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.
more
This is an amazing psychological thriller. Anonymous is my first book by Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen and it won’t be my last.
This novel has more twists and turns, swooping ups and downs than even the scariest rollercoaster ride. The suspense build and you hold your breath waiting for the drop. Who to trust? Who to believe? What’s the truth? At every turn there’s another twist.
Who would have thought that lying in order to participate in a study on ethics and morality would lead to such a wild ride? Was the promise of generous compensation worth the lie?
Read this book! It grabs you from the start and holds you to the end. It is well written and the characters are intriguing. You won’t regret it.
Thank you to #Netgalley and #StMartinsPress for the ARC. The opinions expressed in this review are solely my own.
I can see that I’m in the minority on this book but it was not the next big thing for me. I received this ARC from the publisher and really wanted to love it, but didn’t. I am amazed at the level of marketing the publisher is banking on to make it a bestseller though. These two authors are bound to do well with this type of mass press behind them.
The premise was interesting but I will say the odd POVs in this book really threw me and I struggled to get into the book the whole time due to the remote nature of the therapist POV. It wasn’t just told from 1st person, the therapist POV was at times told from an omniscient POV that reflected on her own life as “wife” and “the husband”. I stuck with it hoping that my predictions would be proven wrong, but I figured out the ending early on.
It felt like the whole book hinged on the question of who was less moral… but I didn’t care. The draw to keep reading was not because I was invested in the characters. I just wanted to know if it got better or if there were twists that made the characters more interesting. I can say the one thing I did like was that Jess caught on to the devious nature of her situation early and she tried to stay a step ahead. That became the other reason to continue reading because I wanted a character to finally be more clever than the antagonist… but she fell short.
I did think the ending was building up to an overly climactic resolution and maybe because I was prepared for that I geared up only to be let down by the flat ending.
I enjoyed this book more than the authors’ first book, which I also liked very much. To me, this book was also more seamless between the two different writers. The story flowed as if written by one author. This was a page turner for me. I kept reading to find the answer to several questions. Who was the person with less morals? Who had less of a grip on reality? Who was more dangerous? Who should Jessica trust? Was her life in danger? Once Jessica dishonestly got herself into the study on ethical behavior, her life was forever changed. She did not expect to find herself in the middle of twisted marital problems, the victim of subtle blackmail or fearful for her life. Through her fight to uncover the truth and her path to safety she discovered a lot about herself. Will she become a better person? Will she find a lasting connection with someone? Will she survive? You should read this one to find out.
So who is the one that has the mental problems? That is a question you will ask yourself through out this book. There are a lot of twist and turns in this book. Once I started reading this book I did not want to put it down. Each person has a lot of their own problems going on which mixes with the study Lydia is doing. Is everything as it seems, who do you trust, can you even trust yourself? These question will also be asked while reading this book. If you like psychological thriller books you will really enjoy this book.
*I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.*
Greed, obsession, guilt, and revenge combine with unreliable narrators and a thoroughly sinister vibe for another unputdownable read from this duo. While the storyline here does go a bit over the top on the believability scale, it still kept me turning pages to see what would happen next between Dr. Shields and Jessica – what else this woman could convince Jessica to do in the name of research as she also compiled a detailed summary of all of Jessica’s secrets. But the good doctor isn’t the only one out to discover secrets, and all three of the main players in this game have quite the list of things to hide between them. The twists in this one are more subtle than the typical thriller, sneaking up on you even when you think you see it coming. The thing about these characters is, other than those on the periphery, they are not likable, and the more I discovered about them, the less I liked them. In most cases, there needs to be a redeemable character, someone to root for in a story like this one. But it was different with these characters and this story. As they become more and more enmeshed in each other’s lives, I couldn’t stop reading. I had to see who would come out ahead in the tangled mess they managed to create. Even when I reached the conclusion and thought I knew how it would go, I was still second guessing myself about how I wanted it to play out – and I’m still thinking about that final twist. So, while I normally prefer a faster pace, this one did hold my interest from start to finish. All in all, another page turning domestic suspense from these authors.
Wow – this dynamic duo has done it again! An original storyline follows Jessica, a traveling make-up artist, who happens to oversee a text message come in for a client, while on the job; an invitation to take part in a study of morality. With the client unable to make the appointment, Jessica decides she will respond in her place – it can’t be too hard and will earn her a lot of extra, much needed cash. This quick moving story is a great psychological suspense novel you don’t want to miss. While Jessica responds to the questions within the study, the reader may find themselves answering the questions and becoming lost in what’s right and wrong given the circumstances, or maybe some incidents’ deserve the ultimate revenge, or is it justice? When the questions become more than questions and the doctor asks for a more intimate exploration of answers to bring the study to another level of understanding, Jessica may find herself getting in way too deep, but is the sacrifice worth the end result? Readers won’t be able to put this new novel of suspense down – keeps you hooked until the very last words on the page!
