This was just okay for me. I liked it but I didn't love it. While this has been put into the thriller, mystery, and suspense genre, I would personally label it women's fiction (chick-lit) drama. There is a bit of mystery but most of that was fairly predictable.

The main plot focuses around the ethics and morality study and there is a story that goes with that but that plot--and the purpose of the study--seemed a bit too OTT to me and just really fell flat.

I think the book failed to recognize it's potential, especially as a thriller. It's decent women's fiction but it's quite slow-paced, there are a lot of fashion and physical appearance references (I don't like being reminded of these things), and alternating chapters are written in second-person.

Overall, I really liked the authors' first book, this one was just okay, but I really look forward to any future work they publish.

Due to the over-the top plot and slow-pacing, I'm afraid I have to give this one three stars (which still means that I liked it).

Jessica Farris is struggling to make her rent as a makeup artist in New York. When she overhears one of her clients talking about a psychology study that pays $500, she manipulates her way into the experiment. The study is based on ethics and morality and is run by a mysterious psychology professor Dr. Shields. When Jess decides to open up about her deepest secrets, she finds herself getting invited back for a continuation study, one that's eluded to be more personal. Jess, needing the money, agrees but suddenly finds that she is questioning everyone and everything as Dr. Shields continually places her in precarious situations. Jess begins to question whether these exercises are actually part of the study or if she has become a pawn in a deadly game of deceit. Telling someone your darkest secrets can be dangerous especially when they have secrets of their own...

An Anonymous Girl is an exciting new psychological thriller by author Greer Hendricks. Along the lines of The Wife Between Us, the characters are not always who they appear to be. What begins as a simple morality questionnaire turns into a deadly game of cat and mouse were the characters all have something to hide. I absolutely loved this novel and devoured it in an afternoon. I love that the author writes the characters in such a way that it has you questioning who's more dangerous. This novel had me on the edge of my seat as the plot twist continued to unfold and the true nature of the characters were revealed. This is definitely a must read for 2018.

If you read and loved The Wife Between Us, you will enjoy An Anonymous Girl. Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen deliver a multiple-angled story with classically unreliable narrators. The result is a book difficult to put down as the reader is drawn into an an increasingly taut situation with no clear cut good guys or bad guys, only a feeling of menace. With a psychiatrist as creepy as Hannibal Lecter, although minus the gore, and a victim who isn't so entirely innocent, the book is excellent psychological suspense, a great game of cat and mouse where it's not always clear who the cat really is.

I received a copy of AN ANONYMOUS GIRL on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the publisher and authors.

Can I give this book 20 stars? Seriously. Five is simply not enough.

I couldn’t put this story down. Riveting. Total book hangover. A psychological thriller that tops all others.

I started reading AN ANONYMOUS GIRL in the afternoon and completely ignored my responsibilities until I finished it. And, if that doesn’t stay enough about what a page-turner this book is, let me tell you that it’s been several days and I’m STILL thinking about AN ANONYMOUS GIRL.

I love the premise. Told in dual POV, this book is about a young woman, battling her own secrets, who is desperate for money and participates in a typical academic psychological study conducted by a medical professional on campus, who is not only disturbed but also obsessive. What happens next takes you on a twisted plot ride. I laughed. I cried. I wanted to wring a few characters’ necks.

THE WIFE BETWEEN US was amazeballs and yet, authors Hendricks and Pekkanen managed to exceed my expectations with AN ANONYMOUS GIRL. Can't wait to see what they write next!

If you love exceptional writing, plot twists that’ll make your head spin, and a book thrill ride of a lifetime, then AN ANONYMOUS GIRL is for you. Highly recommend.

This booked sucked me right in and kept me on the edge of my seat for it’s entirety! Very suspenseful! A must read!

I was interested in reading this book because the author's first (The Wife Between Us) was awesome. While this book is intriguing, it's not as good as the first one. The plot is definitely unique, and I was anxious to find out what happened next. But I was waiting for some big twist, and it never came. I would rate this book 4 - 4.5 stars. Worth the read!

I loved the “The Wife Between Us,” so was thrilled to get a NetGalley ARC for “An Anonymous Girl” by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen. Wow, are these ladies talented and they’ve hit another home run with their latest hot hot hot novel of psychological obsession and suspense!

