The Women in White ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Women in White by Sarah Pekkanen

NetGalley About Summary

The newest next thriller from #1 Bestselling Author Sarah Pekkanen combines a decades-old mystery with spine-tingling paranormal elements in this twisty novel of the seen and unseen.

Extrasensory perception.
The Gift.
A Sixth Sense.
Or something else….

In 1964, four remarkable young women at a prestigious university became the subjects of parapsychology experiments by a visionary scientist. On the cusp of a historic breakthrough, the women mysteriously vanished and the program was erased from history.

Decades later, Riley Bell, newly divorced and desperate for a fresh start, accepts a caretaker job for an elderly widow named Betty. Riley steps into a home that is frozen in another era - no microwave, television, or cell phones, and Betty has never heard of the internet.

Why has Betty lived in such profound isolation for so many years, and why does she need Riley now? As the story unfolds across two timelines - Betty’s 1960s era of 5 o’clock martinis and high-stakes experiments, and Riley’s quest to uncover the truth about the missing women - old secrets rise to the surface. And the only way to survive is to confront the mystery that has lingered for sixty years.

Genre: Women's Fiction
Goodreads adds: Historical Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Paranormal

The How/Why: NetGalley - sounded fascinating! Dual Timeline, a dynamic Octogenarian (you know how I love the 'genarians). Added bonus, narration by the amazing Saskia Maarleveld. 

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

🎉 Overall Storytelling? 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

🎣 Did it grab and keep my attention? 🎣🎣🎣🎣🎣

🗣️Would I recommend it to anyone? Yes ➕

🕮 Would I want a sequel? No ➖ Not necessary

📚 Would I want to read more books by this author? Yes ➕

💣💥 📢 Content Warnings? Google says: Mɇdical Trɐumɐ & T0rturɇ, F0rcɇd In$tituti0naliⱿati0n, MiŞoǥyny & Sɇxism, KidnaƤƤinᵷ & C0nfinɇmɇnt.

🌶 Spice? No

🌪 Plot Twist? Yes

👟 Pace? Very good

💻 Tidbits ~ This is a great blend of Historical Fiction and Psychological Thriller. A definite Five Star Favorite. 

Current Timeline: Riley gets a job as a caretaker for Betty, an 81 year old widow who has lived the past 60 years secluded in her home which looks like a time capsule from the 60's. She has no friends and is unaware of modern technology.
Riley's radar goes off that Betty has been sheltered and must be hiding trauma and/or secrets.
Betty doesn't need physical help and her mind is sharp as a tack. Riley decides she must be craving companionship after the loss of her husband. Betty tells Riley  she wants her to help her find her long lost three best friends from college. 
Riley thinks that will be easy as she taps into the Google machine only to discover it's as if these women have been erased from history. 

1960s Timeline: Four students were in a special program where scientific experiments were performed tapping into their ESP and other mind abilities. They had to wear all white, thus the title.

Betty takes us back through the gruesome experiments they were forced to endure as Dr. Trimble was desperate to leave his mark in history with total disregard of the effects it had on these women. Betty also embraced the bonds of sisterhood the four shared as they seemed connected through their thoughts. 

Riley is diligently following any little lead she can find. 

I adored Betty and Riley and their quest to find answers. I appreciated the friendships The Women in White made as their bonds turned to trauma, as well as the friendship Betty and Riley formed. 

I highly recommend if you enjoy Historical Fiction mixed with the Mystery and Suspense of a Psychological Thriller. 

🎧 Narrator: Saskia Maarleveld - always fabulous!

🎧7.57 hours 🕮 304 pages

Not yet published. Expected 8-04-2026

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the free ALC in exchange for my honest review.

Extra Tidbits

I always like to dive into the history and was especially curious of the facts that contributed to this novel. 

