Scan barcode
jessicakelly339's review against another edition
4.0
Story is super far fetched but definitely a binge worthy book full of lots of twists.
serenastrike's review against another edition
3.0
I wasn’t totally wowed, but I FLEW through the last few pages. I felt like there would be more twists, but it was fairly mild. I enjoyed the main character—super witty and creative. Disliked everyone else. Recommended for people who want a fun summer read and enjoy light thrillers.
allydeeee's review against another edition
2.0
Okay, so I was not a fan of The Wife Between Us at all, but read very good reviews for this book and I thought it sounded more intriguing, so I gave it a try! It was engaging for a little while, but about 70% of the way, I was like what the heck am I even reading right now? It just was too weird and too ehhhh for me, personally, and I think I’m just not a fan of these authors. I honestly looked up a summary online to see if the end of the book was better because there’s some other books on Overdrive I’d like to try and start. Glad I did because it was very meh.
awilley1125's review against another edition
3.0
I was invested in the characters enough to want to finish the book.. and it wasn't bad- just nothing surprising. Probably a 3.5 star.
saliysa's review against another edition
1.0
starting the new year off strong !
this story was pointless. i was EXPECTING a story that tackled themes of morality and the human tendencies toward right or wrong...but instead i got an utterly pointless story about literally nothing. not to mention the fact that this book reads as if it’s waiting to be adapted into a screenplay for a movie. it has that cheap, blockbuster-esque feel and i’m just tired. and just saying, if you have to resort to pointing out your thinly veiled symbolism at the end, know that you’ve failed.
some immediate issues i took with the “plot” slash “structure”
- first of all stop stop stop stop stop. assuming that dr shields is a male initially is not any indication of anything about anyone. it’s a cheap gotcha on the part of the authors. dr shields is a woman...so what, exactly ? it’s not like that’s necessarily commentary on something about society because the big reveal only amounted to a terrible scorned woman story staring an amy dunne wannabe.
- i was more interested in jessica’s theater background and the descriptions given about her makeup jobs than with the actual story.
- it was kinda gross that jessica not wanting a relationship is somehow signifying some deep psychological trouble. of course, we’re in a “thriller” novel “about” “psychology” so we know it will be, but on its own, the assertion sounds like petty pseudo-intellectualism, only there to give credit to lydia. dr shields can ~read~ people. yeah, so can my mom after she watches any show on the investigation discovery network. it could’ve just been that she doesn’t want a boyfriend guys !!!
- lydia is a very strange character, and not for any of the reasons the authors probably intended. dr shields is clearly bad at her job as a psychologist, and this is, again, not for obvious reasons: her knowledge of psychology seems to begin and end with psych 101 from college. or with high school ap psych. it’s cringy how she spouts out these basic experiments and ideas as if this is supposed to make her an authority in her craft, when any high achieving high school sophomore has the same knowledge. like, you don’t need a doctorate to discern even half of what dr shields explains. ultimately she just talks...weird. i suppose they were trying to give her this rigid, pedantic intelligence and it’s just cheap and boring and not as impressive as it FEELS like the authors want it to be. disappointing.
- lydia apparently has no friends and did not think to simply hire someone with her wads of cash to quickly and securely tempt her husband and find out what she needed to with immediate results. instead she devised this absolutely terrible, convoluted plan that fell through nearly instantly because of how poorly it was constructed.
- jessica’s idolization of shields is entirely incidental, and whatever hold shields had on her to do her bidding was evidently quite weak, because she ends up in doubt pretty quickly. thus, any further attempt to try and control her was silly and boring
- it actually angers me that jessica sleeps with thomas so late in the game. i won’t discuss how it’s a derived plot point. i won’t discuss how strange it is that “sleeping with people in committed relationships” is one of her hobbies. i think it makes absolutely no sense that jessica isn’t the one who assisted in thomas’ first indiscretion, the one that started this whole mess. the story could have followed as such: thomas sleeps with a makeup artist from a show he saw, he admits it immediately. lydia sets up a morality study, narrowing in on jessica as her target demographic (somehow she ensures jessica volunteers, pretense of her money problems still viable) in order to shame and psychologically torment her for what she’s done to her marriage. alternatively, they could have even taken lydia’s pragmatism to a whole new level and have her set up thomas to cheat in the first place ! because she’s an ambitious researcher who wants to study the science behind morality and betrayal. this could have been a story about a psychologist who would do ANYTHING to further her research, even destroy her marriage and the lives around her. but no, lydia’s not even writing the damn paper. it’s just disappointing that with all of this potential, we got an inconsequential story about a guy who cheats on his wife, and through a series of coincidences she proves that he cheats on her.
