The ‘old boys club’ mentality drives me nuts but the idea of women taking advantage of others, sheerly for purpose of their own advancement or agenda is equally appalling. Please Join Us takes the reader on a twisted adventure that leaves them wondering what they’d do in/under the same circumstances.
Thank You to Atria Books, Catherine McKenzie, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Loved this book! Do yourself a favor and preorder it now. Catherine McKenzie does not disappoint with this one. Nicole is asked to join a secret society and soon finds out how her life is changing, and not exactly for the good. The twists and turns are excellent and just when I thought I had it all figured out, there was another one! So, So good. Thank you so much to the publisher, author and NetGalley for the early read. I highly recommend this book.

I was lucky to receive an advance copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review and opinion. THIS IS AN ABSOLUTE MUST READ! You will not be able to put this down so clear your schedule as once you start you will be up late into the night trying to figure out how this will end. Catherine McKenzie never fails to disappoint and is always on my list of must read authors. Do yourself a favor and read this the minute it's published!

Nicole Mueller is thirty nine years old, married, and working arduous hours as an attorney in Manhattan. However, the harder Nicole seems to work, the less she seems to progress in her career. Nicole is frustrated and wondering what she could possibly be doing wrong.

Enter Panthera Leo. An exclusive women's group, Panthera Leo (or PL) focuses on the advancement of women in all facets of their lives. Nicole is curious when she receives an invitation, and decides to accept their invitation to attend a retreat in CO. At the retreat in CO, Nicole is introduced to the founders of PL, Michelle and Karma, as well as other members of the group/"pride". While at the retreat, the women must perform initiation tasks in order to become a member of the pride. However, Nicole is warned that she still must pass "The Test" when she returns to Manhattan, whatever that may be.

Upon returning to NYC, Nicole is happy. The group is happy and supportive of one another, and Nicole's life seems to be taking a turn for the better. Until the evening that Nicole is summoned to the apartment of one of the other women, only to find a dead body waiting for her. Is this "The Test" that Nicole has been warned of?
If so, what has Nicole gotten herself into, and more importantly, will she be able to get out?

The first half of this book was great. I enjoyed the plot line of a women's "cult" of sorts, and was curious to find out the purpose of the group. With that being said, the second half of the book fell apart for me. It was boring, non-cohesive, and a bit "all over the place." While I typically enjoy McKenzie's novels, this is one that I would not promote to others.

As usual, Catherine McKenzie hits it out of the park.

Please Join Us is smart, witty, unique, empowering and so well written, The characterizations are brilliant and the twists were believable, surprising and enjoyable.

Thank you to the publisher for gifting me a copy. It was my pleasure to write an honest review.

Set within a secret women's society, meant to be the female version of the boy's club, that helps empower and further ahead its members... but at what cost ? This was a fast and fun read, I enjoyed the then-and-now narrative and seeing how the story played out with all the lies, deceit and manipulation. The only thing stopping me from giving a 5th star is that it's hard to believe the main character ignored/justified to herself all the red flags from the beginning and got in as deep as she did, especially being a lawyer. I definitely still recommend it, and I can totally see the potential for it to become a mini-series or a movie.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

A huge thanks to the publisher & NetGalley for offering me an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Wow, Wow, Wow!
Reading this novel is equatable to climbing a steep cliff!
It gets more intense as you continue throughout the pages and soon you cannot wait to reach the top of the mountain and figure out what the hell is happening, because the suspense is creating anxiety, fear and palpitations.
THEN...... You get to the top and you see the twists and turns without knowing in what direction this is heading!
This book is incredible and detailed. I had no clues what would happen until the very end!
If you want mystery and suspense, this is it! You will not be able to put it down! Just read it!
I loved it!


Thank you to Atria via Netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Oh god this book was riveting. I feel like I hit the ground running from the start. It was witty, made my heart pound in my throat, and the twist was worth it. I highly recommend this. This is going to be a big deal thriller.

Wow! This book was full of twists and surprises! The concept was interesting and unique. This was definitely a page turner and I would highly recommend!

I’m a big fan of Catherine McKenzie and I really liked this book. I enjoyed the introduction of the Pride, but I was also glad thatNicole was smart enough to be suspicious of the group right away. It made me like her more as a character. I was also glad that she was smart enough to unravel their plan, but that there was also a twist at the end.

The story sucked me in from the first few chapters, and every time I sat down to read more of this book, I was excited to return to it. I don't want to reveal too much about the plot, other than to say that I couldn't guess all of the twists, and the way Catherine McKenzie layered aspects together was impressive.

However, the repetitive use of bullet points felt a little annoying after awhile, especially since the author is clearly talented enough to not have to rely on telling vs. showing. Despite that, I loved the story and I'm excited to read whatever she writes next.

Thank you to both NetGalley and Atria Books for providing me an advance copy of Catherine McKenzie’s latest fiction novel, Please Join Us, in exchange for an honest review.

Please Join Us is a riveting tale about a star attorney who after losing the chance to make partner at her firm receives an invitation to join a mysterious women’s networking group called, “Panthera Leo.” What seemed like an opportunistic venture to boost her career quickly turns into a cultish nightmare of events.

