WOWZA! I will be honest I requested this book because I am an Executive Assistant and the line 'she knows everything about you' totally grabbed me!

I recently finished "The Assistant" by Nicole Trope. I had not read any of her work before, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I thought I knew where the story was going, but I was wrong. The storyline was so engrossing, the characters I loved , this was such a fast paced read. The twists & turns in the plot kept me guessing throughout, and I absolutely loved the ending & cannot wait for more :) .

A great read for those that love a good twist, especially one the reader may not see coming.

Thank you to Netgalley & Bookouture

Pub Date - Aug 12, 2024

Grace applies for a job as assistant to Ava Green, who is overworked, stressed and unorganized.
Grace effortlessly organizes Ava's office and then her home.
But why choose Ava?

A gripping psychological thriller by Nicole Trope, who has the formula for a good book down pat.
Not an original plot, but absorbing, nontheless. Told in the POV's of Grace and Ava, and as a letter from an unknown person to her daughter.

I read this in one sitting and can recommend.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read this book.

This talented author has written a page turner. Secrets and red herrings…family and friends…mystery and intrigue…the recipe for a cannot put down novel. This popular author has once again written a story with surprises. The realistic characters keep the story moving quickly. Enjoy. Thanks Netgalley.

This was an insane book! I loved every twist and turn, you really didn't know what was coming next.
The main characters were really well developed you felt like you actually knew them.

📖The Assistant
✍️Nicole Trope
🗓️Aug 12 2024
📝Bookouture

<b>Genre:</b>
Thrillers, domestic thriller

<b> Series or standalone: </b>
Standalone
<b> Tropes: </b>
✨workplace / assistant
✨struggling mom /working mom
✨ domestic suspense
✨ set in Sydney, Australia 🥰

⚠️: suicide, depression, addiction, alcoholism
<b> POV </b>
Dual, first person POV (Grace) and third person POV (Ava)
I would have preferred one or the other, preferably first person POV. I realised I am not that comfortable anymore with the third person.

<b> 💭 Summary 💭</b>
Your new assistant, that you desperately need to get your life in order, seems to know everything about you. But how much do you really know is about the person you hired? Are you sure you can let her into your life? Be careful what you wish for, Ava…

<b> Cover: </b>
It’s honestly one of these generic thriller covers that you see quite often around. But I know that Nicole Trope writes killer books, so I’ll pick it up anyway!

<b> main characters : </b>
Grace Enright (52) & Ava Green (35)
<b> Side cast: </b>
Ava’s husband Finn and her two daughters
Grace’s estranged family
Their workplace

<b> Diverse cast of characters?: </b>
We have two women who could not be more different and not more similar to each other at once. What’s their connection?
We meet Ava and her family and get to know snippets of Grace’s past. The cast is minimal, but I think that suits the novel really well.

<b> character development </b>
Very slowly we’re fed little bits and pieces of what happened and how both women are connected. It’s infuriatingly delicious torture to figure out what on earth is happening. Is Grace really delusional or is everyone against her for no reason? How does Ava fit into this? I enjoyed figuring this out!

<b> Location: </b>
Sydney, Australia 🇦🇺

<b> Fluency/Writing: </b>
Nicole Trope is one of my auto request/buy authors. She writes, I read, it’s really that simple! Her books are full of action, sometimes subtle, sometimes head on. She writes relatable characters and believable stories. And with this novel she really tortured me, by feeding me tiny bits and bobs of information here and there! It was a challenge to figure out the connection, and I loved it.



Range of emotions: 🤔😳😱
🌶️: 0/5
😱: 4/5
😭: 0/5
❤️: 2/5
⭐️: 4,5/5

<b> Do I recommend: </b>

This might be one of her best works so far ❤️

⭐️Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my advanced copy. All opinions are my own, I was under no obligation to review.

I love Nicole's thrilling books and this one is just as good as her others.

