Wow what a rollercoaster of a read. When Cassandra’s collegue and friend Sara takes her own life her world as she knows it is turned upside down. She does not believe that Sara was the depressed and starts to question if something more sinister is going on. When her other friend mentions a female only members club that only the best of the best can join they find out that Sara’s death means there’s now an empty slot that they both want but is this exactly what it says or is something much more sinister going on and were they involved in what happened to Sara. I loved this read.

An absolutely brilliant and uncomfortable read. Gripping from start to finish with an ending I did not see coming. Cleverly brought together with the characters this is a must read. It is scary to think this is possibly happening somewhere, it made me cringe, swear, and panic. A claustrophobic page turner that I will highly recommend

This is a fast paced read that kept you wanting more. The Clique kept me questioning so I kept reading to find out the answers! Thank you for a great fast paced read Rhiannon Barnsley!

Great debut. 3.5 stars. As in my 20% status update, if you're looking for an accurate depiction of life as a top tier commercial lawyer, this is a book to check out. On top, loads of mystery, bit of suspense and thriller-ish parts.

I would never have requested this eARC if I knew I'd be reading about work (I read to escape it instead 🙃). However, as an ARC I persisted and was not disappointed.

Plot was interesting, not unrealistic to think there may be secret women societies helping women progress and rise up in an industry that has been for so long men at the top. Also most certainly not unrealistic for men to try cover up and victim blame SA reported by women in this space to protect men or clients.

My qualms resulting in a reduced rating were the repetitiveness in parts and stating the obvious - I wish authors wouldn't assume readers can't figure things out. I also think the writing can improve quite a bit. However, it is a debut, it was enjoyable enough and I would check out this author's work again (assuming it's not in the law space).

From my short notes: I picked one twist, but other aspects still surprised me. Was super engaged toward the end and "couldn't put it down".

Please check TWs online, of note is suicide.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I loved this! Very well written, super fast paced, and a fair amount of twists.. How can you go wrong! I'll be keeping an eye out for this author!!

Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for the ARC of this book.

The Clique by Rhiannon Barnsley starts off strong and promising with an odd death of a close friend of the MC. But quickly, the plot becomes clunky and burdensome with too much telling happening in the dialogue and not enough development of the characters. The plot gets bogged down in too many twists and by the end, I was skimming to see what happens. Overall, a disappointing thriller.

This book completely captivated me with an original plot and intriguing, flawed characters.

The main character, Cass is on a quest to find out why one of her close friends died. Did she really commit suicide or was something more sinister going on at their law firm? Cass is likable although she drinks way too much and I really felt like telling her she needed to lighten up with the alcohol. When you can't remember things the next day, you've gone too far, and her finding answers really depends on her paying attention. Cass also keeps the truth from those she cares about which also causes some issues. But she's not the only one keeping secrets.

The book is twisty-turny and kept my attention throughout. 4 stars.

I am really hoping that this sort of scenario doesn't really happen! A City lawyer is ambitious and will do anything to get to the top. Working overtime, taking misogynist remarks and behaviours. After her fellow colleague and friend's suicide she discovers she was part of a secret women's society and there is a vacancy going. Then it all starts...

Thoroughly enjoyable and disquieting at the same time.

Complex but slightly unrealistic story. A determined main character tries to find out why so many friends are dying/committing suicide. A secret girls club or something more sinister.

In this twisty legal thriller we’re following Cassandra Harlow, a high-achieving lawyer who wants nothing more than to be made partner at the prestigious law firm where she works. She is shocked and in disbelief when she learns that Sara, her friend and colleague, has killed herself.
Cassandra immediately starts to investigate her friend’s apparent suicide, only to find out that Sara was a member of a secret women’s society called “Inside”. Inside promises to help advance their member’s careers significantly, and Cassandra tries to join in order to find out what really happened to Sara.
Unfortunately, Inside isn’t what it claims to be…

Overall I found this to be a successful debut novel. Rhiannon Barnsley gives us a peek into an overachieving and massively misogynistic legal company in which women are trying to find their space. I was definitely entertained throughout the book, and some of the twists in the second part really surprised me (especially the ones near the very end!)

Around halfway in the book gets a little slow, but the pace picks up again and I almost read the last half in one sitting. I also really enjoyed the romance subplot, Cassandra’s romantic relationship and her friendships felt realistic to me.

