BOOK INFO

Title: Please Join Us

Author: Catherine McKenzie

Publisher: Atria Books

Publish Date: August 23, 2022

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Series: na

My Rating: 4/5

BOOK BLURB

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?

Purchase Links: Amazon

MY REVIEW

Nicole Mueller is an attorney needing a boost in her career. She gets invited to join an exclusive group for professional women. She thinks this is just what she needs, so jumps at the chance to join. She soon sees improvement in her career and life. The favors she provides to the other members of the group seem minor, and she’s elated with how things are going. Then she gets called for more than a favor, she’s asked to help cover up a murder.

Please Join Us is told from Nicole’s point of view. The first part of the novel is slower paced. Nicole joins an exclusive networking group, and meets the other women. There is a good mix of professional women involved, and Nicole starts to immediately see the benefits of being a member. Later in the novel, things get messy. Nicole is in for a wild ride, and tries to escape the toxic group.

Please Join Us is a deliciously twisted thriller of corporate culture, first world problems, and secret organizations.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.

Books by Catherine McKenzie:

1. Smoke
2. Fractured
3. The Good Liar
4. I’ll Never Tell
5. You Can’t Catch Me
6. Six Weeks to Live
7. Please Join Us

BOOK INFO

Title: The Younger Wife

Author: Sally Hepworth

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Publish Date: April 5, 2022

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Series: na

My Rating: 4/5

BOOK BLURB

THE HUSBAND
A heart surgeon at the top of his field, Stephen Aston is getting married again. But first he must divorce his current wife, even though she can no longer speak for herself.

THE DAUGHTERS
Tully and Rachel Aston look upon their father’s fiancée, Heather, as nothing but an interloper. Heather is younger than both of them. Clearly, she’s after their father’s money.

THE FORMER WIFE
With their mother in a precarious position, Tully and Rachel are determined to get to the
truth about their family’s secrets, the new wife closing in, and who their father really is.

THE YOUNGER WIFE
Heather has secrets of her own. Will getting to the truth unleash the most dangerous impulses
in all of them?

Purchase Links: Amazon

MY REVIEW

The Younger Wife opens with the wedding of an older man to a younger woman. During the wedding, the lights go out. When they come back on, the celebrant is covered with blood and the mystery of what happened is just starting.

The novel has an intriguing opening, and then goes back one year in time to cover the events leading up to the wedding. The Younger Wife is told using multiple points of view – the daughters of the groom and the new wife. The daughters are not happy with their father’s new romance. As the year of events unfolds, details about the characters is revealed. None of them are particularly likable characters, but it does make for an engaging read.

An intriguing psychological thriller. Family drama, lies, and secrets. Recommended for fans of this genre.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Books by Sally Hepworth:

1. The Mother’s Promise
2. The Family Next Door
3. The Mother-in-Law
4. The Good Sister
5. The Younger Wife

BOOK INFO

Title: The Golden Couple

Author: Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Publish Date: March 8, 2022

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Series: na

My Rating: 4/5

BOOK BLURB

Wealthy Washington suburbanites Marissa and Matthew Bishop seem to have it all—until Marissa is unfaithful. Beneath their veneer of perfection is a relationship riven by work and a lack of intimacy. She wants to repair things for the sake of their eight-year-old son and because she loves her husband. Enter Avery Chambers.

Avery is a therapist who lost her professional license. Still, it doesn’t stop her from counseling those in crisis, though they have to adhere to her unorthodox methods. And the Bishops are desperate.
When they glide through Avery’s door and Marissa reveals her infidelity, all three are set on a collision course. Because the biggest secrets in the room are still hidden, and it’s no longer simply a marriage that’s in danger.

Purchase Links: Amazon

MY REVIEW

A picture perfect couple seek counseling to help their marriage. The therapist is unconventional, but the couple are willing to try it to save their marriage.

Told using the alternating points of view of Marissa, the client, and Avery, the therapist. Marissa cheated on her husband, but wants to save her marriage. She finds Avery, a therapist who guarantees she can fix issues in only ten sessions. Of course, nothing is as it appears.

The Golden Couple is a gripping and twisty psychological thriller. Fans of Hendricks and Pekkanen’s other books are sure to enjoy this one too.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Books by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen:

1. The Wife Between Us
2. An Anonymous Girl
3. You Are Not Alone
4. The Golden Couple

BOOK INFO

Title: This Might Hurt

Author: Stephanie Wrobel

Publisher: Berkley Books

Publish Date: February 22, 2022

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Series: na

My Rating: 3/5

BOOK BLURB

Welcome to Wisewood. We’ll keep your secrets if you keep ours.

Natalie Collins hasn’t heard from her sister in more than half a year.

The last time they spoke, Kit was slogging from mundane workdays to obligatory happy hours to crying in the shower about their dead mother. She told Natalie she was sure there was something more out there. 