A very taunt suspense that has me on edge waiting for the snap! This story does not disappoint and so clever with the mind game and a thrill to try to pull the puzzle pieces together!
An Anonymous Girl was an excellent suspenseful novel! I enjoyed the true feeling of suspense throughout the story. Jessica gets herself into an anonymous study on ethics and morality. What starts out as a simple study with questions on a computer in a room evolves into a much more involved situation that Jessica finds herself in the middle of. The plot is perfectly crafted with every detail adding to the ongoing suspense and mystery. The story is full of secrets, lies, and jealousy. As the story goes on, the characters all are presented with their own deep secrets and parts to the story. Who is telling the truth? Who can be trusted? I could feel the tension building as Jessica gets deeper and deeper into a dangerous situation. I could imagine so many different things happening next!
Cant put the book down. This was a great book. This is a must read. #ananonymousgirl #StMartinPress
I received this book as an arc and I was so excited to dig in since I loved their last work: The Wife Between Us! Greer and Sarah make a fabulous team and Anonymous Girl did not disappoint! Oh the mind boggling twists and suspense keeps you riveted from the start!
Subject 52, an innocent woman becomes the center of a dangerous game of cat and mouse!
You’re invited: Seeking women aged 18 to 32 to participate in a study on ethics and morality…Generous compensation. Anonymity guaranteed!
Jessica thinks she has nothing to lose by making a few extra bucks, but if she only knew….
A psychological thriller that is unputdownable and keeps you til the last word!
The blurb for this book intrigued me immediately, and after reading this writing duo’s previous book, The Wife Between Us, I knew that as the reader I would be taken on a journey full of twists and turns, revelations, misdirection and plenty of questions.
The main character, Jess, sets the tone right away with this story by becoming a participant in a study on Ethics and Morality. But she enters the study under less than ethical or moral circumstances, so what does that say about her?
“Could you tell a lie without feeling guilt?”
If you needed money really badly, would a little lie tug at your conscience? What could this study consist of besides just answering a few questions anonymously, collect your money and forget about it? That’s what Jess thinks anyway, until the doctor conducting the test directly entices her with further sessions that include more money, ultimately leading Jess to agree to meet with the doctor directly to continue their sessions one on one.
What transpires from there is a rollercoaster ride of: What is going on? Who can you truly trust? To what lengths will someone go to hold onto what is theirs? And woven throughout the whole story are the underlying secrets and fears that Jess has been holding in for a long time.
Greer and Sarah weave an intricately complex tale told in dual points of view. That of Jess herself, and the other from Dr. Shields who is conducting the study, and may I say, the way her chapters are revealed is pretty ingenious.
The only reason I am not giving this book a full five stars is because the first part dragged a little too much for me. It felt like I was trudging through part 1 and about half of part 2 before the story really picked up. Then once it did, I couldn’t put it down. I had to find out how Jess was going to get out of the dangerous cat and mouse game that Dr. Shields was playing with her.
For lovers of Psychological Suspense, this book is perfect for you! It will keep you guessing until the very end.
Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with an advance review copy of An Anonymous Girl in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.
Answer some questions anonymously for $500? Who would say no? How difficult could the questions be?
Jessica finds out just how difficult the questions are once the survey gets started. The anonymous interaction by Dr. Shields while answering the questions at the beginning is unsettling to say the least, but Jessica needs the money so she continues.
When Jessica is asked to meet Dr. Shields in person, she thinks this will be much better than replying on a computer. I wouldn’t have continued, but everyone has reasons why they would or why they wouldn’t continue.
At their first in-person session, Dr. Shields tells her that the research has been cancelled and that Jessica is her sole focus. Should Jessica worry about this?
Maybe Dr. Shields can help Jessica with a secret she has been keeping her entire life or perhaps she can’t help her and her secret will get out?
The more Jessica thinks about this arrangement with Dr. Shields, the more frightened and paranoid she becomes that she really doesn’t know what she has gotten herself into and what Dr. Shields really has in mind.
We find out about Jessica as well as Dr. Shields in alternating chapters. Both seem like troubled people, but Dr. Shields seems to have the upper hand with her devious, obsessive plans of using Jessica to help solve her problem or at least find an answer.
