The past two years, new writer duo Hendricks and Pekkanen's psychological thrillers were favorites of mine and I even felt like they had a chance to dominate the genre; however, this book just didn't have the same vibe. I wasn't drawn into the story right away.

I suppose the premise of the story is ok. The primary narrator, Shay, is a loner who witnesses a girl commit suicide in the subway, is affected to the point of hysteria, becomes involved in the dead girl's social circle, and the rest becomes the meat of the story. Shay's character is interesting. She is a data analyst with a habit of recording statistics for every situation in her life in a notebook she carries with her. This, along with very thorough character development, is incorporated into the story to help the reader get a sense for her personality and I thought that was good. The other characters, when they're introduced, are very one-dimensional, and as a result, I just didn't perceive them the way I feel the authors wanted me to. There could have been more development of their motivations for being so devious and conniving. It made their actions seem over-the-top and unconvincing, especially with the alternating points of view with every chapter. It slowed the flow of the story, making it a bit frustrating to read.

While I didn't enjoy this one as much as I had hoped, I am not saying their books aren't worth reading. I still think this duo have the talent to create enjoyable reads. If I were to recommend one of their books, I'd say An Anonymous Wife is the one I'd choose.

I love these authors and have read all of their titles so far, so I was really looking forward to reading this book. It started off interesting learning about Shay and her life and it progressed pleasantly. Then the characters that were introduced were pretty interesting, but it was hard to keep track of them. Then it kind of seems like they were an afterthought because they practically disappeared after a point. If I figure out the ending of a psychological thriller, I typically don't like the book. I did not have it all figured out in this one, but it kind of seemed unbelievable. All in all, it wasn't my favorite, but I will still keep reading anything by these authors.

If you are looking for a great thriller look no farther! You Are Not Alone tells the story of Shay Miller who seems to have lost her way a little, until she witness another woman jump in front of a subway train. Determined to figure out what the story was behind it, she sets out to learn all that she can. Little does she know that there are others out there that are keeping a close tab on her. All the twists and turns kept me guessing and engaged through out the whole book! I have loved everything these two have written!

This novel is classic Hendricks-Pekkanen and it does not disappoint! It is fast paced, engaging and the twists and reveals are well timed to keep the reader interested and guessing. The main character can be a bit grating sometimes but, in the end, her outcome is satisfying. I wish the ending had been a bit more involved or explained but, all in all, a real page-turner!

I was drawn to aspects of the book -characters and the setting - but it was so, so predictable. I loved the first two by these authors so I’ll definitely give their next another try, this was just not my favorite!

If you need distraction from the overwhelming woes of the world, get this book right now! You Are Not Alone, by Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen, is a mystery thriller so laden with twists and turns that you are going to put down the book just to get up, take a deep breath, and remember that eating and hydrating are important. The book is incredibly complicated in that the plot moves forward through the voice of several characters, and back in time to fill in back stories, and the story itself inevitably raises questions about what is real and who is speaking truth. Yet, the authors never lose control of either pace or plot. The only thing readers might lose is sleep.

This was a thoroughly enjoyable read which I highly recommend. In fact, if you are really in a book drought with time on your hands, pick up An Anonymous Girl by the same authors. It is also riveting! Thanks so much to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with an electronic ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was another fantastic psychological thriller from this dynamic writing duo. Hendricks and Pekkanen are a great writing pair. I loved Anonymous Girl and I was just as impressed with You Are Not Alone which is no mean feat. Shay witnesses a disturbing event which effects her daily life. She feels depilated and struggles to perform ordinary everyday tasks. Until she meets Jane and Cassandra and cannot believe her good luck. They are everything that she is not and they take her under their wing. She soon realises however that if thing seem too good to be true, they usually are. This story drew me in quite quickly. The characters were easily distinguishable, a trait I love in a novel. They were distinctive and worked well in contrast with one another. The psychology used in describing the girls' actions and motives was excellent and contributed fantastically to this novel. It hooked me and drew me in right from the start. I loved it and would highly recommend.

* Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.*

My review can be found here: https://aubreysangle8.home.blog/2020/03/20/review-you-are-not-alone-by-greer-hendricks-and-sarah-pekkanen/

Shay Miller is having a rough time in life. She's in between jobs, feels like she's being forced our of her house, her best friend just had a baby, and oh yeah, she just saw a woman commit suicide. She feels quiet alone. On the way to her temp job one morning, she sees Amanda jump in front of the train she is supposed to be taking. After that, Shay become overly interested in Amanda's life, attending her memorial service, meeting her friends, and becoming friends with them. It feels like things are starting to really turn around, until ... the craziness begins.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review this title.

I have enjoyed the other two books by this writing duo and I'm so excited to read more. This book gripped me from the very beginning and refused to let me go until the end. I found myself reading this book whenever I had a free moment. To me this is the best book they have written so far.

