Book Review: Please Join Us by Catherine McKenzie

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International Best Selling Canadian Thriller author has done it again! ~~~~ At thirty-nine, Nicole Mueller's life is on the rocks. Her once brilliant law career is falling apart. She and her husband, Dan, are soon to be forced out of the apartment they love. After receiving a warning about her work from her firm's senior partners, she gets an invitation to an exclusive women's networking group, Panthera Leo. Membership is anonymous, but every member is a successful professional. It sounds like the perfect solution to help Nicole revive her career. So, although Dan has reservations, Nicole signs up for their retreat in Colorado. Once there, she meets the other women who will make up her Pride: a CEO, an actress, a finance whiz, and a congresswoman. Nicole can't believe her luck. And she agrees with the mysterious founders' core philosophy: they're a girls' club in a boys' club world. Nicole is all in. And when she gets home, she soon sees dividends. Her new network quickly provides her with clients who help her relaunch her career, and she finds a great new apartment too. The favors she has to provide in return seem benign. Then late one night, she's called to the congresswoman's apartment where she's pressed into helping her cover up a crime. And suddenly, Dan's concerns that something more sinister is at play seem all too relevant. Is Panthera Leo full of predators? And is Nicole the prey? ~~~~ Catherine McKenzie has done it again! In "Please Join Us" she has used her former career as a lawyer to develop Nicole's character. It seems like Panthera Leo is a cult, but not of the religious kind. Yes, a women's networking group sounds like a great idea, if it's legit. Nicole's husband even uses the word cult (long after I thought it). The story starts 3 months previous to the present and alternates between past and present until then catches up to now. I found this to be a great way to write this story, especially when "then" is only three months previous and not three years. When Nicole realizes something isn't adding up, she works at figuring out the group's members, their roles and whether they are as oblivious as she is. Just when she believes she has it all figured out and has paperwork to back her up, the tables are turned. The very last line in the book is a jaw dropper. It leaves you hanging. But, it will not help you if you are 'last page peeker'. You need the whole story to understand it. This is another thriller that had me reading until the wee hours of the morning this morning until I finished the book. I will be reading one more mystery/suspense/thriller to finish out the month of "spooky" October, then I will be switching genres to something more lighthearted. If you have a chance to read any Catherine McKenzie book, take it. She is a thriller writer extraordinaire.