Member Reviews

This book held me captive from the very beginning! I was excited to read it simply because of the authors and I was not disappointed! They really know how to write a book that keeps you guessing until the twisted ending! I recommend this book for fans of B. A. Paris and Pamela Crane. A very good psychological thriller!

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An Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen is a thriller that gradually builds suspense to the satisfying conclusion. Jessica Farris inadvertently becomes a participant in a study led by Dr. Shields about morals and ethics. Slowly Jessica becomes raveled up in Dr. Shields' life and must figure out how to safely extricate herself. Twists and turns aplenty in this story. Read and enjoy!

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Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen need to keep writing together! While An Anonymous Girl started out a little slower than their first book, The Wife Between Us, it reached a point where I was fully invested in the story and needed to finish it ASAP!

Morality is fluid and has a different meaning to everyone, which is what Jess realizes and Dr. Shields is studying. But just how fluid is it, and how differently to people think? Told from alternating - and unreliable - narrations of morality study participate Jess and study author Dr. Shields, An Anonymous girl quickly reaches a pinnacle of who can be trusted, who has the most to lose, and how far someone will go to save themselves and the ones they love. Secrets are kept, secrets are revealed, and this psychological thriller is full of them!

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Creepy suspense book. On the plus side, great plot and building suspense. On the minus side - the swapping of viewpoints was not labeled, so each time I had to read a few lines to figure out who was talking - interrupting the flow of the story. And it seemed too long, there were repetitive parts. I would recommend though, a fun read.

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This was a fast paced, complex story. You think one thing is going on and then find out it’s something completely different. It takes some wild turns that lead you to a great and surprising finish. I wouldn’t really call this a “mystery” in the true sense of the word but it is pretty dark.

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Such a fun, fast paced book. It reminded me of all the psychological tests I took as an undergrad for extra credit. This book, however, puts a much darker twist to the entire process. The ending was predictable, but it did not ruin the overall enjoyment of the storyline.

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This was such a crazy ride. From the synopsis, I thought I'd like this better than The Wife Between Us. This book did not disappoint. In the beginning, I had no idea where the story was going. I did not know who to trust or who what was going on. I got more tense as the story continued and I could not put this book down.

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I love this formula for a story: A financially challenged, desperate, single female living in a big city trying to get by. This person is also smart, independent, resourceful, creative, and motivated by money. This main character, Jessica, fits this perfectly. She is motivated by money because she doesn't have any. She has a strong sense of family and is helping her family financially, even though she is barely scraping by. We learn more about her character through the questions posed to her during a morality and ethics study, and a lot more about her afterwards in real-life tests.

I like this book even more than the authors' first novel The Wife Between Us. It has a dark, ominous vibe plus twists and turns that I never expected. The plot is fascinating, the writing is stellar and it takes a fresh approach on storytelling. It's told from two first person perspectives- Jessica and Dr Lydia Shields - and it switches for each chapter. There are no headings or labels to assist, and it's up to the reader to figure out who is narrating. After the first few chapters, I was easily able to determine this because the character voices are so distinct.

The narration style of Dr. Shields is unique and different. She tells the story from her first person perspective; but, at times, her narration is directed at Jessica, like she is speaking directly to her. She is very analytical and references many therapy techniques, behaviors, and well-known human studies/experiments. She is obsessive, cold, calculating, manipulative, controlling, and.... cray cray. I never knew where the story was heading.

If you like the protagonists from Social Creature by Tara Isabella Burton or Believe Me by JP Delaney, this book’s for you. I recommend it.

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'An Anonymous Girl' starts with Jessica Farris, a makeup artist who takes part in a mysterious study held by Dr. Shields. Jessica thinks she will just have to answer a few questions, get paid, and never think about it again. But Jessica finds that the questions get more and more personal and when she is invited to partake in sessions with Dr. Shields personally, Jessica starts to wonder what the study she is taking part of is really for. Dr. Shields asks Jessica to do more personal, manipulative "experiments" and Jessica starts to wonder who she can really trust.
I enjoyed this book more than I thought I was going to. The description grabbed my attention right away and the writing was phenomenal. It made me want to go back and read Hendricks and Pekkanen's 'The Wife Between Us'. I didn't find that I was shocked by the ending of the book, but it did make me start to wonder about the people in my life and how far they would go for an obsession. This is one book that I would recommend to anyone and I was glad that I got the chance to read it.
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read this one!

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Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

As a college psych major who participated in many a study in exchange for extra credit, I was particularly creeped out by the premise of the book. Jess sneaks her way into a psychology study to make some money, but ends up a pawn in the psychiatrist's marital manipulations. Extremely suspenseful and hard to put down with a bunch of twists along the way.

