The Gallery Assistant

A Novel

By: Kate Belli

Narrated by: Devon Sorvari

“A haunting, razor-sharp mystery.” —Julie Clark, New York Times bestselling author

This twisty and sinister thriller follows a New York art gallery assistant reckoning with her past as she is trapped in a web of deceit after an up-and-coming painter is murdered—perfect for fans of Katy Hays and Julia Bartz.

November 2001: Chloe Harlow wakes up late, with hazy memories of the party the night before but no recollection of how she got back to her Brooklyn apartment. Ever since the terrifying and catastrophic terrorist attack two months ago, she has been on a collision course with destruction.

When Chloe finally arrives at the exclusive Upper East Side art gallery where she works, she is immediately called into her boss’s office. A pair of NYPD detectives greet her, also very curious to know how her evening ended…because the host of the party, a rising painter and the gallery’s newest artist, is dead.

Navigating both the sophisticated high-stakes art world and her personal life in burgeoning Williamsburg, Chloe struggles to piece together a complete picture of that lost night. As she digs deeper, inconsistencies emerge between what she remembers and what people tell her actually happened, and more questions are raised. Everything begins to feel like a conspiracy—and maybe it is. Because Chloe is the only one who glimpses the secrets the murdered artist left behind, and the closer she gets to the truth…the more deadly it becomes.

Fun thriller, emotional backdrop

What a wild and entertaining ride! The Gallery Assistant is a creative, unsettling, and gripping thriller that delves deep into the NYC art scene presented in a writing style that is reminiscent of Lisa Jewell (a high compliment, coming from this reader) with a touch of Dan Brown (I adored the artist’s messages and wished more came out of them). While the concept of a protagonist not remembering the evening before is not new, Belli puts an exciting spin on a traditional dilemma and keeps the reader guessing throughout this feverishly paced suspense novel. The heavily emotional backdrop of post-9/11 New York played well into the traumatized mental state of the main character, but it is always a risk attempting to put into words the horrors experienced by those in the Towers that morning (this ended up being my least favorite part of the novel). That being said, Kate Belli can write a great thriller, and I look forward to seeing what she offers us next!