Cover Image: Please Join Us

Please Join Us

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Member Reviews

Nicole is a lawyer at a prestigious law firm, she’s up for a review and ends up getting not-so-good feedback. Stressed and hurt, she tries to figure out how exactly she can turn her life around and get back on good graces with her boss. Then an email arrives, inviting her to join a secretive group full of successful women, the group claims to put them on an equal playing field with the men in the world.

Nicole is immediately sucked into the group, although a bit wary, she is proud of bettering her life in multiple ways. But not everything is as it seems with this secretive group. And of course, who even invited her to join? And why?

I was immediately sucked into this book. It was my first read from this author and now I have to hunt down every book she’s written. I loved the story line, and how the suspense just keeps on building. This is the kind of book that makes me want to take a day off work to finish. A great read!

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Men's clubs rule the world. Right? Maybe not when the women's networking club, Panthera, appears to be giving women more power; but only select women; and is it power or revenge? Nicole is a lawyer who likes solving puzzles and this is one wingding of a puzzle. Keeps you guessing till the end. A must read for all you puzzle solvers out there.
#PleaseJoinUs#NetGalley

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I really enjoyed this book! It hooked me from the very first chapter, and kept me hooked the entire time!

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Catherine McKenzie has smashed it out of the park with “Please Join Us” - a tense, suspenseful story that will hook you from the very first page.

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I’ve read every book by this author so I am always thrilled to grab the newest one and as always I wasn’t disappointed. I would classify this one as a legal suspense novel.. it was fast paced and draws you in from the first page.

Nicole is a lawyer who isn’t doing so great in her career until she’s invited to join a private networking group for women. Even though her husband is skeptical she decides to attend the retreat. That was the right choice on her part she s0on finds out as she realizes how powerful many of the women are. Her luck and her life starts to turn round…..that is until she realizes with everything comes a price. What will she have to do to keep her spot and is it worth it? Let’s just say there are some surprises when everything falls into place.

Make sure you pack this book for your pool trips this summer.

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What a fun read! I'm likely the perfect demographic for this book, a few years into my corporate career so I could visualize the storyline.

I'd also recently listened to a podcast about NXIVM and this had lots of potential crossovers (although it didn't go down that route).

It's easy to read but keeps you guessing, this is my second book by Catherine McKenzie, and the review is almost the same, in a good way :)

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This was a great book, I really liked it! The pacing was perfect, not too slow that you can't really get invested but also not too fast that it overwhelms you. Throughout the chapters the story had a suspense element and I liked how us the readers get new reveals until the end. Another thing that I found great about the story was the fact that the reveals came organically and we didn't have to wait until the last chapter to find out everything. Although the plot became a bit predictable towards the middle of the book, the author managed to pull a few twists that made me disregard the predictability element. All in all, this was an easy and very enjoyable read with an interesting plot and ending, Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC provided!

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When things at work are declining in a downward spiral, Nicole starts questioning everything she’s been working toward, she gets a mysterious email to join a women’s club that empowers professional women to work together to help each other succeed. She decides to go on the retreat she’s been invited to and then join these women in Panthera Leo to work on bringing her career back on track.

Once she’s joined other parts of her life start falling apart and she becomes more dependent on these women, but something just doesn’t feel right. Has she sold her soul to this group. The things she keeps getting asked and expected to do become more and more uncomfortable.

Nicole is a strong protagonist who fully believes in doing the right thing, everything happening in her life begins to really go against all of her beliefs. Can she figure out what’s going on with these ladies before her life goes down in flames?

I really liked that this book was written about smart, strong female characters that were trying to fight back against the “professional men’s club” in the world. It was well written and full of twists and turns as Nicole tries to navigate her life as it starts falling apart around her.

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Please Join Us is so much fun!
Imagine mean girls grew up to be "Boss babes" and want you in their sorority-- they promise they see potential in you and they can help you achieve your dreams.
Like a boy's club for working ladies.

