User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
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.
(view spoiler)
[ I also had some technical issues with the novel. Firstly, that Calista's autopsy would have identified that she'd just had a baby and that would have sparked an investigation of what happened to the baby and also to Calista's stay on the island. Secondly, putting stem cells into cosmetic products would be totally useless as they would be dead. Even smearing living stem cells on your skin would not keep your skin young. (hide spoiler)]With thanks to Thomas and Mercer and Netgalley for a copy to read
Rating: really liked it
There are
SECRETS and then there are
SECRETS and then there are
SECRETS!
A charismatic entrepreneur/leader/skin care guru/wellness practitioner - is she the real deal or is she a charlatan?
This book opens strong when the body of a young aspiring journalist, Sarah Baker, is found at the bottom of a ravine. Lindsey Jackman, the lead investigator, soon learns that the young journalist was writing an exposé on Marnie Spellman, a famous wellness guru.
Marnie claims that when she was a child, a swarm of bees lifted her up, and spoke to her. She has always stated that her experience with the swarm caused her to have a deeper connection with nature and inspired her bee/honey skin care line.
Let there be no doubt in your mind, Marnie is a queen bee. Her inner circle, made up of women who have walked away from their lives, relationships, and jobs to join her, are known as the “Hive". She ruled her empire and group of followers using charm, manipulation, and power.
As Lindsey investigates Sarah's murder, the plot thickens as layer after layer of secrets are uncovered. There is more going on than meets the eye. With everyone interviewed, Lindsey learns that this case is not cut and dry and to solve it she must go back to an earlier case and start there.
This book started strong and instantly had me intrigued. Who could have wanted her dead? There are a lot of characters, and we learn more when each tells his/her story to Lindsey. This slowed the book down for me. In the middle of the book, I wanted things to hurry up and bring on that reveal already! This book takes some patience. Everything will come together in the end.
There are clues along the way, and readers will soon learn that you cannot escape your past. Sooner or later, some secrets are dying to be uncovered.
How these characters kept track of all the secrets buzzing around in their heads, is a mystery to me.
This book is gripping when it gets moving and more clues are dropped. There are a couple of twists and turns, and revelations along the way. I enjoyed the story but the slowness of each character telling his/her story brought my rating down a little. I would have enjoyed the book more if this had been a little faster paced.
A solid book with a gripping mystery.
3.25 stars
Thank you to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
Read more of my reviews at www.openbookposts.com
Rating: really liked it
The Hive follows the mystery of two different murders that occurred years apart and the cult that is mysteriously linked to them.
Books following a celebrity, famous artist/writer, or in this instance, a cult leader are always interesting because there's always so much you can do with their character. Is Marnie, owner of a skin care business popularized by its use of honey, a manipulative egoist or someone who has stumbled their way into the role of power?
I think a locked room setting could make The Hive a lot more suspenseful and put the focus more on the characters. The perspective-shifting slowed the pace when I was still the most interested in the cult dynamics.
Maybe not as disturbing or creepy as If You Tell, but if you're in the mood for a mystery with some solid characters this could be the book for you.
Rating: really liked it
This is a READ NOW on NetGalley
Rating: really liked it
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.
Rating: really liked it
Check out all of my reviews at: https://www.avonnalovesgenres.com
THE HIVE by Gregg Olsen is a suspense/thriller/police procedural which revolves around the present-day murder of a college journalist investigating a death and cover up in the past. The death in the past leads back to a charismatic beauty and wellness guru and her “Hive” of close followers on a small island in the Pacific Northwest.
Detective Lindsay Jackman is reeling from the suicide of her partner and is immediately thrown into an investigation of a young college journalist found naked at the bottom of a ravine. Lindsay discovers the dead girl was working on an expose of Marnie Spellman.
Marnie Spellman tells the world the tale of her being lifted by a swarm of bees and being given a spiritual connection to nature and God, who is female. Using honey, royal jelly and other natural ingredients, Marnie builds a cosmetics empire. But Marnie is also a guru or charlatan, depending on your view, who makes others believe in her power to elevate women to a higher level as they also obtain holistic health and eternal beauty. Her inner circle of six is called the Hive and they share in Marnie’s success, but also her biggest secret which could destroy them all.
As Lindsay digs into Marnie’s empire and the Hive, the women are determined to keep their secrets at all costs, including silencing any who could reveal the truth.
This story pulled me in from the very first page, but as the story progresses it switches time frames frequently and it can get confusing at times. Lindsay is a dogged investigator and I enjoyed how she was impressed by Marnie, but her investigation was never influenced by her. This book is full of surprising plot twists as Marnie and each individual Hive member’s secrets are revealed. I am always interested in stories, fictional and non, where a person can be so charismatic as to lead the average person to do terrible things. The story’s climax surprised me and all the story threads are tied together in a way that left me satisfied.
