REVIEW: PLEASE JOIN US, BY CATHERINE MCKENZIE

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 a warning from her firm’s senior partners, she receives an invitation from 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, despite Dan’s concerns that the group might be a cult, 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, a congresswoman: Nicole can’t believe her luck. The founders of Panthera Leo are equally as impressive. They explain the group’s core philosophy: they’re a girl’s club in a boy’s club world.

Nicole is all in. And when she gets home, she soon sees dividends. Her new network quickly provides her with clients that help her relaunch her career, and a great new apartment too. The favors she has to provide in return seem benign. But then she’s called to the congresswoman’s apartment late at night 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. Can Nicole extricate herself from the group before it’s too late? Or will joining Panthera Leo be the biggest mistake of her life?

 

 

When Nicole’s life and her job begin to fall apart, an invitation from a group offers an answer. Please Join Us reveals how this group takes over the lives of its participants, and while the benefits seem large, the downside becomes apparent soon enough.

I couldn’t stop turning the pages, wondering what would happen next, and finding no way out for Nicole and others caught in the grip of something beyond their control.

Would there be escape from the structure that seems to hold them captive? How would it all end for them? The extent of the group’s control soon becomes apparent. A twisty tale that held me captive. 5 stars.

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