Overall, I enjoyed this thriller. The mystery kept me guessing, and the depiction of 9/11 added some emotional weight. However, the 9/11 PTSD never really played out in a meaningful way for the amount of page space that was dedicated to it. I did like how it came full circle at the end. It was just a little slower burn that I would expect in such a short book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest opinions.

Gripping and emotional, this was a rollercoaster of paranoia, bad decisions and determination. Chloe wakes up naked in her bed, unaware of how she got home from the artists party she attended the night before. But that wasn’t too unusual for Chloe, who spent most nights blind drunk. Anything to quiet the inner thoughts and PTSD from the events of September 11, 2001. Almost six months later she is still refusing to talk about that day. When she gets into work the day after the party she gets told that the artist was found murdered and she may well have been the last one to see her alive. But how can she help the detectives when she doesn’t remember anything. And why are her friends and colleagues acting so strangely.
As people disappear, strange evidence is found and pockets of memory return, Chloe finds herself in danger with no one she can trust. Can she solve the case and remember in time? And who killed the artist?
The writing was fast paced and sharp, the chapter on the day the towers fell told sensitively and I found very emotional. I didn’t work out the true villain until they were revealed. A really good thriller.
Thanks to a Netgalley for the ARC.

I received an ARC of this book from Atria Books via NetGalley in exchange for my honest feedback. Honestly, I was surprised the average rating here on Goodreads was not higher, as I really enjoyed this book.

I get a kick out of novels set in the later 1990's/ early 2000's, as those were my college and young adult years. Chloe not having a cell phone and having to check the answering machine - yep, I remember those days, too! Williamsburg being just barely up & coming was also amusing to me, since now it is way past that! Additionally, I could relate to her twentysomething tendency to binge drink and hook up - yes, also relatable! Luckily, I don't have personal knowledge of being at the Twin Towers on 9/11, but the chapters describing Chloe's experience read very realistically. I wasn't surprised to see Ms. Belli interviewed survivors to accurately portray that day.

I don't know much (if anything) about the art world and high-stakes auctions, so this was interesting to learn about. I really wasn't sure where Ms. Belli was going with the book, since you aren't sure if Chloe is a reliable narrator, but the outcome was believable and carried through in a satisfying way. I was definitely eager to pick this book back up each time I put it down.

Loved this one! The Gallery Assistant was full of mystery, glamour, and just the right amount of suspense. Kate Belli’s writing pulled me in right away!I couldn’t stop reading. Perfect for fans of art world drama and twisty secrets!

3.5 - This was a good slow burn suspense novel. I love anything centered around art and the art world. This book is set about a month after 9/11, and there is a lot of tension and focus on it. I was pretty young when it happened, and also not living in the US, so while I definitely understand the tragedy and relevance, it also does not hit me in the same way it might for others. There are quite a few characters and I had a hard time keeping them straight. I loved the city setting and the writing style made it easy to follow. This was a solid mystery/thriller.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for the ARC.

The main plot line of this book was solid & I enjoyed the twist at the end. I also liked the art world vibes & a lot of the side characters were great.
That being said ….
While I appreciate that the author was trying to do something different by adding 9/11 as a source of tension & trauma for the main character, it was poorly executed. It felt out of place every time it was mentioned & really added nothing to book aside from a few red herrings which weren’t compelling at all. I think if that plot line had been dropped & more effort had been put into the main plot line & developing those character relationships a little better this would have been a great book! Like the love interest … we barely saw this man in the first half & then all of a sudden they’re like living together?? I just think this boon would benefit from a more streamlined plot.

Thank you to Atria Books & Netgalley for this ARC.

SLOOOOOOOWWWWWW Burn. I really wanted to like this, but I just didn't. I also just feel icky about anything including 9/11.

