When Good Therapists Go Bad

Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

Last year sometime, I read The Wife Between Us by the same authors and was enthralled. When I saw they had a new book out, I knew I would have to read it. I have been in a reading slump for months now, so I was unsure I would actually get this read in the time allotted to me by Overdrive, but I did. Holy cow was this an edge of your seat read!

Jessica is in her late 20s, and is a makeup artist in New York City. Her family, including her disabled sister, is in Pennsylvania. There never seems to be enough money to do what needs to be done, so when Jessica hears of a chance to make a relatively easy $500, she does it. All she has to do is participate in a study about morality. Seems simple enough, right?

This probably would have been easy, but the doctor/professor conducting the study is taken with Jessica, and wants to do a more personalized study with her. This includes having Jessica put herself in situations where she has to flirt with men, or arrange dates with them, all because her own husband cheated on her. The good doctor, Dr. Shields pays well, but will it be worth it?

I know I have said this before, but this one is hard to write about. It would be too easy to give away so much of the plot. All you need to know is that you won't want to put this down, and that Dr. Shields is seriously f&^%$#@ up. Don't walk--RUN to get this one. You won't regret it.

Stories of the Marsh Girl

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

At the beginning of the book, Kya is a young girl. Her mother just up and leaves one day, never to come back. Then so do all of Kya's siblings. For a bit, Kya's father is around, but he is a drunk and abusive, so she'd be better off without him there. One day he leaves too, and Kya is all alone. Until Tate shows up, that is.

Kya lives in the marsh on the edge of town, and has only been to school one day in her entire life. She can't read, but she knows the marsh creatures as well as she knows herself. Tate is a few years older, and teaches Kya how to read. He also teaches her what it is to love someone, until he breaks a promise to her.

Then along comes Chase. Chase is the town golden boy, and he likes Kya. He keeps making promises to her, promises he has no intention of keeping, just so he can have her the way that he wants her.

One day, Chase turns up dead, and everyone thinks Kya did it. She has to go on trial for her freedom. Did she kill Chase?

What I liked about this was the way it went back and forth in time. I also liked the vivid imagery the author used. This book was mesmerizing.