An Anonymous Girl: The First Three Chapters

by Greer Hendricks

The next novel of psychological suspense and obsession from the authors of the blockbuster bestseller The Wife Between Us

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.

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

Genres: Mystery Thriller, Mystery, Audiobook, Psychological Thriller, Fiction

40 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 27, 2018

About the author

I'm the number one New York Times bestselling co-author of THE WIFE BETWEEN US, AN ANONYMOUS GIRL, YOU ARE NOT ALONE, and THE GOLDEN COUPLE.

Prior to becoming a novelist, I obtained my master's degree in journalism at Columbia University and spent two decades as an editor at Simon & Schuster. My writing has appeared in The New York Times, Allure, Publishers Weekly and other publications.

I am currently at work on my debut solo novel.

Reviews

[Archana · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book did my head in. Period.

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I realize so many people rated the book so highly, perhaps it was just me, but I found it to be extremely boring. I felt the story has been told before--you kind of caught onto what was going to happen once the big reveal occurs, and honestly there wasn't suspense for me. I didn't even find the detective work enticing at all. The premise sounded SO amazing, but the reveal was blah. I listened to some of this via audiobook, and holy hell the narrator was awful. Her voices for both Jessica and Lydia are AHHH. I found myself wanting to fall asleep and pray to god it was over. I was so invested I had to officially finish, but wanted to stop 20% into it. Either way, I felt it was a constant repeat over and over of the same information, judgements, language, and it got tired quickly. I'm not sure I found much suspense in it.

I'm sorry, I hate having a book of SO MUCH heightened praise and me being the person that doesn't love it as much as everyone else.

[Katie Smeathers · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. It kept me guessing and wanting more. The chapters were short that it made you want to continue reading to see what happened next. Great thriller!!!

[Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did enjoy the main characters personality though on occasion she did irk me slightly, but nothing I couldn't handle (like a good childhood friend who has choices you question, sometimes). Although I was able to guess quite a bit of what was going on throughout the book I feel for the most part that I was kept on my toes, and I definitely was excited to see the true ending. I do like the nice wrapped up feel of an ending that answers my questions also, that's always a nice touch!

[Marla · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wanted to like this book and it started out strong. But it went in and on and on and I finally just got bored and gave up. The premise was strange and I found myself not liking or caring about the characters and losing interest in the story.

[Reha Chakroborty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick read. I somehow lost interest in the middle as it tended to drag. Nothing extraordinary.

[Tara · Rating 2 out of 5]

I felt the book was too long. I was interested in the ending, but not in the story. Skipped to the end. Would not recommend.

[Marianne Mullen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed listening to this book. It didn't seem plausible but it also kept my interest.

[Teresa Kennedy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tiresome. I can’t even remember how it ends and I don’t care.

[Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

At first I did not think much of this book, but I loved the main character, Jessica. The experiment Jessica took part in was a refreshing way to learn about the character and discover the negative experiences in her life which causes her trouble. The mysterious psychologist who anonymously evaluates Jessica’s life becomes obsessive and continues to delve deeper into Jessica’s past and moral compass with the bribe of money, which Jessica uses to pay for her disabled sisters medical bills, without her parents knowing. Jessica becomes tangled up in Dr. Shield’s games, she tests her morality whilst simultaneously testing the loyalty of her husband. The real cause of her sisters disability is discovered near the end of the book when Jessica is pushed to face the truth and admit to her wrong doings, and by the end Dr. Shield’s threatens to destroy Jessica’s life.

[Vira Kovalova · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t read SO many thrillers to judge, but this book is very thrilling. It’s well written, the style is nice, even though it’s written by two people. The authors should have at least some psychological background because they use a lot of tricks, this is why sometimes you can’t even stop reading, wanting to know what will happen next. The descriptions are vivid, the dialogues - catchy. I really did not know or predict how it will end, it leaves you hanging. Can recommend to everyone!

[Nancy Laurie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t know where to start. This book pulls you in so deep that you just don’t wanna stop. I listened to it on Libby and all I wanted to know was what was happening next this thriller one of the best thrillers I’ve ever listened to. I cannot get over how this ended, definitely a book to look up if I could rate this bigger than a five star I sure would very fast pace book I’m almost sorry that it ended.

[Taylor Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG this book! I will say that as your reading it, you may think it is a bit slow, but each chapter gives you important, key information that leads up to the plot twist. This is a great mystery. You are guessing the importance of the psychological study the entire time. When it all unravels, it is shocking.

[Not Even A Mouse · Rating 5 out of 5]

I stayed up all night reading this book. It’s crazy to me how guilt can push us into such a box but even crazier how manipulated we can allow ourselves to be. The final question though…what’s kind of person are you really?

[Christy Wv Tate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good book.... kept you on your toes...

[Maisy Adgate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Was an awesome book. Was even better than The Wife Between Us!!!