Your late twenties and early thirties can be a difficult time in a woman's life, especially if she is single, childless, and in between jobs. For Shay, when things to seem to be just turning around, its seems like there are even more obstacles in her way. When she meets some new friends, who help her with a new apartment and a makeover, it seems like things might really be going her way, but unfortunately, Shay is not that lucky. Will she be able to sort the truth from the lies?

I loved this book and I highly recommend it.

This book sucked me in! I loved how I didn’t side with one character or the next. Relationships are sewn with envy and the authors found a way to highlight that for each person. I had to finish it in two sittings!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ “In that instant, I realize she isn’t there to ride the subway.” You Are Not Alone starts with a woman named Shay witnessing another woman jump in front of an NYC underground subway. Shay is haunted by the empty look in the woman's eyes before she saw her jump and the fact that the two women seemed to have so much in common even though they were complete strangers. Feeling guilty for not having done more for the woman that day and dealing with anxiety about now riding the subway, Shay wants to find out as much as she can about the mystery woman and see if she can figure out what caused her to end her life. She realizes after being interviewed by the police at the scene that the woman’s name was Amanda and she happened to actually live a few blocks from her apartment building. While dropping Zinnias off at her building as a way to pay her respects and hope to get past her feeling of guilt, Shay notices a memorial service flyer for Amanda’s service stating that “All are welcome” on the front door. Shay becomes almost obsessive with Amanda and decides to go to the memorial service to see if she can find out any more information as to who Amanda was, and that’s where she meets Amanda’s best friends Cassandra, Jane, Daphne, Beth, Stacey, and Valerie. These women have seen surveillance footage of Shay dropping flowers off at the apartment building hoping that the woman will come to the service and they can get to know her a little more. The women are determined to figure out who Shay really is and how she was connected with Amanda at any cost. The book had me questioning Amanda’s motives and then jumping back to what Cassandra & Janes we’re.

I really enjoyed this psychological thriller from authors Geer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen, It didn’t have a slow start and caught my attention right away. I could not put this one down once I started! It was told in multiple POVs so you were able to understand why each character felt the way they did and their backstory. At the start of each chapter, since the main character, Shay is a data analyst it has a fact from a data book and they are really interesting to read and also kind of surprising. I’ve never read anything by these duo authors before, but I know I’ll be adding some of their other books to my list to read. The only thing I didn’t like about this book was the way the ending wrapped up. With the whole point of the book leading up to it, it felt a little rushed.

If you enjoy a fast-paced thriller than I highly recommend this book! Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book an exchange for an honest review.

Ugh.

I wanted to like this, I really really did.

But I just couldn't get into this one - especially with how pathetic the main character is written, and how much I just wanted to shake her and be like, you should know better.

I wasn't impressed with the character development either, and I guess I just wasn't in the mood for this book, because I did like An Anonymous Girl. The twists were predictable, and the big twist near the end seemed to come out of left field. It just fell short for me.

LIKED:
I do like the way the authors write - short chapters, multiple points of view.

LOATHED:
The pathetic main character. I just couldn't get over her mundaneness and neediness.
Very predictable, although I will say I didn't predict the ending, mainly because it seems like it comes out of left field.

You are not alone is a psychological thriller about a girl named Shay who is in the wrong place at the wrong time. Shay knows about statistics and mathematical charts so you expect her to be an intelligent person, but this is not the case. Begins to make mistake after mistake after witnessing a suicide. Shay begins to get involved in the life of the dead girl, and meets the evil Moore sisters, who will make her believe that they come with good intentions to be part of her life. Without going into too much detail, many things in the book did not fit Shay's personality if she is as smart as she is described at the beginning how is it possible for her to fall into the same mistakes and not see the coincidences that occurred around her. Something I should also add about the story was the different POVs of the characters as it was confusing to know what POV i was reading.
3 stars for me
thanks to St. Martin's Press and netgalley for providing me with an ARC

LOVED this thriller, which didn't disappoint and kept me up reading later than I should have two nights in a row :) I loved the New York City setting, which was woven into the story beautifully - from the stresses of apartment hunting when your roommate wants to change your living situation, to the stress of the subway platform and wondering when the next train will come. The plot escalated nicely, and while the main character came off as a little bit naive at times, I empathized with her rather than thinking she was being dumb. My only disappointment was that the ending was rather depressing - though, it was technically a happy ending.

I can never get enough of this duo! Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen write books that have such wonderfully clever constructed stories. It is hard to put these suspenseful novels down. I highly recommend this as a great, suspenseful, psychological novel. All of this being said, I do miss reading Sarah Pekkanen's solo books. I can imagine it would be difficult to write multiple books.

