The Assistant by Nicole Trope is a gripping psychological thriller that keeps you hooked from start to finish. The story follows a woman who cleverly manipulates her way into a job with a seemingly perfect family, hiding her true intentions. Trope skillfully builds suspense and delivers a series of unexpected twists. While some elements might feel familiar, the story’s intense pace and surprising ending make it a standout read for fans of the genre

Nicole Trope can always be counted on to write a fabulous psychological thriller with twists and turns and myriad threads which are knitted together! Love her writing style, characters and story development. Great read!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC!

This author did it again!!!! I always end up loving her books, she is so so amazing!!!! She has an incredible writing style and her plots are perfect.

The Assistant by Nicole Trope was engaging and kept me reading from start to finish. I love books like this, suspenseful, but not super deep requiring tons of concentration. It's a light thriller that was totally enjoyable. I cannot wait to read more books by this author.

She knows everything about you… but can you trust her?

I walk in to my interview with Ava Green and carefully hand over my application. It’s all made up, of course, but Ava doesn’t have to know that.

There is so much worry in her blue eyes. Her phone pings with constant messages and a small stain marks her crisp shirt. Breakfast with her two little girls before heading out to this high-flying job every morning can’t be easy.

Ava needs me, I think. More than anything.

The interview goes perfectly, because I have made myself into the perfect assistant. Now I just hope Ava never finds out why I’m really here. Not before she lets me into her home, and I meet her charming husband, and get to babysit her children.

Because I have plans for Ava. She just has to trust me…

3.5 stars rounded down!
my bookclub podcast is doing an episode on this book soon, thank you Bookouture team and Netgalley for copies!
This was such an easy quick read. Idk if I personally would describe it as a psychological thriller, because it wasn't too intense, but there were plenty of twist and turns. I'd recommend this book to someone who really wants to start getting into the thriller genre.

Characters: I really loved that there weren't too many characters and they were all very memorable and had their own unique traits. I didn't really feel too compassionate for any of them (Ava a bit), which I think makes for a good thriller.

Plot: Loved the story line/ plot, I just wanted a little more suspense! I think there could have been more of a thriller aspect, as it felt very predictable to me. Except for the epilogue, I loved the ending!

Writing: I liked Nicole’s writing style and felt it was super easy to read and follow. Will definitely read more by her.

Really enjoyed this read and excited for more by Nicole Trope.

I adore Nicole Trope, being an autobuy author for me. She's great at twists and keeping the story moving.

Unfortunately I didn't absolutely love this one. I guessed the twists and honestly they weren't even that exciting.

I still enjoyed the quick read, but definitely not my favorite of hers. I'd still recommend!

What a fantastic book, hooked from the beginning. The twist were amazing and not predictable. The ending just wow. 100% recommend

Ava and Finn are married with two young daughters. Ava has a high-powered and very busy job and is also saddled with keeping the house and most of the care giving for the girls. Finn is a talented artist with his studio in their upstairs loft. With one girl in school and one in pre-school, Finn is at home to care for them. Problem is, he tends to get sidetracked and also doesn’t help with the housework, laundry, food shopping or cooking. All of this falls on Ava when she gets home. Since Finn has stopped taking commissions, he just paints what he feels like saying that when he gets enough things done, he will have a showing. this means he is not earning any money and it’s all on Ava’s shoulders.

Since Ava is so busy at work, she decides to hire an assistant. She interviewed several people but when she interviews Grace, she is quite taken with her intelligence and can-do attitude so she hires her. From the first day, Grace begins to get things back on track and Ava is so relieved. When Grace says she needs to stay in a hotel for a week as her apartment needs to be fumigated, Ava offers her the use of the apartment they have over the garage. No problem. It’s just for a week, right? While there, Grace proves she can be efficient at home too.

Grace is hiding a secret about her past and although she doesn’t need to work, she just wants to get in with Ava because she has a plan for the woman.

I was truly glued to reading this book. The entire plot is really good with lots of characters adding to the constant uncertainty of numerous things going on. I was really surprised by the ending but also found it heart-warming. A terrific story here. Don’t miss it!

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

As a Kiwi living overseas, it’s always fun to read a book set in NZ or Aus. This twisty thriller is set in Sydney and was a lot of fun to read. I found it really interesting who was and wasn’t in danger, and the reason why. It made it unique among many books of the same genre.

Ava is a mum who is stretched to her limit balancing a high powered corporate job and parenting her two young children. She hires an assistant, Grace, who is seemingly perfect. But things are not always as they seem.

One of the things that really stood out to me is how much I related to Ava. As a working mum of young children (although with a much more supportive husband), I often feel at my limit trying to juggle home and work. It made me really understand her and the decisions she made

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I found this book quite challenging to get through. Unfortunately, I didn't connect with the main characters, and I often found myself confused about the plot. While the story had moments of intrigue, it lacked the suspense I was hoping for. I did manage to anticipate the final twist about three-quarters of the way through, but ultimately, it felt underwhelming.

Overall, this book didn’t quite meet my expectations.