I was hook, line and sinker from the beginning. So many twists and turns and a surprising story line that I absolutely loved. A definite recommend.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of this book! This was my first introduction to Nicole Trope. I was interested in this because it mentioned readers who like Lisa Jewell would be interested. I 1000% got Lisa Jewell vibes from the overall plot, writing style and characters.

Dual POV's are always a win for me, I love getting into the head of our two main characters and that device worked very well in this book. The twist at the end was something I did not see coming, but it made so much sense.

I would not describe this book as a psychological thriller, it read more like women's fiction/ soap-opera. For me, it was more interesting than it was thrilling.

I'm rating 4 stars because I literally read this in less than 2 days and really enjoyed the writing style! I’d like to thank NetGalley, Bookouture, and Nicole Trope for my ARC. All opinions are my own!

How much do I love Nicole Trope's books? I love them SO much, that when I was approved to receive an ARC copy of this book, I immediately put down the Harlan Coben book I was reading and started right in on this one. The Assistant might be her best one yet. As usual, the characters were totally real and believable. I am sure the majority of working moms with babies will easily relate to and sympathize with Ava and her struggles trying to balance her job and her new baby, and many readers will also be able to relate to her finding out that the man-child she is married to isn't going to suddenly grow up just because he is now a father. The storyline itself is very well written. We see Grace put a lot of effort into making sure she got this job, so I was totally confident I knew where this was going - maybe not WHY yet, but I assumed I would learn that in time. And when she noticed how handsome Finn was, I was totally sure I knew what her plan was. And then she manages to get Ava to let her stay at her house while her own apartment is being fumigated, and I was even more sure that I was right. I was totally wrong. And yes, eventually I had a tiny inkling of what was really going on , but I never really gave my idea serious thought once I thought back to other things that had happened earlier in the book. But the ending totally blew me away, and that is saying a lot since I read enough psychological thrillers that either I know what is coming or I feel like I've been cheated because the ending seemed to have fallen out of the sky. But not this one. I am still thinking about how clever Nicole Trope is to have been able to parade clues in front of our faces, and we don't recognize them because they were all so much like real life to us - things we, as women and mothers, take for granted about ourselves. And I alternate being sad at how it ended and being amazed at the power of love we saw. I hope every mother who reads this will think about the ending and then take a look in the mirror and realize that she would have done the exact same thing.

This was my first introduction to Nicole Trope and I will definitely read more of her work. I thought I knew where The Assistant was going from the start. I was wrong, and the twists were pleasant surprises. Without giving away spoilers, I loved the ending.

This book does bounce from past to present and from Ava to Grace. I enjoyed Grace’s back story, and grew to really like this character. I especially liked the interactions between Grace and Ava. The very beginning was a little slow, but once it got going, it was a page turner I could not put down and finished it in two sittings.

A great read for those that love a good twist, especially one the reader may not see coming.

Stop what you’re doing and add this book to the top of your list! “The Assistant” is not what I thought it would be and I mean that in the most fantastic way. Twists and turns all throughout, with a surprising story line that had me hooked from beginning to end. One of the best psychological thrillers I’ve read in a while! I look forward to reading more from the author.

Ava is busy juggling her career, kids, and marriage. She does her best trying to manage it all but is overworked and stressed, and in need of hiring a new assistant at work. Grace applies for the job, and quickly proves herself to be the best assistant Ava ever had. But why did this over qualified woman want the job and why does she want to get closer to Ava and her family?

So happy to see that Trope has veered back to writing thrillers! I enjoy them much more than the few that were considered women's fiction. This book was really good and not at all what I expected. I won't elaborate as not to leave spoilers, but the most drilling question I had while reading was why Grace infiltrated herself into Ava's life. I thought that I would never know and was expecting to be quite disappointed, but rest assured, the answer revealed itself in the final pages of the epilogue. And it's a huge curveball! I would have liked a little bit more closure at the end. I think other readers will agree with me on this. Again, I can't explain due to spoilers, so you'll just have to read to find out. I would definitely recommend! 

