I received a copy of the book from Netgalley to review. Thank you for the opportunity.
A rapidly paced story with heart stopping action.
A good read

Although the premise and the description of this book sounded intriguing, I unfortunately couldn't really get in to this story.
Although the characters themselves were well constructed, I just couldn't find myself feeling any form of connection to either of the leading women.
There was a good pace and level of suspense throughout, and the authors writing style was good and engaging.

I really liked that it had two narrators. I love when the perspective shifts and you can see more of the story. While the story was entertaining enough, it just didn't leave me wanting to read more and more.

I would not recommend this book, even though it started ok. I found the storyline rather dull and boring. I didnt like any of the characters. It really was rather pointless.

This is one of those stories that slowly creeps on you. The author did a very nice job of constructing a psychological thriller in the office work environment and I enjoyed reading it.

For me, the highlight of the story was the two main characters. Vanessa and Laura are compelling in their own manner. It surprised me how my feelings for them changed in the story. In the beginning, I liked Vanessa because I thought no one understood her well and hated Laura because she was snobbish and nosy. However, as the story progressed, I started to like Laura even more than Vanessa. However, between the two, I found Laura to be very complex. It is interesting to see her becoming overconfident and deluded by taking revenge on her co-workers. Similarly, I didn’t really like Vanessa much, especially her shoplifting tendencies.

Some of the scenes are very intense, like how the psychotic man attacks Laura while she is running, or towards the climax with Laura and Vanessa. The supporting characters like Hank and Matt also add well to the storyline. The author has a wonderful talent for character development and wrote the two very well.
However, the only reason I didn’t give the story 5 stars is that it tends to get repetitive. I really liked the concept of the story and wanted it to progress in a good manner. But some of the scenes felt repetitious, like the constant arguments Vanessa and Laura have at work. I enjoyed their bickering verbal catfights but felt it slowed the pacing.

Overall, this was a nice psychological thriller, which would have been perfect if there were more twists and turns.

First published as “Getting Ahead” in 2014. 2020 edition has content and editorial changes.

It's a battle of the women. They both work for the same company. Laura is in line for a huge promotion. Vanessa is a lowly assistant who seems to have it in for Laura.

Vanessa is the assistant to Hank, the most powerful / important executive in the company. Laura needs his support in order to secure her placement .. and Vanessa is going to do whatever she needs to in order to thwart Laura's plans.

The war is on! And one of them turns to murder.

It's well written with an intriguing plot, but sadly the two female characters are really unlikable with no redeeming qualities. One's power-hungry, the other one whines when she doesn't get her way. They are both somewhat arrogant ... and the insults they sling at each other gets a little old. Alternating chapters gives the reader a glimpse of their thoughts, which wasn't that interesting. The pacing feels a little off ... not much in the way of action.

Many thanks to the author / Inkubator Books / Netgalley for the digital copy of this psychological drama. Read and reviewed involuntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

I thoroughly enjoyed Cathryn Grants previous novels - The good Mother, the Good Neighbor,. the Guest - so am pleased to have read this new one, set in the supposedly cutthroat business world of two different women. Laura has had to choose her career over family and friends and is finally on her way to the boardroom. Then, Vanessa, the so named Assistant seems to stand in her way., blocking access to their boss Hank who both need to approve of them. I’m all in for a down and out fight to the end domestic thriller but didn’t really love or hate either character- I would have been happy for either one to push the other off the corporate ladder to her death.

Thanks to netgalley and inkubator for an ARC of this book in exchange of an honest review.
If i need to sum up this book in one word, it'd be average.
The book solely consisted of the pov of two characters, Laura and Venessa, the prose was really good, the author did a great job of describing their mentality and what makes them tick.
It was fast paced, there was a little bit of stretching and sometimes the paragraphs were over descriptive, but overall enjoyable.
What i really didn't like was the plot, it felt severely lacking, there weren't any tension parts, also, the ending was meant to be the climax, it felt so forced and just kind of there...
Overall, an average read.

This book, plainly, wasn't for me.

There are two main characters.- the titular character and an employee hungry to climb the corporate ladder. Both women are narrating for us, and they both have secrets to hide. Naturally, the book is going to take its time revealing any of them to us readers. It's not tantalizing; it's frustrating.

