You Are Not Alone (Hendricks)

You Are Not Alone 
Greer Hendricks, Sarah Pekkanen, 2019
St. Martin's Press
352 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781250202031


Summary
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? (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
Greer Hendricks
• Birth—ca. 1968
• Raised—San Francisco, California, USA
• Education—B.A., Connecticut College; M.A., Columbia University
• Currently—lives in New York City, New York

Greer Hendricks spent over two decades as an editor at Simon & Schuster. Prior to her tenure in publishing, she worked at Allure magazine and obtained her Master's in journalism from Columbia University.

Greer's writing has been published in The New York Times and Publishers Weekly. She lives in Manhattan with her husband and two children. The Wife Between Us is her first novel. (From the publisher.)

According to Publishers Weekly, Hendricks worked with Sarah Pekkanen on Pekkanen's 2010 debut novel, The Opposite of Me. The two formed a close friendship and went on to publishd six more of Pekkanen's novels.

When Greer left publishing in 2014, Pekkanen was one of the few who knew of Hendrick's desire to write. Co-authoring a book with Hendricks, Pekkanen believed, would up her own game. So began their collaboration on The Wife Between Us (2018), followed by An Anonymous Girl (2019)

Sarah Pekkanen
• Birth—1967
• Where—New York, New York, USA
• Raised—Bethesda, Maryland
• Education—University of Wisconsin; University of Maryland
• Currently—lives in Chevy Chase, Maryland


Sarah Pekkanen was born in New York City, arriving so quickly that doctors had no time to give her mother painkillers. This was the last time Sarah ever arrived for anything earlier than expected. Her mother still harbors a slight grudge.

Sarah’s family moved to Bethesda, Maryland, where Sarah, along with a co-author, wrote a book entitled "Miscellaneous Tales and Poems." Shockingly, publishers did not leap upon this literary masterpiece. Sarah sent a sternly-worded letter to publishers asking them to respond to her manuscript. Sarah no longer favors Raggedy Ann stationery, although she is sure it impressed top New York publishers.

Sarah’s parents were hauled into her elementary school to see first-hand the shocking condition of her desk. Sarah’s parents stared, open-mouthed, at the crumpled pieces of paper, broken pencils, and old notebooks crowding Sarah’s desk. Sarah’s organization skills have since improved. Slightly.

After college, Sarah began work as a journalist, covering Capitol Hill. Unfortunately, Sarah could not understand the thick drawls of the U.S. Senators from Alabama, resulting in many unintentional misquotes. Sarah was groped by one octogenarian politician, sumo-bumped off a subway car by Ted Kennedy, and unsuccessfully sued by the chief of staff to a corrupt U.S. Congresswoman. Sarah also worked briefly as an on-air correspondent for e! Entertainment Network, until the e! producers realized that Capitol Hill wasn’t, by any stretch of the imagination, what one might call sexy.

Sarah married Glenn Reynolds, completing her rebellion against her father, who told her never to become a writer or marry a lawyer.

Sarah took a job at Gannett New Service/USAToday, covering Capitol Hill. Sarah was assigned to cover the White House Correspondents Dinner and rode in the Presidential motorcade to the dinner. Sarah convinced a White House aide to let her stick her head out of the limousine moon-roof during the ride and wave to onlookers. Later, her triumph was tempered by the fact that bouncers would not allow her into the Vanity Fair after-party. Sarah attempted entry three times in case the bouncers were just kidding.

Sarah took a job writing features for the Baltimore Sun, and interviewed the actor who played Greg Brady. She refrained from asking if he really made out with Marcia, but just barely.

Sarah and Glenn’s son Jackson was born. He arrived too quickly for Sarah to receive painkillers, and Sarah was pretty sure she saw her mother smirking. When Glenn put a loving hand on Sarah’s shoulder during the throes of labor, Sarah decided the most expedient way to get Glenn to remove his hand was to bite it, hard. She was proved right.

Twenty months later, Sarah and Glenn’s son Will was born. Three weeks later, Sarah and Glenn moved into a new home and renovated the kitchen. Two weeks later, Glenn caught pneumonia and simultaneously started a new job. Ten days after the kitchen renovation was complete, the kitchen caught on fire, and Sarah, Glenn and family moved to a hotel while renovation began anew. Sarah and Glenn decided to work on their "timing" issues.

Having left her journalism job to chase around the ever-active Jack and Will, Sarah started writing a column for Bethesda Magazine and began work on a novel. She did not write it on Raggedy Ann stationery.

Her first book, The Opposite of Me, came out in 2010 and her second, Skiping, a Beat in 2011. Those were followed by These Girls in 2012, The Best of Me in 2013, and Catching Air in 2014.

