The instant #1 New York Times bestseller (January 2019) everyone is talking about! People Magazine’s Book of the Week • Bookish’s “Must-Read Books of Winter” • PopSugar’s “Best Books of Winter” • Cosmopolitan’s “2019 Books to Bring to Your Book Club” • Bookbub’s “Biggest Books of Winter” • Refinery 29’s “Best Books of January 2019” • Crime Reads’ “January’s Best Psychological Thrillers” • … • Crime Reads’ “January’s Best Psychological Thrillers” • InStyle’s “7 Books That You Should Resolve to Read This January” • HelloGiggles’ “The 50 Most Anticipated Books of 2019” • USA Today’s “5 New Books Not to Miss” • Marie Claire’s “The Best Women’s Fiction of 2019 (So Far)” • Hypable’s “Winter Releases You Can’t Afford to Miss”
“Hendricks and Pekkanen are at the top of their game…You won’t see the final twist coming.” —People Magazine
“Beware strange psychologists…the authors know exactly how to play on their characters’ love of danger to bring them to the brink of disaster – and dare them to jump off.” —New York Times Book Review
“Slickly twisty [with] gasp-worthy final twists...major league suspense.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“For those who relished the creepy stalking in Hendricks and Pekkanen’s The Wife Between Us, this unnerving tale will have them rethinking what secrets are safe to share and if moral and ethics really matter when protecting the ones you love.” —Library Journal (starred review)
“Masterfully escalates the suspense.” —Booklist (starred review)
Looking to earn some easy cash, Jessica Farris agrees to be a test subject in a psychological study about ethics and morality. But as the study moves from the exam room to the real world, the line between what is real and what is one of Dr. Shields’s experiments blurs.
Dr. Shields seems to know what Jess is thinking… and what she’s hiding.
Jessica’s behavior will not only be monitored, but manipulated.
Caught in a web of attraction, deceit and jealousy, Jess quickly learns that some obsessions can be deadly.
From the authors of the blockbuster bestseller The Wife Between Us, Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen, An Anonymous Girl will keep you riveted through the last shocking twist.
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Wow! This was an intense psychological experiment. As an employee in an academic Psychology Department, this book was scary. I know that there are experimenters who push the envelope, but the extent Dr. Shields goes to “conduct her experiment” is atrocious.
No matter what you think of Dr. Shields’ integrity, this book was disturbing in many ways. Jessica finds herself sucked into the doctor’s psychological experiment which leads her to share secrets she has shared with no one else. You learn so much about Jessica, her past, her current life, and the things that have brought her to this point in life.
And how would you respond if you were faced with a spouse’s infidelity? This book takes the psychological experiment to a new level. Just hang in there and you will find yourself gasping in shock as you discover new aspects to Dr. Shields; her husband, Thomas; and Jessica. And wait until you get to the last chapter…hold onto your seat!
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Sit down, buckle up, and hang on, because this one is an “E-ticket” ride all the way! (And yes, that’s a decades-old reference, for those of you old enough to remember!) It’s very difficult to review a psychological thriller without giving anything away, because there are so many little things that can make or break a thrilling story; but I’m going to give it a go here. I had not read any previous works by these authors so I was completely new to their style. I loved how the story was told from different points of view, but not in the usual “alternating chapters” style. The plot was excellent and fully realized; everything happened for a reason and there were no perfunctory or throw away events or characters. Most of all, though (and this is what really sets this book apart) is that the authors had me questioning everything I was reading from start to finish…and I mean literally until the last word. Any assumptions or guesses I made were inevitably wrong, or at the very least only remotely accurate. I read this book in two sittings, including well into the wee hours of the morning, because it was just moving so fast I couldn’t put it down. And when I got to the end? I wanted to start it all over again with the knowledge of the resolution, just so I could see if there were any clues that might have been dropped along the way. An excellent book, and I can’t recommend it highly enough. An extra big thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Buckle up your seat belt, brace yourself , you are in for a roller coaster thrill of read.
An Anonymous Girl grabs you on the first page and doesnt let go.
The characters Jess, Lydia, Thomas are not the nicest people you ever want to meet but I know who I was cheering on. !!
Clever book, rivals the Wife Between Us.
Thank heavens it was a snow storm of a day and I could read to find out what happens, cause It does not look good for any of them at one point.
I was into this book. An anonymous girl, Jessica, pushes her way into a paid psychological study with an NYU Professor. A study on morality. But she doesn’t know just how much all of it will cost her and in the end if it was all worth it.
It kept me guessing. I read this one pretty quickly. I love a story told from different perspectives…this one is told from our main protagonist and our antagonist.
It definitely has that very scary insidious & sinister feel to it.
I highly recommend this book!
This was a very intense and twisted story. The way the details unfolded made it difficult to predict. I didn’t see the end coming.
I LOVED this book!!! It was a one sitting, no book mark needed read!
An Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen, Wow! I wasn’t sure if I was going to like this book but OMG, I read it in 1 day! I did not want to stop for anything other than going to the bathroom and then only before it was to late. This story grabbed me and dragged me through to the end! I liked the way it was written and the way the characters are fleshed out and their stories are told, very interesting and intriguing. I will be looking forward to more from these writers!! Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to read this ARC book and give my own personal opinion.
this book lets you find out “why this girl is lying to tell the truth”.
Jessica is a hard working make-up artist. she takes another girl’s place at a study on ethics and morality. this begins her participation in a project that takes her far into questions about herself that she might not want to admit exist.
Jessica is tangled up in this morality vs. money intersection. things progress way farther than she expects and strange things start to show themselves.
Dr. Shields is who is in charge of this study. her life starts to intertwine with Jessica’s. it also happens to include her husband, Thomas, who is part of the reason the study was done in the first place.
does Jessica remain an “anonymous girl”? is she going to be able to extract herself from something she wasn’t supposed to be in in the first place? why is Dr. Shields so intent on the events playing out as she wishes?
this book was well written. it has danger, suspicion, murder, desire, curiosity and malice. it twists and turns and ends in an unexpected way.
Seeking women ages 18–32 to participate in a study on ethics and morality. Generous compensation. Anonymity guaranteed.
This story follows Jessica Farris who signs up to be a part of Dr. Lydia Shields’ experimental psychological research since the pay is too good to pass up (or so she believes).
Holy sh*t! That was the first thing to come out of my mouth when I finished reading this stunning psychological thriller. I was a little hesitant to read this book for several reasons: 1) I haven’t read a lot of psychological thriller 2) this was my first introduction to Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen (new fan girl over here!) and 3) the hype surrounding this book was massive, and I didn’t want to be disappointed.
I applaud the authors for incorporating Dr. Shields’ point of view as a second person narrative because it made this novel even more chilling. There were certain scenes that I glanced over my shoulder because I thought Dr. Shields was observing me as well. Bravo!
The plot immediately sucked me in within the first couple of chapters. I was obsessed and wanted to know how far this intense plot could go. The story was fast paced and contained twists and turns everywhere. As soon as I closed the book, I was reeling from everything that I read.
I without a doubt give this book 5/5 stars! My heart is still palpitating from the ending.
Just wow. I started to give this a 5 stars but didn’t really like the ending. I would hope that after what Jess went through she wouldn’t resort to such methods. Anyway an amazing read. A true psychological thriller and one you won’t want to put down until the end. This story has more twists and turns than a tornado. These women are amazing authors
An Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen centers on makeup artist Jessica. She receives word about a well-paid study on ethics and morality and enters the study. Approached a few sessions in about the study moving to a real-world setting, Jessica agrees to participate. She trusts Dr. Shields but soon finds herself in some uncomfortable scenarios.
The book made me sensitive to personal ethics and morality. Becoming so focused on this made me a bit emotional. At one point, Jessica had a moment of realization that brought me to tears.
Subtle nuances would adjust whose point of view I trusted. Just when I figured things out, the reveal of more deceit changed my perception. I spent a good deal of the book trying to anticipate how Jessica would come out of the book unscathed. I never did figure it out beforehand.
When the plot progresses, and Jessica understands the threats surrounding her, it was so tense I never could quite relax while reading. I consider any book that can draw those responses from me well above average.
A strong theme here is how secrets can condemn in the end. By the book’s climax, every character pays in some way for the truths they did not share. Although, ironically, a lie helps one of them in the end.
There is a logic behind the character’s reactions. However, the worst offender of them didn’t receive the right type of justice. A part of me feels sorry for the way things turned out. The manipulation perpetrated by one individual wasn’t well punished in my eyes.
An Anonymous Girl is one of the best psychological thrillers I have ever read. Not only does it immerse you in an intense web of manipulation, but it also makes you evaluate on a personal level. St. Martin’s Press, through NetGalley, gave me a copy of this book for my honest opinion. I suggest all readers come to their own conclusions.
I thoroughly enjoyed this story. Plot was well thought out and written. I was so happy to have read it and I highly recommend this book to others, especially Greer and Sarah lovers!
An Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks; Sarah Pekkanen. Jessica Farris signed up to be a subject in a psychology study on morality and ethics. Jessica needed the money and this seem a quick way to get that goal met. But things aren’t going to be easy as you would think. It gets really weird and dangerous making you wonder what is really going on.
This was such a page turner thriller story that I would really recommend.
I’ve been quietly contemplating this title. It is once again a title that is best to go in blind. The summary does little to give away with the impressive psychological thriller that is contained within the pages.
Again the authors spin an original tale on the cat and mouse trope. How far will both the subject and the puppet master go? The money becomes too much of an incentive. Jessica’s choices become too much of a power trip for Dr. Shields. As a reader I was graced with unexpected twists and turns that kept me engaged for central portion of the story. Like The Wife Between Us, I felt like several of the psychological twists just came out of nowhere and completely unexpected – but even MORE so with this story. I found myself more than once rereading passages as I asked myself “Did that just happen?”. Authors Hendricks and Pekkanen once again impressed me fully with the ability to weave their storytelling voices to seamlessly blend. I never once felt as if two voices projecting the pace and plot.
