The Assistant by Cathryn Grant

Release: September 27th 2020
Format: Ebook
Publisher: Inkubator Books
Source: Damppebbles Blog Tours
Find it at: Amazon UK

Two women. One office. A fight to the death.

Laura has sacrificed a lot for her high-powered career – her marriage, the chance to have kids. Now, finally, she’s in line for a big jump up the corporate ladder – all the way to the boardroom.

But there’s a fly in the ointment in the shape of beautiful Vanessa, a lowly assistant who seems to have it in for Laura.

Vanessa is PA to Hank, the most powerful executive in the company. a man whose support Laura desperately needs if she is to secure her dream job. Vanessa repels Laura’s naked ambition. As she is fiercely possessive of her boss, Vanessa deliberately sabotages Laura’s every attempt to make a good impression on Hank.

Laura threatens and cajoles but Vanessa just won’t play fair. Soon their mutual dislike escalates to an all-out war.

But career-obsessed Laura has always been willing to do whatever it takes to get ahead. And if Vanessa stands in her way… she’s going to pay the ultimate price.

The stunning psychological thriller from the author of The Guest.

About the Author:

Cathryn Grant writes psychological thrillers, psychological suspense, and ghost stories. She’s the author of twenty-three novels. She’s loved crime fiction all her life and has an endless fascination for the twists and turns, and the dark corners of the human mind.

When she’s not writing, Cathryn reads fiction, eavesdrops, and tries to play golf without hitting her ball into the sand or the water. She lives on the Central California coast with her husband and two cats.

Cathryn is the author of The Guest, The Good Mother and other psychological thrillers. Inkubator Books. will publish her fourth novel THE ASSISTANT .

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Amazon UK

The Assistant Review:

This is one of those stories that slowly creeps on you. The author did a very nice job of constructing a psychological thriller in the office work environment and I enjoyed reading it.

For me, the highlight of the story was the two main characters. Vanessa and Laura are compelling in their own manner. It surprised me at how my feelings for them changed in the story. In the beginning, I liked Vanessa because I thought no one understood her well, and hated Laura because she was snobbish and nosy. However, as the story progressed, I started to like Laura even more than Vanessa. However, between the two, I found Laura to be very complex. It is interesting to see her becoming overconfident and deluded by taking revenge on her co-workers. Similarly, I didn’t really like Vanessa much, especially her shoplifting tendencies.

Some of the scenes are very intense, like how the psychotic man attacks Laura while she is running, or towards the climax with Laura and Vanessa. The supporting characters like Hank and Matt also add well to the storyline. The author has a wonderful talent for character development and wrote the two very well.
However, the only reason I didn’t give the story 5 stars is because it tends to get repetitive. I really liked the concept of the story and wanted it to progress in a good manner. But some of the scenes felt repetitious, like the constant arguments Vanessa and Laura have at work. I enjoyed their bickering verbal catfights, but felt it slowed the pacing.

Overall, this was a nice psychological thriller, which would have been perfect if there were more twists and turns.