If something sounds like a cult, talks like a pyramid scheme and requires money for power....you've joined a cult. Nothing ever good happens in cults. The only thing I didn't like about this book (naive protagonist and all) was the way the book is left open ended and you are to piece it all together.

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First, a huge thanks to @catherinemckenzieauthor, @netgalley, and @atriabooks for this early release copy in exchange for an honest review. When I saw Catherine post that it was available on NetGalley, I RAN to request it. I have purchased, read, and loved every one of Catherine’s books and could not wait to get my hands on this one.

This may be marketed to the thriller crowd, but I found it more a mystery. It also has elements of a psychological thriller (complete with all the head games) and career drama, but the mystery of what in the hell is going on with this “networking” group of women truly drives the story.

It gave me vibes of cult behavior, “fight club” style camaraderie, and girls gone wrong. For the majority of the book, I was super frustrated with our main girl Nicole because, for a hotshot lawyer who was at the top of her career, she sure acted very dumb and made some terrible decisions.

True to Catherine’s style, the writing is engaging and it had a nice twisty ending.

Be sure to check this one out when it drops in August! I’m glad I got to preview this one, and it was a fun read.

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I really enjoyed PLEASE JOIN US and would recommend it for fans of suspense thrillers. Recently the books I've read in this genre have all been multi-POV so I appreciate how here we stick to Nicole's POV. Nicole's motivations and actions were 100% understandable and relatable, which helps keep the reader turning the pages.

I didn't love how Nicole's husband warned her that the "networking group" might be a cult; that seemed unfortunately patronizing. Why couldn't a female friend or mentor have been the one to warn her?

That minor complaint aside, this is an extremely well-crafted page turner and McKenzie does a superb job of bringing all the threads together in the end for a satisfying conclusion.

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Please Join Us follows a woman named Nicole who feels like her life is falling apart. She might be about to lose the job she dedicates most of her life to. A close family member dies. She’s about to lose her apartment. She starts to feel distant from her husband. One day she receives an email from a group called Panthera Leo, a secretive “womens networking” group that promises to help her in every area of her life. You’ve probably guessed where this is going: it turns out to be a cult, it ruins Nicole’s life, and she desperately needs to escape.

I liked hearing about the relationships Nicole built with the other women in the organization. That was my favorite part. I thought Michelle and Karma, the two leaders of the group, were interesting characters and I wish I’d gotten to read more about them. Julia was a great side character, and I liked when she would talk about how she saw the world and her perspective of what justice is. I always enjoy reading about how powerful, #girlbosses destroy vulnerable women’s lives under the guise of “female empowerment.” It was a very quick read and ya’ll know I love a quick read.

I really enjoyed the first half, and the second half fell flat for me. In my review for I’ll be You I wrote about how much I love stories about cults. I think this one might not have had enough cult aspects in it and I was disappointed. That’s not the author’s fault. I expected the book to be something that it isn’t. The corporate related aspects weren’t interesting to me. When they became bigger parts of the book that’s when I stopped enjoying it. Again, this has nothing to do with the author. A lot of Please Join Us just wasn’t my thing, and a lot of the plot twists were predictable. Honestly, I think for me this book is pretty forgettable. Not bad, I enjoyed a good amount of it, but I’ll probably never think about it again.

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An unexpected email drops into your inbox. It offers you a chance to become a more influential woman and grow in your career. This is what Nicole finds at a low point in her career.

Nicole meets several woman at the retreat to teach them to harness their power. What follows is a story that is very hard to put down. The story is told from Nicole POV so you can’t tell what the others are thinking. I normally love multiple POV stories but this one was perfect for a single POV. It is not a light or quick read and I enjoyed that. I would love to read more by this author.

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4.5 stars - and the only reason I'm not giving 5 is that I selfishly didn't want the answer/reveal to be what it ended up being. I guess I just wanted something creepier or even more nefarious. But I digress. This was incredibly well done. It was complex and troubling and relevant and oh so smart!!! I love when an author can bring all the pieces together and tie up all the loose ends I might have been questioning. That's just the sign of a bucketloads of talent and hard work. Pick this one up if you enjoy a good tale that perfectly combines those age-old warnings of "hell hath no fury like a woman scorned" mixed with "oh what a tangled web we weave".

