I have enjoyed these authors prior book and this one was very good also. It took me a while to understand what was going on, bit it was an enjoyable read..Kudos to the authors and many thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book in exchange for an honest opinion.

I received a complimentary digital galley of YOU ARE NOT ALONE by Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen for an honest review. Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the chance to read and review!

YOU ARE NOT ALONE begins with Shay, a woman obsessed with statistics and a little down on her luck. She’s in need of a job and soon a new place to live as the roommate she has a crush on is getting pretty serious with his girlfriend. When Shay heads out for the day she finds the subway platform nearly empty save for a woman who we later learn is Amanda. Shay is horrified when she realizes the woman plans to jump in front of the oncoming train and there’s nothing she can do to stop it.

Sisters Cassandra and Jane Moore knew Amanda, though their link isn’t entirely clear. As Shay feels compelled to find out more about what drove this woman to suicide, she becomes obsessed with the sisters and their group of friends. She feels welcomed into their crowd, excited to find new friends of her own. Still, it is clear to the reader from the beginning that the sisters have ulterior motives that Shay doesn’t know about.

This book immediately hooked me into the drama and I couldn’t help but feel sorry for poor Shay. She’s a bit socially awkward and doesn’t have much going for her at the moment. Her obsession with the fallen woman’s life is a bit extreme, but also understandable given the state of her own life. As she begins to feel more of a kinship for Amanda, it becomes important to understand how to avoid getting to contemplating suicide for herself.

The chapters in this one alternate from Shay’s perspective to that of the Moore sisters and their friends, often in flashbacks to give more of the story of how their friend group was built and what exactly drove Amanda to do what she did. I thought that the quick chapters and switches in POV worked well to make this a gripping read. I finished this one in a single day because I wanted to find out what happened!

I definitely recommend this one to the thriller fans! YOU ARE NOT ALONE is out on March 3, 2020!

Told in multiple POVs, You Are Not Alone has a varied cast of characters with the main ones being the Moore Sisters and a somewhat of a loner, Shay. Shay is taken in by their charisma and their empathy. But of course, the sisters are not what they appear to be. They incite vigilante justice and are seemly addicted to sweet revenge. The duo of Pekkanen and Hendricks write awesome dark, twist-filled thrillers that keep you on the edge and hooks you from the beginning. Full of mind games, which the authors excel at, leaving you with a wonderful, never see it coming ending that leaves you so happy to experience this page-turning thriller. Not my favorite from this author team, but it was definitely entertaining, engaging, and I’m eager for their next book to come out.

When given the opportunity to read You Are Not Alone, I obviously jumped at the chance. Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen are quite the dynamic duo when it comes to suspenseful and twisty thrillers. I've never read any of their solo novels, but together, they truly seem to work great as a pair.

Shay Miller is unfulfilled. Her roommate is man she's in love with, whose girlfriend visits often. She has no friends, and no prospects. When she witnesses a horrific event one morning in the subway station, her life is quickly flipped upside down. She's thrown into a whirlwind of anxiety and PTSD, and stumbles right into the path of the Cassandra and Jane Moore, who quickly take her under their wing. Only now, her situation has spiraled into "too good to be true" territory, which has become quite suspect.

It's funny how the nitpicky things become nonessential when looking back. I rated The Wife Between Us with three stars, but considering it now, I actually really enjoyed the story and thought it was incredibly shocking and twisty. I also enjoyed An Anonymous Girl. As for You Are Not Alone, I thought I was going down this path of figuring out what the twist would be, but boy was I wrong. I totally didn't see the twist coming - but looking back into the story, it makes so much sense. You can follow the pieces and connect the dots, and it leads you right to it. Hendricks and Pekkanen have a way of leading you down into a completely immersive story and then switching paths hard enough to give you whiplash, though the feeling can be quite enjoyable when it's done in a completely metaphorical way.

Something I didn't like, though, was how many of the characters that I thought were going to be much more involved in the story basically disappeared about two-thirds of the way through. They were absolutely integral to the plot, but eventually just disappeared, which was weird and kind of awkward. Seriously, where did they go? It made the story feel like pieces were missing, so I felt a bit unsatisfied by the end of the book.

Something else is these books seem to be written for a very particular demographic. I do enjoy the stories and I get really attached to a Hendricks/Pekkanen novel - they are seriously page-turners. But when reading any of their stories, the majority of the characters are all very White, very blonde, very fit, and very well off. Even the characters who are struggling financially seem to be rich. The struggle seems unrealistic. I have struggled, and have come from a disadvantaged background, and the "struggles" of these characters seem unrelatable and unrealistic. These people live in NYC with a savings account and enough money to buy a $200 top on a credit card with a temp job. The characters are a bit too "perfect," even in their imperfections. The main police officer in the story was Black, but other than that, all three books have lacked diversity (in ways even outside of race). I would like to see more diverse characters in future Hendricks/Pekkanen novels.