- april’s whole storyline is meaningless and trite. should’ve nixed that one, ladies.
- this book is too. long.
- also i found a typo in chapter forty-four...and i think that’s the truest travesty of all.
this story was pointless. i was EXPECTING a story that tackled themes of morality and the human tendencies toward right or wrong...but instead i got an utterly pointless story about literally nothing. not to mention the fact that this book reads as if it’s waiting to be adapted into a screenplay for a movie. it has that cheap, blockbuster-esque feel and i’m just tired. and just saying, if you have to resort to pointing out your thinly veiled symbolism at the end, know that you’ve failed.
some immediate issues i took with the “plot” slash “structure”
- first of all stop stop stop stop stop. assuming that dr shields is a male initially is not any indication of anything about anyone. it’s a cheap gotcha on the part of the authors. dr shields is a woman...so what, exactly ? it’s not like that’s necessarily commentary on something about society because the big reveal only amounted to a terrible scorned woman story staring an amy dunne wannabe.
- i was more interested in jessica’s theater background and the descriptions given about her makeup jobs than with the actual story.
- it was kinda gross that jessica not wanting a relationship is somehow signifying some deep psychological trouble. of course, we’re in a “thriller” novel “about” “psychology” so we know it will be, but on its own, the assertion sounds like petty pseudo-intellectualism, only there to give credit to lydia. dr shields can ~read~ people. yeah, so can my mom after she watches any show on the investigation discovery network. it could’ve just been that she doesn’t want a boyfriend guys !!!
- lydia is a very strange character, and not for any of the reasons the authors probably intended. dr shields is clearly bad at her job as a psychologist, and this is, again, not for obvious reasons: her knowledge of psychology seems to begin and end with psych 101 from college. or with high school ap psych. it’s cringy how she spouts out these basic experiments and ideas as if this is supposed to make her an authority in her craft, when any high achieving high school sophomore has the same knowledge. like, you don’t need a doctorate to discern even half of what dr shields explains. ultimately she just talks...weird. i suppose they were trying to give her this rigid, pedantic intelligence and it’s just cheap and boring and not as impressive as it FEELS like the authors want it to be. disappointing.
- lydia apparently has no friends and did not think to simply hire someone with her wads of cash to quickly and securely tempt her husband and find out what she needed to with immediate results. instead she devised this absolutely terrible, convoluted plan that fell through nearly instantly because of how poorly it was constructed.
- jessica’s idolization of shields is entirely incidental, and whatever hold shields had on her to do her bidding was evidently quite weak, because she ends up in doubt pretty quickly. thus, any further attempt to try and control her was silly and boring
- it actually angers me that jessica sleeps with thomas so late in the game. i won’t discuss how it’s a derived plot point. i won’t discuss how strange it is that “sleeping with people in committed relationships” is one of her hobbies. i think it makes absolutely no sense that jessica isn’t the one who assisted in thomas’ first indiscretion, the one that started this whole mess. the story could have followed as such: thomas sleeps with a makeup artist from a show he saw, he admits it immediately. lydia sets up a morality study, narrowing in on jessica as her target demographic (somehow she ensures jessica volunteers, pretense of her money problems still viable) in order to shame and psychologically torment her for what she’s done to her marriage. alternatively, they could have even taken lydia’s pragmatism to a whole new level and have her set up thomas to cheat in the first place ! because she’s an ambitious researcher who wants to study the science behind morality and betrayal. this could have been a story about a psychologist who would do ANYTHING to further her research, even destroy her marriage and the lives around her. but no, lydia’s not even writing the damn paper. it’s just disappointing that with all of this potential, we got an inconsequential story about a guy who cheats on his wife, and through a series of coincidences she proves that he cheats on her.
- april’s whole storyline is meaningless and trite. should’ve nixed that one, ladies.
- this book is too. long.
- also i found a typo in chapter forty-four...and i think that’s the truest travesty of all.
samalvarez823's review against another edition
5.0
From the authors of The Wife Between Us, comes an even bigger suspense story. Scheduled to come out in January 2019, I was lucky enough to receive an #advancedreaderscopy of this suspenseful book! A huge thank you to #StMartinsPress for that!!
Could you answer honestly, if given a question posed anonymously? Do you think you could truly hide truths that are shameful and embarrassing to you?
This story starts and ends with our main character, Jess. A makeup artist through a beauty company, she spends her days hauling her heavy makeup case around New York. Then, an opportunity arises that she just can't hide from. Money is always an instigator when you don't have it. What are the lengths that you'll go to in order to take care and protect your family as well as yourself?
