The Personal Assistant - Kimberly Belle

The Personal Assistant is Kimberly Belle's latest domestic suspense novel. 

Alex has it all - two great kids, a loving husband and enough money that she doesn't have to worry. Oh, and she's a very successful social media mommy influencer. So successful (one million followers!) that she needs an assistant. But all it takes is one horrific post and the walls come tumbling down. Alex knows she didn't write that post. Was she hacked? Did her assistant, AC, post it? Where is she? Things rapidly go from bad to worse...

Belle tells her story through multiple characters, points of view and time periods. Belle does a good job of playing with the listener, directing our attention down more than one garden path. 

I liked the premise and was initially behind Alex. But she started to grate on my nerves. She started coming off as entitled and over the top in general. She's very self focused. I wish I had started counting the sentences with 'my husband' in them. (Hint: there's a lot). The other characters are over the top as well and felt like caricatures instead of believable players.

There are a few holes in the plot for this mystery reader. However, the final whodunit was a surprise. Kudos. I would have been happy with that being the final pages, but Belle seems determined to tie up every last point with a detailed explanation. 

There are some truths on social media, woven into the book. 

I had enjoyed Belle's 2021 book, My Darling Husband and had higher hopes for this newest. A three stars listen for me.  

I chose to listen to The Personal Assistant. I liked that three distinct and easily identifiable readers were used.  Chelsea Stephens (Narrator), Chris Andrew Ciulla and Megan Tusing. Ciulla voiced all of the male characters and provided believable voice all of them. He's a reader I've listened to in the past. I find his voice easy to listen to, clearly enunciated and captured the action and emotions. I'm not sure which reader played Alex and who read AC. Both captured and presented Belle's work very well. Each had a firm grasp of their character and captured that 'over the top' feeling I mentioned earlier. The Alex reader captured the 'look at me' sense I got from Alex. Hear for yourself - listen to an audio excerpt of The Personal Assistant.