The characters are not necessarily memorable, but I’ll probably remember the story as a whole for a while. I would love to read more from Rhiannon Barnsley!

Thank you to One More Chapter for providing an ARC in exchange of an honest review.

Really enjoyed it this book! A good story with alot of unexpected twists and turns along the way. First time reading this author and definitely a 5 star book!

Good book that was very well written. Loved the main characters and how well they interacted and fit together the whole story.

This was an entertaining thriller. Cass was an enjoyable MC and despite having to suspend my disbelief with certain plot points, I liked the pacing of the novel. All of the characters were well fleshed out, especially Nat. I had no idea where the ending would take me, but it made for a shocking ending.

Cassandra Harlow is a lawyer working in a high paced job. She works long hours to get herself noticed and hopefully get in line for a partnership. One day she see's her friend fall from the building to her death. Obviously the pressure was to much. After closing a deal she suffers an incident. After this she realises that the big boys club soon closes ranks.
So when she gets the opportunity to join a new clique she realises that the girls may have power too. However, are they as they seem or are they more dangerous to be involved with. Cass must discover who is involved to solve a crime and hopefully save her life.
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to see an ARC

Thank you Netgalley, and One More Chapter for the ARC.

There’s only one way to join their society. If someone leaves, or dies…

High-flying lawyer Sara O’Neil had it all; the career, the money, the prestige.

And then she jumped to her death.

Cassandra Harlow never expected to see her friend fall from their office rooftop. Someone knows what really happened. But the only people who might know the truth are a secret women-only society, Inside, whose promise is to fast-track your career.

But if Sara was part of it and they helped facilitate her rise to the top, could they also be the reason she came crashing down to earth?
I enjoyed the book. However there just seemed to be something missing for me. Maybe more character development would have helped?

3 out of 5 ⭐️

What would you do to move ahead in your job? What is you were blocked at every angle by the old boy's club? Cassie is in that very situation after working long long days at her law firm. Worse yet, a mentor/friend of hers seems to have jumped to her death. When another colleague mentions a secret club of women professionals, Cassie decides to apply.

She finds out very quickly that her recently deceased friend Sarah was a member and the club is no joke. There are multiple interviews and clandestine meetings - very cloak and danger, very impressive and very intimidating.

Cassie begins to wonder exactly what happened to Sarah - was it a suicide, or was it something else that had to do with the Clique! Thrilling and fast paced, this is one you don't want to miss.
#harpercollins #onemorechapter hiannonbarnsley

Publication date: Jun 6th, 2024
Page count: 337
Genre: domestic thriller
Setting: London
POV: Cass

Law firm, multiple “suicides” of women, a secret society. Cass wants to figure out who is doing the killing, and why are they doing it?

A fun fast paced read!


Thank you to author, publisher, NetGalley for advanced copy. This is an honest voluntary review.

Cassandra is a female lawyer in a typically macho law firm. Her colleague, mentor and friend Sara dies after falling from the office roof. Nat, another colleague suggests they apply to Inside, an exclusive women's only networking group which has a vacancy following Sara's death. Cassandra and Nat go through the elaborate recruitment process. Cassandra gets mysterious messages and suspects that Inside may not be all that it seems. She tries to find evidence of this with the help of her new boyfriend George. A good read but there was a long build up with most of the action in the later part of the book. It wasn't really explained how Inside actually helped any of the women with their career.

I found this to be a very slow starting story. The plot is intriguing- a secret society that may not be all it seems and a couple of unexplained deaths, written off as suicides but for me the main character Cass is put into a series of situations where you are either screaming out at her for not seeing the obvious or left wondering why a situation has been shoehorned into the plot with introduction or explanation.
Overall an OK read.

This was almost at the point of being a farce.

The novel starts with Cass explaining her life. Until 40% all Cass does is tell you how stressful, terrible and awful her life is. To be fair there appears to be nothing in her life that is good but while having all the self awareness in the world to her troubles she just keeps plugging to make things worse.

Then! An event happens at her work (not related to the main plot) and what the author has chosen to do here is impossible to recover from. You cannot put a woman in a predatory situation and elicit sympathy as a work around for character development, it’s poor and it’s really bad form. I’ve finished reading this on international women’s day and I’m appalled we use sexual assault as an easy anchor rather than writing better.

Luckily for us the plot continues and Cass is told very clearly to “Trust no one”. Reader she ignores this. She trusts random people who come in to her life.

This is just not a book that shows how intelligent women can be.