The Golden Couple by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

Hello everyone. I hope your day is going well.

Would you ever cheat on your spouse?  I wouldn't.  Let's face it, I'm too lazy.  First, there is all the prep, the scrubbing and shaving, the makeup and clothes.  Then the actual act, the "ow, not there" or "get off my hair."  Then there is the hiding it and the eventual guilt.  I'm a huge feeler of guilt, half the time for stuff I didn't even do.  Yep, an affair just seems exhausting.  When my husband makes a totally male comment about some girl, I tell him "ahhh go ahead but make sure she cooks dinner before she leaves, and a load of laundry wouldn't hurt."  Honestly, I'm starting to think my attitude toward affairs should be on stage in the Catskills.  (look up Concord hotel)

I recently read The Golden Couple by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen.  This is maybe my fourth book by the dynamic duo and it fits right in with their twisty thriller resume.  This is the story of a wealthy couple, Marissa and Matthew.  At first you believe they have the perfect, fairytale life.  As so often is the case with psychological thrillers, things are not what they seem. Marissa has had an affair and wants to inform her husband of her infidelity.  Marissa wants to do this in the presence of another, specifically a counselor.  Hmmm.  Why must another person be a witness to such a sensitive issue?  The therapist, Avery, has some rather unconventional methods and has, in fact, recently lost her license.  As the trio work through the issues of being unfaithful more secrets are brought to the surface, some that should have stayed hidden.

This book is exactly what you expect from Hendricks and Pekkanen, twisty, shocking, intense, and a page turner.  What else is there to say?  As usual, a great read.

You Are Not Alone by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

Hello everyone. Hope you and your family are safe and healthy.  As you might guess by my absence I have been sick and hospitalized again, not with the virus but an infection. To say I am tired of being poked, prodded, and needles everywhere is an understatement. On to happier topics, like reading!

I recently read You Are Not Alone by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen. I read the other two books by these talented ladies, The Wife Between Us  and An Anonymous Girl, and enjoyed them both. Finally, I was able to get my hands on their latest and it was worth the wait. This thriller follows a young woman who meets two sisters, but she doesn't really know them as the reader discovers. The story opens with a huge "gotcha", which I always love as it makes me feel like I am in for a huge rollercoaster ride. In this case, the main character, Shay, is on her way to work in NYC when she witnesses someone jump in front of an oncoming subway. I was hooked immediately and although the remainder of the story isn't filled with such drama, it certainly holds your attention.

Most chapters change perspective, being told by a different person and sometimes from a different time period. I didn't find this way of storytelling a problem but liked how it helped the book unfold. The characters are interesting and you will find yourself cheering for Shay, as she discovers her internal strength. A definite thriller right to the end.

If you're in NYC and read this book, you just might find yourself "social distancing" in the subway station, between you and the edge of the platform!

An Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

Hello everyone.

I hope you had a nice Christmas, or Tuesday, however it was you spent it last week. My Christmas was disastrous, despite my early start and incessant list making. We didn't get all our decorations or trees up. Our company arrived a day later than originally planned which gave us more prep time, yet still we were cleaning after they arrived and remained without the last tree and several critical decorations. In addition, I forgot to bring out several of the "snacks" we had purchased. We play games, lots of them, so we serve a nice breakfast but no lunch just snacks, then dinner, of course. Anyway, I forgot to put out lots of the snacks we had purchased...like a platter of assorted Italian meats my brother-in-law loves, or the nuts he loves, or the cheeseball that is tradition.

We were so lucky that from all my siblings, as a group present, hubby and I received a Play Station 4. Now before you think we are juvenile let me tell you my mother was the first in line to get an Atari, oh so many years ago, which she loved and played often. In addition, my artist niece has now declared her major as "game design". Since I bothered to learn all the words to Blue Clues in an effort to be a favorite aunt, you can bet your fanny I'm going to play a game she thinks is interesting. (BTW, I spent a good hour begging her to make a game of the book Nevermoor.) So we were being taught how to use the new game machine when my family packed up, leaving quickly after we finished. I forgot to give them treats that we usually do, and we will never eat, like dozens and dozens of spectacularly decorated sugar cookies (can you guess who made them...hint...I'm pointing at me) and a container of homemade fudge so big you could soak in it. Oh well, I guess they had a good time and that is all that matters, right? Successful family time. Unfortunately, my husband came away sick and now I'm getting the creeping crud. We both feel absolutely awful!

One good thing, after Christmas I was so tired, besides sleeping the only thing I've done is read. Hooray! I just read An Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen. If they sound familiar it is because they are the writing team that brought readers the thriller The Wife Between Us. I greatly enjoyed The Wife Between Us, but An Anonymous Girl is even better! This new book is about trust and lies. When is it okay to lie and when has it gone too far?  How do you tell if someone is lying? What are your moral values? It starts when a young makeup artist sneaks into a psychological study about morals because it pays well and she needs the money. Right there you are wondering about values, as she is lying to get into the study....but what if she needs the money for a noble reason? Is it bad then? Anyway, when the book starts you might think it is going to be slow or dry as a girl answers questions on a computer screen. You'd be wrong. It is strangely compelling, the story calls to you to push on just one more chapter. The story quickly morphs into something completely different, something personal and unpredictable. Someone is a master manipulator but the reader remains unsure who. As this plot becomes more and more of a true thriller, we realize that not only is their a whole lot of mental twisting going on but actual physical danger. Who is the target and who is the perpetrator? It is well told, quickly paced and certainly holds your interest. In addition, it has an oh so satisfying end, which you know I adore.

If you have a bookstore gift card, An Anonymous Girl is released January 8, 2019 and would really start your reading year out on the fast track!

The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks and Sara Pekkanen

          I am a thriller girl. Of course I'll read anything that is really good but I gravitate toward thrillers. Needless to say I read a lot of them and am always trying to guess the twist, the ending. After reading these mysteries with action added for a long time, I thought I was getting pretty good at it. Enter The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen.

I'm reading along one night, my husband walks by and wonders why I look that way. Now I say that is my everyday face, but he thought I looked shocked. Then I start flipping the book backwards, saying "What? No? What? Huh?". I just didn't understand, but I did. It was devious, it was unplanned, it was sneaky, I didn't see it coming AND it was only halfway through. To say I loved it, is an understatement. It's fast paced, fast reading and I never saw it coming. What else could you possibly want in a thriller? Next book these two authors put out, sign me up, I'm first in line. You though waiting to get Harry Potter books at midnight was a big deal, wait until their next book comes out. I'm totally there.

The most remarkable thing about this, after seeing me questioning this book, being so shocked, my husband read it. He rarely reads fiction, but was compelled to give this a go. He finished in a day and didn't see the first twist either. Wonderfully diabolical.

*This review is one I posted at BookishFirst.com. If you haven't been to their site give it a try. You can earn points for books, write reviews but the best thing is you get to read several chapters of books really getting to know them before you purchase them. Frankly, I think you should buy everything I tell you to but somehow I don't think you'll take my advice alone. Oh well, a girl can try.