Back and forth between 3 and 3.5, this is a decent psychological suspense book with some intriguing parts, but some of it was just manipulative to the reader and I don't care for books that do that. It's one thing to hide things from the characters in the book, that's expected, but to have a POV character/characters hide things and essentially lie to the reader...that leaves me with a bad tasted in my mouth.
I did like Shay's character although I thought she was way too naive through most of the book. I also liked how everything ended and wrapped up in the final chapters. I am a fan of these two authors and am happy to continue reading their creative collaborations in the future.

Review will be posted on 3/30/2020


Shay Miller witnesses a suicide on the subway platform and this impacts her life greatly. It stays with her; it haunts her daily to the point where she can no longer ride the subway. She finds out the address of the dead woman and even visits her house, but only to leave flowers. Then she takes it a step further and decides to attend the woman's funeral and while there, she befriends the dead woman's friends. That's where things start to get confusing. Shay meets the Moore sisters, who are the opposite of her in every way. Where Shay is not sure of herself and jumps from job to job, the Moores are confident, successful, and know all the right people. Shay instantly gravitates to them and in turn, the Moore sisters take Shay under their wing. Do they feel pity for her or is there something more sinister at play here? Readers will also be guessing if Shay is a bit of a stalker to look into the dead girl's life, or if perhaps the Moore sisters were seeking her out all along. You Are Not Alone by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen is a thrilling suspense that will keep readers guessing.

At first, you really feel for Shay in You Are Not Alone. She isn't very successful and isn't quite sure of herself. She can't shake the suicide that she witnessed at the subway, but can we really blame her? When she immerses herself in the dead girl's world, we still make excuses for her, because maybe she just needs closure? Once the Moore sisters take an interest in her things start to get a little tricky for Shay. The makeover they give her and the job they hook her up with makes readers, as well as Shay, start to question just exactly who is the good guy is.

The Moore sisters are fascinating in You are Not Alone. They are beautiful, have all the right clothes, the perfect hair, the perfect expensive purse, and have an army of well connected women at the palm of their hand. Slowly, readers figure out what they are all about. I love that they are female-centered and try to get revenge on guys who, quite frankly, deserve it, but as things unfold, readers start to question their true intentions, especially when it comes to Shay. Shay starts to question this as well, because she isn't a fool, but by the time she does, she realizes she is already caught up in their web.

Just as in Hendricks and Pekkanen's other novels, You Are Not Alone will have readers guessing and flipping the pages way into the night. While I thought this was a very entertaining novel, I didn't enjoy it as much as The Wife Between Us, mostly because I didn't connect with the characters very much. Reading You Are Not Alone was like watching a very complex chess match and seeing who would come out on top, but not being overly invested in either side. If you love psychological suspense that's female centered, give You are Not Alone a try this spring. One thing is for sure, it's definitely an escape from reality.

I was sent an eArc of this book by NetGalley in exchange for my honest thoughts.
3 stars.
I was so intrigued by the synopsis but unfortunately I didn't enjoy this book. There were too many perspectives. Its not a bad book but it just wasn't for me. I feel like the ending was wrapped up conveniently & the main character was so ridiculously naive. I recommend this if you are looking for a thriller that's weird but convenient.

This book was interesting! It kept me guessing on what would happen next and I wanted to find out! I felt really bad for Shay the whole time. She is a very smart girl, but very lonely, so I could see her getting wrapped up with the sisters. I felt like I knew what was going to happen in the very end (and I was right), but the way the ending was written, you didn't really know what was coming. I was going to be kind of mad if the ending didn't go as I expected because it would make Shay look stupid, but it did go the way I expected, in a good way :)

For me, this was a book of three parts. The first part was confusing bc the characters weren’t very well developed and I struggled to keep track of who was who. The second part showed the main character Shay to be weak and needy and I found myself not really caring about what was happening. Things picked up in the third part as Shay started to put things together and probably accounted for all the higher ratings on this book. I wish I could’ve just gone along with all the craziness but I just couldn’t get into it. Great premise but it just didn’t measure up. Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

You are Not Alone by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

Brief Summary: Shay is lonely, single, and on a dead end job path. Enter the sophisticated, well-established, socialite Moore sisters. When Shay is invited into their social circle her life takes a 180 degree turn for the better. But like the previous novels by this duo; things are not what they seem. Go into this book knowing as little as possible and hang on for the ride.

