Please Join Us by Catherine McKenzie is a modern thriller about an elite group of women with an agenda on getting exactly what they want, no matter what.

Nicole has just been given the worst news of her career, her points at her law firm are the lowest at her career and her partnership is in jeopardy. While questioning her future, she receives an exclusive invitation to Panthera Leo, an exclusive women's group that has a teambuilding corporate retreat in the coming weeks.

After the retreat, she's quickly ingrained in the group, weekly drinks and dinners, long text chains and ongoing favors. But pretty soon those favors start getting bigger and bigger.

This book is fast paced and does have a satisfying end. That said, I had a hard time connecting with these women. There were several that I was getting confused for the others. Athena, Samantha, Heather...I completely forgot about Connie and she was a rather important figure! I also felt like it got a little TOO convoluted in its who is blackmailing who towards the end.

STILL, the overall satisfying theme of women getting everything they deserve is awesome.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I really enjoyed this novel, I rated it 4/5 stars! I got early access to this book through NetGalley. Trigger warning for brief graphic descriptions, blackmail, manipulation, descriptions of sexual assault, and related topics. This thriller includes time jumps, starting first off with a woman covered in blood and a dead body. While Nicole's high-power law career seems in a lull, she accepts an invitation to join a women's networking group despite her husband's jokes that it's a cult. Nicole grows close to these women and reaps the rewards, like an apartment and a career-making case. It all comes to a head when Nicole notices coincidences she can no longer explain away. The ending is surprising and has a great legal angle. I'd recommend this to anyone! The scheduled publish date is August 23, 2022!

Catherine McKenzie gave us a wild ride with this one! Please Join Us is a fast pace, dive right in thriller that kept me glued to the pages.
Right away I was intrigued by the whole secret society plot- the characters were interesting and so different from one another, the short chapters were brilliantly written and the alternating past and present tenses added to the build up of the story. The twists and turns definitely kept me on my toes throughout the book. It ended with a surprising bang, and I had to take a minute to connect all the dots because I wasn't expecting the plot twist!
Should you read it? Absolutely!

Meh.. this book didn't do much for me. I understood what she was going for, with the cult NXIVM vibes, but it just wasn't thrilling enough! It kinda felt like a first draft to me.

Unfortunately, this one was just not for me or at least not for my mood! Will update if able to finish at a later date, but didn’t grab me enough to finish! 3 for neutral!

Absolutely loved the premise of this book and the last 30% was so exciting and explosive with twist after shocking twist. The rest, however, was so slow. Nothing really happened. Even the retreat and the club seemed like nothing but what they were advertised to be. I would have enjoyed this book so much more had it picked up pace, kept a mysterious and nefarious atmosphere, and had twists throughout.

This is my fourth read by Catherine McKenzie. I'll Never Tell and Fractured were both four stars and Six Weeks to Live was a stellar five star read for me. This book was very unique and definitely surprising with lots of twists. Most of the characters were very flawed and unlikeable but hey, I dug it because it was also very fast paced. I can always count on Ms. McKenzie to deliver a riveting mystery. I loved the strong women throughout the book. In a word: Wow.

Please Join Us by Catherine McKenzie comes out in August, but when I got it through NetGalley I knew it I had to read it asap. I really enjoyed Six Weeks to Live and I wanted to see what this one had in store.

This book is told in dual timelines. One timeline is when Nicole’s life seems to be falling apart. Her job is in jeopardy, her marriage isn’t as happy, and they might be losing their home. She gets invited to this women empowerment retreat and decides maybe this is her way out of this mess. The other timeline is in the future and we can tell something bad is happening until the two timelines eventually meet. Was this women empowerment trip more than Nicole bargained for?

❤️Review❤️

I really enjoyed this book. I loved how it was told in the dual timelines. It made you want to keep reading especially to find out how Nicole gets herself into the future perspective’s problems. There was great discussion about being a woman in the workforce, as a friend, as a wife, etc. that I thought was unique to a thriller novel. In the end I had no idea how she was going to get out of the predicament she was in. I began to worry and was extremely anxious for her. I love when a book can make me nervous because then it makes me flip the pages even faster. This was a fun book and you won’t want to miss it!

4 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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The story/premise was interesting but I did find the book a bit slow-moving in parts even though there was a lot going on. Somehow it didn't totally grab me, it was less about the suspense and more about the mystery.

