Set against New York’s moody art scene, this novel follows gallery assistant Chloe as she unravels a chilling mystery. After attending a surreal party, Chloe is stunned to learn that the host, artist Inga, is dead and soon after, her coworker Lou vanishes. As she searches for answers, she discovers hidden clues in Inga’s paintings that hint at a web of secrets tied to grief, ambition and the lingering trauma of 9/11.
A book where Art + mystery intertwine beautifully!

DNF for me… sadly it was just so boring but it was interesting that it was post 9/11 timeline and gives the vibes of NY I guess you could say but I just couldn’t really finish like I wanted to. Just not for me, some people who love art stuff and murder mystery and stuff I’m sure this is for you.

I've never read Kate Belli before, but this book leads me to believe we'll be meeting again. The Gallery Assistant is a well-paced mystery thriller that follows the protagonist Chloe Harlow, an art gallery assistant, as she navigates strange situations in her professional and personal life after one of her gallery's artists is found murdered. Suffering from PTSD after surviving the collapse of the Twin Towers on 9/11, Chloe is not sure if she can even trust her own memories in trying to unravel the truth of what's happened in her gallery. I thought it was smart to have this book take place in an era before the prevalence of cell phones, to keep Chloe's discoveries true to practical and real-time findings. Overall, I thought this story moved smoothly and was a page-turning read... who doesn't love a murder mystery set among the fine art world! But, there were perhaps one too many characters, who at points, I couldn't remember who they were - various gallery coworkers, Chloe's bar friends, and neighborhood friends. This was a surprisingly pleasant read and I would recommend to anyone looking for a Manhattan-based mystery.

I was lucky enough to get my hands on an advanced copy of The Gallery Assistant, and let me just say—it did not disappoint.

This was my first read from Kate Belli, and now I’m kicking myself for not picking up her work sooner. From the very first chapter, I was hooked. Belli’s writing is sharp and immersive, and the way she builds tension is chef’s kiss. Set in the art world (which already feels like a perfect backdrop for secrets and scandal), the story unravels through the eyes of a protagonist who’s both intriguing and deeply human. I found myself rooting for her, even when she made choices that had me yelling, “Girl, no!” out loud.

What I appreciated most was how layered the narrative felt—this isn’t just a twisty mystery; it’s a story about survival, trauma, and the masks we wear to move through the world. As someone who lives with CPTSD, I picked up on so many subtle emotional cues in the characters that felt authentic and unflinching. There’s a quiet intensity in the way Belli writes about power dynamics and hidden pasts that really stuck with me after I finished the book.

I wouldn’t call this a heart-racing thriller—it’s more of a slow-burn suspense that digs deep into character. But when the twists hit? They hit hard. And the ending had the kind of satisfying snap that made me want to go back and reread earlier chapters for clues I might’ve missed.

Highly recommend if you’re into atmospheric mysteries with strong female leads, complicated emotions, and a little bit of glamour cloaking a whole lot of grit.

Thanks to the publisher for the ARC—this one will stay with me.

The novel recreated the NY art world very realistically and I read it quickly. It was fast paced and well written. After finishing it, I decided it would have been a better book without the 911 subplot with the rampant rumors that followed the horrors. It would have sufficed to write about the underworld of art that deals in fakes and false bidding. The 911 details were gruesome and superfluous to the plot. The mysterious warnings left hidden in the paintings was a pretentious clue-dropping angle I felt was amateurish. For me, the novel failed to reach the believability level I set when reading a thriller. It could have been better.

It's two months after September 11 and Chloe is not doing well when Kate Belli's The Gallery Assistant begins. She can't remember the night before and it's not long before that becomes a big problem--detectives have shown up at her workplace informing her that the artist who's house party she attended last night had turned up dead. Worse yet, this artist was gearing up to show at the gallery. More questions arise as the story gears up leading Chloe to wonder if she is losing her grip on reality or if she has uncovered a huge conspiracy.

Chloe's current life is a mess, her drinking is out of control and she is in many ways hanging by a thread. Her relationships are fraught and she is barely making enough to get by. Even more worrisome are the gaping holes in her memory that lead to her investigating areas that shouldn't be entered into. Chloe knows something horrific occurred the day of the murder but she can't completely recall and she is consistently concerned that wrongdoing is happening again when her mind betrays her.

The characters in The Gallery Assistant are written to be both believable but aside from Chloe we don't get in-depth profiles. Kate Belli does an excellent job with the time period, dropping just enough millennium details to be believable (I know I had my own bottle of Clinique Happy in the early aughts just like Chloe). I did feel the plot line dragged some and the pacing was a little too erratic for me to completely disappear into the story. For those reasons I rate this 3.25 stars.

I received this advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.

I liked how captivating this story was. The mystery and intrigue were present at the beginning of the book. I liked the art world exploration and the timeframe shortly after 9/11 in NYC. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

(2.5 rounded up) This to me felt like a fairly generic popcorn mystery/thriller. I guess the added element is that it is set in post-9/11 Brooklyn, which factors into the characters’s storylines. The mystery revolves around a young woman, Chloe, who wakes up one morning with no memory of how she got home from a work party the night before. She then finds out the new artist showing at the gallery she works at has been murdered. This novel revolves around some classic mystery genre gambits : Chloe doesn’t know who is being truthful to her, the people around her have ulterior motives, and Chloe herself is struggling in her own personal life. I did like the art world setting of this and I liked the fast pace and the overall length felt right, but overall, didn’t find it super memorable.

This was unfortunately a DNF for me. The plot seemed rehashed from other books and most of the characters were one dimensional and the ones who weren't were just unlikable and I didn't want to spend more time with them.

Do you enjoy thrillers? Check out The Gallery Assistant by Kate Belli. It was a winner and it publishes this fall.