The Women in White Summary: A Chilling Dive Into a Forgotten Experiment
Introduction
Imagine walking into a house where time stopped cold in 1964.
The record player still spins vinyl from that year, the kitchen has no modern appliances, and the woman who lives there hasn’t changed a thing in six decades.
This is the world Riley Bell steps into, and it forms the eerie backbone of this summary.
Sarah Pekkanen’s novel opens with Riley at her lowest point. Her husband’s secret gambling addiction destroyed their finances and marriage, leaving her homeless and sleeping in her car.
An opportunity arrives in the form of a live-in caretaking job for 81-year-old Betty Sadler.
The house is a museum of the mid-1960s, but Betty herself is the real mystery.
She is not simply nostalgic; she is a woman frozen in place, haunted by something she has spent a lifetime hiding from.
The story moves between two timelines. In 1964, a young Betty is a newlywed and a student at Marquis University.
Her husband Douglas introduces her to Dr. Silas Trimble, a researcher obsessed with proving the existence of psi abilities—telepathy, precognition, and psychokinesis.
In the present day, Riley begins to peel back the layers of Betty’s sealed past, uncovering a history that someone is determined to keep buried.
TL;DR: A Snapshot of the Mystery
The Women in White follows Riley Bell, a nurse’s aide rebuilding her life, who takes a job with the reclusive Betty Sadler.
She discovers Betty was once a test subject in unethical parapsychology experiments at Marquis University.
The novel shifts between 1964, where Betty and three other women endured sensory deprivation tests under Dr. Silas Trimble, and the present, where Riley uncovers a cover-up and a new threat replicating those same dangerous methods.
It is a tense story about institutional abuse, buried trauma, and an unlikely friendship that finally breaks a decades-long cycle of isolation.
Characters In This Book
| Character | Role |
|---|---|
| Riley Bell | A nurse’s aide who becomes Betty’s caretaker after losing everything to her husband’s gambling addiction. |
| Betty Sadler | An 81-year-old woman who was “Girl Four” in the 1964 parapsychology experiments and has lived in hiding ever since. |
| Douglas Sadler | Betty’s husband, a PhD student who assisted Dr. Trimble and later isolated Betty under the guise of protection. |
| Dr. Silas Trimble | The ambitious head of the parapsychology institute at Marquis University who conducted unethical experiments. |
| Kathleen Moore | A former stewardess and one of the Women in White who died in a murder-suicide in 1964. |
| Ivy Lennox | A pregnant member of the Women in White who was institutionalized for life after the experiments ended. |
| Helen Hopkins | The youngest of the Women in White, a factory worker who committed suicide in 1964. |
| Sandra Lennox | Ivy’s daughter, a therapist who secretly conducts illegal parapsychology experiments in the present day. |
| Alex Finch | A Marquis University student who becomes a victim of Sandra’s replicated experiments. |
| Sam Trimble | Dr. Trimble’s grandson who preserves his grandfather’s research and unknowingly aids Sandra. |
| Professor Joshua Woods | A Marquis professor whose affair with Alex Finch makes her vulnerable to being discredited and targeted. |
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The Women in White Summary: A Full Plot Breakdown
Warning: Full Spoilers Below
Dive Into the Full Chapters Summary of the Book
Riley Bell’s life collapsed when she discovered her husband Danny had secretly gambled away everything they owned.
Divorced and bankrupt, she takes a job through an agency as a live-in caregiver for Betty Sadler. The house on Elm Street is immaculately preserved in the mid-1960s.
There is no internet, no television beyond a vintage set, and a bookshelf filled with titles from that era. Betty uses a wheelchair and needs assistance, but her mind is sharp.
In the 1964 timeline, Betty meets her husband Douglas Sadler, a PhD student working under Dr. Silas Trimble at the Trimble Institute.
Dr. Trimble believes that certain individuals possess latent psychic abilities that can be measured and strengthened.
He recruits Betty as a test subject. She is soon joined by three other women: Kathleen, a former stewardess; Ivy, who is newly pregnant; and Helen, the youngest, who worked in a factory.
The women are dubbed “The Women in White” because Dr. Trimble requires them to wear identical white dresses and eat the same meals. He claims this creates a uniform field to eliminate variables.
The experiments use Ganzfeld sensory deprivation—halved Ping-Pong balls taped over their eyes, headphones playing white noise—to induce a dreamlike state where psi abilities might surface.
The tests escalate. Dr. Trimble isolates the women from their families, monitors their letters, and forbids outside contact.
Douglas, initially protective of Betty, becomes complicit, prioritizing the research over his wife’s safety. The experiments move to a basement isolation chamber.
There, the women experience terrifying shared visions. Betty has a premonition that Ivy’s baby will not survive. Physical reactions bleed between them; when one is hurt miles away, the others feel it.
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In the present, Riley searches for Betty’s old friends. She learns that in late 1964, the experiments ended catastrophically.
Kathleen killed her husband in a confused state and then took her own life. Helen committed suicide the same day. Ivy was committed to a psychiatric hospital with a schizophrenia diagnosis and remained there for decades. Betty was the only one who walked away, hidden away by Douglas, who claimed he was protecting her.
Riley also investigates the recent disappearance of a Marquis University student named Alex Finch. Alex had accused a professor, Joshua Woods, of an affair, and was subsequently discredited and labeled unstable.
Riley initially suspects Woods or Sam Trimble, Dr. Trimble’s grandson, who preserves the old research.
