I'd never should've given my freedom away."

If someone promises you they can make all your problems disappear if you just trust them, please quickly run away from them. Please Join Us by devious storyteller Catherine McKenzie is a cautionary tale that if something is too good to be true it most like is bad, very bad and to also never make decisions when you are desperate, depressed or running out of money.

Nicole is all these things with her law career failing, failure being a constant thought and her and her husband having to move out of their home.

Miraculously, she gets an invite to an exclusive women's networking group promising career, friendship and financial success. Soon all her dreams are coming true; that is until a member calls in the middle of the night needing her. She has to help; after all she promised to always be there for these women to succeed at life...and when necessary death.

This thriller is a fun juicy ride, if like me, you like dark secrets and corporate cult tales. I was surprised by Nicole's plans to thwart these woman and even more turned around by their response to her. Everytime I thought I knew the next move I was blatantly wrong.

I suggest preordering this book before 8/23/22 so you can Please Join Us that already know how this propulsive thriller ends.

I received a free copy of this book from the publishers via #netgalley for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

Nicole accepts an invitation to an exclusive women's networking group in an attempt to advance her career. Things begin to improve for her immediately following her first retreat. It isn't long before Nicole realizes that her new good fortune has strings attached to it when she is called upon to cover up a crime.

I wouldn't call this book a thriller and would categorize it more as a slow-burn mystery.

I have no complaints with the pacing or plotting of the story and I wasn't left with any lingering questions which I am always very thankful for.

My issue with this one was that I just couldn't buy into the story itself. It was way too far-fetched to be believable. Educated women giving their money to a secret society after receiving an anonymous e-mail? I wasn't sold! And don't even get me started on what Nicole was asked to do while she was at the retreat. Hell to the no!

It also didn't help that I didn't feel a real connection to any of the characters. This book was fine but it just wasn't for me.

This book was fantastic. I always appreciate it when a book draws you in with the first chapter and Please Join Us did a great job with this.

At the heart of the story you’ve got a group of very success women and a corporate cult, which makes for a very interesting read. I really enjoyed how the characters and premise of the plot were different from the domestic and family thrillers that are very popular today. I think this allowed for great twists and made for several sections where I couldn’t put the book down.

Please Join Us by Catherine McKenzie needs a place on your summer list! This suspenseful story is about Nicole, a woman whose life is not going according to plan. She’s unhappy and needs a change so when she receives an invite to a networking group, she accepts. She needs help and they are offering it to her, why not?

Little does she know that belonging to this group comes with a steep price to pay.

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?

I love books like this one! I’ve been reading this author’s books for many years and I think this might be my favorite.

Don’t miss it, coming out on August 23.

I was not a fan of this at all. I really gave it a chance but I ended up DNF ing it. I just can’t do books about cults. I love the authors books so I’m sad that I didn’t enjoy it.

Really enjoyed this cultish thriller. The story gives a whole new meaning to the ‘girls club’. Great characters with some twisty evil personalities.
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I enjoyed reading Please Join Us by Catherine McKenzie! The synopsis and plot kept me engaged the entire time and I liked the aspect of a secret society with high-ranking women in their careers. However, I felt like a lot of the plot and events didn't happen until the last 20-25% of the book and most of it was filler with Nicole complaining about something. Despite that, I did enjoy the ending a lot!

I received an advance digital review copy of this book for free from Atria Books and NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily as a courtesy.

Nicole Mueller's life and career are in shambles, or at least that's the way it feels. Then a mysterious email from an elite women's power networking group comes in with the subject line Please Join Us. Nicole decides to check it out and see what it's all about. After a 5 day retreat with her Pride at a dude ranch in Colorado, Nicole is all in and soon sees the rewards of the powerful connections she's made. But strange things start happening and there are just too many coincidences. Nicole realizes she is in over her head and the alarm bells start going off. What is Panthera Leo really about? Did she make a mistake? Can she get out of this mess before it's too late?

Y'all. I really enjoyed this book! I have a fascination with cults and why/how people are drawn into them. This fictional account of a powerful girl's club that works like the good old boy's clubs was an interesting twist on a cult story. Catherine McKenzie's approach to portraying a feminist power cult and the dangers that go along with it was AMAZING! I was particularly impressed with the amount of legal knowledge behind the book (no doubt thanks to McKenzie's background in law) and how the author was able to keep the twists and turns and surprises coming up until the very end. I devoured this book in two days-- it was that good!

The only thing that threw me off a bit was the abrupt ending to the book. Sometimes I like abruptness in the ending of a book, sometimes I want just a little more. I think that I was enjoying the story so much that I was caught off guard by how quickly it wrapped up and was over! Overall, I thought this was a fantastic read and would recommend it to anyone who is interested in cult fiction, books with legal aspects, or thrillers in general!

I’m a big fan of thrillers. I’ll Never Tell, and You Can’t Catch Me by Catherine McKenzie are in this vein, so when I had the chance to read her latest, Please Join Us (thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley) I was ready to read!

As the story begins, the protagonist Nicole Mueller appears to be in a bad place in life. She had what looked like a brilliant career as an attorney – note the past tense. She and her husband are being forced out of their apartment. After receiving a warning from her firm’s senior partners, she receives an invitation from a networking group, which incudes anonymous membership comprised of successful professional women. Nicole thinks it sounds like the perfect way to resuscitate her career. Her husband Dan thinks this group might be a cult, Nicole but goes ahead and signs up for their retreat in Colorado.