And then she found Wisewood.

On a private island off the coast of Maine, Wisewood’s guests commit to six-month stays. During this time, they’re prohibited from contact with the rest of the world—no Internet, no phones, no exceptions. But the rules are for a good reason: to keep guests focused on achieving true fearlessness so they can become their Maximized Selves. Natalie thinks it’s a bad idea, but Kit has had enough of her sister’s cynicism and voluntarily disappears off the grid.
 
Six months later Natalie receives a menacing e-mail from a Wisewood account threatening to reveal the secret she’s been keeping from Kit. Panicked, Natalie hurries north to come clean to her sister and bring her home. But she’s about to learn that Wisewood won’t let either of them go without a fight.

Purchase Links: Amazon

MY REVIEW

Natalie has not heard from her sister, Kit, in over six months. Kit took off to a remote retreat, and cut off contact with the outside world. After receiving a cryptic email, Natalie goes to the retreat in search of her sister.

This Might Hurt is told using multiple points of view and timelines. This was somewhat confusing at first, but eventually came together well. The characters were intriguing and unique. The story was complex and engaging.

This Might Hurt is a psychological thriller about sisters, cults, childhood trauma, and therapy. A creepy and atmospheric novel.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Books by Stephanie Wrobel:

1. Darling Rose Gold
2. This Might Hurt

BOOK INFO

Title: Rock Paper Scissors

Author: Alice Feeney

Publisher: Flatiron

Publish Date: September 7, 2021

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Series: na

My Rating: 4/5

BOOK BLURB

Things have been wrong with Mr and Mrs Wright for a long time. When Adam and Amelia win a weekend away to Scotland, it might be just what their marriage needs. Self-confessed workaholic and screenwriter Adam Wright has lived with face blindness his whole life. He can’t recognize friends or family, or even his own wife.

Every anniversary the couple exchange traditional gifts–paper, cotton, pottery, tin–and each year Adam’s wife writes him a letter that she never lets him read. Until now. They both know this weekend will make or break their marriage, but they didn’t randomly win this trip. One of them is lying, and someone doesn’t want them to live happily ever after.

Ten years of marriage. Ten years of secrets. And an anniversary they will never forget.

Purchase Links: Amazon

MY REVIEW

A husband and wife win a weekend getaway. Adam and Amelia are hoping this weekend will help improve their marriage, but things do not go as planned.

Rock Paper Scissors is told from alternating points of view. Having viewpoints from both Adam and Amelia adds more to the story, plus letters written by Amelia on each of their anniversaries adds insight to their relationship. The novel starts slow, but it eventually picks up.

Rock Paper Scissors is an atmospheric and twisty domestic thriller. Fans of Alice Feeney’s other books are sure to enjoy this one too.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Books by Alice Feeney:

1. Sometimes I Lie
2. I Know Who You Are
3. His & Hers
4. Rock Paper Scissors

BOOK INFO

Title: Suffer Little Children

Author: Freda Hansburg

Publisher: Red Adept Publishing

Publish Date: January 26, 2021

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Series: na

My Rating: 4/5

BOOK BLURB

Robin Perry’s life is finally on track with her dream job and a promising relationship with Ben Martin, even if his two spoiled children, Amber and Jaden, hate her. But things take a downhill turn when Gloria Reyes, an acquaintance of Ben’s, asks her to admit her young son to a cancer study meant for adults and Robin, heartbroken, must turn her down. But Gloria won’t take no for an answer and begins an insidious crusade to force the issue.

Amber Martin hates living with her crazy mother since her parents’ divorce, but she can hardly live with her dad, who’s too busy with “Miss Perfect” these days. When Amber runs into her mother’s friend Gloria, she’s glad to finally meet an adult who seems to be on her side. But as Amber becomes friends with Gloria’s sickly son, Alex, she begins to think Gloria is not as nice as she first thought, and Alex may be in trouble.

As Gloria’s threatening behavior escalates, Robin must protect the children while finding a way to save her career and her relationship with Ben. But Gloria always manages to stay one step ahead. When a secret comes to light, Robin discovers the stakes are even higher than she imagined.

Purchase Links: Amazon

MY REVIEW

Robin has a new job working on a cancer research project. She’s also in a new relationship with Ben, which is great except for his spoiled kids hating her. Gloria, an acquaintance of Ben, asks Robin to get her son Alex into the cancer study. Unfortunately, the project is not for kids, so Robin has to say no. Meanwhile, Amber, Ben’s daughter, befriends Gloria and her son. Robin and Amber both start to realize Gloria is not as wonderful as she appears.

Suffer Little Children is told with alternating points of view. The characters are not all that likable, but are relatable. The story is captivating and kept me turning the pages.

Suffer Little Children is an intriguing novel. A dramatic and emotional read recommended for fans of psychological thrillers.

I received a digital copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.