The Wife Between Us was one of my 2019 best of the best reads – so getting the gift of an advanced reader copy made me ecstatic! And there in lies the issue – I believe in the reader because I expected too much.
I feel I owe my followers this insight as I fangirled so hard over TWBU. This story is told in a dual POV. Whereas TWBU was told as an observer – thus the appeal of originality to TWBU. As a reader when we were in Jessica’s POV, I felt the story flowed well and kept me engaged. However, Dr. Shields was stiff and difficult for the first 25%. Maybe if I hadn’t read TWBU, the use of this ‘robotic’ character would have worked. But it made it difficult at first to get invested in the character of Dr. Shields. Lastly, the ending — well, it left me with a deflated feeling after being held on a tight wire for 70% of the story. In fairness, I think the POV and narcissistic personalities weren’t an appeal for this reader.
I’ve read some reviews of those who choose to read AAG first had some of the same feelings I projected from TWBU – so take my one star deduction as I hyped it up too much in my mind. I do plan on re-reading with a buddy. Maybe that shared discovery of “WTH just happened” will make me temper my feelings on the parts I that didn’t make it a perfect read for me.
Wrapping up, if you are a huge fan of psychological thrillers, this title for fans of the genre to enjoy. It’s a definite buy recommendation from me.
It took me about 100 pages to really get into the book but after that I couldn’t put it down. The twists and turns, the question I kept trying to answer while reading before they were answered. The anticipation of what would come next. It was exciting, suspenseful and left me in awe until the very end.
essie was supposed to be a number in a university study. It was supposed to be an easy way to make extra money. After seven years in New York City, Jess was struggling, her dream of becoming a make-up artist on Broadway slipping from her hands. So when she sees an opportunity for extra cash, which she knows her family back home desperately needs, she blatantly lies to get into the study.
The study is about morality and choices. Jess is uncomfortable revealing decisions she regrets, but her answers bring her to the attention of Dr. Shields.
Dr. Shields draws Jessie into her confidence, asking her to take the study beyond questionnaires in an empty room and into real-life situations that push Jessie out of her comfort zone. And then Jessie learns about a previous study volunteer who died and discovers Dr. Shields isn’t telling the truth.
The story is narrated in two voices, Jessie and Dr. Shields. There are twists and complications in the plot, filling Jessie with doubt about who she can trust.
Having the villain a psychologist is brilliant, a built-in reason for her to understand Jessie with greater insight and thereby easily manipulate Jessie. Jessie is needy but self-reliant and savvy enough to fight back.
An Anonymous Girl is a clever page-turner, a fun ride that keeps readers guessing. Be warned, don’t read this before bedtime. It will interfere with your sleep schedule.
Authors Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen’s previous book The Wife Between Us is a New York Times bestseller and Amazon.com best book of the year.
I received a free book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.
I loved An Anonymous Girl. It’s more predictable than the authors’ first collaboration, The Wife Between Us, but a great stand alone must-read. I received an ARC from the publisher for an honest review which you can read on my site: http://bit.ly/RAPTReviewAnonymous.
I love a good psychological thriller and that is just what I was hoping this one would be. The idea is wonderful. A young woman becomes part of a study on ethics and morality, she answers some questions via computer, collects her money, and end of story. Well, not quite. She meets the doctor in charge of the study and there becomes more and more questions.
The chapters are written in alternating views of Dr. Shields and Jessica. There was no indication at the beginning of the chapter as to who was telling their story but after a few sentences, it was easy to figure out. Dr. Shields chapters were boring. She was repetitive, self-centered, and all over the place in her ramblings. Jessica was easier to follow but not overly interesting to me. I struggled to connect to either character, I wasn’t invested in their stories, and I just could not finish the book.
Since finishing An Anonymous Girl I have looked at other reviews (I don’t do that before I read the book) and see that so many others have given it 4 or 5 stars so maybe I just didn’t give it enough time, although I made it to 25% into the book. I am also a firm believer that every book has its readers, sometimes it’s just not me.
4.5 stars – Twists and turns from start to finish, this book kept me on my toes. Even when I figured out something, I wasn’t able to predict how we got there. Filled with interestingly flawed characters that made you feel for them even as you cringed at their choices, the story drew me in and didn’t let go. I couldn’t help but put myself in the situations that Jess was asked about or found herself in. How would I react? So many thoughts continue to swirl through my head and I can tell this book will stay with me.
This book is a well written psychological suspense novel following Jessica after she manages to be included in a study she wasn’t invited to be part of. She thinks it will be quick and easy and she’ll take the money and run, but it’s not quick, nor is it easy.
As the questions become more intrusive and the doctor behind the study begins to start to hold sway over Jessica’s life, the story begins to twist in ways I didn’t expect. I found myself quickly wanting to know more and I was tempted to skip to the end just to see what happened, but was glad I didn’t.
If you’ve enjoyed any of the other books written by these authors, you will likely love this. It’s a must for psychological thriller fans.
Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and authors for allowing me an ARC at my request. My thoughts are my own.