Book Review: An Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

 

Earlier this year I read The Wife Between Us, a collaboration by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen. That book had a twist that wowed me like few other books ever have. It was a great example of what psychological thrillers should be – unpredictable, unputdownable, and unforgettable! When I saw that this duo has a new book coming out in 2019, I jumped at the chance to read it. I was excited, yet a little skeptical. Could they really pull off another great psychological suspense thriller?

In short, yes, they could!

In An Anonymous Girl, we meet Jessica (Jess) who signs up for a psychology study. All she has to do is answer some questions anonymously and get paid. Sounds good, right? Well, for Jess, a struggling make-up artist in New York City, it sounds great! So she agrees. While Jess, now subject 52, answers the questions, many of them pertaining to moral choices we make in life, more and more is revealed about herself, her past, and her family. Soon Jess finds herself tangled up in the study and with the lead psychologist, Dr. Shields. The study takes on a life of its own and Jess soon feels like she’s lost control of her own life. But everything’s okay because it’s all just part of the study…right?

An Anonymous Girl is the perfect book to mess with your mind. Having read The Wife Between Us, I went into this book on “high alert.” I was going to suspect everyone, trust no one, and figure out “whodunit.”

While An Anonymous Girl didn’t pack quite the same punch as The Wife Between Us, there was definitely a twist or two that I didn’t see coming. I found myself rooting for Jess, a totally relatable young woman (bonus: she has a small dog named Leo whom she adores so I liked her right away) 😉

I was hooked on this story from the first few pages and didn’t want to put it down. The story shifts back and forth between the points of view of both Jess and Dr. Shields, the two main characters. I felt this added to the intrigue. Jess and Dr. Shields were beautifully written with such detail and development that I could picture them in my mind – their faces, their movements, their physical presence – while I was reading. Greer and Pekkanen really put me inside the minds of these two characters. By the time I was finished with the book, I felt like I’d met them both personally.

It’s hard to say much else without giving away any spoilers, and I definitely don’t want to do that. If you like psychological thrillers, books with plot twists, and tons of suspense, then you should give this book a read. And if you missed The Wife Between Us, consider that one as well. They are great suspenseful reads, and I can’t wait for the next collaboration between these two incredible suspense writers.

An Anonymous Girl releases on January 8, 2019!

Also, a big thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the early copy! All opinions are my own.