BOOKWORMS REVIEW: I think I've read most of Nicole's books at this stage,and she always delivers. Ava Green a high flying business woman is on track for a promotion as company CEO. She has 2 kids and life is crazy. She finally realises she needs an assistant to stop things falling through the cracks. Enter Grace. Her assistant in shining armour who ticks all the boxes and is raring to go...but only because Grace made sure of it. And of course Grace has ulterior motives which she hopes never come to the fore. Lots of little twists to keep you turning the page,in true Nicole Trope style. One for your list! With thanks to Nicole, Bookouture and NetGalley for an arc to read and review.

Grace is a fixer.
She messed up her own life as she progressed into a downward spiral of paranoia and drink but ultimately what she believed to be true, was.
Ava is losing her grip on her job and marriage and Grace arrives to fix her life.
Grace is very very good at fixing things to her satisfaction.
Sometimes people need a Grace fixer in their lives, but find out why Ava truly does.

Grace has maneuvered things exactly as she had planned. By setting things in place, Grace is now the personal assistant to Ava Green. Ava is quite successful in her career and is even up for promotion. She has a husband and two daughters, and does her best to support her husband’s dreams. This is no easy task for Ava, as her levels of stress continue to rise, especially at the office.

The question that begs to be answered is why did Grace find any way possible to become Ava’s assistant. In fact, any invested reader will no doubt wonder early on as to what the driving force is behind Grace and her determination. As things work out, Grace and Ava work quite well together, with Grace stepping in at any moment wherever Ava might need help. And, as this book is a psychological thriller by the brilliant Nicole Trope, no doubt there is something hiding beneath the surface.

I loved reading this book. When you look at the book cover and see the window, it was kind of like a metaphor to me looking in on this story. It was great fun watching the drama between Grace and Ava, getting their perspectives and looking for that expected twist that would bring everything together. And, read until the very end, because Grace’s story jut might not be finished.

Many thanks to Bookouture and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

MY WORD! Hooked from the first page, this book is an amazing must-read. Now I just need to have it in audio. Highly recommend this title.

A winner from Trope.

I was a little confused between the two main characters at first, but once I got into the story that went away.

Ava has a full life as a working mother with little support from her husband. She hires a much needed assistant to help her out. There is much more to the assistant than Ava knows.

This was a quick read. It is told by the two main characters at differing times. There is also sections of letters from an unknown source. This worked well with this story. I sometimes find these type of letters too distracting from the main story but not in this case.

Even though I guessed the big twist fairly early on, that did not alter my enjoyment of the book.

Thanks to netgalley and Bookouture for the arc.

Nicola Trope is a great author and her books never disappoint. This book was very written, easy to follow and it kept me guessing right to the end. I thoroughly enjoyed it

Troubled Grace has a very colourful past and when she gets the job as the assistant for Ava we follow Grace on her quest to ensure everything in Ava’s life runs smoothly at work and also in her home life.

This was twisty and exciting and I loved the ending. All of Nicole Tropes books have been a hit for me so far.

Many thanks to NetGalley, author and publisher for my gifted eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Trope has fast become one of my auto read thriller writers. I like her writing style and she knows exactly what to deliver when it comes to keeping us enthralled.

The Assistant is definitely my favourite of Trope's books to date and I let out a huge squeal of delight when I realised it was going to be a two parter! I can't wait to read things from Grace's perspective.

The book is narrated from the POV of both Ava and Grace, and cleverly interspersed with letters from an anonymous author. The pace is fast, the plot is brilliantly twisty, stakes are high and I couldn't put it down! And that one final twist totally had me blindsided. But how good was that though?

A thrillingly good, entertaining read that's definitely one to recommend.

I received an ARC of The Assistant from NetGalley. Thank you to the publisher and Nicole Trope for the opportunity to read and review this delicious thriller.

We cycle between the POV of Ava Green, a struggling working mom (and wife) who just can’t seem to find a balance between work and home; She has a stay at home husband who prioritizes himself over their two children, and spends his time drinking or pouring over canvases in the attic. The other POV we receive is that of Grace Enright, who interviews for Ava’s open assistant position.

Grace is Ava’s saving grace, literally. The two make a powerful team…and things start to come to light about what has been going on in the fringes of Ava’s life.

It was captivating and anxiety inducing to see which way this story would go, and I absolutely loved it.

She knows everything about you… but can you trust her?

I walk in to my interview with Ava Green and carefully hand over my application. It’s all made up, of course, but Ava doesn’t have to know that.

There is so much worry in her blue eyes. Her phone pings with constant messages and a small stain marks her crisp shirt. Breakfast with her two little girls before heading out to this high-flying job every morning can’t be easy.

Ava needs me, I think. More than anything.

The interview goes perfectly, because I have made myself into the perfect assistant. Now I just hope Ava never finds out why I’m really here. Not before she lets me into her home, and I meet her charming husband, and get to babysit her children.

Because I have plans for Ava. She just has to trust me…

Although I was not into the writing style and I didn't feel completely connected to the characters this was a quick read, it was a good psychological thriller

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read this ARC.