The Personal Assistant by Kimberly Belle @KimberlySBelle @VoiceChelsea #ChrisAndrewCiulla @megantusing @HarlequinBooks @librofm

the setup…
Alex Hutchinson is the mother of twin 12-year old daughters Gigi and Penny, and married to successful financial whiz Patrick who her girls love dearly as if he were their biological father. A few years ago, she began posting about her family and inspirational messages as Unapologetically Alex and it soon propelled her into the world of influencers. On the day her account reached one million followers, she and Patrick go out to celebrate with her trusted right hand assistant, Anna Claire Davis (AC) and it turns into a night of tequila and shots. Alex doesn’t remember much but when she awakens to an online nightmare, she’s clear she didn’t have a thing to do with the awful post that’s gone hopelessly viral. Her continuing efforts to reach AC fail and she soon suspects that the suddenly missing assistant may be behind it all, even though the message correctly matches her true feelings. Alex is helpless as her carefully crafted world spectacularly crashes down around her.

the heart of the story…
If you’ve ever watched someone famous be taken down by a viral post, you have a clue as to what it looks like. However, this story provides unique insight into the reality of how it impacted Alex and her family, how dangerous it can become and what an overnight fall from grace can mean financially. But there’s a lot more going on here as Alex tries to figure out why AC might have it in for her, slowly realizes she really didn’t know her assistant and her husband emerges as someone with his own set of secrets. The story is told from the points of view of Alex, Patrick and Anna Claire, which made this even more intriguing. Things escalate when the body of a woman is found on the family property and the police become more deeply involved. I was glued to this story as I desperately tried to assemble the clues and figure out what was going on and how this family could ever emerge whole again.

the narration…
If ever there was a story that required multiple narrators, this one was it and all three adeptly voiced their respective characters. They did them justice and were wonderful storytellers. If you have a choice, opt for the audio version!

the bottom line…
It didn’t take long for the story to get my attention and keep me in its clutches through the final climax. I never was able to figure out all of the dynamics in play but it didn’t really matter because I liked having it be splashingly revealed. I must admit, though, I still have questions and the ending was a bit curious, one I’m still mulling through. But it was quite the journey getting there and typical of the author’s storytelling style, one that keeps me coming back to her books.

Book Info

• Release Date: November 29, 2022
• Narrators: Chelsea Stephens, Chris Andrew Ciulla & Megan Tusing
• Audio Length: 10 hours, 12 minutes
• Publisher: Harlequin Audio

Goodreads | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Libro.fm

(Thanks to Harlequin Audio for my complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.)