The Clique was a fast paced thriller with that tells the story of Cassandra along with other staff ( attorneys/friends) that work at the same law firm. This one is full of drama, lies, and mystery that keeps you hooked until the very end.
While some of this book is a little unrealistic, it is well written. It is full of unlikeable characters and won't know who to trust.

Ooooof! If you ever had to endure working in a patriarchal office with not only rampant misogyny but vile cliques of women, then this is absolutely the book for you! There are a number of TW's but all are conducted in context and not glorified in any way

The Clique by Rhiannon Barnsely is and utterly blinding psychological thriller that is right up my street. There is a belting twist in the tail and as such, it is difficult to get too far into the synopsis but for to say, The Clique is an exclusive club, with very strict entry requirements. It is only for those who really wish to succeed and more often than not, it is women who are put upon in high-octane vocations

Rhiannon Barnsley has a blistering intellect and it shows in this incredibly fast paced thriller. Cleverly woven with intricate detail, this is a must if you like a nailbiting thriller

Thank you to Netgalley, HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter, One More Chapter and the author Rhiannon Barnsley for this stunning ARC. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own

This was a lot more sinister than I thought it was going to be, and all the better for it. I was hooked. I loved the investigative angles and the way it got more and more disturbing and dangerous the more you learnt.

Loved Loved Loved this book!
An original story with great characters that had me completely hooked
One of the best books I've read for a while

This book focuses on what the lives of high level lawyers are really like and what they have to endure to achieve their career ambitions and goals. It initially starts off a little slow but then the pace soon really picks up.

On the surface it seems that Sara O'Neil has it all, a prestigious life as a high flying lawyer and supposedly the world at her feet, that is until Sara jumps to her death from the rooftop of the company's office. An absolute tragic event for all that knew her and worked with her. Life as a lawyer in this environment is not easy, burnout, constant fears of not being good enough and a job that takes over these employees lives, they literally breath work twenty four hours a day. Why did Sara feel this was the only avenue she could take, was it just because of the constant stress and pace of her life while trying to make partner with the organisation?

Her close workmate Cass cannot comprehend this situation and does not believe that Sara would have taken her own life, she then begins to investigate what she feels are suspicious circumstances. Cass then has her own issues, a very wealthy client of the firm bails her up in a woman's toilet at a meeting and makes sexual advances towards her, she reacts by slapping him in the face, well deserved but now she has huge problems, he takes his revenge by telling her company partner's lies about her. Cass is not believed when interviewed by the firm as to why she behaved in this manner, this then leads to her employment being terminated. While all this is going Cass discovers that Sara was involved with a secret group who supposedly are able to enhance the careers of these highly intelligent women. she then decides she must endeavor to become a member as she feels the answers regarding Sara's death may lay with them.

An absolute page turner, I was immediately taken in by the story and found it really hard to put this book down. Mystery, suspence and outright danger keep the book moving along and the reader hangs on every page waiting to see how this will resolve, will Cass find evidence of what has contributed to Sara's loss of life and will those involved face consequences?

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. Five stars.

Doesn’t reinvent the wheel but does give you a well paced and tense read!

The premise is a bit out there but if you suspend belief the author will run with it and you’ll enjoy!

Despite the inequalities within the workplace, high-flying lawyer Sara O'Neil has it all. She has the money, the power, and the career; and is on track to make partner in a prestigious firm. That's why everyone is confused when seemingly out of nowhere, she climbs to the terrace rooftop and jumps to her death. Her co-worker and friend, Cassandra, doesn't believe that Sara would end her life and decides to find out what really happened to her. Cass discovers Sara was part of an elite networking club for professional women and plans to infiltrate the group to reveal the secrets behind Sara's death, and there begins a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse.

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The Clique was certainly a fun read. Although originally I struggled to get into the book due to its slow start, it really picked up in the last half of the book and I devoured it in one sitting. There were a few predictable twists but also some that I didn't see coming. Overall, it was a fun read I just couldn't get over how unrealistic the ending felt. I also found there weren't really any characters that I found memorable or relatable which is another factor that let it down as there was nobody to really root for or care about. Still, it was an enjoyable reading experience and I can see people liking this book if they're into the genre.

Holy cow what a ride and written very well!

The description didn't prepare me fir what this story held! I didn't want to quit reading!! There are trigger warnings in the book ... suicide, drugs and sexual assault so proceed if these don't bother
You then Def add to your TBR!

I WILL READ MORE BY THIS AUTHOR!

Thanks NetGalley for letting me read and review

The Clique was a wild ride. I loved it!

Here's what I loved:

-This book understands law firm culture and the corporate world. While this book is ficition, it immerses the reader in a world full of anxiety which adds to the mood and sense of urgency.
-Loved Cass as a character
-There are lots of characters and you aren't sure who to trust.

I read this in one afternoon. It was so good that I couldn't put it down.

