“Beneath the glamour dark secrets lurk.

World famous singer Enola had it all – fame, fortune, and a breathtaking penthouse view. Then she vanished without a trace, leaving the band’s careers in ruins.

Fifteen years on, the remaining members are reuniting for a series of concerts in Las Vegas. But when mysterious accidents plague them, some start to wonder if Enola is back for revenge.

What happened all those years ago – and who really knows the truth?”

Hello and welcome to damppebbles. Today I am delighted to share my review of The Penthouse by Catherine Cooper. The Penthouse was published by HarperCollins on 24th April 2025 and is available in paperback, audio and digital formats. I chose to read a free eARC of The Penthouse but that has in no way influenced my review.

Catherine Cooper’s The Island was one of my top books of 2023. I also read and thoroughly enjoyed The Chateau back in 2021. So of course, I jumped at the chance to read Cooper’s newest release, The Penthouse.

Enola Mazzeri is a member of Breathe, an all-female pop trio, or girl band if you prefer. Breathe are at the height of their fame when all of a sudden, Enola disappears. No one knows what happened to the pop starlet. Now, fifteen years have passed and Enola is still missing. Everyone has their own theory about what happened to Enola but without a body, they’re just rumours, plain old hearsay. When two reunion concerts are announced for a brand new venue in Las Vegas, the fans secretly hope it’s to mark her return. Her fellow bandmates, desperate for their own moment in the spotlight after all this time, hope the opposite. That they never see Enola again. She was always more popular with the fans. More talented than the rest of them. She was the star, they were just there to boost the numbers. In the lead up to the big concerts, things start to go very, very wrong. Could Enola be behind what is happening? Is she finally, after fifteen long years, wreaking her revenge…?

The Penthouse is an immersive and compelling psychological thriller. Told using multiple perspectives and two different timelines (the past, in the lead up to Enola’s disappearance and the present, as the remaining band members prepare for their reunion gigs), this twisty thriller really grabbed my attention. Enola’s awful mother, Kimberley, pushed her into the spotlight at a young age whilst completely ignoring Enola’s twin sister, Roxie. Kimberley always believed she would have had the life Enola was living had she not accidentally fallen pregnant with the twins. The resentment this woman shows towards her daughters behind her fixed, ‘loving’ smile was repulsive but oh my gosh, I found this relationship, in particular, utterly mesmerising. She’s bitter, envious and entitled. One of the things that isn’t mentioned in the blurb is that alongside uber-famous Breathe is fading boy band, This Way Up. The two members of This Way Up used to hold the spotlight Breathe now occupy so there is plenty of jealousy there too. Enola begins to date Max. It starts out as a PR stunt, only to become something more. However, Max is controlling, insecure and manipulative. I really enjoyed the way the list of characters who held a grudge against Enola built over time. I found myself constantly questioning what had happened to her.

Would I recommend this book? I would, yes. The Penthouse is a very readable thriller packed full of suspense, conspiracy theories, and obsessed fans! Jealousy and resentment reign supreme in this one and it was interesting to see that despite being surrounded by toxic people, Enola still seemed to be perfectly normal. Although a little oblivious to her effect on others, perhaps? Most of the characters are highly unlikeable but that’s what makes the story so compelling. I did feel that this latest book was a little different to the author’s earlier books. It felt less about the setting. We see the group in several different locations; Paris, Las Vegas and London, where the eponymous penthouse is. Cooper’s books also, in my experience, tend to be about luxury and glamour, but very little about the pop style lifestyle in the book felt luxurious or glamorous (apart from the money they all have!). In fact, it sounds a miserable lifestyle full of fake people, all who want something from you. The characters really made this book for me. It sounds a strange thing to say but I did enjoy how horrible they all were. All in all, The Penthouse is a dark, unsettling read, full of betrayal and resentment. I was so intrigued by what had happened to Enola. Was she alive? Was she dead? And that kept the tension running high, with me desperate to know how it was all going to end! An enjoyable read. Recommended.

I chose to read and review a free eARC of The Penthouse. The above review is my own unbiased opinion.

The Penthouse by Catherine Cooper was published in the UK by HarperCollins on 24th April 2025 and is available in paperback, audio and digital formats (please note, the following links are affiliate links which means I receive a small percentage of the purchase price at no extra cost to you): | amazon.co.uk | Waterstones | bookshop.org | Goodreads | damppebbles bookshop.org shop | damppebbles amazon.co.uk shop | damppebbles amazon.com shop |

Catherine Cooper is a journalist specializing in luxury travel, hotels and skiing who writes regularly for national newspapers and magazines. She lives near the Pyrenees in the South of France with her family, cats and chickens. Her debut, The Chalet, was a top 5 Sunday Times bestseller.