Written by Thelonia
A woman, a doctor, and her husband all come together in a tangled mess of a situation in Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkenan's new domestic thriller, An Anonymous Girl. The set up is intruiging, with contested loyalties, and family secrets, and messy relationships, but ultimately, the payoff just isn't there. For a thriller, a genre whose premise sort of relies on suspense, An Anonymous Girl really shows its cards very early on, and there aren't any new developments that would justify continuing to read past about the two thirds mark.
Look, it's a fine book and I definitely was entertained as I read, but the big problem with thrillers like this (particularly those who immediately get the whole "you won't belieeeeve what happens" spiel) is that they sometimes promise more than they can deliver. When I'm reading thrillers I'm waiting for the climax, the twist, the "this is what we've been building up to," which can really make or break a thriller. (This was particularly hurt since I read this back to back with Sarah Pinborough's Behind Her Eyes, which has some of the wildest last 15 pages I've ever read).
This one is particularly funny to me (in a sad, disappointed sort of way) is that I've had the authors' previous collaboration The Wife Between Us on my TBR list basically since it came out last year, and now not only am I confused because it seems like a lot of the premise is very similar (at least in terms of character relationships), but I'm wondering if I want to even read it.
In case you're still somewhat interested at this point (perhaps you really like all thrillers, regardless of quality, or you like domestic dramas?), let me summarize the book a bit: Jess has snuck her way into a psychological study on ethics and morality, which leads her straight into the clutches of Dr. Shields, who becomes fixated on her. As Dr. Shields' husband gets involved, things seem to get more and more complicated as each discovers more about the other two.
Except that it doesn't actually get that complicated.
One of the characters is insane and the other two are never really suspicious (I think a lot of the tension in this novel relies on a 'who can you trust' basis but we've been reading two of the characters' points of view and for sure know who can't be trusted from the get-go.
All in all, if you REALLY love thrillers or you need something to read as you travel, then check this out, but it's a bit of a hit or miss for me. That said, it has really good reviews from people who said they found it thrilling so, decide for yourself if it sounds like it could interest you. If not, go read another book instead. There are so many books out there.
An Anonymous Girl is currently available everywhere books are sold.
(Read Behind Her Eyes everyone, I need to talk to someone about that ending)
This one is particularly funny to me (in a sad, disappointed sort of way) is that I've had the authors' previous collaboration The Wife Between Us on my TBR list basically since it came out last year, and now not only am I confused because it seems like a lot of the premise is very similar (at least in terms of character relationships), but I'm wondering if I want to even read it.
In case you're still somewhat interested at this point (perhaps you really like all thrillers, regardless of quality, or you like domestic dramas?), let me summarize the book a bit: Jess has snuck her way into a psychological study on ethics and morality, which leads her straight into the clutches of Dr. Shields, who becomes fixated on her. As Dr. Shields' husband gets involved, things seem to get more and more complicated as each discovers more about the other two.
Except that it doesn't actually get that complicated.
One of the characters is insane and the other two are never really suspicious (I think a lot of the tension in this novel relies on a 'who can you trust' basis but we've been reading two of the characters' points of view and for sure know who can't be trusted from the get-go.
All in all, if you REALLY love thrillers or you need something to read as you travel, then check this out, but it's a bit of a hit or miss for me. That said, it has really good reviews from people who said they found it thrilling so, decide for yourself if it sounds like it could interest you. If not, go read another book instead. There are so many books out there.
An Anonymous Girl is currently available everywhere books are sold.
(Read Behind Her Eyes everyone, I need to talk to someone about that ending)
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