Laura is a career woman looking to get ahead at her company. In her opinion, the only one stopping her is her bosses assistant, Vanessa. Laura starts rumors and tries to get to the boss around Vanessa, while she becomes more and more unstable.

I knew I had to read this book. I am an executive assistant and it’s always fun reading about the things we know. The office politics and interactions between Vanessa and her boss were so true to life. It was an experience seeing how others in the office viewed Vanessa, as the big bosses assistant. I loved the drama and the politics between all the employees. This was definitely a fun and exciting thriller!

What really drew me in to this book was the cover and the description. Maybe I just had it in my head The assistant would be crazy. I wouldn’t really call this a thriller. This had so much potential and just didn’t do it for me

I can see this book being a Lifetime movie Network movie!  This book is fantastic!  A great thriller!!  A definite must read for psychological thriller fans!

I enjoyed this read and felt my interest stayed with the book.  I also liked the change in chapters with differing points of view and could really feel my dislike of the characters happening at certain points, but then also softening when told from their point of view.

My only critique is that it ended quite abruptly and a bit too sweetly for one character.  For Vanessa I felt closure, but Laura it just seemed like she was forgotten about and it would be interesting to find out how she coped post arrest.

I did enjoy the not obvious twists in the book which helped keep interest high.

The cover was eye catching and the premise was appealing but the main characters, especially Laura were who is totally not likeable. The other issue I had was this was not very thrilling, it was lackluster even though Laura was creepy AF. Still an ok read just not one that will stick out or I will remember later.

Thanks to Netgalley, Cathryn Grant and Inkubator Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Available: 9/27/20

Thank you to Netgalley, Inkubator books and the Author Cathryn Grant for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This was an interesting read that I could definitely see as one of those psychological thriller movies on the Lifetime network.
Two different Female protagonists in two different positions in the corporate world but yet they each had their own creepy idiosyncrasies.
All in all a fast entertaining read.

This topic has been seen a  lot recently, and I love it! You can easily see how office tension can escalate, especially between an older woman who is established her career, and a younger woman who is eager to forge her path and climb that corporate ladder.

The Assistant by Cathryn Grant is the latest in the office suspense genre. The characters are somewhat unlikeable, but I don’t mind. The story moves quickly and you keep reading to find out what is going to happen next!

Take a look at the plot:

Laura has sacrificed a lot for her high-powered career – her marriage, the chance to have kids. Now, finally, she’s in line for a big jump up the corporate ladder – all the way to the boardroom.

But there’s a fly in the ointment in the shape of beautiful Vanessa, a lowly assistant who seems to have it in for Laura. Vanessa is PA to Hank, the most powerful executive in the company, a man whose support Laura desperately needs if she is to secure the job of her dreams. Repelled by Laura’s naked ambition, fiercely possessive of her boss, Vanessa deliberately sabotages Laura’s every attempt to make a good impression on Hank.

Laura threatens and cajoles but Vanessa just won’t play fair. Soon their mutual dislike escalates to an all-out war. But career-obsessed Laura has always been willing to do whatever it takes to get ahead. And if Vanessa stands in her way… she’s going to pay the ultimate price.

This was a  solid read, though not a page turning, nail biting suspense about toxic women in the workplace! If you enjoyed Precious You by Helen Monks Takhar, you will want to read The Assistant!

Free if you have Kindle Unlimited, arriving on Sept. 27th!

The cover of the book was eye catching and the main reason I decided to take a look at this book. The description was intriguing, so I decided to give it a shot. Unfortunately I found the story to be disappointing. I love psychological thrillers, but I found this one to be lacking in the thriller category. The two main characters are hard to relate to or even like. The support characters came off as two dimensional and hard to believe. The book felt like a slog to get through. This one definitely missed the mark for me.

This was a DNF for me as I didnt feel the blurb lived up to the book,I did try twice but unfortunately the book was just not for me,apologies

An incredible thriller depicting a true cat fight between an ambitious career woman and a personal assistant to her boss, where all bets are off. Their mutual distaste quickly escalates into something much more sinister...

