I have read a previous book by this duo, and they write really fun thrillers. Shay, the main character, gets caught up in a messy situation after witnessing a suicide. Overall, I felt like I knew where the story would lead but there were surprises for me, and the last 25% of the book I quite literally could not put down. I would recommend this thriller.

After Shay witnesses Amanda leap to her death on a subway platform she becomes obsessed with her and her life. While at a memorial service for her she meets her friends Cassandra and Jane who become obsessed with Shay for very different reasons.

Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen make a truly unstoppable team. This is their third co-written thriller, and the duo has yet to disappoint. Their most recent release, You Are Not Alone, follows in the steps of their first two books (all standalones), The Wife Between Us and An Anonymous Girl, with chilling female protagonists and tense psychological drama. While I don’t think You Are Not Alone quite stands up to its predecessors, I still couldn’t put it down and find it haunting me days later.

You Are Not Alone follows smart loner Shay as she navigates single life in New York City. On her way to work one morning, she witness a woman, Amanda, commit suicide via subway train and is haunted by the kinship she feels with the woman. In an effort to deal with her grief and the trauma of the event, she goes to a memorial service for the woman, a choice that ends up changing her life forever.

At the memorial service, Shay learns that Amanda was part of friend group of 7–8 seemingly normal women. At the head of this group are Cassandra and Jane, two beautiful, rich sisters who use their friends to carry out occasionally nefarious tasks.

Cassandra and Jane are the type of women everyone wants to be friends with, and I identified with Shay’s wanting to impress the two and get close to them. Shay, who lives in a situation of unrequited love and has no real close friends, becomes an easy mark for the sisters, and my mouth was hanging open in shock on more than a few occasions as they twisted Shay’s actions to fit the narrative they’d created. Shay doesn’t give in easily, though, and her character’s data-driven action analysis and evasion are impressive on their own.

No spoilers, but Hendricks and Pekkanen can really write some ~twisted~ characters. I recommend this one to those who love a good thriller, especially the long-game, mind-bending, did-she-really-just-do-that type. A round of applause for the evil genius that is Hendricks and Pekkanen. These ladies could definitely kill you and get away with it.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the other books that these two wrote so, I knew that I would love this book as well.
Shay watches a woman jump in front of a moving train it changes her life forever. She becomes obsessed with who this woman is.

I loved how this book jumped back and forth to give us insight as to how the main characters are connected. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough with this book, I was hooked, the suspense kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time.

Thank you so much Netgalley for a copy of this book for my honest review.

4.5 Stars

This book was a whirlwind. I didn't know where it was going and it kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. I didn't know who was telling the truth.

The only thing that I could think of that I didn't like was that it ended so suddenly. This book could have been another 20+ pages and really delved into the ending more. However, I can't hold that against this book.

I look forward to Hendricks and Pekkanen's books every year and this one just made me even more eager for their next.

This book was very middle of the road for me. While I was entertained and interested in what was going on throughout the book, I couldn't connect with any of the characters. Shay is this super eager, willing to go way overboard for people she doesn't know type of person. None of her actions seemed at all plausible to me no matter her backstory. There also wasn't enough information on the sisters for me to care about them either. Overall, it wasn't a bad book, but wasn't for me.

You Are Not Alone is Not My Favorite Book from the Pekkanen/Hendricks duo. It relies heavily on the makeover trope, although in a uniquely reverse single-white-female kind of way. The first of the twists/surprises, James' real identity, is easy to guess, and the last ... (spoiler alert!) that there was a third sister who was actually in charge and pulling the strings seemed inconsequential to the storyline and not that jaw-dropping. But, these ladies can write, so even though the plot was somewhat banal it was easy to read and not torturous either.

*exhales slowly* I am fully prepared to fall on the sword of unpopular opinion when it comes to Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen's latest book "You Are Not Alone". And believe me when I say that this was an anticipated read for me since I liked "The Wife Between Us" and "An Anonymous Girl." (My favorite between them was "An Anonymous Girl" - and to me that's still the strongest offering they've had to date.) The premise had me to a certain extent as well, but the following line from the blurb:

Shay thinks she wants their life.
But what they really want is hers.

...is probably the most misleading thread in all this. I was thinking I was going into a "Single White Female" type scenario where the girls try to take over Shay's life, but it's not really that at all. (I have a feeling I would've liked that story better, honestly.) Regardless, that expectation is not what upset me reading through this novel. I could handle being disappointed in getting a different story, but what I can't is when a main character is so overly obtuse towards obvious red flags that are occurring around her that it draws out the story to the point where I'm irritated at both her and the characters that are so obviously manipulating her. I knew what was happening and could tell the direction it was going in from a mile away, it was not fun or thrilling to watch. It didn't really help that Shay's character overall felt very weakly constructed to me.