In Real Life - Historical Facts (per Google AI)

The Women in White by Sarah Pekkanen is heavily grounded in real-world Cold War-era science. While the specific characters and the "Institute's Room 6" are fictional, the author directly based the book's core premise on the following historical facts:
  1. Duke University's Parapsychology Laboratory. Established in the 1930s and highly active through the 1960s under J.B. Rhine, this actual university lab conducted rigorous, classified, and unclassified scientific studies into Extrasensory Perception (ESP), telepathy, and precognition. Pekkanen integrates factual quotes and data points from these real-world archives at the beginning of her chapters.
  2. Project Stargate & Government Psychic Research. The book references the historical reality of Project Stargate, the real U.S. government-backed initiative where federal agencies and scientists investigated psychic phenomena for global intelligence gathering. The novel accurately reflects how the military and intelligence communities during the Cold War were deeply terrified that America's adversaries were weaponizing the mind, prompting the U.S. to fund boundary-pushing psychological research.
  3. Historical Telekinesis and Remote Viewing Studies. The precise abilities tested in the novel—specifically remote viewing (sensing or gathering information about a distant, hidden target using the mind) and telekinesis—were the exact focus of intense mid-century institutional research. The format of the testing, the use of flashcards/symbols, and the isolation chambers used by the fictional Dr. Trimble mirror real testing environments from that era.
  4. 1960s Institutional Vulnerability. The power dynamic between Dr. Trimble and the young female subjects accurately captures the systemic sexism of 1964. During this era, it was common for male authority figures in psychiatry and academic research to manipulate or exert extreme control over female subjects, who often felt socially obligated to comply with disturbing directives to please their professors or protect their academic standing.

 Personally I find it frightening that this was happening in my lifetime.  

23 and counting
J.B. Rhine, Duke University, testing two women




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

When Women Ran Fifth Avenue *DNF*

Image
  When Women Ran Fifth Avenue by Julie Satow *DNF* The cover is the best part G👀dreads A glittering, glamorous portrait of the golden age of American department stores and of three visionary women who led them, from the award-winning author of The Plaza . The American department a palace of consumption that epitomized modern consumerism. Every wish could be met under one roof – afternoon tea, a stroll through the latest fashions, a wedding (or funeral) planned. It was a place where women, shopper and shopgirl alike, could stake out a newfound independence. Whether in New York or Chicago or on Main Street, USA, men owned the buildings, but inside, women ruled. Genre: NonFiction, History, Fashion, Biography. Circa early 1900's. I listened a little while I was puttering around in the casita in the morning. There is a part where she says the sales ladies would say "Oh Harriett" to warn another employee that a customer could not be pleased. Like a take off of modern day ...
Read more

Killers of a Certain Age ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Image
Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn From Goodreads: Older women often feel invisible, but sometimes that's their secret weapon. They've spent their lives as the deadliest assassins in a clandestine international organization, but now that they're sixty years old, four women friends can't just retire - it's kill or be killed in this action-packed thriller. Billie, Mary Alice, Helen, and Natalie have worked for the Museum, an elite network of assassins, for forty years. Now their talents are considered old-school and no one appreciates what they have to offer in an age that relies more on technology than people skills. When the foursome is sent on an all-expenses paid vacation to mark their retirement, they are targeted by one of their own. Only the Board, the top-level members of the Museum, can order the termination of field agents, and the women realize they've been marked for death. Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Fiction ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I really liked it a lot. It ho...
Read more

Home of the American Circus ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫

Image
Home of the American Circus by Allison Larken  G👀dreads After an emergency leaves her short on rent, thirty-year-old Freya Arnalds bails on her lackluster life as bartender in Maine and returns to her suburban hometown of Somers, New York, to live in the house she inherited from her estranged parents. Despite attempts to lay low, Freya encounters childhood friends, familial enemies, and old flames—as well as her fifteen-year-old niece, Aubrey, who is secretly living in the derelict home. As they reconnect, Freya and Aubrey lean on each other, working to restore the house and come to terms with the devastating events that pulled them apart years ago. Set in the birthplace of the American circus, this deeply moving novel is an exploration of broken families, the weight of the past, and the complicated journey of finding home. Genre: Literary Fiction, Contemporary, Family Drama Dual Timeline: ETA: This is listed as dual timeline but I thought it was more like memory flashbacks. It's ...
Read more