I received a complimentary copy of The Assistant from NetGalley.  Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

Great book!  Kind of a psychological thriller... Well written, with great characters, motivations and suspense!  I had actually expected a completely different plot and was pleasantly surprised.  

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

While the synopsis and the opening scene definitely delivered I couldn't really get into the book itself until the final two chapters. Most of the time, I felt that the writing didn't reach its full potential and that the characters weren't fully fleshed out. I also found Laura's chapters to be disturbing, which I am aware they are supposed to be, as she battled with her own mental problems due to her abusive ex and fanatical drive as well as her stalker. It would have been interesting to see how the story would have panned out if the majority of events were condensed into the first half with the fallout stretched out more. All in all, I feel that there is a good base for an excellent story but it didn't deliver for me.

The Assistant is my second book by Ms Grant, the first one was The Good Neighbor which I liked. The blurb made me request this book, but I could not find much of a connection between the blurb and the story. All Vanessa does is not scheduling an appointment for Laura with her boss which Laura takes to heart.The scenes are repetitive and the characters seem to be infatuated throughout and suddenly have a change of heart in the end. The homeless character is left off without a background of his connection to Laura. I could not find any psychological aspect to the characters except the shoplifting. I'm sorry but neither the story nor the players could get to me. This one is not for me.

It was an interesting read, I like the characters, even though Laura was a bit creepy. Climbing the corporate ladder is not easy. Thank you Netgalley for this book!

This book had an interesting premise, but unfortunately it missed the mark for me. I didn't like the characters, they seemed a bit one dimensional. I found it all to be quite slow and there didn't really seem to be much pay off. 

That being said, it was well written in general. 

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a copy of this E-book to review via Netgalley.

This book just missed the mark for me. The premise is great and the book is a fast, easy read but...... There's not a likable character in the bunch. I really need to be able yo root for somebody and that didn't happen with this book.

‘I absolutely loved reading this book. I felt like it held my attention completely and I couldn’t put it down. It keeps you wanting more, it's full of twists and turns, it’s a real page-turner.

Cathryn's Grant's The Assistant is a psychological thriller that will put a lump in the throat of anyone who's experienced the power dynamics of a white-collar office. 

Laura is a type-A ladder-climber in the extreme — she's sacrificed everything in her personal life to get ahead in the boardroom—who needs to impress her immediate superior, Hank, in order to finally land the promotion for which she's been salivating. Hank sometimes seems oblivious to Laura's rather significant contributions, but she believes she can win him over in the end. 

Unfortunately, another woman stands in her way. Vanessa is Hank's PA, and while her status is lower than Laura in the company, she holds undeniable power as a kind of gatekeeper in charge of Hank's schedule and priorities, and as someone who enjoys a very close relationship with him. Irked by Laura’s ambition and presumptuous behavior, not to mention the catty remarks she's overheard her make, Vanessa is not above sabotaging her rival's attempts to impress Hank. 

As the acrimony between the two characters comes to a head in compelling and unexpected ways, Grant's talent for character and plotting — more so than her prose, which is merely serviceable — really comes to the fore. The motivations of both characters are elucidated so well that the reader continues to identify with them even as things turn violent. 

In the end, we're haunted by the ways in which this (admittedly extreme) scenario resonates with our own experiences. The author seems to understand that in a world in which a good work/life balance is a pipe dream for many, success and fulfillment at the office—which Laura and Vanessa define differently, but pursue with equal zeal — has become the only path to self-worth. When that path narrows, in this book as in life, things can get quite nasty.

The Assistant is based around 'Vanessa - PA to Hank and Laura who strives to climb the corporate ladder. 
The book is almost split into two - detailing Vanessa's relationship, her hidden secret and the dynamic between herself and Laura. It also discusses Laura's past and her part in a catastrophic incident which culminates in a really good twist towards the end of the story.

It's an easy read and the stories interlink well.

I found this to be a well written, good paced thriller which kept me involved in the story line.  Not an edge of seater for me personally but a thoroughly good read which I can recommend.

Thank you to Netgalley and Inkubator Books for giving me the opportunity to read this book.