Sarah gave birth to a bouncing baby boy, Dylan, and  gets a little weepy every time she contemplates her good luck. (Adapted from the author's website.)

Book Reviews
Psychological suspense is a genre that needs to be handled with kid gloves.… Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen seem to have mastered the formula.… [A] creepy-crawly tale.
New York Times Book Review


[E]ntertaining yet shallow psychological thriller…. Though the story doesn’t delve deep into the characters, the strong plot generates plenty of tension…. Though not up to the standard of the authors’ previous books, this one’s sure to please suspense fans.
Publishers Weekly


Dynamic duo Hendricks and Pekkanen bat another one out of the park with this unputdownable, highly recommended thrill ride. —Cynthia Price, Francis Marion Univ. Lib., Florence, SC
Library Journal


Masterfully escalates the suspense...keep[s] the reader guessing until the end. A great follow-up.
Booklist


Witnessing a suicide proves almost fatal for the witness herself.… The authors dole out clues… [through] flashbacks; finally we get the detail that makes the pieces come together…. Lots of frenzied flipping back and forth for readers who like to figure out the puzzle.
Kirkus Reviews

Discussion Questions
1. How does data shape Shay’s world and how does she process it? Does her data journal ultimately serve a higher purpose? Did you find Shay’s data entries helped set up key moments in the story? Which data nuggets did you find particularly interesting or surprising?

2. Discuss how the Moore sisters came to infiltrate the lives of Stacey, Daphne, Beth, and Amanda. How did their paths overlap and what does each woman bring to the table in terms of their talents? What are they asked to sacrifice for the favors they’ve been given?

3. Were you impressed by the Moore sisters’ level of surveillance and intervention in others’ lives? How is this influence wielded in both sinister and life affirming ways? What ties these seemingly dissimilar women together?

4. Do you think Shay could have avoided being absorbed into the sisters’ orbit? What was appealing to Shay about these glamorous women? Is loneliness Shay’s greatest weakness?

5. What psychological tricks and methods (like offering gifts) do the Moore sisters use to brilliantly manipulate their targets?

6. When did you suspect Amanda was in danger? What about Shay? What early signs tipped you off?

7. How did your feeling about Detective Williams evolve throughout the book? When did you realize that she was operating behind the scenes to help Shay?

8. Describe how you felt watching Shay transform into a clone of Amanda and paradoxically grow into a more independent and confident version of herself. Were you torn about how Shay was evolving? When did the cost grow too high?

9. What is it about New York City—a modern, bustling, and compressed city—that serves as an ideal backdrop or accomplice to this story?

10. Discuss the early lives of the Moore sisters—what did you learn later in the novel that helped color your reading of their actions or behaviors? Did you root for them at any point in the story? Who was really the master architect of their plans, and how did the sisters manage to look out for each other?

11. Discuss Sean and Jody’s role in Shay’s life. How did their triangle affect Shay’s susceptibility to the Moore sisters’ overtures? What do the people in Shay’s life get wrong about her or misread?

12. When Shay visits Amanda’s mother, she feels as if she’s tumbled into something called the Snowball Effect: “Basically it means that people who commit small acts of dishonesty find it easier to tell more lies. As your fabrications pile up, your anxiety and shame start to disappear” (p. 116). Why does Shay think this? And does the Snowball Effect apply to the other women in this novel besides Shay?

13. “Everything is working beautifully. Even though Cassandra and Jane don’t enjoy deceiving the other women, it’s necessary to protect them” (p. 195). Do the other women in the group consent to setting up Shay for the crime? Why? How do they engage with the sisters’ plans, even if seemingly coerced by their debt to them?

14. What cracks do the sisters begin to show that giveaway their scheme? The clues inadvertently dropped about a smoothie recipe, bedroom doors being left ajar, meeting the neighbor with a cat--do these tip off Shay initially? How does she continue to justify their kindnesses against the mounting evidence of something sinister at work?

15. Who is James and why does he become the target for the circle? What heinous acts has he committed?Does he deserve the punishment he gets?

16. What separates justice from revenge? Can you justify the intentions of the Moore sisters? Is their mission sympathetic? Is their approach more swift and satisfying than the legal system, as they assert?

17. Could you imagine yourself falling under the spell of the Moore sisters? What would appeal to you, or what characteristics of your personality would make you the most vulnerable to their influence?

18. Did you enjoy the cat-and-mouse chase and subway clash at the end of the novel? Were you satisfied and surprised by how all the puzzle pieces came  together?

19. Did you consider Shay’s last actions suspect—is there any question she committed a murder? What do you think she feels in her heart?
(Questions issued by the publisher.)

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