The setup is intriguing:
“Seeking women ages 18–32 to participate in a study on ethics and morality. Generous compensation. Anonymity guaranteed.”

When Jessica Farris signs up for this psychology study conducted by the mysterious Dr. Shields, she thinks it will be easy peasy: answer a few questions, collect her check, and skedaddle. But as the questions get more intense and even invasive, and as the sessions become outings where Jess is told what to wear and how to act, she realizes this is no common research study and wonders what the cunning Dr. Shields is actually up to.

Will keep you gripped ‘til the last page, missing meals, missing sleep, essentially AWOL until you’re done. And even then, you’ll remain obsessed by “An Anonymous Girl.” Highly recommended!

Pub Date 08 Jan 2019   

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the review copy. Opinions are fully mine.

Pub Date 08 Jan 2019

#AnAnonymousGirl #NetGalley

Participants in psychology studies rarely get caught up in real life drama. But Jessica is not there at random and the psychiatrist has other reasons for using Jessica, which lead to a web of lies and deceits. The unraveling, and the denoument make for compelling reading - this is a truly original story. The ending is wonderful, the epilog a little less so, but probably true.

AN ANONYMOUS GIRL
By Greer Hendricks

This book had appeal to me because I had always planned on becoming a psychiatrist growing up. My interest in psychology has always been piqued questioning, always looking for motivations that underlie what are reason's some people are prone to be the epitome of kindness and what dynamics cause other's too be not so kind. Ethics and Morals are the hypothesis for an experiment that Dr. Lydia Shields, a New York City psychiatrist is conducting in a study for female subjects aged 18-32 years old. She is offering $500.00 to subjects that participate in a survey that she is administering to all qualified participants.

Jessica who is a make up artist who while doing a make over for two young women learns about this study and thinks it is an easy way to supplement her income. Five hundred dollars is what Jessica earns doing ten make up clients. Sometimes an impulsive decision can completely change the trajectory our lives take.

"It's easy to judge other people's choices. The mother with a grocery cart full of Froot Loops and
double stuf oreos who yells at her child. The driver of an expensive convertible who cuts off a
slower vehicle. The woman in the quiet coffee shop who yaks on her cell phone. The husband
who cheats on his wife. But what if you knew the mother had lost her job that day? What if the
driver had promised his son he'd make it to his school play, but his boss insisted he attend a
last minute meeting?..."
"We all have reasons for our actions. Even if we hide the reason from those who think they
know us best. Even if the reasons are so deeply buried we can't recognize them ourselves."

Jessica is subject 52 in this study and she wants to participate so she shows up in an empty classroom with a laptop computer and is given instructions to be honest and expansive on all of the invasive unexpected questions that pop up on the computer screen. She wants to stay in the study so she reaches down deep to try to answer what is morally and ethically politically correct. She tries to answer the questions with what would be the answer that the psychiatrist conducting the study will want to hear so she can continue to remain a candidate.

Without spoiling this for any interested readers I will say that this is a page turner and Jessica and the psychiatrist will expand on this research to where this study takes on more complex instructions for Jessica to carry on without at first any suspicions from Jessica but certainly to the reader or at least myself instructions that would make me uncomfortable. This is something I would absolutely not do no matter how much I needed the money and the amounts of money offered for each task is exorbitant and the tasks may or not seem so unorthodox for the demographic ages of 18-32 year old today.

Personally, I found the this to hold my interest and unable to put down until the question became am I going to get a couple of hours sleep or go without sleeping and be tired the next day. I knew that the psychiatrist was unethical and using Jessica for reasons that were crazy. How dangerous was this psychiatrist was foremost in my mind. The manipulations and the psychiatrist conducting her research for her personal human testing of somebody close to her held my interest because of the reasons and motives of all involved.

There are many elements to this story that I have not disclosed. Was this fascinating? A resounding yes. Where the character's believable and could each one have a plausible reason for doing what they did for self serving reasons? Yes. Was the real reason for the character's each individual's motives for making the choices that they made for self preservation? I will let you answer these questions if you decide you want to read this. I would rate this a 3.5 star book even though I can assure you that this novel was like driving past a roadside accident and that you have to force yourself not to look. Upon reflecting for realism after I would say this situation after much pondering requires suspension of belief especially towards the end. Still I am grateful for the chance to have read it and believe it will reach a wide audience.