It's not that I didn't feel for Shay when she directly witnessed the death of a woman she didn't know. That death set the novel off at the beginning with a bang, and I could understand Shay having survivor's guilt and wanting to know more about the young woman around her age (Amanda) who died so suddenly and violently. I was with Shay for a little while through the novel as she tried to discover more about Amanda's life and whom the former nurse surrounded herself with, even befriending the beautiful and popular Moore sisters.

It was more the glaring puppeteering of Shay that grated on my nerves more often than not, and how easily Shay fell for the sisters' deception in many turns in an effort to keep the conflict and plot moving. Everything that fell in Shay's lap was too good to be true, too connected to the dead woman to be mere coincidence, and far too orchestrated where I'm to the point saying "Woman, you need to see these red flags for what they are, not consider how you leaping into them makes you look guilty. Doggone." (My sister can attest to me speaking this exact phrase aloud as I read this book.) It turned into a story where the sisters' efforts were making Shay look like she was the "Single White Female" orchestrating taking over a dead woman's life. That premise is fascinating in theory, but it wasn't executed well here. There was also the matter of Shay's continuous lie upon lies and extraordinary efforts to loop herself into the sisters' influence that she would commit various violations just to be accepted. The motivation didn't feel strong enough to me. True, Shay's character is supposed to be lonely, stumbling and fumbling one opportunity after another, and not having solid ground when it comes to relationships. On one hand, that makes her apt prey to the sisters' influence, but on the other hand, Shay's character in and of itself as she's presented is not strong enough to carry this through the story, at least for much of the novel where she has prime focus.

Admittedly what drew me into this novel were two aspects: Amanda's story with respect to the events leading up to her tragic death and the whole rationale as to what the Moore sisters were so desperately wanting to cover up. I really did connect with poor Amanda. I could see where she was taken into the Moore sisters' influence, what crime they were trying to cover-up, what unintentional fallout there was from that, and the guilty spiral that ultimately consumes Amanda's life up to its end. I also felt the progression of events as to why the Moore sisters were wanting to frame Shay in the first place and why they didn't want Amanda spilling their secrets. That was also compelling, particularly in the number of traumas and woven webs of misconception that bred. I wanted more of that from this novel, and there were pieces of that which were telegraphed and summarized where that could've had better focus.

The last 20 something percent of the novel was more thrilling as Shay finally put the pieces together of the sisters' influence and what they wanted to cover up, but that wasn't enough to save the overarching novel for me. Plus it seemed a little too neatly tied for events and climax, with many loose threads, events and relationships left dangling or unaddressed by the end. I mean, it would've been even more compelling to me if the sisters' actually managed to getting away scot-free (that would've also made this novel a heck of a lot darker in tone, with implications that they could potentially do it again - I would've probably liked that novel too.)

But nah, can't have nice things. *sighs* In the end, I liked parts of this novel, but the overly long progression, weak characters getting more focus than stronger ones, and a telegraphed, inconclusive ending made this novel have a sour taste in my mouth. I'm not saying that there aren't people who will enjoy this novel (particularly with some of the orchestrations and the moment of truth that plays out here), but it didn't do it for me. I hope the authors' next novel fares better, because I do want to continue reading their collaborations.

Overall score: 2.5/5 stars.

Note: I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, from the publisher.

I did enjoy this book not as much as the wife between us but none the less I did finish it I did feel like it has a great plot twist that I didn’t see coming and it had me hooked towards the middle to the end.

These ladies never cease to amaze me! This is the third book that I have read from them, and every one of them impressed me with the twists and turns and unique plot ideas. It never turned out quite how I expected it to, and that's exactly the type of writing I expect now from these ladies!
The book follows several women, but the main characters are Shay, Cassandra and Jane. Shay is a young woman who has always been into analyzing data,and counting on numbers and statistics to rule her life by helping to solidify the choices she makes.
Cassandra and Jane are two sisters who are used to getting what they want now, for themselves as well as their "team" of ladies they handpicked.
One day one of the "team," a young woman by the name of Amanda, happens to cross paths with Shay right before she throws herself in front of a subway car, and the problems begin.
Definitely a great story for anyone who likes plot twists!

4.5 stars - What a psychological thriller! Sarah and Greer are masters at writing psychological thrillers!

As expected, this book contains so many twists and turns it almost gave me whiplash, in a good way! In addition to the gripping suspense, the premise is so original!