"Some people contend there are two primal fears. The first and most basic is the end of our existence. The second is isolation; we all have a deep need to belong to something greater than ourselves." - You Are Not Alone, Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

Overall, the story was just as shocking and twisty as the last two books from this duo. You Are Not Alone was definitely a page-turner, and I'll likely read any future novels this pair releases. But I would really like to see more diversity in their stories.

This book was a miss for me. Very slow start and the only thing that grabbed my attention were the statistics at the beginning of some of the chapters.
"the average person will walk past sixteen killers in the person’s lifetime"
I enjoyed The Wife Between so I would give these authors another shot.

You Are Not Alone
A Novel
by Greer Hendricks; Sarah Pekkanen
St. Martin's Press
General Fiction (Adult) , Mystery & Thrillers

Superbly written. I don't want to give out spoilers but you will want to read this one. Worth more than 5 stars.
Highly recommend for mystery and thriller readers.
Thanks to Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for a great ARC

🔎BOOK REVIEW ⭐️⭐️⭐️⁣
🔎First and foremost a big thank you to the Mystery Book Club and @bostonbookfanatic and @jordys.book.club for welcoming me with open arms. I also fully accept that I might get my butt tossed out of the MBC promptly after posting my review for You Are Not Alone 😬. While most thrillers aren’t bursting with realism, the great ones have at least some realistic basis in regards to the storyline or character dynamics. This book had NONE of that. The storyline and characters were so shenanigan-filled. So much so, that I would have been fine if a giant Godzilla appeared and gobbled all the characters up in one munch. I just didn’t care what was happening or who it was happening to. ⁣
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🔎Shay Miller is unlucky in love, has no career and basically no friends. Her life is a hot mess. To add salt to the wound, Shay witnesses a gut-wrenching suicide at a subway station. Shay becomes so obsessed with the suicide victim that she traces every step in this woman’s life. Her stalker-like tendencies lead her to the Moore sisters. Cassandra and Jane live a life of glamorous perfection, and always get what they desire. When they invite Shay into their circle, everything seems to get better. Until Shay becomes a lead suspect in an old murder case. ⁣
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🔎Blah blah blah. No one likes a hot mess main character. Been there, done that times 1000. Shay is so unlikable and pathetic. The Moore sister simply remind you of fake, superficial, mean girls. Mind you, these characters are all supposed to be in their 30s. The other enraging thing was that for 80% of the story, you are completely in the dark about what’s happening in the plot. You are reading a story that makes ZERO sense. Only until the final pages does the story provide answers and by then- I just didn’t care. I’m thinking that these authors may just not be for me...I thought An Anonymous Girl was poop too. So mayhaps use this information to help you decide whether you want to dabble in this piece of literature.

Fantastic read that I finished in 2 days because I could not put it down. Shay is a very insecure young woman with what appears to be low self-esteem. While waiting for the subway, she sees a young woman jump in front of it killing herself. The young woman, Amanda, was an emergency room nurse and nobody could understand why she took her own life. Shay's curiosity got the best of her and she went to Amanda's memorial service where she met some of the young nurse's friends, namely sisters Cassandra and Jane, who seemed to take an instant liking to Shay. What could go wrong with this scenario??? From here on, strange things begin to happen and there are plenty of twist and turns which made this a unputdownable book. This is one of the best thrillers I have read in a while and I highly recommend it. Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC of this highly addictive book in exchange for an honest review.

I didn’t want to put this book down!!!

Shay Miller is lonely and has lost her job. The one thing seemingly holding her together is her obsession with recording data. Each short chapter is introduced with an excerpt from her journal where she cites relevant (to the plot) statistics. When she witnesses a woman her age throwing herself in front of a subway car, she identifies a bit with this lost sole and becomes obsessed with finding out more about her.

As the story progresses, important background is slowly revealed as the narrative switches among characters and moves back and forth in time. I don’t want to reveal too much more about this book, but if you like mind games, treachery, deception, twists, then you will love You are Not Alone.

By the way, I also loved Hendricks and Pekkanen’s prior psychological novel, The Wife Between Us.

I enjoyed this book. I would say it’s my favorite of this duo!

We meet Shay Miller who is desperate to belong and fit it, and the “group.” I missed a couple of important clues so I didn’t guess the main plot twist, which I absolutely loved. I love being surprised in the end. However, I did find the main character, Shay, a bit flat and miserable. I struggle with gullible and naive characters.

