3.5 stars

Fun little spin on the clique trope! It was fast paced and an interesting psychological read. I really enjoyed it.

WOW The Clique (kindle edition) a psychological thriller by Rhiannon Barnsley was absolutely amazing. This is the first time I have read a book by Rhiannon who is a Corporate Lawyer by day and writer after work and weekends and is also a Faben academy writing novel graduate who lives in the West Midlands.

Cassandra Harlow is in her thirties and works as a coroporate lawyer for a prestigious company Carrey & Watson and along with her close friend and colleague Sara, would love to make their way to the top for the position of partner. This is a company whose secretaries know more than anyone else in the company. This is also a company who have hardly many women in the top positions.

Sara was Cassandra's go to ally when she wanted to offload about work but one day out of the blue Sara jumps from the roof top of their company. The question on Cassandra's mind is was it suicide or was she pushed?

This company's mantra is 'Eat what you kill.' Meaning the more money you make, the more money you get to keep for yourself.

Sara is introduced to a secret society called Inside where only women members are expected to bring something to the table IE contacts, inside information from within their working environment in order to advance their careers. Cassandra's main objective is to get her foot inside the door in order to see if she can garner any proof to determine whether Sara was killed or not.

Unbeknown to everyone who applies, Inside has dark secrets hidden behind their masks and it is very hard to cut the ubilical cord once you have signed up.

I raced through this pacy thriller in two days and it was a wild ride. I had no idea where the author was taking me, but I knew I wanted to follow…..⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

So many twists and turns that keep you on the edge of your seat!
And don’t count out the epilogue for another one!

There were a few errors (committing suicide is not an appropriate term anymore), but overall a good book, especially for a debut.

I’m eager to read more by this author!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book for an honest review.

This is a well written thriller about the life of an up and coming lawyer Sarah who works in a prestigious law firm. It details the misogyny and the long hours of work undertaken by Sara to try and make partner in the firm and to keep her male partners happy
Meanwhile her best friend and colleague has jumped off the roof of the firm and Sara needs to find out if it was murder or suicide . This friend was a member of a secret women’s club. Sara needs to join the club to try and find out what really happened to her friend . Sara’s life becomes more complicated and Sara is herself in danger. Will Sara be the new member of the club and will she find out what happened to her friend.
4 stars

LOVED!! Great story line, interesting characters, suspenseful, thrilling mystery. The concept of an elite private woman's club geared toward advancing each other's careers should be amazing but this story turns it into a nightmare! I couldn't read thru this fast enough!!

I thought the premise sounded interesting. Sadly, the writing was dry and didn't pull me in. It felt like it was geared toward a YA audience. I never connected with any of the characters, so it made it challenging to stay engaged and care about the outcome. There's a lot of unnecessary words that stalled the pace, and the society meetings were over the top. There wasn't a thriller feel to the story, and there were plot holes. There was potential, but it failed in execution.

A story that makes you ponder what you would do to get ahead in your job/career. Very well written, the author takes the concept of a clique and develops a well thought out and meticulous story. Each character was flushed out and added dimension to the story.

Really intense book with truly chilling thriller themes. Enjoyed the whole ride, although I did take a break half way through because I was actually getting stressed out! Thought the ending was funny.

Synopsis (no spoilers):
Cass is a successful lawyer on track to becoming partner soon, even though she faces a lot of challenges with sexist ideals in the workplace, to call it a boys club is an understatement. Cass's coworker / mentor / friend, Sara, dies unexpectedly. It appears as if she jumped off the roof of her office building but Cass is not so sure. Nat, Cass's officemate and only other friend, starts telling her about a women only organization, similar to an old boy's club, where women can actually have the chance at moving upward in their careers. It's a secret society, in which they only have 100 members. No one ever leaves the organization, unless they pass away. With Sara's recent death, Inside is now recruiting for its newest member. Nat fills Cass in on all of this and that Sara was a member. She thinks nothing of it until, through a totally unfair and egregious interaction with a client, left her without a job, where she is allowed to work her three month notice, but it's not without a lot of difficulty.

Nat and Cass both decide to apply to Inside and they both are selected for a few rounds of the interviews. Cass has also started up a relationship for the first time in years. Although she lost her job, she can find another, has a budding new relationship, and still has her best friend, plus she might even get in on Inside. Until the nagging thought that Sara's death was not a suicide overtakes her and compels her to start investigating the case.

She lies, gets caught in lies, finds out terrifying truths, and faces her own mortality.

Positives:
- the book was written in such a way that I felt actual anxiety when Cass was going through certain obstacles. I am an avid thriller reader and very rarely does a book have this kind of power over me. This book is a true thriller.
- Cass is relatable to someone who has a high stress job and especially relatable to any woman who has experienced any sexual advances she said no to. These parts were written in a horrific way that felt very real and still maintained the dignity of the character. I respect that a lot.
- The ending may not be everyone's cup of tea but I thought it was a very funny ending.