Shay’s life has been heading in the wrong direction lately and it is about to get worse. She has no boyfriend, her job is about to be downsized, and now she needs to find a new place to live. She sees the world through stats and they are completely against her lately. Shay finds herself at the wrong place at the wrong time. As a result her life is about to change dramatically in a good way, or so it would seem. Her new group of friends may not be as good for her as they would first appear.

I love how Shay sees the world and her life through stats. Her data book is priceless! It has some very interesting stats and some very disturbing ones as well. Her belief that numbers affect the way people see you makes for an interesting way to look at things and how you relate to others around you.

Shay is curious, inquisitive, and obsessed. It is these qualities that land her in hot water with her new friends. They completely misjudged her and nothing good can come from that.

I love this dynamic duo and read every book they write. If I am being honest this book is my least favorite so far, but I am still a fan.

Wow, what a great story! I read it straight through. You Are Not Alone is an exciting, suspenseful story about Shay, a lonely young woman who is taken in by two glamorous sisters, Cassandra and Jane. Shay lost her job, and her roommate, who Shay had a crush on for years, has just asked his girlfriend to move in so Shay is losing her apartment too. Worst of all she witnesses the suicide of a young woman in a subway terminal. It is at the police interview that Shay learns the victim's name was Amanda. In trying to understand what drove Amanda to kill herself, Shay tracks down Amanda's apartment and gains information on a memorial gathering. It is there that Shay meets Cassandra and Jane and their circle of talented, accomplished women friends. We learn very quickly that Cassandra and Jane are invested in covering up the reasons for Amanda's suicide and why they've taken such an interest in Shay. Shay's life is starting to come together in the most fabulous ways and everything is going great, until things start to go terribly wrong.

Hendricks and Pekkanen have crafted a detailed, believable story supported by interesting characters and several sub-plots that keep you guessing until the end. Shay, the main character, has collected data since she was a little girl. Data about all kinds of things which she writes in a series of notebooks. Each chapter of You Are Not Alone is headed by snippet's of data from Shay's books. The point of view bounces between Shay, the sisters and some of the other characters but its easy to follow and adds even more to the story.

I kept sharing parts of the story with my students and my children and they were all intrigued. I think you will be too. If you are looking for an exciting diversion during these frightening times this is the book for you!! Thanks so much for the chance to read the ARC!

This was a very interesting spin on a thriller. I liked how the main character and the side characters don't really know what happened, only their own storyline and it causes everyone to be unreliable.

However, I finished this book a week or so ago and I forgot everything about it. After going back and glancing at a few pages, I was able to come remember some of the book but not all of it. I did initially give it 5 stars so I really enjoyed it but since it was so forgettable I am going to take it down to a 4.

I would still highly recommend this book, I just wish it was more memorable. I think reading another book right after this one with a woman that was also killed by a train really muddled my memory so this book is not all to blame.

I liked this better than The Wife Between Us, but still wasn't head over heel in love with it. Similar to The Wife Between Us, I found the story a bit unrealistic and far fetched. Some coincidences seemed way too convenient and it just took some of the rush out. I did not see the main twist coming, but once it hit I didn't really feel... anything I guess. Interesting enough to have kept my attention and I still really recommend it (clearly, with a 4 star review), but I wasn't entirely captivated still.

I have yet to read An Anonymous Girl and I'm definitely still interested in picking it up!

Shay Miller has had better times. She was just let go from her job. She has a great roommate she would love to date, but he has a new girlfriend who is trying her best to shut Shay completely out of Sean’s life. Things get even worse when Shay witnesses a suicide at a New York City subway station and she becomes tramautized by what she has witnessed. Then Shay meets two sisters, Cassandra and Jane Moore, who are wealthy, sophisticated, and seem to really care about her. Some things don’t seem to add up, but will Shay learn the truth before it’s too late?

“You Are Not Alone” is an unusual book. I especially enjoyed “An Anonymous Girl” by Hendricks and Pekkanen, but have mixed feelings about this one. Shay is a unique and interesting character. Her loneliness and lack of self-confidence make her vulnerable, but she isn’t stupid. She is an excellent researcher and records facts and statistics that interest her into a journal. She is very observant, but it’s easy to see how she could have become dazzled by the glamorous Cassandra and Jane Moore. It’s clear there are more to the two sisters than meets the eye when they first come into Shay’s life, but the book is full of tension as the reader tries to figure out what they’ve done in the past and what they’re planning now.

Jane and Cassandra stand out, but the backstories of the other women in their small circle of friends are hard to keep track of. The lengths Jane and Cassandra go to in implementing their plans was hard for me to read and kept me from enjoying the suspense of the novel. The hopeful ending helps improve my feelings about the book and I would rate it 3.5 stars. The book is clever, but I prefer the prior books by this author.

I received this book from NetGalley through the courtesy of St. Martin's Press. The book was provided to me in exchange for an honest review.