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.

I love stories like this! This was a great 4 star read. I enjoyed every twist and turn and the writing style, and that ending! Thanks for the copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fun book to read. The descriptions were very vivid. It seemed like all the senses were described for everything: touch, smell, taste, etc. Sometimes it was a bit excessive and distracting. I didn’t care for any of the characters but that’s not always unusual in a thriller! There weren’t really any twists or jaw droppers but I still really enjoyed the ending. I would recommend The Assistant and will definitely read Cathryn Grant again!

A good creepy thriller. I really enjoyed this and feel. Like it stands out om the rest. I highly recommend this book.

<i>The Assistant</i> is described to be some type of psychological thriller and I’m disappointed to say that it was most definitely not. Told in the perspectives of Laura, the determined executive that’s aiming for a promotion and Stephanie, the assistant to the high ranking official at the company. 

I found this novel to be wrought with typical office innuendo (assistant sleeping with her boss? Women can’t move into higher positions based on their gender?) and it all fell flat. Readers are given a glimpse into Laura’s brief (troubled) marriage, but her actions don’t come across the right way with the reader and I don’t feel for her at all - even at the end.

Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy this book so much. I was drawn in by the book cover and the title. Both main characters were not likable  and the boss was just one sided. The ending felt very unfulfilling. Thank you #NetGalley for fixing me the opportunity  to read #theassistant

I received an ARC copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for my honest opinion of it. This book was really different in the way that not the two main characters were absolutely crazy and the ending was very strange. To me it was basically two women fighting their way up the corporate ladder trying to put the men in their place no matter what it took to accomplish that goal. Murder, shoplifting, you name it. As I was reading the book, I just kept wondering which woman was going to be the normal one. It was a very different read and one that I felt had too many unanswered questions at the end.

3 Ambition Gone Wrong Stars
* * * Spoiler Free-A Quick Review
In this corner you have Laura, wishing to be more than what she is in her company's flowchart. She feels she has sacrificed her marriage, having children if she even wanted them, and now there seems to be one obstacle she cannot seem to overcome.

Vanessa. Yes, in the other corner is the seemingly good Vanessa, the little watchdog assistant who is guarding the most powerful man, the one person Laura needs on her side to be promoted.

These two women are in each corner and end up having the office political fight out in the open. What may have been an innocent, forgetful moment causes that "Butterfly Ripple" in the waters of the company and Laura's Psyche.

This isn't really a mystery/thriller like we have experienced, more women being icky, insecure, and scheming. For those with experience with Corporate life and all the ins and outs of what can be treacherous, you might see someone you know in this. I hope not.

A gifted copy was provided by author/publisher via NetGalley for an honest review.

I was intrigued by this book. It kept me guessing - but i had so many questions that were not answered. The ending felt very abrupt. 
I enjoyed reading it, but was left feeling confused.

