Cathryn Grant’s The Assistant is a well written psychological thriller that did not disappoint! The book alternates narration between the two main characters, which I love. I like knowing the multiple viewpoints of one storyline, especially since the plot is intriguing and accessible. Every character is unlikeable and that makes this book even better. I highly recommend this book.

***** I received an ARC from NetGalley, the publisher, and the authors for my honest review. *****

The high-tech corporate world turns deadly in Cathryn Grant's The Assistant. Told from both Laura and Vanessa's point of view, readers may not know who the real villain is in this fast-paced thriller.

Vanessa is beautiful. As the PA to a top executive, Hank, she schedules his appointments, grabs lunch with him and engages in light flirting with the boss. She is tasked with keeping him on track and not letting employees interrupt him. Employees like Laura who like to spread office gossip that Vanessa and Hank are having an affair.

Laura believes she is ready to move up into a director position. She is the most qualified person on Hank's staff. She has put in her time and her work is superb. The only obstacle in her way is Vanessa who refuses to tell who who is interviewing for the internally and externally. She can't get Vanessa to budge, she is incensed that Vanessa won't let her sneak in to see Hank and she constantly worries that Vanessa is talking her down to Hank.

The tension between these two women in the office is palpable. What will happen when it comes to a head? Is Laura willing to kill for what she believes she deserves? Who is in danger and who is the threat?

The Assistant is a faced-paced thriller that readers will devour. Very well written and interesting. I will look for more books by this author.

I didn't see the ending coming.
I found the book a little slow to start, but once I got into it I couldn't put it down. I really enjoyed the alternating POV each chapter from Vanessa and Laura, and how different their opinions on certain situations were. I must admit, I really disliked the character Laura, which is down to good writing of a bad person, although Vanessa wasn't an angel either, but even from her POV, we still get the feeling of an unhappy individual. I recommend simply to see how this plays out, I certainly didn't anticipate it coming.

Well that didn't escalate quickly! Just way differently. It's definitely not your run-of-the-mill thriller but it is an interesting read. Although, it did get a tad bit too boring if only because it wasn't quite what I expected. The issues in the story are the same issues that we're and have always been facing, and I appreciate the author for showing both sides of the story. Plenty of workplace truth bombs in this one! Lastly, what's creepy about this book isn't the story, rather it's the characters. Apathy, Pride, Envy, Lust. How well do we really know the people we claim to know?

An interesting read but very unlikable characters. Laura puts off her life with her husband, put off having children all for her career and it has ruined her marriage. When she finally moved up she has competition from her bosses PA Vanessa. She deliberately sabotages anything Laura does and is very over protective of her boss. Laura is so mad she is willing to do whatever it takes to achieve her goal.
Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for the advance ecopy.

A thriller just beyond the reach of fathomability, this office drama pushes the limits of what is within the parameters of belief. The characters are all solidly salty and the kind you wish you could punch through the pages, so there's some real love-to-hate stuff going around with this book. It's an interesting turn of events that eventually occurs, and there's certainly some twists and turns within the story, however, they're all a little bit much.

Given the nature of the setting and the social commentary that exists within the book is a little difficult. There may have been a better way of taking on issues such as the social commentary, and there needs to be a better way of going about getting the message across. I get that there's a whole different culture that surrounds being an assistant in a world dominated by men who if you blew on them they'd crumple. I also found the action pottered out a little bit, and there were some missing links after the big climax on the running field. The ending was so abrupt.

This is the first Cathryn Grant novel that I have read and It was thrilling. It has a good pace; it is not too slow or too fast. The novel was about two women who are involved in an office politics. Well, to be honest this isn’t far from the truth. But the thing is, these women are strong characters and don't like to back down.
Laura is ambitious and so is Vanessa. One is always ahead of the other.
The characters are likeable and dislikeable at the same time because they just resonate “real” people well specially in an office setting.
I will definitely read more of the author’s works! I would also highly recommend.

The Assistant is hyped as a psychological thriller. Well, there are definitely a lot of psychological elements in this story. Vanessa and Laura are two ambitious women working for the same company. Vanessa is the assistant to Hank, who is the good-looking executive in charge. Laura wants a better job, and she will do anything to get it. She needs Hank to promote her, but Vanessa won’t put her on Hank’s schedule. Vanessa and Laura butt heads at every interaction.

On the surface, this sounds like typical office politics and cattiness. There are many deeper motives involved in the way each woman behaves. Vanessa is beautiful and dresses provocatively, hoping she will get noticed. As the story evolves, we learn she has some bad habits she resorts to because of a lifetime of not being noticed. Laura is a professional woman, obsessive about her career, and it seems about everything else. When she can’t control what is going on in her life, she uses exercise to let out her anger until she finds another, more dangerous outlet.

I’ve worked in many offices, and I’ve known Vanessas and Lauras. The characters in this book were not likable or relatable. There was no one to root for. The reader has to suspend a lot of belief while reading this book, especially around Laura and her shenanigans. The story culminates in an unbelievable conclusion. I thank NetGalley, and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book. I gave it 2 ½ stars, rounded up to 3.

If this book was as good as the cover and.description promised.it would garner five stars, but unfortunately that is not the case. This is about two women who work together for the same boss and neither of the two are likable. Even though the ending was somewhat of a surprise it see!ed abrubt and not very believable. This one missed the mark for me.i

"The Assistant" is a very exciting thriller - but I didn't love, or relate to, any of the characters or their final storylines.