Overall, still a recommendation for sure!

read this thriller and was blown away by trying to keep track of what was really happening between these girls thrown together. was not disappointed at all with another book by these authors and would highly recommend it to others

Shay is lonely and she is in a difficult space in her life so when she sees a woman commit suicide in the subway it details her completely. But are Cassandra and Jane really gets friends or is something more sinister afoot? Set in NYC so much of this story, from locations to lack of awareness of our surroundings, struck home to me. A great thriller ride especially for anyone who rides public transit!!

Very well done! Loved the main character and the subtle twists were very enjoyable. Fun quick read

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC

At times I enjoyed this book and at other times I found it cliche and struggled to follow the different flashback points of view. Overall, it is a fast read that keeps you engaged even if the plot line becomes predictable near the end. Thank you #netgalley for an ARC of #youarenotalone

I have read these authors before and this one does not disappoint. It got its hooks in me and kept me guessing until the end. I throughly enjoyed it! Thank you to netgalley for the arc.

The dynamic duo writing team of Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen have left me speechless once again. Their talent to deliver compelling, convoluted thrillers time and again is truly amazing. You Are Not Alone is a chaotic story of deception, revenge, manipulation, and obsession. Told from multiple points of view and shifting past/present timelines, the story is divided into three parts and hinges on the reader solving the mystery on their own as the story unfolds.

In Part One, characters are introduced and as their paths crossed and they began interacting, my curiosity peaked. Marketing Researcher Shay Miller is obviously lonely, obsessed with statistics, and in need of a new job, residence, and life. Once again, she's on the outside looking in just as she's been most of her life. Completely by chance, she witnesses the horrifying suicide of a woman in a subway station and becomes haunted and obsessed with what she saw. Shay is left in emotional turmoil feeling an unreasonable need to discover more about the woman and what drove her to take her own life. While Part One moved a bit slow for me, I was intrigued and appreciated the author's meticulous attention to detail knowing it would be important to the story later on. In Part Two, I was quickly put on high alert by a shift in story ambiance with an increasing sense of malice and suspense. Shay's obsession has intensified, and as a result she pings on the radar of sisters Cassandra & Jane who befriend her. At this point, I began questioning everything and everybody and strongly suspected that things were on the verge of spiraling out of control for someone. In Part Three, the fantastic writing duo's many beautifully intertwined plot threads began to unravel, and my trepidation quickly elevated. For me, the tone and sense of urgency was reminiscent of Poe's Tell Tale Heart - rapidly rising along with Shay's paranoia. Like the assumed sound of the beating heart in Poe's short story, my own heartbeat grew louder and louder and louder in my head as I maneuvered all the twists and turns. And true to form, the authors withheld the final twist until the end. While I figured out some things along the way, I in no way saw this final one coming.

After finishing You Are Not Alone in the wee hours of the morning, I looked over to see my husband peacefully sleeping and was indeed glad I was not alone. Hendricks & Pekkenen excel at writing suspense thrillers with a frantic tone and pace that never fails to sweep readers up and hurl them like an angry wave toward the distant shore. Short chapters reinforce the dark, edgy, sinister tone as does the writing style. Characterizations are spot-on, in-depth and complete with background information and glimpses into the questionable mental psyche of these women. The result is another fantastic, riveting, sinister tale that fans of mystery, suspense, and psychological thrillers will devour! Highly Recommended!

It gripped me right from the beginning and didn’t let go. I almost read it in one day! I was unable to guess the twists and turns which is always exciting. Excellent!

Gripping thriller. Very exciting concept, friends protecting friends, almost like a spy network. Secrets and lies, with elaborate set ups, kept me guessing the whole time. Best friends, start of a new life, worst enemies, look out your life is at stake. Can’t wait to recommend it to customers.

Another great novel by the duo of Hendricks & Pekkanen. Their book had me hooked from the first page, it kept me up reading all night.

Shay witnesses a suicide at a train station. Little did she know how this would change her everyday life. Somehow she has now found two friends and she gets dragged deeper and deeper into their circle.

But how far will she go to stay friends? Are these friends truly friends? Or do they want something from Shay?

Seriously, this book had so many twists and turns and had me reading well into the wee hours of the morning as I was always questioning what would happen next.

I rarely say this but I couldn’t put this book down. Shay is living a boring life. She is working temporary jobs and sharing an apartment with her best friend, Sean. But Sean has a new girlfriend and their entire relationship is changing. Shay witnesses a woman commit suicide by throwing herself in front of a subway train. This affects her profoundly. Shay goes to the dead girl’s apartment and leaves flowers. Then she decides she must attend Amanda’s memorial service. At the service, she lies to Amanda’s “best friends” and says that she knew Amanda. Shay is trilled when these “perfect” women begin including her in their circle. But her friends aren’t really friends anyone would want to have. They are slowly turning Shay into Amanda. There are so many twists and turns in this plot. I will just end this with how much the ending surprised me. It wasn’t anything I saw coming.