After a hard night of partying, Chloe awakes in the morning with little recollection of the events at the party, including how she got home. And when she arrives at the upscale art gallery where she works , there’s two detectives waiting to speak to her, because the host of the party, a client of the gallery, was found dead. The Gallery Assistant starts off with a bang in this engrossing thriller set in NYC’s art world. I was hesitant to read this one, since that subject matter is fairly foreign to me, but happily it’s not the real focus here, as the police zero in on Chloe, who is suffering from PTSD from the 9/11 attacks two months earlier when she narrowly escaped the falling towers. This is a tension-filled mystery that takes you from the high stakes art game to the streets of Brooklyn where Chloe lives, and her support team of friends, some of whom she now distrusts. The first two parts had me furiously ripping through the pages, and there’s a bit of a decompress after that, but this is still an outstanding read that’ll keep you guessing. A pleasant surprise here, and highly recommended. I received an ARC of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

An exhibit of a murder in the shadow of 9/11.

Set in November 2001, the "The Gallery Assistant" blends a murder mystery with a psychological study of trauma in post-9/11 New York. Chloe Harlow is a young art gallery assistant struggling to hold her life together in the aftermath of personal and national tragedy. After waking from a hazy night of drinking, Chloe learns that a promising young artist - also the host of the party she attended the night before - is dead. She has no memory of how the night ended, and soon finds herself entangled in a murder investigation that threatens to unravel what little stability she has left. As Chloe tries to retrace her steps, she begins uncovering secrets buried within the New York art scene, realizing that the truth might be more complex and dangerous than she ever imagined.

"The Gallery Assistant" is author Kate Belli's first non-historical thriller, and probably her most personal. Not surprisingly, it shines brightest when it leans into what she knows best from her own personal experience. As a former gallery assistant herself, Belli brings the insular, high-stakes world of New York’s art scene to life with confidence and detail that adds richness and authenticity, from galleries and auction houses to exhibition prep and provenance research. Likewise, having lived in the city at the time, her depiction of post-9/11 New York, especially the rawness of PTSD and the paranoia that shadowed the city in the months after the attacks, is both powerful and emotionally grounded. With echoes of trauma, conspiracy, and a crumbling sense of self, "The Gallery Assistant" expertly explores the line between perception and reality in a city still reeling from collective grief.

However, the novel sometimes struggles to balance its dual identities of psychological trauma narrative and murder mystery. Chloe’s PTSD in particular, while central to the book and compelling in its own right, often feels at odds with the thriller elements, and rather than blending seamlessly, the two threads occasionally pull in different directions, giving the book a fragmented tone. Chloe is an intentionally unreliable narrator, which fits the genre, but she’s also frustratingly passive and self-destructive. Her frequent blackouts, binge-drinking, unprofessional work attitude, and impulsive amateur sleuthing make her difficult to root for, and though her flaws may be understandable given her trauma, they’re not always compelling to read about.

My main issue, however, was with the murder plot itself. While engaging at first, it slowly unravels into something overly convoluted, with cliché elements like bumbling cops and over the top conspiracy elements, convenient clues, and a resolution that lacks the impact its setup promised.

While "The Gallery Assistant" has a vivid setting and moments of emotional power, the overall execution feels uneven. Readers interested in art world intrigue and psychological trauma may find plenty to appreciate, but those seeking a tight, twisty mystery might come away underwhelmed. That said, this is a quick and atmospheric read, especially for those who enjoy character-driven mysteries with a strong sense of place. The 2001 NYC setting adds a unique layer of tension and historical resonance, even if it sometimes feels like it belongs in a different book entirely.

A novel with promise, but one that left me wishing the two halves of the story were more cohesively integrated and its resolution was a bit less over the top.

Many thanks to Atria Books | Atria/Emily Bestler Books and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

"The Gallery Assistant" is slated to be released on October 14, 2025.

The Gallery Assistant is a stylish, unsettling, and wholly immersive thriller that blends the edgy art scene of early 2000s New York with a twisty psychological mystery I couldn’t look away from. This one pulled me in from the first page and had me questioning everything and everyone right alongside Chloe.

Set just after 9/11, there’s a haunting undercurrent of unease that runs through the whole book, grief, confusion, and a city on edge. Chloe Harlow, still emotionally unmoored from the trauma of recent events, wakes up with a hangover and no memory of how she got home. Hours later, she learns that the host of the party she was at, a buzz worthy young artist, is dead. From that moment on, nothing is clear and no one is trustworthy, not even Chloe’s own memories.