I am a huge fan of the author and have read all of Ms. McKenzie’s latest novels. I am happy to report that this one is no exception to her talent and entertaining plotlines. Please Join Us is for witty, career-oriented women, female attorneys/corporate bad***es everywhere, and anyone who is a fan of Erica Katz’s novel, Boys’ Club.

Aside from my love for the author, I may potentially be biased since I share many of the same principles/experiences as the protagonist in the novel, Nicole Mueller. Although some elements of the novel are predictable, it still made for a great story. My only gripes with it were a few redundant points and the ending. After so much excitement, I felt the ending was a bit lackluster. I also was not sure if the readers were supposed to infer that the night before the climax (no pun), her and Dan conceived, and that their marriage is fine now?

Additionally, I wish the author had included some more of The Hunger Games/Nine Perfect Strangers aspect (i.e., when the group travels to the ranch in Aspen, CO for the retreat). Otherwise, bravo to Catherine McKenzie for pulling off what I am sure will soon be adapted into a screenplay for some streaming platform if it is not already in the works.

This was a super quick, fun read. I really enjoyed the concept of a cultish women's organization where things seem great on the surface - and quickly turn sinister. I did feel like the ending was a bit rushed, but overall a good thriller.

This book explored the depths to which people will go to further their careers and keep alliances. Lots of unexpected twists and turns made for a great story! The characters were interesting and pulled you into the storylines. I loved this book!

Thank you to NetGalley - I so appreciate the advance copy.
This was a good book - fast paced and twists and turns!
I really enjoyed the author’s writing style and look forward to more in the future!

I immediately started this book after receiving the ARC because the synopsis sounds SO good! McKenzie’s other cult-related book (You Can’t Catch Me) is my favorite of hers. This author has been very hit or miss for me so far and this one ended up flying somewhere in the middle.

To put it vaguely, we are basically following lawyer Nicole as she is recruited into a mysterious cult-like group of women. The closer she gets with the group, the more her life becomes affected, and she starts realizing something isn’t quite right.

This was a quick and mostly entertaining read but it didn’t quite work for me. It’s hard to explain without going into spoilers, but it kinda felt like 3 different stories in one, and I also didn’t really find this to be a ‘thriller’ as described. There was also quite a bit of legal/‘business’ talk that I personally didn’t really connect with and the reveal at the end was underwhelming.

This reminded me a lot of another book released recently that is also about an elite women’s cult, A Special Place for Women, and I do enjoy this concept and reading about cults, but this one unfortunately fell a bit flat in the execution for me.

I received an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review

I loved this one. Very fast paced, had me turning pages as I tore through it – I had to see how it would end. The characters were well rounded and the narrative felt believable. Gave me chills. Solid five

Atria Books,
Thank You so much for this eARC!
I loved The Good Liar and Six Weeks To Live
So pretty much anything by Catherine is fabulous.

Please Join Us by Catherine McKenzie

39 year old Nicole had an amazing career in law and it has now fallen apart.
Her and Dan (husband) are about to be kicked out of their apartment.
She receives an invitation for a very exclusive women's networking group, Panthera Leo.
The memberships is anonymous, and everyone member is a professional.
This is the best plan to help Nicole get her career back.
Dan has warned her and warned her not get involved. To him this could be a cult.
But going against Dans concerns she signs up for the retreat in Colorado.

After arriving she meets an actress, a congresswoman, a CEO and a financier.
Nicole can hardly believe she is meeting these strong, independent, successful ladies.
The founders of Panthera Leo are pleasantly impressive.
Their philosophy: they’re a girl’s club in a boy’s club world.

She is wowed, and all in. After arriving home her network provides her with clients that get her career back on the right path. Along with the perfect apartment as well!
Her favors she has to return seem harmless.
Until she is called to the congresswoman’s apartment one night and she is pressured into helping her hide a dead body.
Suddenly, Dan grows more concerned that there is something terrifying at play here.
Will she be able to remove herself from.this crazy group before its too late?

Mini Review:
You. Won't. Want. To. Miss. This. Wild. Ass. Thriller!
Enthralling from the beginning.
This author has a way that makes you want to get to know these interesting characters to stay tuned to see how it all unfolds.
The characters are complex and wonderful. The whole atmosphere of the book was great! I love every little thing about the book....
I was completely infatuated with this story.
It's currently 1:28am and I'm just now finishing the book up because I couldn't wait till in the morning to end this wild ass story!
These characters
Catherine has impressed me with yet another fantastic novel that I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend. She has a way of getting to the heart of people and their emotions and portraying that in a story that literally enthralls you from the very first page!

Thank you again publisher, NetGalley and Author for this phenomenal ebook copy!

Loved her first book and this didn't disappoint. It devoured in a day. Great plot would definitely recommend. Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

McKenzie continues to deliver in Please Join Us - I enjoyed this one and the cast of characters. It did take me a bit to get into it and was a bit slow at times but the last 24% had the same great twists I’ve come to expect. These last few novels have definitely hit their stride and I look forward to seeing what’s to come.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.