Her group includes a CEO, an actress, a finance whiz, and a congresswoman. The group’s core philosophy is to be a girl’s club in a boy’s club world.

When Nicole returns home, she finds out that she has new clients that help relaunch her career. When she’s called to the congresswoman’s apartment late at night and is pressed into helping cover up a crime, her husband’s concerns about a cult seem possible.

Twisty fun.Four stars.

After being passed up for a raise at her law firm, MC Nicole takes things into her own hands and goes on a career boosting retreat for women at a dude ranch in Colorado. This retreat, run by Panthera Leo, promises to change her life and boost her up the corporate ladder. Moving forward from this retreat with her new support group, Nicole awaits her test to prove her loyalty to her “Pride”. These ladies vow to do anything for each other and that’s exactly what they do. Fast paced, intriguing and well planned! The twists and turns had me reading this in one sitting. A fantastic book ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC copy of this book by Catherine McKenzie in exchange for my honest opinion and review

this one was a wild ride through the safari with lionesses front and center! (i can’t help but be corny)

Nicole was such a great character. she was complex, had such a voice, i loved the way you could see the wheels of her brain moving at every decision she had to make. i didn’t see any of the twists coming which made them rly enjoyable, but i also had to re read a few spots to make sure i understood bc there was a lot of cast and a lot happening.

definitely recommend this one!

Once again, Catherine McKenzie did not disappoint. I read this in one sitting! The premise for this book about a super exclusive, all female club trying to take on the world one man at a time was simply genius. As a professional list maker, I love that she threw in a these little lists here and there. The dual time line had me hooked from the beginning and I love a first person narrated novel. And that ending… just as you think she is done throwing you a curve ball, watch your back, because there is another one coming. I’ll go to bed tonight feeling a little bit more paranoid than when I woke up this morning… I am woman, hear me roar!

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.

3.75 stars rounding to 4 stars
Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the Advance Reader Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Nicole is a lawyer who's life appears to be falling apart around her. Job issues, housing issues, family issues seem to be stacking up around her. She receives an invite for an exclusive group for women to be the girls club in a world where the 'good ol boys club' has ruled industries for years. She soon sees the results of joining this group, but does it seem too good to be true?
The character, background, and group building was a bit slow in the beginning but by the end as things culminated, it was just so well done. The last 30% ish really brought up the overall rating and created such a great, twisty environment. There were so many moments I thought "honey, you're in a cult" but I could completely understand where the main character, Nicole, could fall hook, line, and sinker for all their schtick. Watching the final twists unfold just kept me saying wow at how it all wove together and came apart.
I read this book in one sitting and thoroughly enjoyed my time with it. I had not previously read anything by this author, but I am definitely going to be adding more from her to the future reading list after this one.

A very fast paced mystery/thriller with cult-ish vibes. Though it had more mystery vibes than thriller.

Still, this was a book I didn't want to put down with all the twists and turns.

I didn’t love it but I did like it.

I was excited to read this one because I love a good cult story. I feel like the reviews are a tad misleading describing this as being cult related. It had to do more with an elite secret society in my opinion which is as fascinating as a cult.

Personally, I was expecting more of a bigger twist than the what actual twist ended up being. Overall, it kept me pretty engaged.

This book was so good! I want to see more from this author in the future!! I couldn't put this book down. What a page turner!!!

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for an eARC of this one!
This year seems to be the year for women fed up with the patriarchy! Nicole is a lawyer suddenly in trouble at work despite all her hard work. She receives an email inviting her to an exclusive women’s networking group run by two women promising a girls club in a boys club world. It all seems perfect but of course there are catches. You have to follow requests blindly and trust the bigger picture that is not visible at all!
I ended up finding the premise very interesting even though I couldn't get attached to the characters. It was quıte a quick read and the overall topic ended up having some corporate thrills too.

I was drawn to this book because of the cult-ish storyline, but the plot itself felt really outlandish to me at times, and there seemed to be a lot of "filler" chapters where not a lot happens except the main character Nicole whining about something. I am glad I stuck with this book, because the ending was actually really entertaining.
I would recommend this to others, provided they are as fascinated with cults as I am.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC!

Unfortunately, this book did not grab me at all.

Please Join Us follows Nicole, who joins a women's networking group after a recent bout of struggles with her career and personal life. At first, the group is everything that she is promised, but soon they begin to demand more and more from her and there is no option of saying no now that she is in. When she is called one night to help cover up a murder, Nicole is left to question everything she thought she knew about the group and its leaders.

This book was way too convoluted for my taste. It goes chapters with not much actually happening, only for you to suddenly have plot details dropped on you at the speed of sound with very little actual logic behind any of the reveals. It doesn't help that the writing style features a lot of lists that summarize events and plot details, which grates very quickly. I was also not a fan of the flash forward scenes that seem to only be structured that way because the book needed something to promise the reader that something interesting was set up to happen eventually. These scenes are made worse when you realize the murder is basically just a footnote in the grand scheme of the book and isn't suspenseful or shocking in the slightest.

ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.