it, she is asked to do things that seem very sketchy. The book is told from Jessica's point of view, as well as the psychologists, which makes it very interesting. It is a psychological thriller that will keep you turning the pages to find out what happens next. I really enjoyed this book as it kept me entertained and guessing what would happen to Jessica and she gets asked to do such crazy things.

Thanks to #NetGalley and

This duo is absolutely killing it with their writings!

After falling in looveee with "The Wife Between Us", I just knew that I had to pick this one up.

Twenty-eight year old Jessica is makeup artist whose life consists of work, her dog Leo, one-night stands, and struggling to stay afloat financially. With a younger sister, Becky, who suffered a brain injury when they were smaller, and parents who are constantly struggling to keep up with her medical bills, Jessica can't help but feel the need to help her parents out in any way she can. In fact, she helps pay for Becky's treatment unbeknownst to her mom and dad. During a makeup gig scheduled for her by BeautyBuzz, she overhears a voicemail regarding a research study that pays $500. Unethically, Jessica steals the phone number and information, and shows up as a last-minute entry into the study. How could she ever pass up the chance to earn $500 just for sitting in a study?

Jessica is labeled "Subject 52" in the moral and ethics research hosted by Dr. Lydia Shields. Soon after, what started off as a simple series of questions and surveys, Dr. Shields would like to continue the study with Jessica outside of the university. Placed in situations that test Jessica's morals, and also the morals of the men she encounters during these studies. But Dr. Shields has an agenda beyond that of a morality study. Jessica begins to feel apprehensive to the situations and locations Dr. Shields is sending her to. But the compensation, is beyond what was originally expected. Can Jessica continue to be another Subject in Dr. Shields strange research? Or is there something more that will drive Jessica to her wit's end?

Being that this is the second book written by this duo, it is natural to compare the story to "The Wife Between Us". These two books are similar in that the writing keeps you intrigued page after page, from beginning to end. However, this one is not as fast-paced as The Wife Between Us. It is not to say that this book lacked in any way shape or form, but the suspense was much more psychological. The plot and revelation are beautifully twisted.

I would actually love to see if these author's end up writing separately, to see what it is that makes them such AMAZING storytellers together. A definite recommendation to anyone that enjoyed "The Wife Between Us"

An anonymous Girl

When Jessica signs up for a psychology study, in place of one of her clients, she finds that what she thought would simply be a matter of answering a few questions, quickly turns into an almost total invasion of her life.
The mysterious Dr Shields who has designed and is running the study begins to take over Jess's life, setting her on outings where she is told what to do and say, and what to wear. Jess does some research on the doctor and finds that what she thought and believed not only about the good doctor but to some extent about herself, is not all it seems.
Follow Jess through all the ups and downs of her life as it is changed by the interaction with Dr Shields; through a web of lies, contradictions, set-ups, and jealousy, until she is overcome with paranoia and begins to doubt her sanity.
This is a fascinating, ever-changing story. The main characters are totally believable, well rounded and well written. Early on, we understand why Jess takes her client's place in the study and then learn where this leads her, mentally and emotionally. Dr Shields is a seductive woman easily able to lure Jess into her web, and Thomas, her husband, is shown to be another who is not all he appears to be.
In all I found this to be an engaging and powerful book, one that I couldn't stop reading once I started.
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity of reading and reviewing it.

An Anonymous Girl starts with an intriguing premise. How far would you go to make extra money? Or hide a devastating secret? As you get to to know Jess and learn about her situation, everything seems reasonable. But then Dr. shields increases her game. Her requests to Jess become more intense. The money does not seem worth the anxiety it is giving Jess. Then Thomas enters the picture. Is he a friend or a foe? What is this game Jess finds herself in? I honestly think the only time my pulse was normal during this book was when Noah made Jess French toast. The intensity grew with every chapter and I was both excited and saddened to reach the conclusion. Definitely one of the most satisfying psychological thrillers I have read.

This was an amazingly dark and deep psychological thriller!! It’s one of my favorite reads this year!!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

Last year I devoured The Wife Between Us, so when I saw that Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen were at it again with An Anonymous Girl, I immediately requested the book on Netgalley. This book has that gorgeous monotoned colored cover, with faces of women who could be anyone, and that really intrigued me. What was even more entrancing was the story. 

Jessica needs money, she's a make up artist by day, but she can barely cover her bills and her parents bills that she secretly pays each month, so when she overhears one of her clients talking about being part of a study about morality, Jessica decides to hi-jack that girls spot and get in to the study herself. I mean, what could go wrong, all she has to do is answer some silly questions anonymously and go home, right?

