Please Join Us

  

I received a copy of this release from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Title: Please Join Us

Author: Catherine McKenzie 

Publisher: Atria

Release Date: 8.23.22

Publisher’s Summary 

At thirty-nine, Nicole Mueller’s life is on the rocks. Her once brilliant law career is falling apart. She and her husband, Dan, are soon to be forced out of the apartment they love. After a warning from her firm’s senior partners, she receives an invitation from an exclusive women’s networking group, Panthera Leo. Membership is anonymous, but every member is a successful professional. It sounds like the perfect solution to help Nicole revive her career. So, despite Dan’s concerns that the group might be a cult, Nicole signs up for their retreat in Colorado.

Once there, she meets the other women who will make up her Pride. A CEO, an actress, a finance whiz, a congresswoman: Nicole can’t believe her luck. The founders of Panthera Leo are equally as impressive. They explain the group’s core philosophy: they’re a girl’s club in a boy’s club world.

Nicole is all in. And when she gets home, she soon sees dividends. Her new network quickly provides her with clients that help her relaunch her career, and a great new apartment too. The favors she has to provide in return seem benign. But then she’s called to the congresswoman’s apartment late at night where she’s pressed into helping her cover up a crime. And suddenly, Dan’s concerns that something more sinister is at play seem all too relevant. Can Nicole extricate herself from the group before it’s too late? Or will joining Panthera Leo be the biggest mistake of her life?

My Review

Very rarely do I venture off my scheduled reading path but I was feeling a bit under the weather and moody. After perusing the "Read Now" options on Netgalley, I decided to give Please Join Us a try and it was exactly what I needed. Short, fast-paced chapters featuring a group of high-powered women determined to help each other out. As with any thriller, it's difficult to discuss too much of the story without giving away key plot points and twists. This is the first book I've read by author Catherine McKenzie but the thirteenth book she has written in the last twenty years. McKenzie is able to build on her prior career practicing law to deliver an all too believable world of boys' clubs, corporate backstabbing, and revenge. Please Join Us does not release until the end of August but it is currently available for immediate download as a "Read Now" option on Netgalley