Highlights: This is an easy and engaging read that quickly sucked me in during a busy trip. The group aspect of the plot was compelling and engrossing. I had a hard time putting this down.

Explanation of Rating: 4/5: I love the psychological aspects and the wild twists I have come to expect from this talented duo.

Psychology Factors: This book includes difficult topics like suicide, grief, and anxiety; all which had realistic elements. I do wish there had been more emphasis on mental health treatment.

Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review

5 stars!! This was my favorite of Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen’s books so far. The pacing of the book was fantastic, I was absorbed from the very beginning and the narration switching between several characters kept me interested. It was a fast read and the plot actually seemed believable in a genre that can sometimes lean too far fetched. Highly recommend!

I am such a huge fan of these authors and each time they come out with a book together I am instantly hooked just by reading the description! They are always so short and just keep you wanting to find out what’s inside.

You Are Not Alone was no exception. Shay Miller was an ordinary but interesting girl. She was unique and had a thing for data, statistics and numbers. Her life is as normal and dull as can be until the day she witnesses a woman commit suicide by jumping in front of a subway.

From there, this girls life turns into one huge hot mess!

That’s it, that’s all I’m giving you when it comes to the plot of this story because it’s up to you to jump on this crazy ride!

That’s it, that’s all I’m giving you when it comes to the plot of this story because it’s up to you to jump on this crazy ride!

You are thrust into a thriller that has clues being thrown at you left and right but the ending still comes as such a shock.

I feel like Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen have been notorious so far in making me think I have their books figured out and then sending me to a total different exit and I have to find my way back to what’s actually going on.

If you are already a fan of these two authors, or if you are looking for a great thriller that keeps you on your toes then You Are Not Alone defiantly needs to be on your radar! I was hooked and binge read it like crazy

**Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy to review**

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of You Are Not Alone, in exchange for an honest review.

Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen have returned with another suspenseful thriller with twists and turns to the very end. Shay Miller is a lonely, slightly depressed New Yorker working at a temp agency sharing an apartment with her best friend, who she has a crush on, and his new girlfriend. She is obsessed with facts and data and writes down every random fact in her notebook. One day on her way home she encounters Amanda on a subway platform and that brief encounter will change her life forever. She witnesses Amanda jump in front of an on coming train but what would make a beautiful woman do such a thing. Shay is determined to find out; as she starts to research Amanda and her friends she is introduced to the Moore sisters. Two glamours outgoing women with perfect appearances who run their own celebrity PR firm. Shay desperately wants to become their friend and even a bit like them but are they really who she thinks?

I have read Hendricks and Pekkanen other novels and have enjoyed them so I was very excited to get a copy of their new work. The novel was full of interesting characters with drama and suspense mixed in. Yes, some parts are a little far-fetched or predictable but other twists I did not see coming which were more entertaining. This is an enjoyable read that I recommend picking up.

Shay is lonely as hell, and when she witnesses a stranger’s suicide, her already fragile world seems to fall apart further. Shook by what she’s seen, Shay tries to find solace by attending Amanda’s funeral. Instead, Shay finds Amanda’s friends – fabulous and interesting Jane and Cassandra Moore. The Moore girls build Shay up and bring her into their world… but their motives aren’t as pure as Shay assumed.
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This one was okay. I was actually pretty interested in the many moving parts that made this book whole, but was a let down by the ending. While I could somewhat buy into the “villain’s” motive, it didn’t make sense how many people did her bidding, and I certainly didn’t think the punishments doled out fit the perceived crimes.

Another great book by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen! I really enjoyed this one. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy.

Once you begin reading this book, be prepared to let everything else around you slide. I couldn't put it down until I was finished. To give any details about the plot would be giving the twists and turns away......of which there are many. Books written jointly by the two authors are always ones where the suspense builds and builds and this latest is no exception.