The truth is far more personal. Sandra Lennox, Ivy’s daughter, is a therapist in town. She grew up visiting her mother in the institution and later read Ivy’s diaries.
The trauma broke something in her. Sandra has been secretly conducting her own parapsychology experiments, replicating the Ganzfeld method on vulnerable young women she identifies through her therapy practice. Alex Finch is her latest victim.
Sandra kidnaps Riley and Betty, intending to use them as subjects. Riley, drawing on her own growing intuition and Betty’s quick thinking, escapes her restraints.
She searches the property and finds a hidden shed in the woods where Alex is bound and undergoing sensory deprivation.
Riley frees her, and authorities arrest Sandra.
Sandra is convicted and sentenced to life in prison. Betty, finally free from her self-imposed isolation, embarks on a cross-country road trip with Riley.
They visit the Grand Canyon, a destination Betty dreamed of seeing her entire life. On the last night of the trip, Betty dies peacefully in her sleep. Her final dream reunites her with Kathleen, Ivy, and Helen.
Betty leaves Riley an inheritance. Riley uses the money to pay off her debts, assist Alex with her recovery, and build a new life.
She finally severs all ties with Danny for good.
Books Similar to The Women in White
The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides shares the psychological intensity of a woman refusing to speak and a therapist uncovering institutional secrets tied to past trauma.
The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen offers layered psychological twists about marriage and hidden identities, co-authored by the same writer.
Home Before Dark by Riley Sager uses a dual-timeline structure centered on a house with a dark history and a protagonist uncovering long-buried family secrets.
The Girls by Emma Cline explores the intense and dangerous bonds of female friendship and manipulation within the social context of the 1960s.
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield features a biographer uncovering the tragic, hidden past of an elderly woman, blending gothic mystery with long-held secrets.
Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica examines suburban secrets and the lasting impact of disappearances on a community, echoing the suspense and hidden truths in Pekkanen’s novel.
The Research Behind the Thriller
| Theme | How It Unfolds in the Story |
|---|---|
| Institutional Abuse of Power | Dr. Trimble isolates and controls the Women in White, prioritizing research goals over their psychological and physical safety. |
| Control and Isolation | Douglas secludes Betty for sixty years in a house frozen in time. Dr. Trimble monitors letters and forbids outside contact for his subjects. |
| Memory and Trauma | Betty’s preserved house becomes a physical manifestation of her inability to move past 1964. Sandra’s actions stem directly from reading her mother Ivy’s diaries. |
| Female Friendship | The four test subjects form a protective bond against their circumstances. Riley and Betty’s friendship becomes the force that finally breaks the cycle. |
| Secrets and Their Weight | Deliberately erased university records, hidden identities, and decades of silence drive the mystery and connect both timelines. |
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Frequently Asked Questions
How does The Women in White end?
Sandra Lennox is arrested and sentenced to life in prison for kidnapping and illegal experiments. Betty and Riley take a cross-country road trip to the Grand Canyon, where Betty dies peacefully in her sleep. Riley uses her inheritance to pay off debts and start a new life, cutting ties with her ex-husband for good.
What happened to the Women in White after the experiments ended?
In late 1964, Kathleen killed her husband and committed suicide. Helen committed suicide the same day. Ivy spent the rest of her life in a psychiatric institution diagnosed with schizophrenia. Betty, the only survivor who walked away, was hidden by her husband Douglas for sixty years.
Who is the antagonist in Sarah Pekkanen’s The Women in White?
Sandra Lennox is the primary antagonist. She is Ivy’s daughter and a practicing therapist who identifies vulnerable young women through her practice to use as subjects in her own replicated Ganzfeld experiments, including Alex Finch.
What are the Ganzfeld experiments in the book?
The Ganzfeld method is a sensory deprivation technique used by Dr. Trimble. Test subjects have halved Ping-Pong balls taped over their eyes and wear headphones playing white noise to induce a dreamlike state, intended to heighten latent psychic abilities.
Is The Women in White a dual-timeline novel?
Yes. The narrative shifts between the present day, where Riley Bell works as Betty Sadler’s caretaker, and 1964, when a young Betty participates in the parapsychology experiments at Marquis University under Dr. Silas Trimble.
What happens to Alex Finch in The Women in White?
Alex Finch, a Marquis University student, disappears after being discredited for accusing a professor of an affair. She is later found bound in a sensory deprivation shed on Sandra Lennox’s property, having been used as a subject in Sandra’s experiments. Riley rescues her.
What is the significance of the house in The Women in White?
Betty Sadler’s house is preserved exactly as it was in the mid-1960s, with no modern appliances or internet. It reflects how Betty’s life stopped at the moment the experiments ended catastrophically, trapping her in the trauma until Riley’s arrival helps her break free.
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Sarah Pekkanen: The Bestselling Author Behind the Thriller
Sarah Pekkanen is the internationally bestselling author of numerous psychological and domestic thrillers.
She is best known for her collaborative novels with Greer Hendricks, including The Wife Between Us and An Anonymous Girl, which became instant New York Times bestsellers.
Before turning to fiction full-time, Pekkanen worked as a journalist covering politics and investigative features.
Her solo work, including The Women in White, continues her focus on complex female relationships, buried secrets, and tightly wound suspense.
Explore more book summaries of Sarah Pekkanen’s novels on URSummary’s Sarah Pekkanen archive.
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