My 100% human written Review of The Gallery Assistant by Kate Belli discusses some surprising things about this new historical suspense title. Will you like it? Let’s find out!
Review of The Gallery Assistant by Kate Belli
Jen’s Quick Take on The Gallery Assistant
- The Gallery Assistant by Kate Belli is historical suspense
- Set in fall and winter 2001, The Gallery Assistant features a main character with memory issues
- The story takes place in Manhattan and Williamsburg (Brooklyn)
- The book’s mysterious pink cover made me completely overlook the fact that Kate Belli is also the author of the Gilded Gotham cozy mystery series, featured in my post on Gilded Age fiction
- Release date: October 14, 2025 by Atria Books/Emily Bestler. Thanks so much to the publisher for the advance review copy!
More Thoughts on The Gallery Assistant
The Gallery Assistant was a cool and vibe-y book that has some specific features that may be a hit with some readers and a miss with others:
The book relies heavily on a trope that is a suspense mainstay: a character with amnesia.
It’s historical fiction set in the fall and winter of 2001, immediately after the fall of the Twin Towers.
Chloe Harlow, the main character, works as an assistant at Fletcher & Sons, an Upper East Side art gallery. She’s clearly suffering from PTSD and has been drinking heavily. When an up-and-coming young female artist is murdered at a Williamsburg loft party, Chloe was the last person to see her alive.
As Chloe struggles to remember what happened that night, she begins to doubt everything and everyone around her.
This book is perfect for those readers who love the murky, uncertain feel of a classic suspense story. For fans of books like Stay Awake by Megan Goldin (also set in New York City and featuring a character with memory issues.) It reminded me a little bit of a darker version of the show Younger, which featured a woman working as a publishing assistant while she lives in Williamsburg.
How do you feel about amnesia tropes in your suspense stories? Tell me in the comments!