Please Join Us by Catherine McKenzie is such an excellent, evil read. The characters are great, so very real, and at various parts of the book I found myself empathizing with each one of them. At different parts of the book I also found myself disliking most, if not all, of the characters. It's a wonderful author who can draw out those very different feelings for each character in turn.

I think the only people I never disliked were Dan and Nicole, and of course, the dearly departed Aunt Penny, although the reader never really meets her.

For an incredibly plotted, tautly written thriller which is essentially a very, VERY long game of well-plotted chess, you will want to read Please Join Us. I read many books in this genre, but I don't remember the last time I felt that a book was this well done.

There's a reason I enjoy everything Catherine Mackenzie writes. If you haven't read her yet, what are you waiting for?

Thank you to Negalley, the author, and publisher for an ARC at my request. All thoughts are my own and happily shared.

This started off super strong for me. I enjoyed the premise a lot but this fell flat for me. I found the whole plot and various subplots completely unbelievable for starters who goes on a random retreat after getting a random email? The most interesting part of the book to me was when Nicole was on this retreat. I enjoyed the interactions between the women and quickly realized this women's networking group was very cult like. For me, the book dragged in the middle, and then crammed a bunch of twists and drama within the last few chapters. Even with all that, I found the ending to be very unsatisfying and kinda boring. This was just not for me. I enjoyed the New York setting and the attention to detail McKenzie put in the book but sadly was not my cup of tea.

Another doozie from Catherine McKenzie! I absolutely love how she ends her chapters with an answer to a cliffhanger! I struggled to stay awake reading “Please Join Us” because I couldn’t put it down! An amazingly twisted look at corporate culture & the #MeToo movement.

I loved the main character and her husband, Dan. My only regret was not being able to find out about their future & if they ended up staying together & having children. I always wish I could have found out more about Katherine, as she seemed like a strong, self-made woman who could do with an even deeper storyline!

A fast-paced, fun read with lots of twists & turns!

Twisted does not even begin to describe the plot of this book! It’s more like driving on a curvy mountain road with all kinds of switchbacks that you weren’t expecting and a tractor trailer tailgating you. There were so many unexpected surprises that I just sat back and decided to enjoy the ride instead of trying to figure it all out. Not only was the plotting phenomenal, but the characters were completely fleshed out, with their flaws and weaknesses on display for all to see. Nicole is the lawyer in a large firm, but her job may be ending because the powers that be in her organization are no longer standing behind her. Desperate for that elusive success, Nicole receives an email from an organization called Panthera Leo inviting her to join a group of powerful women who make things happen in their lives and in their careers. Thinking she has nothing to lose, Nicole attends their weekend getaway. And that’s what happens next. Her life gets away from her, out of her control, bouncing to places and events that she never dreamed would happen. The sub-plot of her relationship with Dan was also mesmerizing as he just came across as a good guy who wanted whatever would make Nicole happy. Meanwhile, Nicole has a whole set of new lady friends and something weird is going on in her career, something remarkably unexplainable. Without giving the twists away, I cannot tell you much more about the plot except that this book captivated my imagination like no other book has lately. Told with real emotion and some evil manipulations that are somewhere in another stratosphere, this book is one that no one who loves suspense thrillers should miss. In fact, it’s a good thing that the book is listed as fiction or I would be trying to join Panthera Leo myself. Realistic book with so many wow factors and including so many details that demonstrated excellent research. Creativity and imagination combine to make this story one of the best fiction books that I have ever read!
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Simon and Schuster via Netgalley and also a hard copy from them via mail. I was not required to write a positive review, but I was absolutely delighted to do so for such an amazing book. The opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”

Nicole finds herself unfairly losing her status in her law firm and is invited to join a womens "club" that is determined to make things equal for women. Unfortunately, it comes with a lot of strings attached. Nicole has to do what they say or else find her life destroyed.

I really enjoyed the build up to this story. I like the back and forth in the first part of the book and feel it really added to the suspense of what was going on. I enjoyed the story as a whole, but felt the ending wasn't quite what I was hoping for. It wasn't bad. I enjoyed it up until the last couple (literally) pages and then it fell a little flat for me. I still highly recommend reading as it made me think of how corporate America really works, the good ole boys (or women in this case) always looking out for one another.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest opinions.

Looking to up her game in a men’s world Nicole takes a chance on a new networking opportunity to boost her career as a lawyer. Nicole was supposed to make full equity partner this year. But her points were low. The apartment her and her husband have been living in the last ten years is ripped out from underneath them when his Aunt Penny passes away. One year away from turning forty Nicole begins questioning her health and fitness choices.
Nicole was invited to join Panthera Leo, a secret woman’s organization. The invite comes at the perfect time to help her reboot her career. Nicole soon finds herself entangled in hidden agendas. Her home, her career, and her marriage is on the line. Joining Panthera Leo answered all her problems for the time being. What’s next on the line for Nicole?

This is my third read by Catherine McKenzie and I’m hopeful that I can get a solid 5 star read out of this one. I’ve had mixed reviews with the two other books. Let’s see if her writing voice calls to me.
Eventhough Please Join Us is about Nicole Mueller it is a character driven book with High profile women who’ve claimed top positions that men once held. This is an informative read. This is a well plotted and well thought out concept. It’s so carefully orchestrated that it took my brain some time to process all the information.
I enjoyed this fresh new take on women taking over a man’s world. Catherine paved a solid path explaining the way the group works and how it benefits women. The story alternates between the past and present with relevant information.

Panthera Leo was created by Karma and Michelle as a means to go head to head against men in the business world. For far too long it’s been a man’s world where women have to perform favors to move up in the ranks. Within the last five years with the #metoo movement women began to call men out on there inappropriate behavior in the workforce. This secret networking group of women is women helping each other succeed.
Catherine didn’t waste twenty years practicing law. She put it to good use. Write what you know. It’s a solid read. I was enthralled, entertained, and engaged in the action.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley and loved it. I have read other McKenzie books and looked forward to this new one. I was not disappointed. It started off slow and a bit mysterious. Nicole gets an invite to join Panthera Leo, an all-woman networking group...or so she thinks. Her life is on the rocks, job not doing well and things are also not so good with her husband.

So she decides to join, and in doing so has to pass tests during the weekend of their group meeting. Having done so, she didnt realize that returning to work she would be put to so many more tests. What she doesnt realize that this network of women is trying to bring down a man and his company. This book was a page turner and also a bit of a twist at the end. Just when I thought which way it was going....McKenzie turned it around. #fourstarts #Netgalley

Overall I enjoyed this book. It was a little slow at the beginning, but the pace definitely picked up. My only criticism would be the plot had too many twists at the end. It was hard to keep track of who was who and for some reason Heather and Samantha felt like the same character at times. I also thought the ending was a bit abrupt and the email at the end was a bit ambigious, but I assume that was the point. Overall a quick and enjoyable read.

Please Join Us
By Catherine McKenzie

⭐️: 3.5/5 (rounded up to 4 when needed)

After suffering a setback in her career, Nicole is approached to join a women’s organization claiming that it will help her reach new heights in her career and fight back against the good old boys club. Members include many prominent female figures in both the corporate and the political world, all committed to helping and supporting each other. After realizing several coincidences in her personal and professional life, Nicole begins to suspect that it all may be too good to be true.

I was so intrigued through this entire book. The idea of a bunch of high-powered women helping each other, not competing against each other like we see so often in the real world sounds like the best kind of pipe dream ever. When the drama started, I was even more intrigued, speculating about what Nicole was actually up against and how everything might resolve itself in the end. Up until maybe the last 20 pages, this book was a solid 4 star thriller. However after all the buildup, the conclusion was lackluster. It almost seemed like the author wasn’t entirely sure how to fully wrap up the intricate web she spun, so she wrapped up Nicole’s bit of it and left us wondering about the rest. As far as endings go, this one was relatively unsatisfying.

Adding to the docking of a star and a half from a 5/5 rating was the inclusion of what I like to refer to as “lazy foreshadowing,” otherwise known as the type of foreshadowing that we’re taught in elementary school when the teacher is explaining the definition of foreshadowing, i.e. “this was the first time I had heard about it, but it wouldn’t be the last…” Thankfully, instances of this were rare enough that it wasn’t entirely distracting, just garnering an eye roll every time it happened. The lists that appear frequently through the book are also an ~interesting~ addition. Storyline wise, they serve to show how Nicole’s mind works, but it seems their actual purpose is to help the reader keep previously uncovered facts straight, almost like a shorthand recap of what already happened. It was an interesting technique, and I’m still not sure how I feel about it.

A women's fiction story of manipulation and deceit affecting many lives and causing ruin . The main charcter was not likable but the story and surrounding charcters were the backbone of the story. It kept me turning pages and I like the well crafted fast paced story.

I love the premise of this book, it is such an intriguing concept. I felt like the book was well-paced and engaging! I caught myself pausing and considering what I would do in many of the situations, which was so fun. Highly recommend!