I am a true crime/cult enthusiast and devoured this book with excitement. I am fascinated by those people that are drawn in by cult leaders. We are all searching for a purpose in this life and the idea that one person can give us this purpose is amazing. Marnie Spellman takes one experience from her childhood and builds an empire that is built on secrets and lies. This type of foundation wont last forever and the reader is along for the ride as this castle is taken down tower by tower.

The Hive by Gregg Olsen was definitely a different type of Olsen read but I still enjoyed this thriller about cults. #TheHive #NetGalley

This was a really good thriller novel, the characters were what I was looking for and I enjoyed going through the plot. It was a great read.

Having heard lots of great things about this author, I was excited to make my own opinion about him. I have to say, this does not make me too eager to read his other works.
Way too difficult to follow, with timelines and POVs that soon made me frustrated and confused. The pace was way too slow for a thriller, and so many irrelevant side stories that I lost interest so quickly.

This book was just buzzing with excitement from the first page!! Who done it and Why?
Meghan is such a great detective and thinks things out so carefully, using her past as the "drivers" that keep her so true to the case.
THE HIVE shows how one smart , ego driven , power hungry lady can "scam " everyone. So sad that here are people that buy into a "promise of perfection" cult so easily.
An Island in Washington State, a lady and her magic bee serum, products, blogs that are followed by many has many awful secrets. . Detective Meghan gets on the trail and follows every lead, knowing that something is amiss.
A real page turner ! I really, really loved this story !
Gregg Olson is a fantastic story spinner, and weaver, and you have to keep on your toes when you are reading him !

This was an excellent book. You knew who the "bad guys (or women) but how they got to the climax was very very well written. I am a big Olsen fan

This book was a page turner from beginning to end. Things are not always what they seem. A wellness guru has quite a following. To the point of an obsessive cult following. Things are not what they seem and will have you guessing until the end. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I really enjoy Greg Olsen's books but I did struggle with this one. I had trouble connecting with the characters and I kept losing track of what I was reading.

This was my first book by this author and I have to say that I did not enjoy it. I struggled through the various timelines, as well as the premise, and it just did not grab my interest. Very disappointing but I thank Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for providing this copy.

The hive had an interesting concept but overall the book was too long. All of the characters were morally corrupt except for one or two. All in all just an average read. Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Gregg Olsen's novels are always a great read. "The Hive" is no different. The characters are deep and intriguing. I read this novel deep into the night, because I know there is always a twist at the end. I loved the story of this novel. The only part that I didn't really like is that there were so many characters to get to know.

I have grown to love Gregg Olsen's books and The Hive is another in a growing list of good ones. Detective Lindsay Jackman is investigating the murder of a young woman found at the bottom of a ravine. The victim, a journalist, was writing an exposé on a charismatic wellness guru. Marnie Spellman built a cosmetics empire and became a healer and the queen of holistic health and her inner circle contains an intimate group of women called the Hive. They share Marnie’s secrets of success and a very dark one as well. Determined to uncover the mysteries of the group, Lindsay focuses her investigation on Marnie and the former members of the Hive, who are determined to keep Lindsay from their secrets.

The Hive is an engaging thriller that finds its tension as much in the murders surrounding a cult as the detective investigating the crimes. On the same morning Lindsay Jackman’s long-time partner takes his own life, she gets called to investigate the murder of a young journalist. Sarah had been doing an investigation of her own on a wellness guru centered in there in the Pacific Northwest.

Marnie Spellman insists that her enlightenment comes from an encounter with a swarm of bees when she was young. That connection led to appearances on QVC hawking natural beauty products and a female-centered lifestyle. Lindsay’s initial investigations reveal a cult of personality that brought women from all walks of life to work at Spellman’s farm. Her message was a flip of the patriarchal script, yet there are secrets and money exchanging hands. Marnie’s message isn’t all honey bees and flowers…

Olsen’s attention to details and the chaos of Lindsay’s life (her own marriage has imploded) create such a realistic amalgamation of hopes and dreams. Two murders twenty years apart, a partner’s suicide, and her own life’s disarray. It could be a lot to handle for a reader, but short chapters help to compartmentalize the issues and keep the plot chugging forward.

I think one of the keys to this story are the number of quality red herrings that lie in wait, ha! And he ties in The American Dream, the push for perfection, and greed. It’s as complex a thriller as I have read. This was my first novel my Olsen and I don’t expect it to be my last.

