This was a different story. I didn't think I would like it, turns out I did very much. Solving crimes and getting cult members to talk is my kind of good

Twists and turns is all I can say about this book. Truly a thriller that I did not want to put down. Have already recommended to friends and am excited to read more by this author.

Detective Lindsay Jackman is investigating the murder of a young journalist found at the bottom of a ravine, and she discovers the murder victim was digging into the wellness guru Marnie Spellman and her inner circle known as "the hive". There is a lot of controversy, and several deaths, surrounding the group and the more Lindsay digs, the more questions she has.
Although I enjoyed the twists and turns in the book, I was frustrated over the complete lack of likeable characters. None of the women in "the hive" had any redeemable characteristics, so there wasn't really anyone to like or root for. I felt like the plot had the potential for more, but just missed the mark. It wasn't a bad book, don't get me wrong. That is not at all what I am saying. It just wasn't great. It was just middle of the road good.

I'm going to start this by saying I am always a Gregg Olsen fan...but this book was too much. The concept of this novel is intriguing but wacky, almost too much so. From the over the top woman empowerment (which, as a woman, I'm all for btw) nut job guru Marnie to her "hive" of lackeys, it was just way too over the top.

And don't get me started on the amount of points of view. I needed a score card to keep track of all the various people I had to hear from to get to the bottom of the two murders. Couple that with the constantly shifting timelines and it was enough to make me want to give up because I didn't feel invested in this story at all. I persevered however and there was a good twist at the end and it wrapped up nicely so there was some redemption. I felt overall it was too long and too convoluted.

3.5 Stars

Lindsay Jackson wasn’t going to let personal tragedy stop her from performing her job as a Detective. When a young woman was found dead, she pulled herself up and channel her mentor to figure out the case which seemed to revolve around the enigmatic holistic cosmetic queen, Marni Spellman. But the closer she got to the answers, the truth might be far uglier than she could ever imagine.

I went into this one blind so I was pleasantly surprised by a certain aspect of the story, which is what I always love. I enjoyed the premise of the story, however, it was very long and it didn’t help with the constant timeline shifts and multiple POVs. I usually love that in a book but it was hard to keep up with this one.

The main characters were interesting and I especially enjoyed the dynamics and how they handled the situations. The revelations weren’t surprising to me but it wasn’t a deal-breaker. A scene towards the ending was a bit too much though, but I still liked how the story was properly resolved.

<I> The Hive </i> is a story of ambition and desperation. It would appeal to readers who enjoy a slow-burn Thriller.

EVen if this book has the potential to be a real page turner I found the pace too slow and the story fell flat.
Not my cup of tea.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Overall, I felt kinda meh about this book. Not necessarily bad, but not particularly memorable either. Giving it 2.5/5 Stars.

I throughly enjoyed this book. It's in part a thriller and a whole lot mystery. Though I have to say that a bit past the fifty percent part I did figure it out. I got one person wrong but still it was just as I thought. This book is good.

This excerpt is what starts this book out with a bang. In my opinion.
"They walked along the shoreline, miles of stunning emptiness all around them. It was as if they were the last people on the earth, and they felt nothing but the love of each other and the kind of peach that comes when one knows the end of a love story."

This is a very complex story. Lots of characters to keep up with and a lot going on. Two murders twenty years apart and a suicide that happens right off. You will get to know each person involved in this story. All about them. Some you will like and some you will despise. Some will fool you completely. But you will find out what happened to both women and why. Why the suicide happened. There is a cult type following that will pull you in also. This all happened because of the cult. Because of one woman who claimed that she was the queen bee.

This book is well written and is very entertaining. It's one that will keep you turning the pages to find out what is going to happen next. To find out who did what and why. Why would any mother just up and leave her children. Leave a husband that she at one time adored. What makes a good person do something so bad that everyone ends up paying. Actually I suppose they were not really that good to begin with or they would not have done what they did. No matter what!

This story jumps around through the years. From mid 1996 to 2019 actually. One cop, Lindsay Jackson, unravels all the puzzle pieces that make up this story. She works hard to find out why her partner took his own life and who killed two women. What she finds will make you take a good long look at things. What a person will do for the one they love. What a person will do to be loved. To be number one. On top of it all.

