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. 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. 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.
My Review:
“One of them is lying. But who?”
Well HELLO! What an inventive story! One of my favorite writing duos has written another absolutely thrilling book that is filled with mystery, passion and intrigue. And one of the most memorable main characters I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading! This MUST be made into a movie and no one other than Nicole Kidman can play the role of Dr. Shields. Also I love when New Yorkers write about New York. The city is almost another character in the book.
I read and loved ‘The Wife Between Us’ which I still continue to recommend to all. And ‘An Anonymous Girl’ was just as enthralling from the very beginning. The clever plot intrigued me and stunned me until the very end.
Jessica is a struggling make-up artist who takes part in a test at a local university. The paid morality study is administered by the mysterious Dr. Shields and it soon becomes clear that there are many forces at play here.
“Sometimes a test is so small and quiet you don’t even notice it’s a test.”
Everyone has secrets to hide and they will all pay a dear price to keep those secrets hidden. Each character here is nuanced and multi-faceted. This is an incredibly smart and witty thriller that was simply unputdownable. I am being intentionally vague on the plot because this book is best read without knowing too much about the story.
“We all have reasons for our actions. Even if we hide the reason from those who think they know us best. Even if the reasons are so deeply buried we can’t recognize them ourselves.”
‘An Anonymous Girl’ is a highly original and smart psychological thriller about lies, relationships and ethics. I highly recommend this story and it is definitely one of my top favorite books of 2019. All the praise to Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen!
(With thanks to the publisher for a review copy.)
ABOUT THE AUTHORS:
Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen
GREER HENDRICKS is the coauthor of the New York Times bestseller The Wife Between Us. Prior to becoming a novelist, she spent two decades as an editor at Simon & Schuster. She obtained her master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University, and her writing has appeared in The New York Times, Allure, and Publishers Weekly. She lives in Manhattan with her husband and two children.
SARAH PEKKANEN is the internationally and USA Today bestselling author of eight previous solo novels and the coauthor of the New York Times bestseller The Wife Between Us. A former investigative journalist and award-winning feature writer, she has published work in The Washington Post, USA Today, and many others. She is the mother of three sons and lives just outside Washington, D.C.