The Gallery Assistant - Book Review

The Gallery Assistant by Kate Belli
Publication: October 14, 2025
Pages: 288 pages
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars ☆☆☆
Sweet Spark: Chloe is trying to ignore the traumatic events of September 11, but working near the dark side of the New York art world may not let her.

Chloe knew people were saying she drank too much, but they weren't there, and no one - literally no one - knew about what she had been through on September 11. She was fine, and she was getting through it. At least this was what she thought, til she woke up at home the morning after a party she had to attend at the home of an artist being represented by the gallery where she worked., with no memory of getting there. Afraid it's her own fault for drinking too much, Chloe decides to keep quiet.

While she's felt off kilter since the fall of the twin towers, it takes Chloe a little time to recognize that the suspicious events in her personal life are escalating, and she isn't sure who she can trust. This topsy-turvy thriller eventually does reveal Chloe's personal 9/11 story, and it is not as involved in the current mystery as the reader is led to believe.

Overall, the book earned 3 out of 5 stars. For as emotionally evocative as September 11 is for everyone who was an adult or close to it at that time, it's really not as big a deal to the plot as the blurb may lead readers to believe. The somewhat surface treatment of the intricacies of fine art crime in the plot left a few questions unanswered, but the story's time period and interesting characters kept the book an enjoyable read.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing a free electronic copy of this book. Receiving the book for free did not influence this review.