I have read, reviewed and enjoyed a couple of Cathryn’s books now.  I read the synopsis for ‘The Assistant’ and it certainly liked an interesting sort of read.  So without further ado, I grabbed my Kindle, grabbed a cup of tea and settled down to start reading.  Overall I did enjoy reading ‘The Assistant’ but more about that in a bit.
I have to be honest and say that I didn’t particularly like either of the main female lead characters and I certainly didn’t warm to them.  In fact, if anything I became frostier towards them as the story continued.   The two female leads are called Laura and Vanessa.  Laura is a highly ambitious individual who is desperate for promotion and she will do anything to get it.  She doesn’t come across very well and she certainly doesn’t seem to have many, if any redeeming features.  Her ruthlessness started little alarm bells ringing in my head.  I certainly wouldn’t want to turn my back on her because chances are she would stab you in it if it meant that she could get ahead.  Vanessa doesn’t appear to be any better.   She is the personal assistant to the head of the company and to say that she is fiercely protective of him is an understatement.  She is worse than an office Rottweiler (that used to be my nickname when I worked in an office).  She will not let anybody have access to him nor will she let them get too close to him.  I think that Vanessa sees Laura as a potential rival and she sabotages Laura’s efforts to make a good impression on Hank.  Who will triumph in this battle of the fittest?  Is there a twist to the tale?  Well for the answers to those questions and so much more you are just going to have to read the book for yourselves to find out as I am not going to tell you.
I must be honest and say that it took me a while to get into this story.  I think part of the problem was that I didn’t take to either of the lead characters and so I wasn’t really bothered about what happened to them.  After I got into this story then that was it and I was away.  This was one of those books that was perfect for binge reading.  I wasn’t able to read the book over the course of a single day as I had other commitments but I did manage to read the book over the course of a few days, which is still pretty good for somebody with a short attention span and who is easily distracted.  I seemed to race through the latter half of the book as the tension increased and my desperation to find out what happened grew and grew.
‘The Assistant’ is well written as are Cathryn’s other books.  The story was more of a slow burn which is perfectly fine as it meant that we could get to know the different characters a bit better and the tension steadily grew and grew.  Cathryn certainly knows how to create characters and have them engage in a sort of ‘Survival Of The Fittest’ competition.  I did feel as though I was part of the story myself and that’s down to Cathryn’s really good storytelling.  At the end of the book, I was just thankful that I didn’t know such people let alone worked with them.
In short and overall I did enjoy reading ‘The Assistant’ and I would recommend this book to other readers.  I will certainly be reading more of Cathryn’s work in the future.  The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 4* out of 5*.

I didn’t really find that this book was what I expected. I thought there would be more mystery in it, it felt like most of the book was spent developing the main characters and it wasn’t until right at the end that anything really happened. And even that was a bit of a let down. Even the characters weren’t particularly likeable, it just all felt very flat.

This book is definitely written for someone who enjoys chick lit and reading the thought processes of drama queens!  I should have read between the lines of the blurb as I was expecting a corporate suspense thriller.

Many thanks to NetGalley and to the publisher, Inkubator Books, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Cathryn Grant has produced another winner here with The Assistant, which I throughly enjoyed. It is gripping, intense, a real page turner and is everything that I love in a psychological thriller, making it such an enjoyable read. 

Cathryn Grant has created a plot that delves into office rivalry, politics and the lengths one will go to in getting to the top of the corporate ladder. Coming from a workplace where I have seen this first hand, although not as far as Cathryn Grant takes it, makes me glad that I am no longer part of that world.

The characters have been very well created, but not one is likeable. I actually enjoyed this and it gives the story an edge, but I did find them very intriguing. Cathryn Grant really gets into the heads of the main protagonists and shows us how differently they view the same situations and how it messes with their mental state.

The story has been very well executed and alternates from the perspectives of Vanessa and Laura, which gives the reader a good insight into their personalities and what they deal with outside of the workplace. It becomes quite dark and sinister as it progresses along and does have a shocking twist which I wasn’t expecting. 

Cathryn Grant has become a fixture on my blog with The Assistant being the third book of hers that I have reviewed this year. She is a great storyteller and the books I have read, have all been so enjoyable. I can’t wait to see what she comes up with for us next. It was a pleasure to read and review The Assistant which I recommend.

Thank you to Cathryn Grant, Inkubator Books and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of The Assistant, which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

A corporate psychological thriller novel

"It was part of the job. All jobs had disagreeable aspects. You just had to accept that, and not allow it to eat away at you the way sugar silently ate away at tooth enamel, until one day you woke up in unbearable pain."

In Avalon, there are a lot of things going on than meets the eye. Laura Bachman is eyeing a promotion to Ops Director that has been vacant for months. The promotion she has dedicated all her life for had turned into an obsession. Vanessa is the assistant to the VP and was very good at keeping his calendar straight and controlling everyone's access to Hank. Laura had a strong dislike for Vanessa because of the misconception of the assistant's power over the VP. Laura has become neurotic thinking that Vanessa is deliberately making it difficult for her to get an interview or even a minute to talk to the VP. While all these events are happening in the office, Laura had to deal with a creepy guy who have intruded her favorite track field where she goes for her daily morning run and Vanessa had a shameful secret that gives her excitement and pleasure.

