Catherine McKenzie is an auto-buy for me, and I've been looking forward to reading Please Join Us since I saw the cover reveal on socials. I was not disappointed.

From the publisher via Goodreads: At thirty-nine, Nicole Mueller’s life is on the rocks. Her once brilliant law career is falling apart. She and her husband, Dan, are soon to be forced out of the apartment they love. After a warning from her firm’s senior partners, she receives an invitation from an exclusive women’s networking group, Panthera Leo. Membership is anonymous, but every member is a successful professional. It sounds like the perfect solution to help Nicole revive her career. So, despite Dan’s concerns that the group might be a cult, Nicole signs up for their retreat in Colorado.

Once there, she meets the other women who will make up her Pride. A CEO, an actress, a finance whiz, a congresswoman: Nicole can’t believe her luck. The founders of Panthera Leo are equally as impressive. They explain the group’s core philosophy: they’re a girl’s club in a boy’s club world.

Nicole is all in. And when she gets home, she soon sees dividends. Her new network quickly provides her with clients that help her relaunch her career, and a great new apartment too. The favors she has to provide in return seem benign. But then she’s called to the congresswoman’s apartment late at night where she’s pressed into helping her cover up a crime. And suddenly, Dan’s concerns that something more sinister is at play seem all too relevant. Can Nicole extricate herself from the group before it’s too late? Or will joining Panthera Leo be the biggest mistake of her life?

I loved this book.

I expected this to read like a cult narrative, somewhere along the lines of Mean Girls for adults, but what I got was so much more complex and nuanced. Nicole's voice is strong and engaging and through her character, we get a chance to explore relevant and important themes plaguing our society today: gender inequalities, motherhood, stereotypes, professional pressures to be Perfect Plus just to break even. I think many readers will relate to not only Nicole's struggles, but the entirety of the Panthera network as a whole.

The plot is well-paced and twisty and will keep you turning pages well beyond your bedtime. Anyone who likes their suspense smart, sharp, and expertly structured will devour this one.

Big thanks to Atria and NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for honest review consideration.

When I first started this book I was highly disappointed that this was another "cult" book whereby a woman is struggling in her life and career and gets a recruiting email. Thankfully there is a lot more going on... and a lot of twists in this book. The main character Nicole was a little bit wishy-washy, and it was hard to feel sorry about her career on the downward spiral.

The plot of this book was good - I enjoyed the aspect of a women's group taking revenge on those they've been wronged by. It was fast paced with a lot of toxic and jaded characters. No one is really what they seem to be and just when you think women are bonding together, things go sideways quickly. I feel like you need to read the ending of this book slowly so you can get all the details and understand how everything comes together (and is also torn apart).

Nicole Mueller is tired of the Boys Club. She is a corporate lawyer who is extremely good at her job but all of sudden, her life seems to be falling apart overnight. She goes from one of the top attorneys in her firm to almost being let go, she and her husband, Dan, are being forced out of their home by Dan's family. Everything seems to be going wrong and then Nicole gets an exclusive invitation to join Panthera Leo, an executive networking club that helps women get ahead. Pretty soon, Nicole is in a swanky new apartment and has a new file at work (w/ many billable hours). She's full steam ahead on he life she deserves. But Panthera Leo also has a few favors they need done. Seems harmless until it isn't. Nicole is soon caught up in the most manipulative corporate cult. Will she be able to free herself and get back to the life she had before Panthera Leo came calling?

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for this e-arc.*

Quick, fun, #metoo. Angry, smart women working together to take men down. But is that really what's best for the women? Who's the real villian?

Wow! Please Join Us, by Catherine McKenzie, is one heck of a fast paced suspense novel! It kept my attention from beginning to end and I found myself really rooting for the main character.
Nicole Mueller is really struggling. She's not as far up in her law career as she thought she'd be by now and her mentor is giving her a hard time. Plus, her and her husband have to move out of an apartment that they love.
Out of nowhere she gets an exclusive invite from Panthera Leo, a networking group for successful, professional women. Nicole thinks it's an amazing opportunity to rev up her career and she immediately signs up for their retreat.
Once there she meets other successful women including the ones who are now her Pride. Nicole is even more impressed by the founders of Panthera Leo. They've built a powerful girl’s club in a boy’s club world.
Nicole is beyond excited and after she gets home she starts to see the benefits. She's got new clients as well as a gorgeous, new apartment. But the return favors are really starting to add up. Can Nicole escape the group before things get crazy?

Again and Again, Catherine McKenzie nails the thriller. This kept me page turning far into the night because I had to know what this group was all about, what was the test and how on earth it all ends. Fast-paced, great character development and as always a unique storyline I haven't read 10 times already. Fabulous read and completely satisfying! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

2022 has been the year of the cult novel. PLEASE JOIN US by Catherine Mackenzie tells the story of a powerhouse women’s cult disguised as a resource for women of influence to network. When Nicole Mueller joins Panthera Leo to advance her fledgling law career. Despite her husband’s admonitions, Nicole joins and finds herself in the midst of sinister activity with no way out.

This was a fairly entertaining read, albeit unmemorable. With the thriller genre I am prepared to suspend a bit of disbelief, however there were aspects of this storyline that felt completely implausible to me. My advice? Head into this knowing a few plot points are a bit outlandish and you’ll be prepared to be along for the cultish craziness.