Thank you to Net Galley, Greer Hendricks and St. Martin's Press for making this title available in exchange for a fair and honest review.

An Anonymous Girl, due for publication in January 2019, is from the same writing duo who penned the bestseller The Wife Between Us. Their second novel leaves no doubt how good these authors are and just like with their first book, the less you know going into it, the better.

In An Anonymous Girl, Jessica Farris is a struggling make-up artist on the job one day when she overhears two clients discussing a psychological morality and ethics study. It starts out as a short survey paying $500. The doctor conducting the study, Lydia Shields, offers Jess the opportunity to expand her participation in the study into real life scenarios. All is not as it appears, however, as Jess soon starts to figure out, when the doctor's requests become stranger and more personally invasive.

This was a really fast read and I was invested the entire time in finding out what was really happening and how the authors would resolve the story. They did a really effective job at slowly letting the tension grow as it got creepier and creepier building toward the climax. My final recommendation: don't miss this one, just make sure you set aside enough time to read it, because you're not going to want to put it down until you get to the last page.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was excited at the opportunity to read this book, as I know the authors have had much prior success. I imagine that will only increase with the release of this book, as well. The story intrigues you from the very first page and never seems to lull afterward, which is rare. The characters are all likeable, or at least intriguing, so that you remain invested in every action and reaction. While some reveals were predictable, the payoff of their reveal still felt satisfying. I will say, like many, if not most thrillers, the ending felt uncharacteristic to the main players. Usually the endings of thrillers also feel rushed, and this one did not, but it did feel as though Jessica and Lydia wrapped up their stories in ways that were unbelievable to the characters we had come to know. Overall, this is a great, quick read, unique and well-paced.

This was sooooo much better than the authors’ first book. While I liked that one, it was very similar to a book I’d read shortly before picking it up. So, while to most readers it was thrilling and refreshing, I felt differently. This time, though, I was wowed.

An Anonymous Girl hooked me from the get-go. I loved the two narrative styles. Seeing the story from Jess’s POV was obviously the main aspect, but the creepy tone of Dr. Shields just added an extra oomph. And it did get creepy.

The story starts out innocently enough. Girl takes another’s place in a study. Girl ends up being the perfect candidate for more. But, what exactly is the ‘more?’ And that’s where the interesting pieces come into play.

Dr. Shields sends her on tasks. These are supposed to test theories on morality. But it becomes clear there is far more taking place than a simple study. Things begin to be revealed, but slowly. And there are still twists on those things.

While I did like Jess, the rest of the characters were shady. As the full/true story comes to light, games are still being played by all parties. It’s hard to understand who is telling the truth. And who is playing her false. At times, it seems like everyone. I trusted no one. Especially when someone’s true colors come to the surface. It is that moment this becomes more than a simple study. It’s dangerous and life-threatening.

This book is intense. There’s not a lot of down moments. With each task she is assigned, I found myself looking for clues to the truth. It’s obvious to us this is a personal matter for the doctor, but why? What more does she know? And just how far is she willing to go to get what she wants?

This a fantastic thriller. I couldn’t put it down. It’s a game, one that you have to be twenty steps ahead to figure out. Some parts are easy, others you’ll be clueless about. I highly recommend this!

I was a huge fan of The Wife Between Us, so I was excited to read this as an ARC.

Jess joins a research group, thinking that she will answer a few questions, make a bit of money, and be done with it. Turns out, she is the person that the researcher is looking for, and she is asked to extend her study. We go from there.

There are twists and turns galore in this one. Its intense, fast paced, and excellent.

Thank you so much to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press, and the Authors for an ARC of this fantastic book!

