Title: THE PENTHOUSE
Author: Catherine Cooper
ISBN: 9780008672560
Publisher: Harper Collins
Pages: 381
Source: Review copy from the Publisher
Blog Tour Organised by Random Things Tours
Nineties girl band Breathe were the girls every teenage girl wanted to be – until the lead singer, Enola, went missing at the height of her fame and was never found.
Conspiracy theories abounded, and the people closest to her came under suspicion; her boyfriend Max, her manager, her stepdad, and even Angel, the lead singer of rival girl band Attitude. But no evidence of any wrongdoing was ever found and, bar various unverified sightings of her over the years, no trace of Enola has ever been found.
Now four decades later, three bands are part of a revival tour, but when nasty accidents start happening, and band members start dying, it looks like this blast from the past is about to blow them all away. But who wants them dead and why?
Official Summary
06 May 2025
What do you get when you mix nineties nostalgia, missing pop stars, and a splash of murder? Catherine Cooper’s The Penthouse—a twisty, addictive thriller that hits all the right notes for fans of dark secrets and deadly comebacks.
The story revolves around Breathe, a wildly popular ‘90s girl band whose fame came to a sudden halt when lead singer Enola mysteriously vanished at the height of their success. Fast forward nearly 40 years, and several members of once-famous bands are reuniting for a revival tour. It sounds like a recipe for some glittery fun—until people start dying.
This book absolutely nails the pop culture throwbacks. If you were ever a fan of the Spice Girls or the golden age of MTV, The Penthouse offers a deliciously dark peek behind the glamour. I loved how Catherine Cooper captured the pressures of fame, especially for young women, and how the ghosts of past traumas can linger long after the spotlight fades.
What really worked for me was the layered mystery—Enola’s disappearance still haunts everyone involved, and Cooper cleverly weaves that cold case into the chaos of the present-day revival. I was second-guessing every character’s motives, especially as the body count started to rise. Was it revenge? A cover-up? A long-planned reckoning?
While the plot occasionally dipped into the dramatic (in a soap-opera-meets-thriller kind of way), it never lost its entertainment value. The pacing was sharp, the chapters short and snappy, and the reveals came with satisfying impact. It’s the kind of story that keeps you saying “Just one more chapter” until it’s 2 am and you’re done.
If you’re in the mood for something fun, twisty, and soaked in glitter and secrets, The Penthouse deserves a place on your reading list.
REMEMBER TO VISIT THE OTHER TOUR STOPS
Also by Catherine Cooper
THE CHALET
Four friends. One luxury getaway. The perfect murder.
French Alps, 1998
Two young men ski into a blizzard… but only one returns.
20 years later
Four people connected to the missing man find themselves in that same resort. Each has a secret. Two may have blood on their hands. One is a killer-in-waiting.
Someone knows what really happened that day.
And somebody will pay.
About The Author
Author bio from the author’s site
Catherine Cooper is a freelance journalist writing for many national newspapers and magazines, specialising in travel. She also makes regular appearances as a talking head on daytime TV. She lives in France with her husband and two teenage children. Her debut thriller THE CHALET was a top-five Sunday Times bestseller and spent three weeks in the Kindle top 100. THE CHATEAU is her second novel.
A big thank you to Anne Cater from Random Things Tours for including me on this blog tour. Regular visitors will know that I have read all of Catherine Cooper’s books and I loved all of them. If you have not yet added her work to your TBR, what are you waiting for? I look forward to hearing what you think of The Penthouse, please leave a comment below. Until next time… Happy Reading!