I AM AMAZED! I LOVE IT! Lots of feminist theme on this book. At first I thought I wouldn't like it because it seems to me that there are two women in conflict but there is more to the story than that. This is one of the books I would place under the category of unputdownable. I was hooked from the very beginning and there is not one part of the book that I have lost interest. 

I am pro women supporting each other and I was very interested how the author has put this idea in an ironic fashion. Most of the story circled around the office. I love that some of the characters have been level-headed. I would like Brent's character if he wasn't a guy. But I guess him being a guy makes Laura's character even more compelling. 

"The universe seemed to cheat women out of the very thing that it first handed out so generously, and then yanked back more severely than necessary."

Let me be honest about the characters. They are not easy to like. In fact, as I read through the book I've grown a more dislike for them. They are women of strong characters however very much flawed. One is too ambitious that she couldn't find fault in herself. While the other finds thrill and excitement in shoplifting. This did not tarnish the great dynamic and interaction between the characters in the story. It is told between the two women's point of view. I miss the office scenario because I've been out of work due to the pandemic for six months now. What's happening in the office is very relatable and reading it gave me an experience of a soap opera. I like how the author have invoked so much feelings and emotions within me. Every scene and dialogue in her book had a good flow and sequence. 

I could not find any fault in this book. To me it's flawless.  Cathryn Grant has awesome writing and storytelling skills. Now I realized one of the benefits of being in NetGalley. I discovered authors and stories I never would have from big publishers. Authors and stories who don't make it to the main stream but are equally good and talented, if not better, than the popular books we see on media.  With this being said, I pre-ordered the book in Amazon and can't wait to have my very own Kindle book copy upon its release on September 27. 

Thank you so much to NetGalley, publisher Inkubator Books, and author Cathryn Grant, for providing an advance reader's digital copy of the book, which allows me to discover your talented work and write an honest and unbiased review.

Vanessa, Laura, Hank- they all have secrets. Who is crazy? Who is a criminal? Who can't hold their liquor? Maybe none of them. Maybe one is all three. Either way, this book was thrilling. I hate to say it, but it was also wordy and predictable throughout the story.

Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is my first book by Cathryn Grant, I went in with no expectations, and the book actually was surprisingly good.
The author is able to paint great imagery of her settings by being extremely descriptive and detailed, but somehow, the book still maintained at a good pace.

I was having second- hand anxiety reading all the shoplifting scenes, I just wanted to skimp the upcoming pages, in case she gets caught, so I can brace myself for it. You know the book really pulled me in, if it had that effect on me.

Also, you can really feel Laura's derail coming, as her mind works itself to becoming more and more crazier through time. 

Overall, excellent book, I am planning to find more books by Cathryn Grant.

Pros: This is an exceptionally well written story. The descriptions are rich and luscious, the small details beautifully crafted and an absolutely stellar technical story by a clearly gifted writer. The characters were all very engaging and easy to connect to and you definitely felt drawn more toward one character while strongly disliking the other. This story would make an exceptional Women's Fiction book in my opinion. 

Cons: My biggest issue is that... this is not billed as a Women's Fiction. It's listed as Mystery/Thriller. There was no mystery for me. I was disappointed when there wasn't the big head cannon moment that I am used to (and love) in my thrillers. I kept waiting for the plot to turn on a dime. For the heroine (ish) to flip into being a far more devious villain that I could have ever envisioned the initial "villain" to be. For everything I believed to turn into a lie. Sadly, that moment never came. 

This is an excellent story that I would highly recommend to anyone who loves a good General/Women's Fiction story, but isn't expecting a the whiplash in the story line one expects from a thriller.

Thank you NetGalley for this advanced copy. The cover and description really drew me in. Unfortunately that is what happened with her last book and it wasn't good. It fizzled out super fast for me and I stopped reading. I just cannot get into her books.