Some characters were truly devious, but I really loved the main character, Shay Miller, and was absolutely rooting for her! I loved the transformation we saw in her as the story developed.

Amazing ending!!! The only reason this isn’t a 5-star read for me is due to some missing pieces to the story, but overall, such a great book that is brilliantly written! Highly recommend.

How would you react if you saw someone die? And how, after you though you were losing everything (even your mental sanity, let's be real), you were gaining them back, one after another? If you told what seemed like a little lie, would you be able to live with it, or would you try to retract and say the truth? I, for one, is a terrible liar... But I have no idea if I would have acted like Shay with everything she went through. This book is a terrific thriller with twists that I haven't seen coming AT ALL. You're in for a wild ride!

Many thanks to St. Martin's Press for the complimentary e-copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Full disclosure: I really like this writing team. I had pieced together several of the threads prior to the conclusion of the novel, but I still really enjoyed the way the tale was spun. One thing that I really appreciated about the book was that characters are layered and their motivations are revealed gradually, so there are very few "all good" or "all evil" characters and that makes for a better story.

The average person will walk past sixteen killers in the person's lifetime.

They say living in New York City with literally millions of people around you, you can be the loneliest person. Shay feels that loneliest most days. She has a routine. She keeps a data book of facts. She likes her figures. She is in between jobs and lives with a friend and his girlfriend. Their relationship made her feel lonelier. Her life changed and was manipulated when she witnessed the death of a young woman that jumped in front of a subway. Her eyes in that split second haunted Shay that she had to find out who this woman was and what led to her death.

In her search she met the Moore sisters. They were everything that Shay was not. Trying to hide her obsession with their dead friend, she makes up a story in how she knew her and then one thing led to another. The manipulation begins and she finds herself more alone and frightened for her life. With her data book in hand (and this book of facts is actually amazing), she knows she must find out what was the cause of the suicide and how the Moore sisters are tied to her death.

A build up of the best kind. How Shay is manipulated and then wises up and the turn at the very end makes it a tidy clean up. I usually do not like the tidy clean ups but I was overcome on how Shay turned the tables.

A Special Thank you to St. Martins Press and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest revie

I've really enjoyed the past two books by these authors and this was was equally as enjoyable. Such a good thriller. They really know how to write a fast-paced thriller. Highly recommend!

I must say that I have enjoyed the books that I have read by this duo! So glad that I was able to review this latest book by them. The twisty, bendy, mind game puzzle is just up my alley. I would definitely recommend this to people who like puzzles. I really enjoyed this and had to force myself to stop reading way past my bedtime.

This is another book by Hendricks and Pekkanen that kept me totally entertained. It was right up my alley as far as psychological thrillers go.

Shay, a single woman looking for love and friendship, thinks she finds a new set of friends that will change her life. Unfortunately, she didn't realize they were setting her up for other things. Her new friends take her under the wing by giving her a make-over, finding her a place to live, and inviting her to their gatherings. Life is starting to look up for Shay...until it's isn't.

I definitely recommend this book, along with the other books written by these authors.

I was given this book for my honest review.

This book was slow to start, but once it got going it was good. There were quite a few characters introduced at once and because they didn't intersect right away it was easy to get distracted. The first half of the book wasn't very interesting to me and the MC was weak and spineless. The second half of the book really picked up and got interesting. The twists and turns were fun and the way the story developed was excellent. I enjoy these authors and will definitely continue reading their books, but this one was not a favorite of mine.

This was a fun domestic thriller! It was a fast paced, quick binge read for me. It’s the perfect book to read during this quarantine time.

Every once in awhile it’s nice to spend a whole day on my couch finishing a psychological/domestic thriller, which is what I did yesterday.

Set in New York City, the book reads like a set of diary entries from several perspectives and stars Shay who has just witnessed a woman throw herself in front of a subway train. Though Shay was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, as she tries to process the tragedy, her curiosity (and loneliness) leads her to become entangled in the deceased woman’s set of friends and eventually in a strange and dangerous situation.

To help frame the action, Shay’s chapters start out with statistics and psychological findings, which she is obsessed with.

"We tend to like people whom we perceive as similar to us. And the less information we have about a person, the more important these perceived similarities are in influencing our approval." - an entry from Shay’s data book

The book had amazing suspense. I remember feeling nervous about something as simple as opening an envelope.

As with most thrillers I read I found myself getting annoyed with the characters and thinking stop trying to solve this yourself, call the police!! And the ability of “normal” people to pull off some of the CIA-like operations is difficult to believe. But of course keeping those limitations wouldn’t make for as good of a book, and I wouldn’t be recommending it right now.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an electronic version of this book in exchange for an honest review.