You Are Not Alone

This is a tense thriller I was able to read into. Shay is a loner who, after witnessing a girl's suicide, finds out who she is and attends her funeral...after which things get going. There's tension and thrill, horror and gripping prose, and Hendricks kept me hooked through it all.

This was an easy read. I was not blown away and I did think it stretched the bounds of plausibility but I liked the main character enough to want to find out if she emerged unscathed. Her chapters opened with interesting stats which I enjoyed- tidbits that loosely related to what she was going through and reflected her personality as an analyst. Fun read, nothing too deep or earth shattering- just a bit of suspense- and quite a few well drawn women, causing and solving all kinds of problems- not in equal measure.

Entertaining, but not as complex as their other works.

Heel intrigerend begin en al bij al een ontspannend en vlot boek, maar er zaten te veel gaten in het verhaal om het die echte wauw-factor te geven. Een beetje te erg van de pot gerukt.
Leuk en afleidend tijdens het lezen, maar uiteindelijk weinig overtuigend en snel vergeten.

Purely escapism thriller. Don't think about this one too hard.

I actually loved the twist and found Shay a fun character to be in the head of. When sisters who use lies and manipulation meet someone else who enjoys lying. Super fun!

I was ready to rate this way higher but it fully jumped the shark in the last chapter. A deux ex machina (or several in quick succession in this case) is not a satisfying way to end a suspense novel.

3.5: very tense & thrilling but there are many little discrepancies that just show that these SmArT sisters aren't smart enough to actually get away with the stuff the book says they did

It's fun but pretty convoluted

I felt for Shay, I really did. And certainly rooted for her later on. But it was soooo intricate and soap opera like, I almost imagined the sisters as Mexican and somebody pushing somebody over a flight of stairs hahah

This is one of those reads that I didn't see coming from a mile away. When I first started reading I was thinking that this was going to be the first novel by this genius pair of authors that I was disappointed with. The whole idea made me so sad. Since I was so impressed with the two books that came before this one. I am so glad I gave it time because the Big Reveal paid off and everything I thought didn't make sense came together beautifully.

“You Are Not Alone” is a suspense novel, told in first person by the heroine Shay, who shares the storytelling duties with a few of the other main characters. The tale begins innocently enough, and early on I could feel the danger that was creeping up on Shay. She is not ordinary and has a few character quirks that are endearing and understandable, traits that cause a reader to identify with her and easily pull the reader into the story even more. I will say that I was not a fan of some of the characters and found myself waiting for the Shay chapters.

The story is told differently than others, with the pertinent facts slowly revealed through flashback chapters. Shay's character, while mostly revealed in the text, is also spotlighted in her chapters by allowing readers a glimpse into her Data Book. Crammed with facts that she considers important, this “fact diary” shares the inner workings of Shay's statistically-oriented brain. I felt as though the fact diary added more depth to the story and actually enjoyed the concept.

I am a big fan of slow burn kind of reads where the author drops clues that could be deciphered if you pay close attention. This was one of those reads where the confusion added to my enjoyment of the story. While I followed the events that tied everything together, the authors dropped enough clues in plain sight while somehow still blocking the ending from my sight line. The brilliant work of both Ms. Hendricks and Ms. Pekkanen makes storytelling look effortless and should be applauded for this contribution into this genre of books. A five star read with no question. My sincerest apologies for my delay with this review; it is not a reflection of this book at all. Thank you Netgalley and all parties involved in my receiving this arc.

Fast paced but ultimately forgettable. Mystery/suspense readers should enjoy the story, but there isn't much depth here.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance digital review copy.

I really enjoyed this! it was fast-paced and gripping and the writing was great. I found the sisters, friends, and their motivations so intriguing. it made sense to me that Shay would immediately attach herself to this beautiful, tight-knit, seemingly perfect group of women as she was feeling so down and lonely. my only complaints were I found the voices of the sisters & friends pretty difficult to tell apart and there was some plot holes.

I wanted to give this more stars. I went in very excited....but at the end of it while I didn't absolutely love it, I didn't hate it either. It started off on the right track...but as the story went along I can't say I cared much about any of the characters. And there are many characters. I had no feeling one way or the other about any of them. The one thing I did like where Shay's stats. And she had data and statistics aplenty.

While there was no wow factor FOR ME..it was still worth the read. Yes I know this review isn't much to write home about but it simply was just OKAY for me. So I don't really know how else to put that in words. I finished a couple of days ago and this is all I got.

I had such a fun time with this one. You know those movies that you'd never consider a favorite, but you've seen a bunch of times cause you land on them while flipping channels because nothing else is on? That's what this feels like it would be. It wasn't groundbreaking or unpredictable or full of shocking moments, but I didn't get the sense it was trying to be any of those things. I think the end was meant to pack a little more punch than it did, but it was what you'd expect if you've seen a movie or read a book like this before. It definitely follows a specific type of structure that's easily identifiable, and once you figure it out you can fill in the blanks.

I bet the authors had a fun time writing the timeline and mixing up the perspectives and time jumps to reveal details in a specific order. I think they did a good job with it and kept it interesting the whole time, even though it's a basic plot. I enjoyed actually liking a main character for once too - I'm getting so bored with unlikable main characters. Her obsession with stats was just the right kind of foreshadowing for me. I wasn't even annoyed at figuring things out early on. Instead, it was fun to find out if I was right at interpreting the hint or how the stat would come into play later. Overall, it was a good time.

Another fabulous book from this incredible writing duo! With new friendships reminiscent of Mean Girls, this story took it to a whole other level.

Shay finds her life changed after simply being in the right place at the wrong time. Deeply affected by the tragedy that she witnessed, she finds the new friendship of the Moore sisters filling a huge hole in her life. Single, with no prospects on the horizon, a dead-end job, and feeling even more isolated at home as her roommate moves forward in his relationship, Shay is desperate for companionship. She finds herself sucking up the sisters' attention and inclusion in their seemingly glamorous life. Little does she know they aren't quite who she thinks they are...

A highly recommended read and I can't wait to see what's up next!

2.5 starsThis review can also be found on my blog.disclaimer: I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for review consideration. All of the opinions presented below are my own.I wish I had much to say about this, but I don't. I'm sure this will satisfy a lot of people as an entertaining thriller. Unfortunately, I didn't feel the plot was compelling and thought that Shay was sort of a weak, boring character. Usually thrillers have me desperate for answers, even if they're lacking otherwise, but I didn't have that experience here. It was readable enough for me to finish, but I think the biggest issue is that I didn't feel a sense of urgency; I felt sure Shay would get out of this mess and instead of worrying for her, I just waited to see what would happen. The only piece I really liked was the running theme of statistics. Shay is a big and I loved the data book she kept. Clearly I'm in the minority on this though, and it is great that the somewhat large cast is almost entirely female.Blog Twitter Instagram Facebook