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3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
4.5 stars - This was another great psychological thriller from Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen. Jessica Farris is a 28 year old makeup artist struggling to pay her bills when she sneaks her way into a psychological study run by Dr. Shields to earn some extra money. It turns out to be much more than she expected and she finds herself in a very dangerous situation. I highly recommend this book - you will not be able to put it down. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!
~4.5 stars. I polished this one off in a day! I was pulled in right from the get-go and then by the end couldn't put it down. A compelling, gripping psychological thriller where you're not sure who to trust and the truth is continually being questioned. I really enjoyed the themes of social psychology and ethics/morality woven throughout. The style of switching between Jessica's and Dr. Shields' perspectives was excellently done; their voices were distinct and Dr. Shields' chapters in particular were written in a clinical, 2nd-person/distant-1st-person that worked really well to convey her unsettling personality. I felt a little mixed about the ending; I thought that one part of it was very fitting in a thematic and storytelling sense, whereas another part kind of took me aback.
Spoiler
The fact that Dr. Shields committed suicide by taking Vicodin felt like it made sense from a storytelling perspective. However, I'm not entirely sure how the reader is expected to respond to how Jessica behaves in the last conversation she has with Thomas. She's been the character the reader has been rooting for, so I felt a little upset with having her essentially blackmail Thomas. It certainly drives home the point that no one is 100% "good".
If you need a suggestion for fans of Gone Girl (this is better) or Girl on a Train , try this book.
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This took me a dumb amount of time because while it read really fast when I had it in hand, once I put it down I wasn’t clambering to pick it back up. I really quite enjoyed this though. My only qualm was that Dr. Shields sections were sometimes hard to follow. It was an interesting premise and I liked that you never really knew who to trust.
dark
mysterious
tense
Jessica is concerned. Her sister, Becky, needs constant care due to an accident she sustained years earlier. When Jessica hears about a psychology study which will pay the subjects, she signs on, hoping to help with Becky's care. Dr. Shields takes an interest in Jessica based on her answers to questions, and eventually, Jessica is the only one in the study. The study begins asking morality questions, and sends Jessica on missions to tempt men. As Jessica becomes more entwined with Dr. Shields's requests, Jessica begins to wonder if she is being used for malicious intent.
A psychological thriller with some moral questions.
Ugh. Two queens. And I’m talking about the authors AND the two main characters of this novel. While some of the dialogue may have been a little campy, I rapidly got the sense that this was entirely intentional and didn’t detract from the story whatsoever. Hell, this thing moves so fast that I was barely able to finish the last two hundred pages before my eyes closed themselves for the night (morning?) at 3am on a Monday. Props to B&N Book Annex for the price and to the pair of newer (?) novels waiting in the wings from these women.
I loved how this was told with the alternating chapters. Chilling and kept me on my toes. Free e-copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
3.5. First half of the book was 2 stars for me - second half was definitely 4 stars.