Published (HB) by Macmillan 7 February 2019.
ISBN: 978-1-52901071-8
(TPB) 978-1-52901-972-5.
The
first book by American duo Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen was The Wife Between Us – smart, with a
high-concept structure that I thoroughly enjoyed, so I was very much looking
forward to their second offering, An
Anonymous Girl, which is different, but just as intriguing.
The book begins with an advert: ‘Seeking women aged 18 to 32 to participate
in a study on ethics and orality…Generous compensation. Anonymity guaranteed.’
Jessica Farris, a struggling make-up
artist who needs money fast, signs up for the psychology study conducted by the
mysterious Dr Shields. She thinks all she’ll have to do is answer a few
questions on a computer, collect her money and leave. But the questions become
more intense, more searching, more invasive, and Jess begins to feel Dr Shields
knows what she is thinking – and what she is hiding. As Jess’s paranoia grows,
she can’t trust what in her life is real and what is one of Dr Shields’
manipulative experiments.
I have to say, An Anonymous Girl is a slow-burner, but I didn’t want to put it
down because the premise is so intriguing, and the characters certainly got
their hooks into me. The story is fresh, different and addictive, crackling
with suppressed menace. It’s about doubt. About passion. About deadly
obsession. It’s told from two points of view: that of Jessica, a sympathetic
heroine, complex and decent but definitely flawed, and from that of Dr Shields,
cold, controlling and disturbing.
If you like your psychological
suspense a little different from the norm, then this one is definitely for you.
And just to leave you with food for thought. Throughout the novel, Jess is
faced with moral dilemmas and questions. Here are two of them:
Can you tell a lie without feeling
guilt?
Do victims have the right to take
retribution into their own hands?
How would you answer?
------
Reviewer:
Mary-Jane Riley
Greer
Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen's prolific
editor-author relationship began in 2010 with Pekkanen's debut novel, The
Opposite of Me.
The two women formed an instant connection, which grew
into a close friendship while Hendricks edited six more of Pekkanen's novels,
the latest being The Perfect Neighbors (2016). Hendricks joined Simon
& Schuster in 1994 as an assistant editor at Scribner Books. In 1996 she
began working at Pocket Books and Washington Square Press. During her tenure at
Simon & Schuster, Hendricks helped to discover and edit numerous writers
including Jennifer Weiner, Stephen Chbosky, and Pekkanen. In 2001, she helped
launch Atria Books, which acquired The Opposite of Me.
When Hendricks left the publishing company in 2014,
she told only a few people, including Pekkanen, that she wanted to write a
novel. Pekkanen, who had written everything from investigative newspaper series
and magazine features to short stories, was eager to challenge herself. She
believed collaborating with Hendricks on a novel could help her grow
creatively. Hendricks was briefly
hesitant. "When Sarah approached me about writing together, I initially
worried it would be copping out to work with someone else," Hendricks
explains, "that it would be less of an accomplishment." But the former
editor called Pekkanen 12 hours later and said, "Let's do it!" "I
realized it would be crazy to turn down this opportunity," Hendricks says.
"While I had published a few personal essays and edited hundreds of books,
I knew I had a lot to learn about writing an actual novel." Pekkanen was
confident the two could create something special together. "Not only do we
share strikingly similar narrative instincts and approaches to storytelling,
but we get along beautifully as friends," she says. And so, began the
process of writing The Wife Between Us.
Mary-Jane Riley wrote her first story on
her newly acquired blue Petite typewriter, when she was eight. When she grew up,
she had to earn a living and became a BBC radio talk show presenter and
journalist. She has covered many life-affirming stories, but also some of the
darkest events of the past two decades. Then, in true journalistic style, she
decided not to let the facts get in the way of a good story and got creative.
She wrote for women's magazines and small presses. She formed WriteOutLoud with
two writer friends to help charities get their message across using their life
stories. Now she is writing crime thrillers drawing on her experiences in
journalism. Her third book set in East
Anglia and featuring investigative journalist Alex. Dark Waters was published by Harper
Collins/Killer Reads in March 2018.
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