Of course it's not that easy. Along with the typical morality questions, Jessica is set up in real life situations where she must go above and beyond her comfort zone, to the point of being in dangerous situations, all in the name of morality, or so she thinks. Then she meets the woman behind the study, who happens to have her own personal vendetta, and Jessica may be wrapped up in something she won't be able to get out of alive.

Chances are if you read a lot of thrillers like I do, you'll be able to predict this one, unlike The Wife Between Us, the twist didn't catch me off guard, but I still thoroughly enjoyed the story, and the writing was superb as usual. I cannot wait to see what these two come up with next. I give this book 5 out of 5 stars.

It took a little while to get into this book—what the protagonist, Jessica “Jess,” a young makeup artist struggling to scratch out a living in NYC—thought about questions of moral and ethical complexities posed to her in a study (she manages to get herself into, tempted by the $500 compensation) by a NYU doctor of psychology wasn’t all that interesting, and it took a while for the book to “hook.”. But it doesn’t take long before it’s obvious (to the reader, at least) that something is rotten in Denmark, and I kept turning the pages. The book is told from the 1st pov of Jess and from the mixed 1st/3rd (like reading the therapist report notes) pov of Dr. Shields. Usually I don’t like mixed pov; I need to have a strong protagonist’s pov to focus on in order to get invested enough in the protagonist’s fate to read on. But the second pov was impersonal enough that it didn’t bother me. This is a well written tale with realistic, flawed (and seriously flawed!) characters. I really enjoyed it and will be looking for other books by the authors.

What did I just read??

I thought that I had it all figured out and then BAM! I didn't. The characters were so well developed. I thought Jess could be any of us, trying to make it in the world. Helping her parents and her sister while barely making ends meet. It made me think of all of the "unspoken" things that have happened in my own family or when I talk to my sisters and we all were at the same event but had difference experiences. The memory can be a tricky thing.

I look forward to reading their debut novel. I have it in my TBR pile.

Thank you to Netgalley and St Martins Press for the advanced copy.

Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen
AN ANONYMOUS GIRL

This compelling, not easy, book raised questions that stayed with me even after reaching “the end.” It was intriguing from the very beginning. The psychological testing reminded me of taking the MMPI, Minnesota Multi-Phasic Inventory, in 1967 with fellow college of education majors. The very intrusive and repetitive questions prompted an exchange student in our group to call it an “ugly test.” I never found out what possible use or value that test was . . . disclosure goes only one way in these situations, as Jessica discovered, though her need to know was greater.
Whom to trust? “I don’t fear strangers . . . I’ve learned more harm can come from familiar faces.”
Secrets and guilt — we all have some. “Often the person we judge most harshly is ourself.” A recent discussion in which friends expressed punitive attitudes to those in prison set me musing on missteps we might have made but were lucky enough or connected enough to escape full consequences. How many can say they’ve never committed a wrong act? Anyone? Don’t we, and they, deserve redemption?
To what extent do wealth and power enable the privileged to manipulate others? Are they tempted to discount the humanity of those of lesser status? Evade the consequences of even heinous acts?
Can one fight back against impossible odds? Should one defend “by any means necessary”?
Be prepared for other activities to move to the back burner as the suspense builds. Jessica inspired me to care a great deal about her and her family, feeling the tension as she walked the tightrope of dangers.

I was such a fan of The Wife Between us that I was thrilled to be chosen to receive an ARC of An Anonymous Girl.

Hendricks & Pekkanen did not disappoint in their second joint endeavor. While it did not have the same wow factor as their first novel together, and I admit I was slightly confused near the end (to the point I had to re-read a few paragraphs to figure out from who's point of view it was told), I could not put this book down, I loved it. Strong women and a little bit of crazy thrown in there for good measure. Definitely give this one a try!

Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read this in advance of publication.

What do you do when obsession goes too far?

Jess is Number 52 in a NYU psychology study being conducted by Dr. Shields. Dr. Shields asks each participant questions regarding their morality and asks for complete candor in their answers. Jess answers the questions truthfully, for the most part, revealing her own questionable actions.

The answers Jess provides to Dr. Shields begins a roller coaster relationship between the two. Soon Dr. Shields is seeing Jess outside of the study and asking Jess to do questionable things in the name of the study. Before too long Jess starts to question the motives of Dr. Shields in not only her questioning but also her actions.

Both authors provide a narrative that will have you reading all night to get to the end. If you enjoyed books such as Gone Girl and The Woman in Cabin 10 this book is for you. If you're starting to get burn-out from unreliable narrators I would tread lightly but I think you'll still enjoy it.

Two words that I would use to describe this book are “intriguing” and “captivating”. From the first few pages I was sucked into the story and the characters, and was excited to see how it would all end.