Thank you so much for the advanced copy to preview. I absolutely loved The Wife Between Us. I found An Anonymous Girl a little more difficult to get through. I found this one to be more similar to An Anonymous Girl in the way that I felt about it and my difficulty getting through it. It just felt overly detailed and there were too many distracting plot trails. I did not find it at succinct and intriguing as I did with The Wife Between Us. I had really high hopes for this one, but it fell very flat for me. As a math person I really felt drawn to Shay's character, with her obsession with data. However I did feel like it became over powering at times and unnecessary. I liked how the story was narrated through different perspectives, but it felt a little forced at times. It was easiest to keep track of Cassandra, Jane, and Shay. However when the other women started to be introduced and their lives shared, it just became too much and too noisy. Having so many characters, and supporting ones, at that was difficult to follow.

This is a physiological thriller that you will not be able to put down.
Shay Miller wants to find love and wants to find friends. However, she ends up getting swept up into a group that is sat more sinister than she can imagine. She is forced to fight for the truth before she loses her freedom or maybe her life.
Great character development and story line. I could not put this book down!

*I received an advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

As the story opens, Shay Miller lives in the Murray Hill section of New York City with her friend, Sean. She is secretly enamored with him, but he has recently acquired a girlfriend, Jody, who is annoyingly spending more and more in the apartment. That causes Shay to feel increasingly unwelcome in their shared home and spend time away from the residence. Shay is a market researcher who analyzes data to assist companies with decision-making about their product offerings. Since she was eleven years old, she has maintained a data book full of statistics and obscure facts.

Shay's life is disrupted on a quiet Sunday morning when she finds a gold necklace with a dangling charm resembling a blazing sun lying on a concrete subway platform. Before Shay can ask the woman standing near her if she dropped it, the woman jumps in front of a speeding train. "One minute she existed, and the next, she'd been erased." Deeply shaken, Shay has no idea at that moment that her future has just been irrevocably altered.

Shay becomes obsessed with Amanda Evinger, the woman whose death she witnessed. Amanda was about Shay's height and age, with a pleasant face. Why would Amanda take her own life, especially in such a violent manner?

Shay learns Amanda's identity and attends a memorial service in her honor. There she meets Cassandra and Jane, glamorous sisters who own a public relations firm. They take an interest in Shay and welcome her into their sisterhood of friends. The fast-paced thriller details the skillful way in which Cassandra and Jane ensnare Shay in their tight circle of friends. Pekkanen and Hendricks reveal the background of each woman and how she came to be affiliated with Cassandra and Jane. And while each character's backstory is intriguing in its own right, the story is all about Shay.

Shay lacks self-confidence and considers herself lucky to be embraced by Cassandra and Jane because she really has only one close friend who is a new mother with limited time to devote to Shay. She eagerly accepts suggestions from Cassandra and Jane about how best to enhance her appearance. She is thrilled to be included in get-togethers with the women, and grateful for their offer to housesit in a glamorous apartment ostensibly owed by one of their friends that she could never afford on her own. Sean has informed Shay she must move out of the apartment because Jody is moving in. So the housesitting assignment affords her time to secure an apartment of her own. Shay has has no idea what Cassandra and Shay are actually up to, or why they are so interested in her. But her unrelenting obsession with Amanda and every aspect of Amanda's life causes her to make reckless choices in the name of obtaining data that will help her understand why a young, beautiful woman would end her life prematurely. What Shay doesn't realize is that every revelation about Amanda's history, every detail she uncovers about Amanda's circumstances and motivation to end her life, puts her further in danger.

Pekkanen and Hendricks gradually reveal Cassandra and Jane's actual mission, what part Amanda played in their scheme, and why they must now ensure that Shay either does not uncover the truth or, if she does, is deemed so inherently unreliable that she poses no threat to them.

You Are Not Alone is full of twists and surprises that propel the story forward. Shay is a smart, compelling, and likable character. She's a young woman on her own in America's largest city -- a place where people are surrounded by other people, yet often experience isolation and loneliness. You Are Not Alone is a tale about vulnerability, and how Shay's need to feel loved and welcomed into a community of women inspires her to tale actions that put her life in danger. Indeed, Cassandra and Jane instantly recognize Shay's susceptibility and capitalize on it, as Shay hungrily basks in their attention. Pekkanen and Hendricks illustrate just how deceiving appearances can be, and the perfect personae cultivated by Cassandra and Jane belie an agenda and secrets the conniving sisters will do anything to protect. When Shay finally realizes that her life is in danger, the story's pace accelerates as she relies upon her instincts and the data she has meticulously documented for so many years to outwit the sisters and stay alive. For good measure, Pekkanen and Hendricks deliver a shocking conclusion that readers may find controversial.

