Jessica Farris is a make-up artist living in New York City, struggling to make enough money to support herself. An opportunity arises to enter a psychology study and make some easy money. All she has to do is become Subject 52, sit at a computer and answer questions on ethics and morality.

After two sessions, Jessica is approached by the doctor conducting the study, the beautiful and sophisticated Dr Lydia Shields. She asks Jess if she would be interested in expanding the study to incorporate ‘field work’ and one-on-one therapy. A substantial sum of money is offered so the decision is easy. During the sessions, Jess confides her darkest secrets to Dr Shields.

Then come the real-life experiments. Jess is told what to wear, how to act and who to talk to. But Dr Shields’s subtle manipulations begin to set alarm bells ringing so Jess starts to do a little research of her own. What she finds in Shield’s recent history is that of a patient – Subject 5 – whose sudden suicide recently is under investigation. Jess is spooked, but it may be too late to escape the enigmatic Shield’s grip.

The authors do a fantastic job of portraying Jessica – the guilt-ridden 20-something who is desperate for approval, and Dr Lydia Shields, the obsessive, cold and calculating psychologist. Both voices are unique and distinctive and the twists and turns had me guessing until the end. Paranoia, anxiety and uncertainty abound, and the need to know just what on earth is going on made it very hard to put this book down.

Reviewed by Joanna Rogers