I had high hopes for The Personal Assistant by Kimberly Belle. It seemed like a psych thriller that would be right up my alley. For the most part, I was right.
I’m not a social media person – it is more of a necessary evil these days. The bare minimum is used, and even that is very grudgingly.
I say that to point out why I had a difficult time relating to Alex. I get that social media influencers are a thing, but I just don’t GET them – if that makes sense. However, it is necessary for Alex to be “out there” for the rest of the plot to work.
The story is relayed from three points of view: Alex, AC, and Patrick (Alex’s husband). Through each of them, we get a plot that is carefully planned and mostly suspenseful.
I have a love/hate relationship with books like this. The love is because they keep me guessing, changing my mind about my predictions, and can usually surprise me at least once. But I hate them because they are so very difficult to write reviews on.
This is the type of book where one slip in a review could ruin an entire plot thread. But trying to hide it by being cagey gives the impression that it was too confusing to understand. And I’m making this review confusing by writing it this way.
I really enjoyed 75% of the book. I had inklings about some things early on, but I wasn’t certain about them until the actual reveal. In that regard, the author really put the psych in a psych thriller.
That being said, I thought the last quarter of the book felt rushed and disconnected from the rest. I get that the author wanted to shock the reader, but too much seemed to come out of left field, and there were several questions left unanswered.
For example, the background of the culprit and how they were able to get away with everything they did is never sufficiently explained, nor is there much background to support it. The reader is just supposed to go with it. Not a fan of that, mostly because the rest of it is so darn good.
I’m rounding up my review to four stars simply because ¾ of The Personal Assistant was everything I could want in a psych thriller. Kimberly Belle is an author I will continue to look for.
This review was written based on a digital copy of the book from Park Row. For more reviews like this, please browse this site.
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