I listened to this as an audiobook on Audible and it left me with a headache BUT not in a bad way! "Ok but is there any type of good headache?" you ask. Well no, but it was like after you watch an episode of Black Mirror and you rub you temples thinking "wow, this could kind of actually happen".
This story follows Jess. A woman in her late twenties, just trying to make ends meet (as we do) as a make up artist. She signs up as an anonymous subject for a study in exchange for some cash. The doctor behind the psychological study, Dr. Shields, reaches out to her for more extensive, in-depth help with the study in exchange for more cash. Jess agrees (I mean, wouldn't you? I'd be laughing all the way to the bank), meeting up with Dr. Shields regularly and completing social experiments under the guise that it's for her study. During this "study" Jess unveils a lot of secrets she's been harbouring for many years to Dr. Shields but what Jess doesn't know is that Dr. Shields has secrets of her own and as Jess further engages in Dr. Shields' study, she finds herself tightly tangled up in Dr. Shields' complicated (and dangerous) scheme.
The reason this book kind of f*cked me up was how easily it could be something that happens to someone in real life. When I was in university I completed a TON of studies for extra points/cash. If any of the professors had been offering a substantial amount of cash to complete a questionnaire (although personal) I would've agreed easily. It's supposedly anonymous, right? And even if the person behind the study reached out and I wouldn't have been anonymous anymore, I would've agreed, for the right amount, to further help with the study depending on what I had to do. Jess's tasks were easy at first; they almost seemed like harmless fun, although strange, so it's not shocking why she agreed to participate; money is a motivator (which came to be an underlying theme around this novel - especially at the VERY end). Dr. Shields was also very cunning and manipulative and that scared me. Her character was creepy and scary. She was also very easy to dislike (her narrator also made that very easy - she read her with such a feigned innocence and air of being the victim [which she was supposed to have], that she was INFURIATING [hats off to the narrator for that, as narration can make or break a character/book when listening to an audiobook]).
Jess became ruthless towards the end (as you read, you can't blame her) and I liked that; she went into fight or flight mode and chose to fight and I respected her for that...because I would've been GONE!
Sidenote: this book just further demonstrates the age old fact, as I've mentioned in other reviews, that men are, indeed, trash! But Dr. Shields, sweetie, come on - you do NOT need a man to love you that badly!
Overall, this was a very gripping, intense read that left me wondering how this was going to end and who was going to come out of it alive. I definitely recommend listening to the audiobook version!
This story follows Jess. A woman in her late twenties, just trying to make ends meet (as we do) as a make up artist. She signs up as an anonymous subject for a study in exchange for some cash. The doctor behind the psychological study, Dr. Shields, reaches out to her for more extensive, in-depth help with the study in exchange for more cash. Jess agrees (I mean, wouldn't you? I'd be laughing all the way to the bank), meeting up with Dr. Shields regularly and completing social experiments under the guise that it's for her study. During this "study" Jess unveils a lot of secrets she's been harbouring for many years to Dr. Shields but what Jess doesn't know is that Dr. Shields has secrets of her own and as Jess further engages in Dr. Shields' study, she finds herself tightly tangled up in Dr. Shields' complicated (and dangerous) scheme.
The reason this book kind of f*cked me up was how easily it could be something that happens to someone in real life. When I was in university I completed a TON of studies for extra points/cash. If any of the professors had been offering a substantial amount of cash to complete a questionnaire (although personal) I would've agreed easily. It's supposedly anonymous, right? And even if the person behind the study reached out and I wouldn't have been anonymous anymore, I would've agreed, for the right amount, to further help with the study depending on what I had to do. Jess's tasks were easy at first; they almost seemed like harmless fun, although strange, so it's not shocking why she agreed to participate; money is a motivator (which came to be an underlying theme around this novel - especially at the VERY end). Dr. Shields was also very cunning and manipulative and that scared me. Her character was creepy and scary. She was also very easy to dislike (her narrator also made that very easy - she read her with such a feigned innocence and air of being the victim [which she was supposed to have], that she was INFURIATING [hats off to the narrator for that, as narration can make or break a character/book when listening to an audiobook]).
Jess became ruthless towards the end (as you read, you can't blame her) and I liked that; she went into fight or flight mode and chose to fight and I respected her for that...because I would've been GONE!
Sidenote: this book just further demonstrates the age old fact, as I've mentioned in other reviews, that men are, indeed, trash! But Dr. Shields, sweetie, come on - you do NOT need a man to love you that badly!
Overall, this was a very gripping, intense read that left me wondering how this was going to end and who was going to come out of it alive. I definitely recommend listening to the audiobook version!