With You Are Not Alone, Pekkanen and Hendricks further establish themselves as premier storytellers focused on female-centered thrillers.

I enjoyed the previous two books by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen and was delighted that their third book is just as good and maybe even better! You Are Not Alone is filled with all sorts of surprises and twists that no one could ever see all of them coming. The more I read, the more I wondered where the story was going so I kept reading.

While Shay waits for the subway, a woman standing right near her commits suicide by jumping onto the tracks. In that split second, Shay’s whole life changes and may never be the same. In fact, it is pretty amazing how much her life changes and the ramifications of those changes. Shay is traumatized by witnessing the suicide and perhaps in a way to help her cope, she looks into the woman’s (Amanda’s) life, wondering what drove her to such a desperate act. She becomes friends with Amanda’s friends who have their own ulterior motives in befriending Shay.

Read this one when you have a block of time available because you won’t be able to put it down!

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an advance reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

This thriller was exactly the escape I needed right now. I devoured it in a day, completely caught up in the story of Shay, Cassandra, Jane, and the rest of these women.

While this book isn’t quite as twisty and turny as Hendricks and Pekkanen’s other two, it’s definitely just as suspenseful and full of intrigue. The characters are the real driving forces here, with the mysteries that unfold having to do above all with their own histories and motivations. I’m a sucker for a good character-driven novel, so a character-driven psychological thriller is right up my alley. That’s probably why this duo has become such a go-to for me in the last year—there is no one better than them at this genre right now!

I will admit there were (many) moments as I was reading this that I wanted to stop and shake some sense into Shay, whose naiveté and desperation to be liked made it all too easy for the Moore sisters to infiltrate her life and manipulate her. But it also made sense in the broader themes of belonging and sisterhood (both the ones you’re born with and the ones you choose). While her behavior was frustrating from the perspective of a reader who knew what was happening to her, I can’t actually fault her for wanting so badly to be accepted and liked. Because we’re all kind of desperate for that feeling that we’re not alone, aren’t we?

I was immediately drawn in by the character of Shay Miller, an unemployed young woman who has always been interested in statistics since she was a child. Each chapter is prefaced by a quote she has written in her 'data book' that reflects something that has happened or is happening or might happen in her life. The gripping suspense was immediate and kept up the literary tension for most of the book. There were a few flaws but it rates somewhere between 3 1/2 to 4 stars for various reasons.

Hendricks and Pekkanen are a good writing team and I enjoyed this story much more than the previous one I read, The Anonymous Wife. Both are very suspenseful but this one captured my interest immediately and kept me hooked almost throughout. I did feel that the plot became a bit repetitive and started to lag for a while before the finale.

Shay's uncertainty about her life and her loneliness play a big part of how she is drawn in by a group of women that she meets after witnessing something terrible that happens to a 'friend' of theirs. The story is brilliantly plotted in the first half to two-thirds of the book and I admired how deftly the authors allowed things to unfold about each character, both past and present.

There are certainly some surprises and I liked the development of the protagonist from beginning to end. Some of the other characters did not seem quite as 'real' to me, with some of the backstory that is slowly revealed not very believable as motivations for how they evolved into such unsavory people.

I recommend this book for its pace and good writing, if not wholeheartedly for the way the plot develops. I still enjoyed it and look forward to what this writing duo comes up next. Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing me with an eArc of this novel.

You Are Not Alone is another winner from the magnificent writing due of Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen. I was thoroughly creeped out. I loved the different POV and that they spanned many months of the situation. Amanda's storyline was my favorite, because it really showed the power the sisters have over those they come in contact with. The twist at the end, which I don't want to say a lot about because it made me gasp outloud, was WELL DONE.

I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

In the true fashion of my favs who wrote the wife between us this one did not let me down. The plot moved fast the chapters were short and the perspectives were genius. I needed a thriller because I have been reading heavy literature and this one took me on a ride that I could not put down. It wasn’t typical and I loved the plot twist and jaw dropping suspense.