4 out of 5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer, and the author for an advanced copy for review.

Strange and slow, I had a hard time getting into this one. I did like the characters though, especially Lindsay, and I always love books that center around a cult. There were just some times I had a hard time getting into it.

3.5 stars rounded up

This suspense thriller reads like true crime with a large cast of characters, a couple of murders, and a huge mystery -- who is Marnie Spellman?

Set in the Pacific Northwest and alternating between present day and 20 years ago time shifts, the novel is narrated by most of the main characters at one time or another. The detective, Lindsay Jackman, is drawn into a murder case that has ties to Marnie Spellman and her cosmetic empire. The story behind Marnie's rise to fame and fortune is based on a story she tells about a swarm of bees that showed her the way to spiritual enlightenment and her business philosophy, "from the outside in." As Marnie becomes legendary for her special beauty products and bestselling books and CDs, she surrounds herself with helper bees, the 5 women of the inner circle, known as The Hive. Each of these women has a reason to protect Marnie as all have secrets that can't be told. Something happened at Spellman Farms and Lindsay Jackman is determined to get the truth. NO SPOILERS.

I enjoyed this quite a bit as I really like the author's writing style and how he keeps the revelations close until just the right moment for the reader to have their guesses and suspicions confirmed. I had expected more of a "cult" story with this one but it was actually not so much that as a group of women stuck together due to misguided loyalty and the need for a coverup. The very different members of The Hive had interesting backstories who fell in with Marnie and dedicated themselves to her vision -- until they didn't. The narrative was quite complex and seemed a bit convoluted getting to the crux of the matters at hand, but it all tied up neatly at the end with some of the characters getting what they deserved. Not sure that true justice could be achieved with this mess!

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for this e-book ARC to read and review.

Thanks for this book. It's the first time I have DNF'ed a book by Gregg Olsen, but I had a hard time following the storyline.

Thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this book for an honest review.

This was a DNF for me...jumped around too much for me to be able to keep track of timelines and enjoy the book.

Review featured at www.books-n-kisses.com

This is a weird one. I like Gregg Olsen but this might be the weirdest he has ever written and that is saying something.

In this story we go inside a female lead cult. Marnie is trying to “help” women find their full potential but that includes leaving your husband and more. And Marnie has a dark past that starts to come to light.

Like I said, this is a weird story. I found the different POV’s a bit much. I would have preferred the story to just be told. I also think it was odd that Olsen decided to make this about a female lead as a male writer. It was odd having him talk about female empowerment.

As a fan of Olsen’s I will say this was not one of my favorites but it was still an interesting read.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

When a young journalist is found dead at the bottom of a ravine, officer Lindsay Jackman catches the case. She's just lost her partner and is at a loss to know how to proceed, especially when she finds that the victim was getting ready to write an expose on Marnie Spellman, a wellness figure who has millions of loyal followers. As Lindsay digs deeper into the case, she's drawn to the past when Marnie first started her empire and how she got there.

This was an intriguing story that focused on women. Almost all of the main characters are women and their interactions and pasts are so woven together that you can't see one without seeing her affect on the others. Marnie is problematic as a leader and it's hard to know what she really believes herself about the group she's cultivated. Lindsay is dealing with the loss of her mentor and guiding star. The story alternates between current time and the events surrounding the unsolved murder to a young woman years earlier, setting the relationships between the women in Marnie's "hive".

This was a good story. Even if sometimes I felt there were too many characters, they were all necessary in the overall plot.

3-1/2 stars rounded up to 4, because you don't often read stories about women as cult leaders.

Available June 8, 2021.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Beware your dreams. They just might come true.

Have never read a book by Gregg Olsen. I'm going to fix that after reading this one! This story had me from the very beginning, and every "prediction" on how a story line would end. . .well most were not even close. That's a good tale. I love being outsmarted.

All those sales pitches out there? Simply siren songs aimed at the dearest dreams of some unlucky soul. . . .they don't even know that precious wish, end-all-be-all desire is where they are at their most naked. Most vulnerable. Most . . . accessible.

For me, this was a worthy read, time well-spent. Be careful out there. People have been known to drown in thick, sweet substances when they get too close.

A Sincere Thanks to Gregg Olsen, Thomas & Mercer, and NetGalley for an ARC to read and review.
#TheHive #NetGalley