Things started out well - Cathryn Grant does a great job at setting the initial stage and lifting the curtain of misogynistic office politics. But unfortunately, things go sideways as the book continues and I found myself in some strange fever dream revenge plot. When they happened, I found it impossible to connect to anything in the story - or to even really care who survives the book.

But nevertheless, thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read this one. I found Grant's take on office culture very interesting.

The Assistant
By Cathryn Grant

3 star

A drama filled story of two very different women chasing what they want. Mutual dislike for one another fuels an ongoing battle for career advancement, power and the attention of their mutual boss.

The book takes time building tension and the story line. The tension lacks the climax that is promised throughout the story, falling flat instead of the promised epic ending.

Both the lead characters are developed well, and generally believable, although irrational at times.

A pleasant read.

This title has been reviewed by www.books-reviewed.weebly.com

This title was provided by Netgalley and the publisher in return for an open and honest review.

#TheAssistant #NetGalley

I read this ARC for an honest review
All thoughts and opinions are mine


I found this a bit predictable but loved the twists
Really enjoyed the way this was written

This book was underwhelming and I don’t want to be mean but completely forgettable.

I starting writing my review about 63% into the book because NOTHING WAS HAPPENING. There was a Murder, but it took up two pages of a book that is 300 plus pages and that’s the only thing that was remotely exciting happened.

63% of the book is way too far to give up but people wanting a heart stopping and page turning thriller need to look somewhere else.

83% in and still nothing as happened. Well that’s a lie, feminism went out the window a few pages ago and I disgusted with what I am reading. This a step background for women in a professional office and I honestly can’t believe in 2020 someone would write like this and call it a thriller.

This book grabbed my attention from the beginning and held it until the end. It was really unsettling reading about Laura's character. I thought the author did an excellent job of showing the reader the steady downfall of Laura's unhinged personality and mental illness. It was hard to read about, but it was also interesting and held a new twist on a psychological suspense thriller.

Vanessa's character was a little flat, but I understood her place in the novel. Laura despised Vanessa's beauty, placement at work and the way men acted around Vanessa. She was potentially one of the reasons Laura became as unhinged as she was. Vanessa and Laura both hold an important representation of society: no one is who they seem to be on the outside.

I will definitely be reading from this author again. I thought this book was an interesting read for sure!

Predictable wit a twist.

I enjoyed Cathryn's writing with this new title and was expecting a predictable story and although it fell into that category a little, it did leave me surprised with the twists.
I would love to read more of her writing and can't wait for the next one!

Thank you NetGalley and Inkubator Books for my ARC. First of all, this book is not a thriller. It is a character study of the lengths people will go to in order to achieve success and power professionally and personally. I almost DNF it a fourth of the way through. It was slow to start and continued that way until the last ten percent. I kept waiting for the story to pick up, but it never really did until the very end. I really enjoyed Cathryn Grant's previous book, The Guest, and was hoping I would have the same reaction to The Assistant. I definitely have read worse, but can't say that I would recommend this one. Read The Guest instead. Entertaining, but left me wanting more.

Laura and Vanessa both work at Avalon, in two very different positions. Laura is on track to keep moving onwards and upwards. She won't stop until she's reached the very top of the corporate ladder. Vanessa is the admin assistant for Hank. Her job and relationships at work are VERY different, but also important.

Laura has her sights set on working for Hank, but feels Vanessa is standing in her way. She feels like Vanessa is blocking her path to the boss- and will do anything to get her out of the way.

This corporate thriller is a quick read, that will keep you on your toes. It didn't stand out as one of my top picks of the year, nor was it one of the worst. If thrillers and corporate life are interesting to you, check this one out!

Laura and Vanessa both work at Avalon and work with Hank. Vanessa is Hank's administrative assistant and Laura is his possible up and comer. The two ladies have to w2ork together, but that does not mean they have to like each other and they don't. Laura believes Vanessa and Hank are having an affair and she shares this gossip in the office. Mind you, Vanessa is not a total innocent. She does like to control who gets access to Hank and when. She also has a secret she keeps from everyone, including her fiancé Matt. Laura is basically all about work. The only other thing she loves is running. Along the way Vanessa gets a bit out of control and that's when the you know what hits the fan. Both of these ladies are a tad "off." One goes to the dark side and seems quite happy to be there. Probably because it gives her the control over others. The other might actually turn this bad situation into giving her a better life especially her personal life. The one part of this book that seemed a bit extreme (murder is always extreme) was how quickly and easily she was brought to murder and how much she seemed to be able to justify it in her mind. Perhaps there is an underlying psychoses we are not aware of from her past. I am giving this a 3.5 star review rounded to 4. Thank you to NG, the publisher, and the author for allowing me to read this book in exchange for a honest review.

I was given an ARC, for a fair review.

I wouldn't call this book a thriller. It's definitely about corporate life, and some parts I just skimmed because there was just too much rambling. It should have been half the length, or added some actual thriller parts into it.

Did I find this book to be a thriller? Not really? Was there a psychological component to it? Definitely. What I did discover is that I did not like ANY of the characters in this book. And I don’t think that I have ever spoken those words before. There are very few, if any, twists and turns, in The Assistant, but there is the psychological decline of one of the main characters. It also brings to the forefront the actions of women and men in the workplace and some preconceived notions. In the end, things seem to…work out. Although I would not classify this as a thriller, I did enjoy the book and the opportunity to dislike the characters. Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for the opportunity to review this book.