I was a little hesitant to read a novel by two authors because I wasn’t sure how cohesive it would be, but I have to say that Hendricks and Pekkanen write SO well together!

MAJOR SPOILER AHEAD!!!

The ending was kind of...surreal to me. I’m not going to say that it was disappointing or confusing, because it definitely wasn’t those things. I thought it was majorly out of character for Dr. Shields to end up commit suicide by overdosing on pills. It read to me as if she was just giving up in the end, which was not like her character at all throughout the book. Dr. Shields is a very intense and calculating person, always one step ahead of everyone else. I just find t hard to believe that she would accept defeat and end her own life. Just my take on it.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one and am looking forward to reading “The wife between us” in the near future!

I had to DNF at 41%. I think this is going to be a very good psychological thriller for other people but not for me.

It’s very slow, very very slow.


Jessica enters a study to earn money and it grows from answering questions to doing things for the therapist Dr Shields. I thought it was going to be like a Dr Shields become obsessed with her or whatever but no. The reasoning behind Dr Shields tests and study is RIDICULOUS.

I also CAN NOT READ dr Shields POV for one it’s written extremely weird and like “you enter the lobby. You have your hair pulled up tightly”. Like she’s writing a letter or something and there are literally such big words used every other word and I have no idea what any of it means. It’s extremely annoying. I want to be able to understand what I’m reading??

Also I’m pretty sure I figured out the twist I mean you have Jess who leaves with random guys constantly to hook up and a dr who’s husband is a cheater... soooooooooo


Yeah sorry. Not for me. THANK YOU NETGALLEY FOR MY E-ARC FOR AN HONEST REVIEW!

I will start by saying I loved this book way more than The Wife Between Us. I feel like with An Anonymous Girl I wanted to keep going to figure out what would happen. To me there was a huge moment that occurred, the book felt more like a slow burn during the entire story.

I loved Jessica's character. I feel like she embodies the typical 30-someyhing that is still trying to find herself but busting her butt to.support both her and her family. She is deeply flawed due to past decisions that continue to haunt her and this is used against her throughout the book.

Dr. Shields was a character that I constantly found myself not trusting and just had a bad feeling about. Her greatest weapon is her mind and she uses it to manipulate Jessica to the fullest.

I found there were some.parts that dragged and I had a hard time pushing through but overall I thought this was a great suspenseful story and I thoroughly enjoyed how the book ended. Again if a reader is looking for a big WOW moment to occur I dont feel like that happens at all in this book. It is a consistently suspenseful book and worth the read.

Anonymous Girl is another page turning, spine tingling thriller from the great duo Hendricks and Pekkanen. The first chapter of the story slowly pulls you in to the life of Jessica Farris and provides just enough information to get a glimpse into her daily routine. By chapter 2, as the story unfolds, it continues to draw deeper and deeper in. Needless to say, it is a twisty thriller and the ending makes it well worth the journey. This is a must read for readers.

I loved this book. I was hooked from the first chapter. I liked the 2 person chapter shifts. It sometimes helped to clarify things the other person experienced. The characters were real. I could picture them and try to guess what they would do next.
It made me wonder about secrets and who you can trust with them. Every time I thought I had it figured out another twist was added. Some secrets are revealed only to the reader. Some are shared leading to cause unexpected results. I was surprised at the ending. At first, I thought it was a letdown, but then I thought this is a perfect comeuppance for Thomas.
I hope this team continues to write together.

Earlier this year I read and loved The Wife Between Us by the fabulous writing duo, Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen. After finishing The Wife Between Us I was very eager to find out what other twisted tale they can come up with! Their newest book, An Anonymous Girl, does not disappoint. These ladies do know how to write nail-biting suspense for sure! I couldn't put An Anonymous Girl down and was blown away by the story.

The book is about Jess, who signs up for an anonymous psychological study about morality because it promises to be an easy way to make some extra cash. But, of course, it turns out that the study is not quite what Jessica signed up for. Jess develops a complicated relationship with Dr. Shields, the study's professor, who gives her increasingly more bizarre tasks in the name of research. The line between their professional and personal relationship starts to blur until it explodes with dire consequences for all involved. Will Jess come out on the other side unscathed? You'll have to read the book to find out!

The story was good, the characters were interesting, but I didn't enjoy the first person narrative all that much. I found it somewhat confusing as to who was talking. Chapters should be labeled with who is talking. The story involves this makeup artist, who decides to take a client's place in a survey that pays $500, and the client is not going. The therapist doing the survey takes a liking to the makeup artist and asks her to do more surveys, and more. Her goal is to see if her husband is cheating on her again. They both go to extraordinary measures to accomplish this, and right off the bat, she sleeps with him, before she even knows he is the husband, and he's just a real jerk. Not my favorite book.