First published 2019
Jessica Farris needs quick cash when she signs up for Dr. Shields's psychology study. The arrangement seems simple: answer some questions, collect payment, walk away. But the sessions grow more demanding. Dr. Shields begins dictating what Jessica should wear and how she should behave. The questions become invasive and intense. Jessica starts to feel that Dr. Shields can read her thoughts and uncover her secrets. Paranoia creeps into Jessica's daily life. She loses the ability to distinguish between reality and the manipulative experiments controlling her. Dr. Shields weaves a web of deception around Jessica, trapping her in psychological games driven by jealousy and control. Jessica discovers too late that some obsessions turn deadly.
Genres: suspense, contemporary, thriller, psychological-thriller
Vibes: dark, emotional, fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: psychological-manipulation, unreliable-narrator
375 pages · Hardcover · St. Martin's Press
Content warnings: gaslighting