4.5 Stars
I enjoyed the previous book The Wife Between Us by these authors tremendously and was excited to read this one. The story draws you in instantly. It starts very simply but builds the suspense page my page. You can feel what Jessica feels because she has been shown to be as clueless as the reader, neither have any idea what is going to happen next. The writing is inviting and the 2 points of view are depicted very differently. Jess’s story is told in a more personal manner while Dr Shields story is told more in a passive voice as if Dr Shields is talking about another person; a detached person talking about a 3rd party.
Dr. Shields is playing a game, a twisted one where the ‘study’ is not really a study but more of a game that fuels Dr Shield’s agenda. There is a palpable tension that you can feel all through the book. Jess is vulnerable and impressionable and Dr. Shields is a master of the game. Dr.
Shields weaves a web that’s impossible to get out of. The lure of money and the desire to know more drags Jess into this sticky tangled web. Slowly you see obsession rearing it’s ugly head and it is evident in both Dr. Shields and Jess. As the ‘tests’ progress you can see that Jess is weighing her options more carefully and is almost paranoid about how her actions will be judged. Rather than being herself she rethinks hers actions and does what she assumes would make Dr. Shields think highly of her. You begin to wonder if it is simply a crafty revenge story or is there more? Your patience is suitable rewarded as you continue to read. By the time part 3 begins you can no longer decide who is the prey and who is the predator. It is simply a matter of who can outsmart the others better. All the characters are flawed human beings but they are still relatable. The exchanges between them feel like a long volley in a tennis match.
The book is gripping and you will read it compulsively to find out the truth. The rest of your life will probably go on hold once you start this book because putting it down is extremely hard. There are many twists in this plot and while you maybe able to guess some of them the ending will leave you shocked. Overall this is a winner of a book for sure, worth every minute you spend on it.

My favorite quote from this book:
“How do you know if you can really trust someone?” I finally ask....“If you need to ask that question, then you probably already know the answer,” he says.

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Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for giving me this ARC in exchange for my unbiased review. #AnAnonymousGirl #NetGalley

***Thanks to NetGalley for providing me a complimentary copy of AN ANONYMOUS GIRL in exchange for my honest review.***

When Jessica answers an ad for a research study that pays $500, she has no idea she’s enlisting to be a pawn in Dr Lydia Shield’s psychological warfare to test her husband Thomas’s fidelity.

As a psychologist who has conducted research, Lydia made me cringe on so many levels. Everything about Dr Shields made me want to scream at Jessica, as if I was watching a predictable horror movie “don’t go up the stairs alone.” AN ANONYMOUS GIRL is a so much more nuanced than a B movie. Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen crafted a Lydia as a crafty, manipulative sociopath and Jessica as her unwitting pawn, who needed the money and validation. While Jessica saw the red flags, the money lured her, fueled by guilt and wanting to help her family.

AN ANONYMOUS GIRL would make a great movie, though living up to the book would be difficult. It is the epitome of a true psychological thriller. I read it in one sitting, because I couldn’t put down this gem and future best seller.

3.8 stars - I really enjoyed The Wife Between Us so I was eager to read this one. I did like it and it kept me wanting to turn the pages but I didn't like it quite as much as other books I've rated 4 stars hence the dorky specific star rating -ha! The story was well written and overall I did enjoy it. A couple reasons made me put it technically within the 3 stars rating. One reason was from ~30 to 50% I kept thinking, okay something really needs to happen. But around 50% it picked up. I also did wish there were some more/bigger twists for some added wow factor. And finally, just a personal preference but I prefer books with more dialog than this book had. But that being said, I felt the writing style was strong. I really enjoyed seeing the 2 POVs and felt it added to the book.

Although billed as a novel of psychological obsession and suspense, Anonymous Girl is chick-lit drama at its worst. Granted this novel has found wide appeal and much praise from other reviewers, so take my review with a grain or two of salt. We all have different tastes and this was not mine. I wish I could say I liked more than dental surgery.

Outstanding second novel by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen. What a roller coaster ride of emotions these authors take the reader on through the experiences that Jessica has when she finds herself in a study for Dr. Shields. The reader will find themselves questioning some of their own moral choices as they read this page turner, told in alternating points of view from both Jessica and Dr. Shields. The twisty relationships and the suspense of this book keep the reader from putting the story down. I loved it and I can't wait to see what they come up with next! Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed The Wife Between Us and so I was excited to get an ARC of this book. It definitely pulled me in and was a quick read but it wasn’t as good as The Wife Between Us. I really disliked the characters in this book. I wanted there to be a better twist than there was. Normally I like the story being told by multiple perspectives but in this case I feel like I would have preferred it to be told by a narrator.

Whoa. I like the dual narratives and don’t want to say too much about this novel. The suspense is crucial. There is a predictability to the general story but it’s not without twists that make up for any parts you saw coming.