[Lucia Rivera]

Na

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read 👍🏻 enjoyed it almost the entire way through. End felt a little rushed to tie up loose ends but overall I really liked it.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it ,It was really unique in plot and style .I enjoyed it very much.

[Mandy Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Twists all the way through! I agree with others that the ending felt rushed, but I’ll forgive it since the rest of the book was so satisfying.

[Rebecca Soryal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Worth the read. I wasn’t blown away, and parts dragged on, but still mostly enjoyed it!

[Vanuza · Rating 3 out of 5]

The plot was a bit predictable, but that said the story is still interesting

It is a good read

[Deanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely loved the way this book was written. It made it more eerie and suspenseful reading Lydia's words that way. I was definitely able to guess most of the ending but that didn't make me like it any less. I enjoyed the morality questions which led to further discussions as there is so much grey area and Lydia was far too black and white. I really do feel bad for Jess and Noah because I think they could have really worked it out, Noah was a great guy. Poor Thomas, he's too nice and really just needed to run away when he got the chance. I was pretty impressed by Jess's demands at the end of the book to Thomas - good for you girl because I probably wouldn't have thought of that. My heart breaks for April and her family because her death could have easily been avoided; she didn't need to die to stay away from Thomas. Lydia's death was also completely unnecessary but trust me, I'm not mad about it. She's a crazy lady and if death sounds better than a divorce you need your head examined. These two authors work so well together and I'm so excited to hear that both of their books are set to be made into a movie and/or TV series. Hopefully they come out with a new book soon!

[Lee Deck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jessica is a young lady who lives in the city. She’s making ends meet as a private makeup artist when she learns about a morality study by Dr. Lydia Shields that has high compensation. She becomes involved in this study but soon learns that there is more to it than expected. She gets caught up in Lydia’s magnetic personality and big checks. Soon she realizes that she is being set up to meet and seduce Lydia’s husband, Thomas. Jessica soon realizes that Lydia is dangerous and worries. The ending is good and Jessica ends up saving herself which leads to lydias demise. Although Jessica learns Thomas is good, she must bribe/confront him so she can received the money promised to her by Lydia, so she can help her parents and disabled sister. The book was definitely a quick, intriguing read and I liked that Jessica turned out okay. Lydia eventually commits shined once her part in Particpant #5’s death is revealed. Whew!

[Lala Wilson · Rating 1 out of 5]

One of the worst books I’ve ever read. I feel like I wasted my time. I should’ve known I wouldn’t like it when I was struggling to get through it. Normally I can finish a good book within a day or so. It took me 3-4 days off and on to complete the book.


I can never get the time back that I put into reading this book. Too long & too dull. The plot is awful and it’s shocking to me how many people actually like this book. I am enraged at the fact that this book did nothing for me. It didn’t provide me any excitement or with the need to continue.


I regret not stopping the book when I was at 43%. Which is where it first popped into my head that the book was dreary.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

The beginnings of this book were super promising, and I will say that it kept me guessing until the end. However, what knocked it for me was the prose about halfway, it dwelled a little too long in a seemingly stagnant point in the plot. Hendricks rebuilt the suspense some by the end of the book, however, the ending felt slightly rushed, disconnected and was a bit of a stretch. Overall, I enjoyed the twisting psychological and ethical journey the story offered, although, I’m left wanting a little bit more.

[Noel Steffler · Rating 2 out of 5]

There’s a reason it took me 9months to read this book. I wouldn’t say it was the worst book I read, but it was a pretty predictable plot twist. The only reason I finished was because it kills me to leave a book unfinished and I had already invested time into it. I’ve read 3 other books between starting this and finishing it. The suspense could have been heavier, especially because I have read a book from this author before that was actually REALLY good. The book just felt like it was so long and drawn out and probably could have been finished in about 30 or so less chapters.

[Melissa Dez · Rating 3 out of 5]

The beginning of the book captivated my attention, as I wanted to discover more of this morality experiment. At some point, the book became slow, but picked back up until the ending. I felt like there were a lot of back and forth between events that weren’t adding up in my mind as I read, but eventually revealed clarity. I was not so fond of how the book ended, but it was pretty interesting read.

[Tracey Volrath · Rating 4 out of 5]

So for 80% of this cat and mouse book I was enthralled in just what might transpire. The whole way through I just couldn't work out who was carrying the biggest lie and how it would end! I expected a big twist to shock me.
Unfortunately it fell a little flat for me, there was one twist I wasn't expecting but it was very. 'oh .. oh well' which is a shame. Still deserves a 4* for the majority of the build up.

[Ashpar · Rating 2 out of 5]

Made it 65% but I was not able to finish. The idea of the plot is good but for some reason I had no desire or drive to actually finish it. I usually try to power through when i have a difficult read but I found myself not reading at all.. giving it a 2 star because I like to idea of the plot but that's it.