Critiques:
- I felt like it took a while for all of her life to fall apart and unravel for it to be such a quick wrap up. I feel like if she gained better understanding at every step, I would believe in her drive for the truth more, but I feel like she knew almost nothing till the very end and that bothered me. A rational person wouldn't have kept at it with so little to go on.
- I did not like how Talia got away with it without anything being held against her. Then she wrote a fake book about it. It seemed really convenient. Although, the funny ending wouldn't have happened without it.

I really enjoyed this, probably because I hate men, love mystery and a good old secret society. 8/10 would want to take down this society vigilante style!

Omg not me trying to solve this right next to Cassandra this book had me on my toes. I loved this so much the secret society of all women is amazing and so sneaky the twists and turns were everything

I truly don’t have anything I didn’t like

"The Clique" delves into the treacherous world of a secret women's society where career success comes at a steep price. After the tragic death of high-flying lawyer Sara O'Neil, suspicions arise about the true nature of the exclusive group she was involved in. As Cassandra Harlow delves deeper into the mystery surrounding Sara's demise, she uncovers dark secrets and dangerous alliances within the clandestine society. With themes of ambition, betrayal, and female empowerment, "The Clique" offers a gripping and suspenseful exploration of loyalty and deceit in the corporate world.

What an edge of your seat thriller!

If you thought high school cliques were bad you just wait until you jump into the world of the Clique!

When Cassandra Harlow's coworker and mentor jumps to her death right when she's about to have it all Cassandra is on edge and she doesn't think Sara jumped on her own terms. She's alone in the firm dominated by men and when a clients lies lead to her termination she turns to a secretive society that's rumored to quickly launch womens careers. Cassandra is hoping this society has the answers as to why Sara jumped, but is the cost of becoming a member more then Cassandra bargained for?

The Clique is a total page turner! I had to push through the first bit but once it picks up it doesn't stop! I saw a couple twists coming but there were still quite a bit that I had no idea about! The characters were well written and even though I've got no idea about law or what it's like working in a big time law firm I felt the plot to be believable.

Thank you Netgally for a ARC in exchange for an honest review

This is a great thriller! Female lawyers working hard to make partner…enter a secret society that ultimately proves to be very corrupt. Become a member at your own risk!
At times pieces of the plot were a little far-fetched, but overall this was an exciting read.
Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for access to this e-ARC.

Wow what a rollercoaster of a read. When Cassandra’s collegue and friend Sara takes her own life her world as she knows it is turned upside down. She does not believe that Sara was the depressed and starts to question if something more sinister is going on. When her other friend mentions a female only members club that only the best of the best can join they find out that Sara’s death means there’s now an empty slot that they both want but is this exactly what it says or is something much more sinister going on and were they involved in what happened to Sara. I loved this read.

An absolutely brilliant and uncomfortable read. Gripping from start to finish with an ending I did not see coming. Cleverly brought together with the characters this is a must read. It is scary to think this is possibly happening somewhere, it made me cringe, swear, and panic. A claustrophobic page turner that I will highly recommend

This is a fast paced read that kept you wanting more. The Clique kept me questioning so I kept reading to find out the answers! Thank you for a great fast paced read Rhiannon Barnsley!

Great debut. 3.5 stars. As in my 20% status update, if you're looking for an accurate depiction of life as a top tier commercial lawyer, this is a book to check out. On top, loads of mystery, bit of suspense and thriller-ish parts.

I would never have requested this eARC if I knew I'd be reading about work (I read to escape it instead 🙃). However, as an ARC I persisted and was not disappointed.

Plot was interesting, not unrealistic to think there may be secret women societies helping women progress and rise up in an industry that has been for so long men at the top. Also most certainly not unrealistic for men to try cover up and victim blame SA reported by women in this space to protect men or clients.

My qualms resulting in a reduced rating were the repetitiveness in parts and stating the obvious - I wish authors wouldn't assume readers can't figure things out. I also think the writing can improve quite a bit. However, it is a debut, it was enjoyable enough and I would check out this author's work again (assuming it's not in the law space).

From my short notes: I picked one twist, but other aspects still surprised me. Was super engaged toward the end and "couldn't put it down".

Please check TWs online, of note is suicide.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I loved this! Very well written, super fast paced, and a fair amount of twists.. How can you go wrong! I'll be keeping an eye out for this author!!

Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for the ARC of this book.

The Clique by Rhiannon Barnsley starts off strong and promising with an odd death of a close friend of the MC. But quickly, the plot becomes clunky and burdensome with too much telling happening in the dialogue and not enough development of the characters. The plot gets bogged down in too many twists and by the end, I was skimming to see what happens. Overall, a disappointing thriller.