I have to admit that I loved the ending. The way this author tied up all the loose ends. Let us know what happened to each person. Though I do think a couple may have got off way to light. But I'm not an author and I'm by no means a detective. I can, though, figure out some books at times. Even though I figured out who did what in part it did not take away from the story. It's very good. I really did like this book. I look forward to more by this author.

Thank you #NetGalley, #GreggOlsen, #Thomas&Mercer for this ARC. This is my own true thoughts about this book.

4/5 stars and I do recommend it. It's very good.

The story starts with the discovery of a corpse in a waterfall and the lead detective begins her case close at the heels of her partner’s suicide. Though the core plot is good, the narrative jumping between time frames and POV of too many characters is difficult to keep up. The detective doesn’t do much other than reading the book penned by the suspect, and the suspense is told through the POVs only which spoils the fun. A good story let down by the narrative.

The Hive is a book that captured my attention from the first page when a college reporter is found dead and Detective Lindsay Jackman is the lead detective.

Well the only detective as she is still trying to deal with the suicide of her long time partner Alan.

Sarah the reporter was writing an expose and as Lindsay digs into what Sarah was asking questions about it takes her back to the cult leader Marnie Spellman.

Marnie is the Queen Bee and she has five women surrounding her that are referred to as The Hive.

Bees can't live or function without the Queen.

Gregg Olsen does a remarkable job of pulling you in as he develops all the characters, some nicer than others

Don't let the word cult scare you, I am not a fan of cult stories but I loved this one. It was done so well that I felt I was on the island with the ladies and the bees.

The pages turn quickly , I could not put the book down as I had to know what happened as I got caught up in all the secrets and nuances.

Don't miss The Hive; its a great book to sink your teeth into and get lost in the story.

Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for a fascinating read.

The Hive by Gregg Olsen is a highly recommended investigative procedural and mystery set in the Pacific Northwest.

Detective Lindsay Jackman is investigating the murder of a college student, Sarah Baker. While Lindsay is investigating the murder, she is also dealing with trying to understand why her partner and father figure Detective Alan Sharpe killed himself. Lindsay soon discovers that Sarah was a journalist who was interviewing people and digging into the past history of Marnie Spellman and the close knit group of women associated with her twenty years ago who were called The Hive. Spellman runs her cosmetic empire and is a charismatic lifestyle and wellness guru on her Lummi Island farm where she has bee hives and grows lavender. Women have flocked to Marnie for years after hearing her message and reading her book, but as Lindsay's investigation continues it becomes clear that there was an ominous side and hidden secrets in the Spellman empire and, as Sarah discovered, it is linked to the murder of Calista Sullivan twenty years ago.

The narrative follows Lindsay's current investigation and, as she questions hive members and others associated with or had family members in the cult, there are numerous flashbacks telling what happened in the past to each person. It is clear that everyone is hiding something and no one is telling the complete truth to Lindsay. The plot plods along as people are interviewed by Lindsay and then we learn they are hiding secrets or withholding information. Rinse, repeat. It is also clear that Marnie is a self obsessed narcissist who is using her followers for her own enrichment and advancement.

All the characters are very detailed and presented as complicated individuals. The impetus to keep reading is based on reaching the denouement to learn more about the characters and to see if your predictions about the ending are going to be true. There aren't any surprises or twists; most readers are going to know where the plot is heading early on, so the enjoyment is found in the characters and the specifics of what happened twenty years ago and how it is connected to the current case. It is also an interesting examination of cults, how followers can be exploited by an unscrupulous and deranged leader.
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Thomas & Mercer.
The review will be published on Barnes & Noble, Google Books, and submitted to Amazon.

Following the suicide of her long-time partner and mentor, Detective Lindsay Jackman investigates her first solo case when the body of a young woman is discovered at the bottom of a ravine. The young woman is Sarah Baker, a young journalist who was working on an expose about wellness guru — and probable cult leader — Marnie Spellman and the five women who worked closely with her at Spellman Farms decades before. Sarah seemed to suspect the ladies were hiding a murderous secret. Lindsay’s investigation might prove that to be true when it seems the only way to uncover who killed Sarah is to figure out an unsolved murder that happened over twenty years before.