A true psychological thriller that you WON'T be able to put down!! Sarah Pekkanen and Greer Hendricks really hit a home run with this book! I cannot wait until they write another!!
lydiature's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars. Slow to start but by the end I couldn’t stop!
evirae's review against another edition
2.0
Review in a Gif: 
This Book Was: Disappointing, but that's my own fault. I let myself get hyped even after being somewhat skeptical after reading the preview blurb. I full well knew what I was getting into, but here we are.
Content Rating: PG13 for Drug/Sex/Self-Harm Mentions (just flagging some triggers)
Maturity Rating: Low because, beyond the clumsily handled themes, you really won't be able to get through this book without seeking damages for pain and suffering unless you haven't explored much literature to begin with.
Would I recommend it? -- No, unless I wanted you to question why the hell I thought you should go through the experience in the first place. Now that would be worthy of seeking counseling.
-------------------------------
I tried, guys. I just came off reading [b:Nine Perfect Strangers|39280445|Nine Perfect Strangers|Liane Moriarty|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1529076901l/39280445._SY75_.jpg|62505329], and that was just a lovely read with some drama, some humor, some intrigue-- I figured I'd go to the next supposed thriller on my 2020 List, and An Anonymous Girl stared up at me. I figured I would give it a shot even though the preview seemed like it might come off as taking itself too seriously. I now know I should have trusted my instincts, but knowledge is power, I guess.
Quick Reasoning for Rating:
• Your suspension of disbelief will be really tested. Anyone who has ever been involved with any study or any level of therapy will likely be set off immediately at the level of blatant ignorance and willful stupidity of the protagonist. There really just isn't an excuse for how bad it is.
• I really hope you like being addressed through the page in cryptic speak by a megalomaniac, because that's what's going to be 50% of the book. The condescension of the character is irritating, but the persistence of the author to draw it out so melodramatically, over an over again, is incredibly frustrating.
• Okay, the protagonist is not the only one who seems woefully unprepared for adulthood. Their lives seem to begin and end with any first-person view of them. They truly have no life outside of the very obvious script of this one plot thread. They are incredibly one-dimensional, and after having just finished another book with some fleshed-out characters, this is sad. There was some potential here, but it was tossed in the bin like the grapes and cheese.
• The only sane character sees all this mess and peaces the f*ck out, and I just wish I had been able to read his story instead. I'll miss you, my dude.
This Book Was: Disappointing, but that's my own fault. I let myself get hyped even after being somewhat skeptical after reading the preview blurb. I full well knew what I was getting into, but here we are.
Content Rating: PG13 for Drug/Sex/Self-Harm Mentions (just flagging some triggers)
Maturity Rating: Low because, beyond the clumsily handled themes, you really won't be able to get through this book without seeking damages for pain and suffering unless you haven't explored much literature to begin with.
Would I recommend it? -- No, unless I wanted you to question why the hell I thought you should go through the experience in the first place. Now that would be worthy of seeking counseling.
-------------------------------
I tried, guys. I just came off reading [b:Nine Perfect Strangers|39280445|Nine Perfect Strangers|Liane Moriarty|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1529076901l/39280445._SY75_.jpg|62505329], and that was just a lovely read with some drama, some humor, some intrigue-- I figured I'd go to the next supposed thriller on my 2020 List, and An Anonymous Girl stared up at me. I figured I would give it a shot even though the preview seemed like it might come off as taking itself too seriously. I now know I should have trusted my instincts, but knowledge is power, I guess.
Quick Reasoning for Rating:
• Your suspension of disbelief will be really tested. Anyone who has ever been involved with any study or any level of therapy will likely be set off immediately at the level of blatant ignorance and willful stupidity of the protagonist. There really just isn't an excuse for how bad it is.
• I really hope you like being addressed through the page in cryptic speak by a megalomaniac, because that's what's going to be 50% of the book. The condescension of the character is irritating, but the persistence of the author to draw it out so melodramatically, over an over again, is incredibly frustrating.
• Okay, the protagonist is not the only one who seems woefully unprepared for adulthood. Their lives seem to begin and end with any first-person view of them. They truly have no life outside of the very obvious script of this one plot thread. They are incredibly one-dimensional, and after having just finished another book with some fleshed-out characters, this is sad. There was some potential here, but it was tossed in the bin like the grapes and cheese.
• The only sane character sees all this mess and peaces the f*ck out, and I just wish I had been able to read his story instead. I'll miss you, my dude.
jenny_nickie's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Twisted, dark, mind- f***. The ending did seem a bit flat as it came to an ending very quickly.