AN ANONYMOUS GIRL had me tense as I was reading and worrying what was going on. Jessica’s worry seemed to consume her all day and even at night.
I didn’t like Dr. Shields the minute I met her and disliked her even more as time went on. She actually was quite frightening, evil, cunning, manipulative, and needed some therapy herself.
If you want to hate a character, Dr. Shields is the person you are looking for.
AN ANONYMOUS GIRL definitely will keep your interest up as well as your blood pressure.
If you enjoy a book that you won’t be able to put down just because what’s happening is unbelievable, then THE ANONYMOUS GIRL is that book.
And…if I must compare the books by these authors, AN ANONYMOUS GIRL was much better for me than THE WIFE BETWEEN US. 5/5
This book was given to me by the publisher in both print and via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Once again, this amazing author duo has spun a tale that makes you question what you are reading and what you think you know about the characters within the pages. Their first book, The Wife Between Us, blew me away and this one had the same effect on me.
I was constantly questioning what Dr. Shield’s motives were and what she was trying to accomplish by her ‘study’. As the doctor’s questions and requests become more manipulative, Jessica has real reasons to be concerned but it may be too late to get out. Such a twisted mind. Such a twisted story. And I loved it!
An Anonymous Girl is the perfect psychological suspense read because you really won’t be able to guess how it ends. And you will not want to put it down. If this is a genre you like to read, you’re going to love An Anonymous Girl.
Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen, Authors of “An Anonymous Girl” have written a unique, intense, intriguing, page turning, captivating, riveting and enthralling novel. The Genres for this Novel are Thriller, Fiction, Mystery and Suspense. The authors describe the dysfunctional characters as complex and complicated. The time-line for the story is in the present and goes to the past when it pertains to the characters or events in the story. Kudos to St.Martin’s Press for their outstanding and motivational marketing strategies.
Jessie Farris is working as a Beauty Consultant for Beauty Buzz to make ends meet and help her parents and handicapped sister. While doing the make-up for two college girls, she notices a text message on one of their phones that there is an opportunity to make money by answering a psychological questionnaire. Jessie takes the information down, when her client steps out of the room, and takes a chance and shows up to answer the questions and get the money. This is a Psychological Profile that deals with issues of morality. The Psychiatrist in charge is Dr. Shields.
Jessie is called back to answer more intense questions. Dr. Shields wants to meet Jessie in person and Jessie finds herself doing things that don’t make her comfortable and could be dangerous. The more that Jessie interacts with Dr. Shield, she finds very strange and questionable disturbances. This gets to be very intense and I found myself getting extremely anxious. It is like a game of chess, or a game of cat and mouse, and someone has to be one step ahead of the other. There are twists and turns, and highs and lows. What price is to be paid for playing the game? Is the money worth the danger? I highly recommend this emotional and fierce novel for readers who enjoy thrillers. I received an ARC from NetGalley for my honest review.
This book will having you doing double takes. What a twisted set of lies that involve some very detailed characters. I was hooked on the book from the start. The sick mind of one can poison the minds of impressionable people. So glad that the main character was able to come to focus on the situation and turn in around to their advantage. Loved the storyline and the way the authors put so much details in that you felt like the main character. It is always good when you can’t see how the ending will turn out before you get there. This book can be a movie!!!
I had read The Wife Between Us and really dug it, so when I saw An Anonymous Girl I definitely wanted to read it. As written in the blurb, we meet Jessica, a makeup artist, who takes care of her family which is hard to do without extra income. So when an opportunity arises, she sneaks herself into a study to earn some extra income. Thus starts the relationship between Jessica and Dr. Shields.
Dr. Lydia Shields is purposely vague and aloof, almost to the point of being cold. She knows how exactly to read people so that she can best help them, after all, that’s what therapists are trained to do. However, after Jessica gets through the first stage of the study that Dr. Shields has layed out, they are onto a new phase, one in which involves Jessica meeting the good doctor face to face.
As the requests from Lydia become more bizarre, Jessica is starting to wonder where exactly the doctor is going with this study. Surely the things she’s being asked to do can’t relate to the questions she was asked at the beginning of the study. Doubt is starting to creep in, on both sides. Is Jessica telling the truth, as required in the study? Is the doctor playing a dangerous game with Jessica’s life?