Full of long-held secrets and layers of deceit, “The Hive” by Gregg Olsen explores the allure of cults with a dash of (perhaps toxic) feminism. What motivates people to walk away from their lives to join a cult? Marnie Spellman peddles her farm-made, honey based beauty products on a home shopping network, but she offers something more than beautiful skin. She offers personal fulfillment.

Even though the environment she’s created feels cult-like almost immediately, the women who come to the farm to work don’t see it that way. To them, she’s been given special knowledge from God (a female), and they want to learn from her. They happily labor to make Marnie successful while she preaches for them to take control of their own lives — instead of living the life prescribed for them by men. However, Marnie’s the self-proclaimed queen bee, and there’s always only room for one. The empowerment she offers these women more closely resembles servitude.

A masterful blend of crime fiction and a psychological thriller, “The Hive” delivers deep characterization and plenty of twists to keep you guessing. All the characters in the book are as compelling as they are suspicious. Although there are quite a few of them, keeping track of who’s who isn’t difficult. You get a solid impression of each through Lindsay’s investigation as well as through frequent flashbacks to the time of the first murder. The flashbacks are needed to tell the story, but pay attention to chapter headings, or it can get confusing.

Truth be known, I have a lot of favorite authors. Who those authors are depends a lot on what books I’ve read recently. But Gregg Olsen is always toward the top of the list. If you haven’t read anything of his yet, you should. His books are always fascinating, well plotted, and complex. His writing is always so smooth that it’s nearly undetectable as you get lost in his stories. “The Hive” is no exception.

Thank you to the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of The Hive by Gregg Olsen. Every year in May, I read books that have something to do with bees, and this year I was looking for something a bit different. This book brought it! While I wasn’t a huge fan of the ‘psycho woman’ trope, I still felt all the characters were well developed and the plot was twisty and interesting and kept me thinking throughout. A solid mystery with some odd paranormaly sorts of bends and plenty of forensic crime solving. Definitely will recommend it to others.

Many thanks to Net Galley, Thomas & Mercer, and the author for a chance to read and review this book.

Oopsie, oops!

The blurb was so exciting that I had to, u know had to download it from Net Galley. It had been a while that I had read about mysteries with cults too!

The central part of the story that has a detective Lindsay investigating the death of a young woman was brilliantly plotted. The story that begins with a woman who has just recently given birth and is surely showing signs of postpartum depression is the first witness to the scene, but that is just a random scene that has no impact on the story whatsoever. It is exactly how the story then begins developing, Lindsay has to manage the trauma of her mentor partner having committed suicide and look into a complex case that is tied to something that occurred 20 yrs. ago. The story alternates between the past and the present haphazardly which I had no problem following but the POV’s that moves the story forward are too numerous to count.

I wish the devious plot could have unraveled with investigative procedures through Lindsay rather than the way it is described in the novel, coz the thrill of secrets tumbling out never happens. There’s no excitement or any tension in the story, everything feels flat and devoid of feel, which was sad coz this could have more spectacular in my opinion.

Despite this, I loved the suspense of the story and the whole twisty surprises that bind all the characters together but just hoped for a more gripping impact!

3.5 stars

This review is published in my blog https://rainnbooks.com/, Goodreads, Amazon India, Medium.com, Facebook, and Twitter.

Part police drama, part cult investigation, The Hive had the potential to be amazing. There's nothing I love more than the story about a strange cult. Sadly, this isn't do it for me. It was boring - despite the fact that there is a leader who is part Goop, part NVXIM.

I think sometimes when books are about cults, there are too many people. Not all of the characters are needed - sometimes, all you need is the leader, the investigator and the dead person. This...had WAY too many.

I do feel that there was some confusion on what this story was supposed to be. Just a straight up mystery or a drama. It's well written but it's just...too much. I want to get out of The Hive as soon as possible.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review.

