The Gallery Assistant by Kate Belli-review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date October 14, 2025

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, it seems she has been on a collision course with destruction.

When she 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.

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REVIEW:THE GALLERY ASSISTANT by Kate Belli is a stand alone, historical, suspense thriller focusing on gallery assistant Chloe Harlow in the aftermath of the death of a prominent artist.

Told in three parts, from first person perspective (Chloe) THE GALLERY ASSISTANT follows Chloe Harlow in the days and weeks after the murder of artist Inga Beck whose art showing at the gallery for which Chloe worked was but days away. A party, too many people, too much to drink, and no recollection of what happened, Chloe finds herself a possible suspect in the death of Inga Beck. Promoted to gallery assistant, Chloe begins an investigation of her own, only to discover everyone has a different take, their secrets begin to reveal a darker story as Chloe uncovers a trail of clues left behind by the artist in question.

The world building focuses on Chloe’s search for the truth but the deeper Chloe digs, the more dangerous her situation becomes. Friends and co-workers go missing; lies are spun to sound like the truth, and Chloe is forced to search for the truth in clues the artist left behind.

The secondary and supporting characters are energetic, determined and desperate. As the world around her slowly spirals out of control, Chloe Harlow begins to suspect everyone, as none of their stories make sense in the end.

THE GALLERY ASSISTANT is a dark, dramatic and suspenseful story of murder and mystery in the weeks following the 9/11 attack when heightened awareness and caution were a part of everyday life. Anxiety rolled into overzealous conspiracies but as her friends and acquaintances begin to disappear and go missing, Chloe discovers she is a both a pawn and a target, as the artworld slowly begins to unravel.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy