REVIEW: AN ANONYMOUS GIRL, BY GREER HENDRICKS & SARAH PEKKANEN

 

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?

From the authors of the blockbuster bestseller The Wife Between Us comes an electrifying new novel about doubt, passion, and just how much you can trust someone.

 

My Thoughts: Caught up immediately in the events of An Anonymous Girl, I was intrigued…and then concerned for Jessica’s ultimate fate. A New York makeup artist, Jessica is struggling financially, and is often exhausted from work. She lives in a tiny studio apartment with her dog Leo.

She also feels guilty about her parents’ financial circumstances because of something that happened years before. The money from the study could help.

Our story is told by alternating narrators, with someone who appears anonymous as one of them, but that person clearly seems to be directing Jessica’s life. And soon the director is obsessed with everything Jessica does, and, in fact, seems to know everything she is doing and keeps ahead of her along the way.

As the intensity increases, my concern for Jessica grows exponentially. Who, if anyone, can she trust? What events will lead her to the edge and change her life forever?

I was addicted to finding out, while cheering for Jessica. Would she escape from the clutches of her “director,” or would she fail?

A beautifully crafted tale with lots of red flags and a cautionary undercurrent, I could not put it down. 5 stars.***My e-ARC came from the publisher via NetGalley.