An Anonymous Girl

Author: Greer Hedricks & Sarah Pekkanen

Publisher:St. Martin’s Press

Genre/Themes/Demo: Thriller, Mystery, Suspense

Release Date: January 8th 2019

Page Count: 375

Format: Audiobook via Scribd

ISBN: 9781250133731

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Author Website | Amazon | Chapters/Indigo | Goodreads

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Synopsis

Seeking women ages 18–32 to participate in a study on ethics and morality. Generous compensation. Anonymity guaranteed. When Jessica Farris signs up for a psychology study conducted by the mysterious Dr. Shields, she thinks all she’ll have to do is answer a few questions, collect her money, and leave. Question #1: Could you tell a lie without feeling guilt? But as the questions grow more and more intense and invasive and the sessions become outings where Jess is told what to wear and how to act, she begins to feel as though Dr. Shields may know what she’s thinking… and what she’s hiding. Question #2: Have you ever deeply hurt someone you care about? As Jess’s paranoia grows, it becomes clear that she can no longer trust what in her life is real, and what is one of Dr. Shields’ manipulative experiments. Caught in a web of deceit and jealousy, Jess quickly learns that some obsessions can be deadly. Question #3: Should a punishment always fit the crime?

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Initial Post Reading Thoughts

Well…that was one heck of a psychological thriller. Not sure I enjoyed the ending so much though…

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What I Liked

The dual perspectives. I absolutely LOVE when a novel alternates between two different perspectives and voices. What’s even better is when the audiobook also uses two different voice actors. I typically tend to favour thrillers, or any novel really, that is told from two different point of view and I think that may be because I get bored easily. When one character doesn’t grab my attention, I’m eager to read something new, but when a story goes back and forth between multiple characters, it’s like it hits refresh each time and it never feels like it’s getting old. What was particularly interesting in this case was that the second perspective, that of Dr. Shields, is told in the second person. It reads as though you’re hearing her perspective through the notes she has been taking while studying her subject, main character: Jessica Farris. I thought it was a pretty unique way to tell her story and it really stood out to me as a lot of psychological thrillers can fall through the cracks.

The creep-factor. This book just gave me the heebie-jeebies the entire time I was reading. It felt very stalker-ish and made me feel like I was also being watched and observed. Dr. Shields is one hell of a sociopath. Also, I kept picturing her as Gillian Anderson…can we get a movie adaptation starring her please?! She would kill it.

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What I Didn’t Like

The ending. Meh. It just didn’t do the rest of the story justice. I found it pretty weak compared to the rest of the novel and I kind of wish it concluded in a better way.

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Overall, I really enjoyed this one! After reading The Wife Between Us, I was ready to pick up anything that Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen released next, and I’m so glad that I did!

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About The Author

Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen are the co-authors of the blockbuster New York Times bestseller, THE WIFE BETWEEN US, as well as the forthcoming, AN ANONYMOUS GIRL. AN ANONYMOUS GIRL has been optioned for a television series by eOne, with Sarah and Greer executive producing. THE WIFE BETWEEN US has been optioned for film by Amblin Entertainment, with Sarah and Greer screenwriting the adaptation.

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Thank you for reading!