To say that I’m a fan of Gregg Olsen and have read many of his books, wouldn’t be correct. However, I have read several and enjoyed some of his earlier work. If I said I didn’t enjoy reading The Hive wouldn’t be correct either. I most definitely found it engaging and nearly unputdownable, but to say I liked some of these shallow, unredeemable, criminal characters is also not true. Although that’s why we read, to be moved along the scale from love to hate and everywhere in between.

First, the “queen bee” Marnie was an expertly skilled charlatan, to the point of being a cult leader you might liken to Jim Jones or David Koresh. She preys on vulnerable insecure women with self-esteem in the dumper. Using her personal charisma and magic elixirs like the traveling tonic salesmen of the old west, promising a fountain of youth that would not only transform outward appearance, but inward as well. Of course, there was a price to be paid; that of giving up your previous life, family and money, moving to her compound in Washington, and becoming a drone to her queen bee.

Marnie’s “hive”, the central group of five women she surrounded herself with, were not gullible, easily deceived types either; a few were educated professional women. It speaks to Marnie’s skill and charisma that they were so drawn in and convinced to commit acts both criminal and unethical.

At the heart, The Hive was a wonderfully structured thriller. It kept me guessing and I’m sure many of you will too. The ending was a bit disappointing to me, especially as to Marnie’s outcome, but not surprising.

Thank you, Net Galley and Gregg Olsen for sharing this work.

I really enjoy Gregg Olsen’s Megan Carpenter and Nicole Foster series. They’re fast paced thrillers featuring complex and flawed female lead characters. However, I was somewhat disappointed in this slower, strangely flat mystery.

The novel started well with the body of a college student found naked at the foot of a waterfall. A journalism student, Sarah Baker, had been chasing a story about the murder of a woman called Calista Sullivan twenty years earlier with connections to Marnie Spellman, a famous personality who formed a multi-million dollar cosmetics empire based on products from bees. Marnie developed an almost cult like following, spruiking her personal philosophy that women need to look the best they can on the outside to feel empowered within. At the height of her business women would leave their homes and families to work with Marnie at her compound on Lummi island. Her five closest acolytes were known as her Hive and together they shared many secrets.

While this had the potential to be an interesting plot, I found the execution really boring. The novel was totally lacking in suspense or tension and rambled between a cast of insipid characters. I really failed to connect with any of the characters and never got a clear picture of Marnie and why she was so charismatic or what it was that kept women coming to her island. The detective investigating Sarah’s murder, Lindsay Jackson, doesn’t seem to get very far unearthing clues until right at the end of the book, by which point I was really fed up with Marnie, her bees and her Hive and just wanted to finish the book asap.

Lindsay Jackman, a police officer, finds herself investigating more than just the death of a young journalist when she starts to peel back what's happened to some of the acolytes of wellness guru Marnie Spellman. Marnie believes in bees; she's the Queen Bee and those around her are known as the hive. Turns out one of these women- Calista- died in 1999. The novel moves back and forth between 1999 and 2019 to tell the story of a cult gone, well cultishly awry. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. This is good on the procedural aspects of the story, less so on the Hive part but it kept me reading.

I received this book from the "Read Now" pages of Netgalley. I had heard such great things about this book that I jumped on the opportunity to get this book. And unfortunately, I was disappointed. I only got about a third of the way through before I gave up. I just could not get into it.
The premise of the book sounded great... a murder, a cult.... what more could you ask for. This thriller was not that thrilling though. The pace was slow and there wasn't a quick to draw me in situation. I put the book aside to try again later but with so many other books waiting to be opened, I am going to leave this one.

I am happy that so many other readers did enjoy this one and send congrats and best wishes to the author and publisher. Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas&Mercer for giving the opportunity to read and review this book.

What do you have when you mix the ingredients of a cult, suicide, murders, suspense, numerous twists, betrayals, blackmail and more? Gregg Olsen's latest novel #TheHive.! This story had me guessing till the end. Has some really great twists. Loved the multiple narrators. Chapters are short. I was captured from page one. This was my second novel by Olsen and look forward to reading more. Thank you #NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.