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I want to thank Netgalley for offering me a free copy of this ARC for my free and unbiased review.
All I can say is wow! An Anonymous Girl was one twisted read. There were many twists and turns that keep the reader engrossed in the story. It truly is a Psychological Thriller, messing with your beliefs of what you would do in situations where you had to be totally truthful. It begins where a young woman becomes part of a psychological study using less than truthful means and continues as the Psychiatrist continues to ask moral questions of her and putting her in situations to make certain moral decisions as long as she is completely honest. As the situations become more and more strange the young woman begins to wonder exactly what is at stake and if it is worth it. Definitely one of the best reads for me so far this year! If you like psychological thrillers that keep you glued to the end this is definitely the book for you!

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I really enjoyed this book, the characters were well developed. It had an interesting plot. I would be interested in reading more

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Perhaps these writers are not for me because as like with "The Wife Between Us," I did not enjoy this read. On first glance, the premise is intriguing. Jessica Farris, a struggling makeup artist, overhears a conversation during a work session about a morality study where participants will receive $500. The girl originally invited won't attend so Jessica Farris goes in her place. The questions are invasive covering a span of topics covering honesty, trust, deceit, even murder. Though she is semi-uncomfortable, she continues with the study because she does need the compensation. Soon though, she begins to realize she signed up for more than she bargained for.

I think the writers tried to do too much with the characters and the plot. Oftentimes it felt convoluted, like everything was being thrown at the wall. It didn't feel cohesive to me. I also grew frustrated with the narration and the character's voices. There was a stiffness to Dr. Shields and Jessica, for lack of a better word, was rather annoying. It's hard to become invested in a novel when you can't get behind a character, even if they're unlikable. On a final note, one thing that irked me was Dr. Shields' motivations for the study. I expected something more with depth given all the hoops that Jessica had to run through rather than what was revealed.

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Took a little while to get going and of course Jess was a little dumb but overall satisfactory.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

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I really enjoyed "The Wife Between Us" by Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen, the authors did not disappoint with this book! An Anonymous Girl was such an exciting read!

Jess is a struggling makeup artist in New York who snuck her way into a study conducted by respected, beautiful and mysterious Dr. Shields. Jess soon discovers that this study is not only a test of her morality and ethics but her ability to survive and protect everything she holds dear. There were so many twists and turns throughout the book and I was hooked from the first chapter!

It's truly a case for how seemingly small and innocuous decisions, can alter the course of your life and that every choice has residual effects, whether good or bad.

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“An Anonymous Girl” by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen is one of those rare novels that you really do not want to put down. I found myself angry that I had fallen asleep late a night while reading.

Jessica is a NYC makeup artist struggling to make ends meet. While working with a client, she learns of an opportunity to participate in a study on ethics and morality being conducted by a “preeminent NYC psychiatrist”, which pays handsomely. Once in the study, she goes from being the anonymous “Subject 52” to working much more closely with the psychiatrist, Dr. Shields. Through the study questions, Jessica divulges her most private thoughts and secrets. But things are not quite as they appear.

What starts out as intriguing, becomes a roller coaster ride and then thrusts you over the waterfall. The book is part “Gone Girl”, part “Gaslight” and totally captivating.

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This book was good. Kind of predictable...I'm not sure if that's because I'm a thriller fan and I've read similar stories before or not. It was good though. Lots of messed up characters.

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I just finished reading An Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen. When I say I could not put this book down, I’m not exaggerating. I woke up at 3:10 this morning and finished it before work – I had to know how it was going to end.

These authors are two of my favorites. I loved The Wife Between Us and couldn’t wait until their second book was finished – it does not disappoint. The book is filled with so many twists and turns, there were times when I really didn’t know who or what to believe. I appreciate that the story is told from Jessica Farris’ point of view and from Dr. Sheilds’ point of view, so you are allowed into both of their minds. I also like that the book addresses greed, trust (or lack thereof), morality and ethics in depth. It got to the point that I couldn’t decide right from wrong in my own mind regarding certain situations. Deceit and jealousy and so many secrets, all wound into a fantastic, seamless story. This book is one of my favorites of the year. If you like suspense and psychology, definitely read this book.

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4.5 Stars
This book was crazy good! The authors hooked me on the first page and slowly and skillfully pulled me into the story until the very last page. I couldn’t stop reading! The plotting and pacing were perfectly executed, and though it took a little getting used to reading alternating first person/second person points of view, I couldn’t help but admire the skill it took to craft this riveting novel. (*Spoiler Alert!* I would have liked the final showdown between Jess and Dr. Shields to have been more explosive after their intense buildup, but that’s just my preference.) I highly recommend this book. Received an advance copy from NetGalley.

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This story was so intriguing. It felt like a subtle build, yet kept me on the edge of my seat and just like in their other story, the twists were definitely surprising. I really enjoyed this collaboration and definitely hope to read more from these authors. This one definitely left me wanting more!

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