An interesting story with some dark themes, I didn’t really care for the characters very much and thought that Cass did some pretty stupid things - but it was enjoyable enough - 3 and a half stars

OMG what a read
The clique is an absolute rollercoaster ride
Murder, lies and red herrings
You have no idea what's is going to happen
Definitely going to be a number one best seller
Rhiannon Barnsley what a writer

Thank you, Rhiannon Barnsley, netgalley and One More Chapter

Wow! What a well written story.

Let me tell you the description of this book does not even come close to preparing you for all the drama, intrigue, and mystery that surrounds the people in this book. I actually wasn't sure I wanted to read this book based on the description but I am so glad I did. I didn't want to put it down, but this thing called work (ugh) got in the way of that. : ) I was even late returning from lunch because I lost track of time while reading.
The ending really surprised me though.

I will say if suicide, drugs, and/or sexual assault are triggers for you, I would proceed carefully.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins UK - One More Chapter for the advanced copy for my honest review

"𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝑰 𝒔𝒆𝒕 𝒖𝒑 𝑰𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆, 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒚𝒑𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒑𝒔 𝒘𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏 𝒇𝒍𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒉. 𝑻𝒐𝒐 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈, 𝒘𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏 𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒂𝒍𝒆-𝒅𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒇𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒂𝒍."

Every working woman is aware of the inequalities in the workplace. Lawyer Sara O'Neil was a star on the rise. On track to make partner, everyone was stunned when she went to her firm's terrace rooftop and jumped to her death. However, it was easy to explain away her death; the long hours, the broken engagement, having nothing in her life except for work. Her co-worker and mentee Cassandra is devastated, but then she finds out from another co-worker that Sara was part of a secret society--a females only networking group that promises a meteoric rise to the top.

On track herself to make partner, Cass's world implodes when she is fired when a drunk client gropes her at a celebratory lunch and she retaliates by slapping him. She is working the last few months of her notice when a co-worker tells her she gained access to the group's link through Sara's emails. With her death leaving an opening, both women apply to Inside, the top-secret group.

The secret society meetings were clandestine and over the top, but unfortunately, they missed the mark of being eerie or sinister. There were some plot holes that just didn't pass the "I can suspend disbelief" for, and the characters mostly seemed wooden and trite.

There was a lot of potential in the story, and by adding depth to the characters and tightening up the focus of the group, especially one thing they were rumored to be dabbling in, this could have easily been five stars. I did like the author's writing style enough to try another book. Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins One More Chapter for the early copy. This title will publish June 6, 2024.

I really enjoyed this! I couldn’t put it down and loved every second of it. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC.

I found this to be a decent read, though a bit unrealistic. It centers on Cass, whose friend and mentor Sara jumps to her death with seemingly nothing leading up to it. Cass finds out that Sara was part of an elite women’s empowerment group that seems just a little too good to be true, and makes a plan to infiltrate the group so she can find out what really happened.

The story was fast paced and the author didn’t mind killing people off (which always adds nicely to the suspense), but there were so many things that were just unrealistic to me. Cass seemed far too naive to be a lawyer this far along in her career, and some things just fell into place a little too easily. I also finished the book not fully understanding the motivations behind some of the decisions that were made.

Overall, it was a fast and fun read but you’ll have to suspend your disbelief for this one. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I would like to thank the author, the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of this book. It was quite different but I enjoyed it, it had some strong characters and a good story, I look forward to reading more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for providing this book, with my honest review below.

The Clique was a thrill ride for me, combining the craft like vibes of a woman’s empowerment group gone wrong with a good old fashioned mystery.

Cass’s mentor and friend dies of suicide, which she finds out of character, and she is quickly sucked into trying to solve the mystery of whether Sara killed herself of was targeted by the women’s empowerment group after getting mysterious videos and photos and getting a weird feeling about the group. As she struggles to solve the mystery she tries to balance her best friend’s own feelings and being recently sexually assaulted and fired from her firm. There was a lot going on for Cass, almost all toxic, but I loved where this book took me. Not your typical thriller based on the premise, I sped through this and enjoyed every minute.

Yes! Yes, yes, yes!! Now this is how thrillers should be done. What an amazing book. I was calling off a date ti keep reading this over the weekend. It has suspense, suspicion, twists, turns, secrets, lies, and the most perfectly plotted out ending you could imagine. The characters were so well written and brought to life. They were made human and had human reactions and responses. I can't raye this highly enough

I was given this book by NetGalley for an honest review-
A secret Society everyone wants to join with no idea of the consequences! Only so many are allowed so one must die for a new one to enter,
When Sara a coworker jumped (or did she) to her death - Cass decides to try to get into this secret clique to find the answers and then life gets scary- someone knows!
Grab this edge of your seat thriller

This story was interesting and while not YA was written in a younger, more naive style. The heroine, while a lawyer was also pretty naive and took risks that were not believable and after being told to trust no one, she gets involved with a new boyfriend and tells him everything. I think my students will enjoy it though