This female author seems to have a low opinion of women. The assistant is desperate for attention; the ambitious employee is a gossip and, well, far worse. The latter is an avid runner who seems to have a prediliction for dangerous situations. The story is essentially a tit-for-tat between two harpies that makes it easy to wish for both of their demises.

To be perfectly honest, this book was not one of my favourites. The story and principle was OK (at best), the characters were all over the place, and the end of the book was just blah. It took me nearly a month to read this because i just wasn’t interested. I was hoping the end would make it worth it, but I did not.

This was such a good one! My favorite books are the ones that make you feel like you know exactly what is going to happen next, only to be completely surprised. This one did just that. Also loved the character development as well.

Thank you, Netgalley for the ARC of this book. As far as thrillers go, I thought it fell short. I enjoyed the characters but the story lines weren't complimentary of each other. It is not a book I would read again.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion. I love psychological thrillers so I was very excited to be given the chance to read this! Good book and very well written. Keeping you in suspense through out the entire book. This book is about women in the workplace and the men who control them. I promise the ending will surprise you.

❤️ Review time! ❤️

This was a quick read. Chapters alternate between two characters and is super easy to follow. It flows well but I wish there was a bit more background into both characters. I enjoyed this and recommend! It's a psychological thriller type but not really with any twist at the end. You can see one character slowing becoming unhinged the more you read.


Vanessa and Laura both work for the same company. Vanessa is the assistant for the boss and Laura really wants a promotion. Laura believes that Vanessa is using her role to keep her from getting the promotion she wants and will do everything she can to try and get his attention.

Posted on Goodreads and Amazon

This was enjoyable in a way, but not particularly believable and the characters were all very unlikeable. Just ok really.

This was a strange read. I found that the two main characters didn't mesh well thus the book didn't flow between their segments. It was far-fetched and I kept wanting to like it but ended up feeling like I wanted it to be over.

I finished this entire book in just a few days, so the writing was enjoyable. While I enjoyed this book, I found it a bit odd. The two storylines didn't really mesh together - it almost felt like 2 different books in one. The only thing Laura and Vanessa had in common was the fact that they worked together. It felt very odd and jarring to me, like I had to switch back and forth between plots when the chapters changed.

Both characters were extremely unlikeable, but in different ways. I actually did enjoy that part of the story - which character would I like the least? I just wish they had had a bit more in common outside of work.

Thank you so much @InkubatorBooks & @NetGalley for giving me this eARC in exchange for my honest and unbiased review (Release Date | September 2020)

SYNOPSIS | Laura has her eyes set on a promotion at work which she feels she is the best candidate for, however the hiring managers PA is fiercely protective of her boss & is making it really difficult for Laura to plead her case. The rivalry escalates, but Laura is prepared to do whatever it takes to advance her career

WHAT I LIKED:
- I was intrigued enough to continue turning the pages

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
- the sheer implausibility of some of the situations *cough murders cough*
- the characters were very two dimensional & a couple were completely overlooked
- the storyline was repetitive
- I wanted a corporate thriller but instead the whole revenge plot felt quite misguided & overly dramatic
- I didn't really feel like there was any resolution or "lessons learnt"

Entertaining book. Not a character in the book was likable tho. Fast paced mystery so it was still an entertaining read

“The Assistant” was a fun entertaining read.

Laura is in line for a top job but her ambition has ruined her marriage and any chance of having children. Hank has been promoted and is looking to fill his position. A position that would advance Laura’s career has opened at the company which she wants more than anything. Vanessa, Hank’s assistant, dislikes Laura and could be ruining her chances at this promotion. Vanessa seems to be sabotaging every one of Laura’s attempts at getting the promotion. But Laura will stop at nothing to get it.

The premise of two strong women in the midst of an office conflict really drew me to the book. I love reading books that encompass strong women. I was interested in seeing how the story would play out and there is definitely more to the story than female conflict.

Every office has a Vanessa and a Laura. Although well written, the women in this book are not likable. Several scenes were repetitive and there was too much “fluff.” Also, Laura seemed to dislike Vanessa’s beauty, position in the company and how men treated her. Vanessa’s character lacked depth. As the story progressed, I started to dislike the characters more.

I spent a good portion of the book waiting for the story to take off. Most of the book seemed to be a dance between Laura’s drive and Vanessa’s sabatoge. Once I got to the end, the story started to take shape but fell flat.