Through a combination of print and audio I flew through this in a few days. The narration by Joy Osmanski made for easy listening. This would make for a quick poolside read for these fleeting summer days.

RATING: 3.5/5 (rounded up to 4 stars)
PUB DATE: August 23, 2022

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Review will be posted to www.instagram.com/kellyhook.readsbooks

I've enjoyed books by this author before and when I see a new title I know I'm in for another great read. This was a twisty, suspenseful story as the details were revealed.
Part of you wants to cheer for these woman taking charge and getting what they want out of life, doing it the way men have done it for years but the other part is cheering the takedown, no different to how we cheer when a man is brought down. It just proves that by practicing deception, you are no better than the ones you are trying to take down in the end.

This was a fast paced read that engaged me from the beginning. Nicole is a relented attorney determined to get ahead and she joins a secret society of women to fight the old boys club. But nothing is at it seems. The story captivated me from the start, I was rooting for Nicole. I couldn’t put the book down,, couldn’t wait to see how it will all end. And I was quite happy with that ending. I felt the book was different and tackled some common themes in a unique way, while maki g sure I kept turning the pages.

Chilling take on a cult story! Not your average boys’ club book!
I was afraid this would be like so many books, stories about men succeeding and women unable to climb the corporate ladder.. etc. Boy, was I surprised! This was not that! I guess, to a degree it started as that. But then it went somewhere else entirely! I guessed a few things ahead of time, but it didn’t take away from the reading experience! And there were still plenty of secrets to be had! Great book!

This books was so good - like all her other books. I flew through this one in a few hours. The plot twists were amazing!
Thank you NetGalley for providing this advance readers copy.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I wanted to like this one. I enjoyed the strong female characters. However, parts fell flat and lagged and at it times. The premise just didn't work for me. The plot was all over the place and it was hard to keep some of the characters straight. The end did have a nice twist, but it was a bit of a struggle to get there.

“Please Join Us” is about Nicole (a lawyer) who is struggling with her career. A women’s networking group reaches out to her to help and she can’t pass it up. Only the group isn’t what she was expecting. This book was such a roller coaster for me. I couldn’t put it down once I got to the last 25% of the book, and then could appreciate the beginning even more.

Are you feeling like your career should be further along than it is? Like other people get promotions for no reason, while you continue to work hard with little to no results? Nicole’s job is under fire, when she gets an email invitation to join an exclusive female business networking group, but there’s more to this group than meets the eyes. “Please Join Us” by Catherine McKenzie is full of drama and tension, definitely a great summer pick!

This book was quick and intense. Panthera Leo is this elite women’s group that you would ideally jump at the chance to join, but at the same time, you never know what a group like that will ask of you. This book really steps into that cultish world and makes you question what you would do to stay in a group. Especially when the rest of the group seems so accomplished.

I loved Nicole’s wit and smarts throughout the book. At times I felt like she was in too deep and would likely just crumble, but she’s always got one last card to play. I wish I was that cunning and resourceful. She might be one of my favorite characters so far this year.

In the end, this book got 4 stars from me. It was a fast paced read and I would definitely recommend it if you’re looking for something a little different.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. This book hits shelves on August 23rd!

Thank you net galley. I thouroughly enjoed reading this book it kept me at the edge of my seat.
Nicole Mueller is in her late thirties married with no kids. She is a lawyer but is going nowhere with her career.
She has been warned by higher uos at the law firm where she works to pick up slack. She receives an invitation to join a womens' networking griup and thinks why not? It could help her law career.
Nicole accepts the invite and goes to their retreat in Colorado. When she gets there she meets other women who make up their pride.
Things start to spiral out of control both good then bad..
There were so many twists that it kept me reading. I would definately recoomend this book.

I enjoyed this, but found it fairly reminiscent of two other books I've ready lately. It was a solid story, but one that I found to slow down and felt like it dragged at times.

Nicole’s life is on the rocks, then she receives an email with promises to turn her law career around- a girls club in a boys club world. She heads to the retreat against her husbands concerns this group is a cult.

After the retreat her “pride” of woman help her succeed in life and her career but at what cost?!?

This mystery thriller seemed to be headed in a very predictable story line and then wham a twist that keeps you guessing!

A great read! Have already recommended it to several people!

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for an advanced copy of this book in return for my honest review!

Thank you to Atria books for a Netgalley.

Cult books are the rave of 2022 and I enjoyed this one more than the others I have read this year. This reminded me of a Special Place for Women, but deeper in the overall scheme.

Though our MC, Nicole, could be considered a blind follower, I can see how she got to this point. Her character was in a major rut and was about to lose something even more important. I loved following her through this journey. I loved how the plot got more complicated and the women all had their parts. The ending was very satisfying as well.

I overall enjoyed this novel and definitely recommend!

I enjoyed reading this book. It had a good story to it. I liked the variety of characters in it. It was a well written book. I have read other books by this author and liked them too.

I have read and enjoyed several of Catherine’s McKenzie’s novels and was looking forward to her latest. Unfortunately I just could not get into this one. When the main character drank from the cup at the retreat I quickly realized the women’s group was more of a cult. I just couldn’t grasp why such a strong woman didn’t use her burner phone and get the hell out of there. At this point I DNF. Thank you for the ARC of this book.