Title: You Are Not Alone
Author: Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen
Published: February 25th 2020
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
Pages: 352
Genres: Fiction, Contemporary, Suspense , Thriller
RRP: $29.99
Rating: 4 stars
Shay Miller has three strikes against her: no job, no apartment, no love in her life. But when she witnesses a perfectly normal looking young woman about her age make the chilling decision to leap in front of an ongoing subway train, Shay realizes she could end up in the same spiral. She is intrigued by a group of women who seem to have it all together, and they invite her with the promise: “You are not alone.” Why not align herself with the glamorous and seductive Moore sisters, Cassandra and Jane? They seem to have beaten back their demons, and made a life on their own terms – a life most people can only ever envy. They are everything Shay aspires to be, and they seem to have the keys to getting exactly what they want.
As Shay is pulled deeper and deeper under the spell of the Moore sisters, she finds her life getting better and better. But what price does she have to pay? What do Cassandra and Jane want from her? And what secrets do they, and Shay, have that will come to a deadly confrontation?
You are not alone: Is it a promise? Or a threat?
Review:
Imagine if all you wished for was a circle of friends. In You Are Not Alone, the latest collaborative effort from bestselling writing team Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen, we learn of the dangers of a vulnerable individual jumping into a friendship that turns deadly. You Are Not Alone is about loneliness, lies, connections, revenge and trust. This thriller will flummox readers with its unpredictable journey.
We meet poor Shay, one of the central protagonists of You Are Not Alone, at a low point in her life. Shay is facing a future without a job, place to call home, friends, or a loved one. Shay is incredibly lonely and disconnected from life when she witnesses a tragic event that will change her future. Bearing witness to a young woman end her life by leaping in front of a subway train, makes Shay reassess her life as it stands. Consumed by the woman who so tragically ended her life, Shay is compelled to investigate the dead woman’s life. She is drawn to the mysterious Moore sisters, who offer her friendship and support. Cassandra and Jane Moore represent everything Shay wishes to have in her life. But the Moore sisters have their secrets, which Shay is about to discover, with deadly results.
You Are Not Alone is the third outing for successful writing duo, Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen. I have read all three books by this literary team and each have been solid four star reads, including this one. The bestselling authors have proved their worth yet again with this latest effort, which I was compelled to read in just a sitting, thanks to the short and addictive chapter content.
I really liked Shay, the leading protagonist of You Are Not Alone. I’m still not sure if the reader was meant to like Shay, but I found I sympathised with her and I genuinely felt concerned for her welfare. When Shay witnesses the horrifying subway train incident in the opening, I was devastated for her. I could also very easily see myself, or anyone who uses public transport witness this kind of incident. It really was a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The situation felt real, but also a little confronting. I appreciated the way it was handled by the authors.
Supporting Shay are a number of other viewpoints. Hendricks and Pekkanen present us with a full character set. From the perplexing Moore sisters, to the subway victim (Amanda) and other pertinent supporting cast, we glean quite a bit from these characters via the shifting perspective viewpoints and the narrative backtrack into the past. Intertwined with these narrative elements are chapter headings based on Shay’s infinity with data and numbers. Preceding most chapters in You Are Not Alone are facts and figures from Shay’s data book which I found so fascinating, that I looked forward to each new chapter. It certainly kept the pages turning at breakneck speed.
As was the case with the previous two novels from this partnership, the veneer of trust, betrayal, power, loneliness, lies, vulnerability, threats, promises, underhanded tactics, obsession, seduction, revenge, duplicity and shocking past histories propel this novel significantly. These themes, along with the astute and intricate plotting techniques used by the authors to ramp up the tension level, ensures that the reader is kept in the dark for the majority of the novel. This tension level is sustained throughout, right up until the final twist (there are a few to enjoy). I am conscious of remaining a little closed with this one, as I feel I would be venturing into spoiler territory if I revealed much more! You Are Not Alone is a delicious thriller, that encourages the reader to cast their current worries aside and get completely lost in the absorbing storyline!
You Are Not Alone Girl by Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen was published on 25th February 2020 by Pan Macmillan. Details on how to purchase the book can be found here.
To learn more about the authors of You Are Not Alone, Greer Hendricks visit here and Sarah Pekkanen visit here.
*Thanks extended to Pan Macmillan for providing a free copy of this book for review purposes.
I am offering 1 lucky reader an opportunity to win a copy of You Are Not Alone, by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen Simply leave a comment below on this post on the names of a writing duo to be entered into this great competition! Good luck!
*Competition open to Australian postal addresses only. Closes Sunday 22nd March 2020, 11pm (WST).