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Please Join Us .

Nicole a lawyer is struggling with her life and career when she receives an invitation to join an exclusive networking group of women called Panthera Leo.

Nicole meets a powerful group of women at a retreat and she realizes that this group can change her life. A women's group to rival the old boys clubs.

Sounds perfect.

What could go wrong.

There are so many twists and turns with mind games, backstabbing and outright lies that keep you turning the pages.

Nicole is in over head and its looking like a cult where the two leaders Michelle and Karma hold the power and the control over her.

I don't want to give anything away; you must follow the clues and missteps on your own.

The ending was a total surprise and one not to miss.

Put Please Join Us to the top of your TBR pile and clear your calendar for a page turning read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for a mind boggling read.

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Contemporary Fiction

Suspenseful thriller filled with twists and turns galore.

Nicole has had some setbacks at work and isn't in the best place in her life when she gets an email to join a female networking group. Figuring she has nothing to lose and much to gain she pays the $5000 for a retreat. While there she meets some very powerful women. The group is called PantheraLeo and if she gives all her worries, needs and assistance to her pride every success she can dream for herself will be fulfilled.

Being an attorney, she is skeptical, especially when it is mentioned that there will be a test of her loyalty at some point. But as soon as she commits good things start happening. She and her husband move into a new gorgeous apartment that they could have never afforded previously. A member of her pride brings her a huge client that helps her billings and makes her look good to the managing partners.

Everything seems to be almost perfect until Nicole is asked to assist with something that goes against all her beliefs. How can this be helpful to the pride? How can this help her when if anything about the situation comes out it would be devastating?

The plot turns on itself so many times that it was almost hard to keep up. It was so smart! I loved all the machinations and how McKenzie delivered this story. It was a joy to read!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC of this novel

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This was a fast page turner for me. The plot is centered on Nicole, who joins a "networking group" to boost her professional career. What she didn't know, is the group is not what it seems and ulterior motives are plentiful!
I have read other books like this one before, but enjoyed this take on it very much. I loved Nicole as a character and really empathized with her experiences. She remained true to her core throughout even as it was a struggle. Very thankful for this great, thriller ARC

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This was Catherine McKenzie at her finest! A Susie awful thriller with gripping characters and so many surprises along the way. You will not be disappointed!

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Successful Girls Club or Prestigious Cult?

Nicole, a likeable NY lawyer, starts hitting a few bumps in life's road at 39. On the verge of losing her much loved apartment, neddling inlaws, and disappointment from Senior partners at the firm.
She soon receives an invitation to join P.L. that has an exclusive membership. She accepts, what else does she have to lose? This could be the career kick she needs. Eventually Nice starts to wonder what the true cost of membership is, how are all these successful women connected, can she meet her obligations ethically.

Honestly, this had 'successful, clever, cunning, elitist "fight club" (minus fist fights) feel to it.

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3.5/5

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review!

Nicole feels as though the world is turning upside down when she receives news at her company that she’s flopping. Just when she’s losing all hope, she receives an invitation to join Panthera Leo, a women’s networking group that claims that they’ll teach her to get all the things she wants in life. Naturally, she joins it, but along the way, she discovers that the group isn’t as uplifting and supportive as it claimed to be…

Wow! That opening prologue was intense! Definitely hooked me in and made me excited to read the story. I thought the timeline was cleverly written in that, for the most part, every time I found myself drifting in interest, the switch in the timeline reeled me back in. I also didn’t expect the ending, and it’s not often that I actually feel satisfied with the way a book has ended… and this book did that for me.

However, this book did take me about a month to get through. I often found my attention drifting from chapter to chapter, and some parts dragged on for a looooooong time. It wasn’t until the absolute end that I sped through it because I was super intrigued! Overall though, it was a pretty good read.

Will definitely be purchasing this book when it comes out on August 23, 2022!

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