This was such a fun read. I liked how the authors told the story in alternating points of view so we could get the full picture. I liked how you weren’t exactly sure what was going on while being fed just enough information to keep you tearing through the pages to find out what was going to happen. An Anonymous Girl is an excellent read and I thoroughly enjoy these two authors coming together.
This writer duo gave us the bestseller book THE WIFE BETWEEN US. Now they return with AN ANONYMOUS GIRL which, in my opinion, surpasses THE WIFE BETWEEN US. I am sure there will be a lot excitement for this psychological suspense novel, and it will be deserving of it all.
Jessica Farris, age 28, lies her way into a psychology study on ethics and morality (a bit ironic). The study offers generous compensation, and Jessica really needs the money. She finds that the questions asked are invasive and uncomfortable, but anonymity is guaranteed so what does she have to lose. She answers the questions openly and reveals a secret she has kept for many years. Because of her openness she is invited to participate in an extension of the study. More will be asked of her and the compensation will be significantly more.
The study is conducted by the mysterious Dr. Lydia Shields who is also a master of manipulation, pulling Jessica into a web of lies and jealousy. Over time Jessica begins to question the true purpose of the study and what will be done with the intensely personal information she has shared.
Thought-provoking, complex, dark, suspenseful…love, betrayal, obsession. Who can Jessica trust? The story pulled me in from the very beginning with the questions Jessica was asked. “Could you tell a lie without feeling guilt?” “Describe a time in your life when you cheated.” “Have you ever deeply hurt someone you care about? “Do victims have the right to take retribution into their own hands?” The chapters alternate between the perspectives of Jessica and Dr. Shields. This is NOT one of those books that waits until the end to reveal a major twist that leaves the reader going “WHAT??” This one has twists that worm their way in keeping the reader flipping pages and delivering an ending that TOTALLY works.
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for the advance copy for my honest review.
My reviews can also be seen at http://www.facebook.com/groups/ReadingisMyPassion
FANTASTIC book!
I did not want to put this book down…Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen did an amazing job of capturing my attention and making my heart race!
Jessica Farris (aka Subject 52) thinks she’s participating in a psychology study on ethics and morality to earn some quick, easy money. Her desire to earn money to help her family ends up getting her caught in a web of manipulation and deception when she’s asked for further participation in the “study” (which of course comes with the allure of more money).
Dr. Shields is conducting the “study.” I think the authors did an especially good job with her character – she’s beautiful, smart, and is an expert at reading people. I could almost feel Dr. Shields evaluating ME as I read the book!
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for providing a copy for review.
I have mixed feelings about this book. The story is been told in alternating points of view between the two main characters. I felt a bit confused because my mindset was sequential time frames not this back and forth of the two individuals thinking. This actual made me reread a couple of chapters in the beginning which made it clearer to me what was happening. After that I couldn’t stop reading because you become intrigued and want to know where it is going to end. All through the book you are wondering what Dr. Shields is up to. Is this really an academic study or a sinister plot that will cause harm to Jessica or somebody else. You can almost smell Jessica’s fear as Jess’s paranoia becomes more and more intense and her dependency on Dr. Shields keeps increasing. The ending adds an unexpected twist to story.
This is not an easy book to read and not for everybody but if you enjoy psychological thrillers this is definitely worth your time and will play around in your mind after you finished the book.
Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen
AN ANONYMOUS GIRL
This compelling, not easy, book raised questions that stayed with me even after reaching “the end.” It was intriguing from the very beginning. The psychological testing reminded me of taking the MMPI, Minnesota Multi-Phasic Inventory, in 1967 with fellow college of education majors. The very intrusive and repetitive questions prompted an exchange student in our group to call it an “ugly test.” I never found out what possible use or value that test was . . . disclosure goes only one way in these situations, as Jessica discovered, though her need to know was greater.
Whom to trust? “I don’t fear strangers . . . I’ve learned more harm can come from familiar faces.”
Secrets and guilt — we all have some. “Often the person we judge most harshly is ourself.” A recent discussion in which friends expressed punitive attitudes to those in prison set me musing on missteps we might have made but were lucky enough or connected enough to escape full consequences. How many can say they’ve never committed a wrong act? Anyone? Don’t we, and they, deserve redemption?
To what extent do wealth and power enable the privileged to manipulate others? Are they tempted to discount the humanity of those of lesser status? Evade the consequences of even heinous acts?
Can one fight back against impossible odds? Should one defend “by any means necessary”?
Be prepared for other activities to move to the back burner as the suspense builds. Jessica inspired me to care a great deal about her and her family, feeling the tension as she walked the tightrope of dangers.