Review: Please Join Us by Catherine McKenzie

Please Join Us by Catherine McKenzie
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was provided an ARC of this book via Edelweiss+, all opinions are my own.  This book was published back in August 2022, so in an attempt to get the review up I opted to listen to the audiobook now that it has been out for a while.  The audio narration was OK, the narrator tried to give each of the women a different voice, but they mostly sounded the same in my opinion.

This thriller was fairly straightforward.  The end felt a bit rushed and while it was interesting, there wasn't alot of suspense.  This isn't the type of thriller that has a ton of suspense though, and it fit with the type of story the author was trying to tell.  That being said, this isn't the type of thriller I gravitate toward.  I like the higher stakes, heart pounding, more suspenseful thrillers with lots of action.  This was more calculated as the story unfolds to reveal the plot.

This follows Nicole, a successful attorney who has found herself at a crossroads in her career.  Her position at her firm is on thin ice despite her being one of the best lawyers in the business.  She finds herself dealing with the antics of the "good old boys club" mentality of corporate America, while also dealing with an ailing family member and other family issues.  It seems like perfect timing when she gets invited to a networking retreat for an exclusive, women's only group that promises to help Nicole get her career back on track.  It seems almost too good to be true, and her husband jokes that it seems like a cult.  Nicole finds herself making friendships with powerful, successful women who quickly help get her career back on track with a high visibility case.  Being the good lawyer that she is, Nicole quickly realizes that there are too many coincidences and there is something bigger at play with the group.  

I thought this had an interesting premise.  Having worked in a male dominant setting for much of my career, I can relate to some of what Nicole experienced.   I liked the aspect of female empowerment and having a group to lean on.  I've attended women's only leadership training and having a core group of women to support you is an amazing thing to have.   I thought Nicole felt like a realistic character, she was a bit down on her luck and herself and this awesome opportunity came into her life when she needed it.  All of a sudden things started to look up and she was happy again.  Then things started to feel out of place and she stuck to her guns to figure out what was really going on.  I so appreciate that Nicole had a moral code and she stuck to it.  While the whole concept of the sinister plot felt a bit far fetched for me because it had so many moving parts that had to be executed for it to work, I still thought it provided for an entertaining read.

Overall I thought this was a good thriller.  While this type of thriller isn't my favorite in the genre, if you like less suspenseful thrillers that have minimal violence that feel more like figuring out a puzzle this will really appeal to you.  I enjoyed the writing style and will be checking out more of the author's work in the future.

View all my reviews