Belli nails the atmosphere of the art world: glamorous on the surface, but quietly cutthroat and deeply pretentious beneath. The gallery scenes are slick and sinister, full of subtle power plays and whispered secrets. Chloe makes for a compelling narrator, flawed, smart, suspicious of everyone, and carrying more pain than she’s willing to show. As she starts to unravel what really happened the night of the murder, the line between paranoia and truth begins to blur in the best possible way.

This is a slow burn, cerebral thriller with a pitch-perfect tone, if you like your mysteries with layers of psychological complexity, moody city settings, and a heroine forced to navigate both personal trauma and a dangerous web of lies, this book will absolutely hit the mark.

What kept me hooked wasn’t the action or big reveals — it was the not knowing. Trying to piece together what happened that night, and realizing I couldn’t trust what anyone was saying, including the main character. I liked that feeling of uncertainty. The book didn’t hand over answers easily, and I kept guessing, even when I thought I had it figured out. That tension held the whole thing up.

The use of the art world made everything feel more layered. It wasn’t just there for atmosphere — it affected the way characters moved, thought, lied. It gave the whole story a strange, slightly surreal tone I liked. And then there was the missing memory. That idea — not being able to remember a single night that changed everything — that’s what stuck with me the most. That part was done really well. It felt frustrating in the right way.

There was a short reference to 9/11. It made sense, but it didn’t define the story. The more important part was how memory works, how it slips, how people twist it — or hide behind it. That’s what I’ll remember most about this book.

I received this eARC from Netgalley


Such a page turner of a book! I really enjoyed reading this. At first, it was a slow start but it picked up quick. The action, the mystery, the unknown with everyone involved will keep you at the edge of your seat!

Perfect for kindle unlimited thriller lovers. Our MC is a heavy drinker and you guessed it, after a night of drinking she blacks out and can’t remember the night before. This is perfect for readers who loved The Murder After the Night Before!! I highly recommend.

Review for The Gallery Assistant by Kate Belli
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4 stars)

Set in the emotionally raw weeks after 9/11, The Gallery Assistant follows Chloe, a museum assistant who is still reeling from surviving the Twin Towers on the day they were hit. When she attends a party at an artist’s loft and wakes up the next morning with no memory of how she got home, she’s soon pulled into a murder investigation after the artist is found dead.

As Chloe tries to piece together what happened that night, things get stranger—her roommate seems unusually detached, the gallery’s curator Lou abruptly disappears, and Chloe is unexpectedly promoted to curate the artist’s upcoming show. With the help of her friend Gio, Chloe begins to investigate on her own, putting herself in increasing danger.

This is a moody, slow-burn mystery with clever twists, layered characters, and an emotionally grounded protagonist. While the pace drags a bit at times, the story is well worth it. Chloe’s perspective as a 9/11 survivor adds depth, and the New York art scene makes for a stylishly tense backdrop.

Recommended for readers who enjoy character-driven mysteries with emotional depth and a touch of psychological suspense.

Thank you to the author, Atria, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I loved this new book by Kate Belli! This one is set in NYC, which I just loved and it follows the story of an up and coming painter that shows up DEAD! Chloe is the only one who can unravel the mystery of how Inga was murdered and who done it! I thought the post 9-11 time line was captavating and added to the story. At times parts of this were a little far fetched, Im looking at you Chloe, get some therapy girl!!! But I enjoyed this one and thought it was a great summer read.

Enjoyed more than expected. A good thriller, well written and looking forward to being able to recommend regularly

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

The Gallery Assistant is a fun and exciting mystery set in the art world. The story follows a woman named Willow who works in an art gallery and gets caught up in a dangerous adventure. There are secrets, surprises, and even a little bit of romance. The book keeps you guessing and is easy to enjoy. Some parts are a little slow, but the ending is worth it. If you like mysteries and smart, strong characters, this is a great book to read!

I really wanted to enjoy this book with how much I loved the synopsis. I just felt like I had to push myself into finishing it. I don't think I was the right audience for this book.

Lots of twists and turns in this one that keep you turning the pages! Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for this copy for read and review