Thank you to the author, Bookouture, and NetGalley for granting me digital access in exchange for my honest review!

Wow!!! I was completely hooked from start to finish! Every chapter left me hanging, and I just couldn't stop myself from reading more. I started this morning and, before I knew it, itI had devoured the whole book in two sittings. Even though I'm exhausted today, it was totally worth it! My heart was racing the entire time... The ending was mind-blowing and took me by complete surprise. What an incredible twist! I honestly can't remember the last time a book left me so stunned.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for this Advanced Reader’s Copy of The Assistant by Nicole Trope due to be published August 12, 2024.
I have previously read five of Nicole Trope's books so I was so excited to read this one!
Grace wants the job to be Ava Green’s assistant – her application is made up, but Ava doesn’t have to know. All Grace knows is that she has to have the job. She wants and needs Ava to trust her. Is Grace good or evil?
I really loved this book. It was a fast read and kept me guessing about who Grace really was until the end. It was interspersed with Grace writing letters to someone unknown until the shocking ending! Another good one from Nicole Trope!
#NetGalley #NicoleTrope #Bookouture #TheAssistant

You can't go wrong with this author and this was another brilliant read.
Fabulously written characters and some of them were pretty nasty.
Great storyline. Grace carefully crafts her way into Ava's life as her assistant and confidante and we really don't know what her angle is until the very end.
A brilliant and clever read not to be missed.
My thanks to netgalley and the publisher for my early copy.

Oh this book was GOOD! I was so thrown by the ending of this one. It was intense, and full of drama. I loved the main character and the way she carried herself. What a great book.

Nicole Trope hits another one out of the park! The characters came alive at the very beginning and kept me flipping pages long into the night. So many secrets and lies it was impossible to know who to trust. Plenty of gobsmacking reveals. Highly recommend.
Thank you NetGalley, Nicole Trope and Bookouture for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I love Nicole Trope's book and was thrilled when I was approved to read it. Ava is really struggling. She is working hard, has a deadbeat husband that thinks he does it all, when he does nothing, and two young girls at home. Along comes Grace who get the job as her personal assistant. But Grace seeks Ava out to carry out some sort of plan. Meanwhile, Grace herself, is hiding a past in which her husband died and her daughter won't talk to her. Collin and Melody are plotting against Ava and Grace so Collin get promoted over Ava. Ava's daughters start telling her things and Ava starts to doubt her marriage even more than she did before. Melody figures out just who Grace is and starts threatening her. Grace is determined that Ava will not suffer in her life like she did. The author does not tell you why Grace is so interested in Ava until the very ending. Have to say, it wasn't shocking. Not her best book-didn't seem on par with some others, but was still a very good book.

When there is someone who knows everything about you and you know them inside out too, it's great, because it means you are very close. When there is someone who knows everything about you, but you don't know them from Adam, it's another kettle of fish. What makes it even more creepy is the fact you don't know they know all what happens in your life. 

The question that comes to mind is are they here to help you or do they have another thing planned?

Gradually we find out what the intentions were and then there was only one thing left to be revealed. Why? Rest assured that all will become clear, but you have to be patient, because the author makes us wait for it. :) 

Once again I realised how one person's manipulations can start a whole string of problems and heart ache. 

A very delicious book with excellent characters and a smooth writing style. 5 stars

Thank you

I’m always excited when Nicole Trope has a new book out. This is the best one I’ve read yet!! I thoroughly enjoyed the intriguing plot and excellent character development. The story is told from the POV of two characters: high-strung, intense Ava and ruthless, dejected Grace. When their lives collide, everything spirals out of control in this twisty thriller. I couldn’t put it down and loved the ending!!
Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to read this advanced copy. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Interesting quick read. More of a domestic thriller than psychological suspense book. Never let just anyone in your home. A little slow at first but quickly picks up pace.