I can recommend this suspense/thriller for a compelling and unique police procedural read.
Rating: really liked it
I always enjoy Gregg Olsen's books and this one was no exception. It's told primarily from the POV of a police detective named Lindsay, who is reeling from the suicide of her partner while also trying to solve the murder of a young woman found in the woods within her jurisdiction. The murder seems to tie back to another decades- old unsolved murder, which has roots in a cult-like empire built by the enigmatic Marnie Spellman.
The story is told both in real time and flashbacks, and gives the reader some insight into the other players in the story, including the "hive": of women in Marnie's inner circle. This is a storytelling method that I enjoy, and it was interesting to watch the mystery come together from various perspectives. Also, living in WA state, I always enjoy the familiarity of the locations where Olsen sets his stories.
The book was able to connect many seemingly disparate storylines into one, which was pretty cool. In some cases, I made the connection myself early on, but in other cases, I was surprised. There was one twist that I can't believe I didn't see coming, but I was as surprised right along with Lindsay. I am not hugely interested in the topic of cults, but I did find that aspect fascinating in this particular story, and appreciated Lindsay's skepticism that matched my own.
All in all, this was a fast and fun read with a unique storyline and a lot of action. Olsen hasn't let me down yet, and I'd recommend the book to those who like mysteries and thrillers, and especially those who enjoy the tie-in to the Pacific Northwest. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: really liked it
Gregg Olsen's The Hive is a fast-paced, intriguing, intense, and suspenseful read that is as creepy as it is fantastic. When the body of a young woman, Sarah Baker, is found at the bottom of a ravine, Detective Lindsay Jackman finds herself pulled into an investigation far more elaborate than she ever imagined--leading her to uncover additional crimes stretching back decades. Olsen carefully and masterfully peels back the layers of the investigation page by page, providing many gasp-worthy moments. Brilliant, thought-provoking, heartbreaking, and original, The Hive will keep you up at night and leave you reeling long after you've finished it. Every page carries weight in this novel. There are plenty of twists and turns to satisfy even the most seasoned crime fiction reader, and the characters feel authentic and alive in ways that only Olsen can achieve. Don't miss this one. Olsen takes you deep into a fascinating rabbit hole that you won't want to emerge from!
Rating: really liked it
I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
All opinions are my own.
The premise of this book was so interesting (murder? cults? YES), and I just felt let down the whole time. The ending was tipped SO EARLY and it was SO OBVIOUS that I spent the rest of the book being super mad at the detective for being an idiot. Like, how have you not put this together yet??? I know I read a lot of detective novels and figure things out real early, but this was just... bad. The whole business with the "hive" felt like something I've read before. The book also flipped back and forth between timelines and perspectives, which is fine, but it ping ponged so much that it made my head spin. I thought this could have been organized MUCH better. The epilogue was unnecessary and didn't bring anything to the story. I would not recommend this to others.
Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the ARC!
Rating: really liked it
A cult and murder!!! This sounds amazing!!!
Spoiler.... It was not 😐
Rating: really liked it
A young woman is found at the bottom of a ravine ... a victim of murder. Detective Lindsay Jackman is charged with investigating. While Jackman is thrilled to be leading her own investigation alone, it's also stressing that the opportunity only came because her partner and mentor committed suicide.
When the victim is identified, it turns out she was a journalist, in the midst of writing an expose of The Hive. The queen bee is a wellness guru who has millions of followers.. mostly all women. Marnie Spellman started with building a cosmetics empire and then became a healer and assuring all of eternal beauty.
What Jackman finds is that the murder of this woman is somehow connected to the secret past of Spellman twenty years ago.
Jackman finds more questions than answers .. especially as there are those who want those secrets buried forever .. and will do whatever it takes to keep them there.
This is a well-written, well-plotted story line full of twists and turns that rival a roller coaster ride. it's fast-paced with the suspense starting on the very first page and maintaining a high level of mystery leading to am explosive, unexpected conclusion. The characters are solidly drawn. I do believe that detective Jackman would make a terrific series character.
Many thanks to the author / Thomas & Mercer - Amazon Publishing / Netgalley for the digital copy of this psychological thriller / police procedural. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
Rating: really liked it
The Hive is a standalone cross between a police procedural and a psychological thriller centred around a murder and an exploitative cult. The characters come vividly to life and the dark, disturbing and wickedly twisty plot hurtles along gathering speed with every passing chapter. Olsen explores the allure of cults: the void they fill in people who wish for nothing more than to belong, the damaging, and often ludicrous, messages they spread as well as ideologies they abide by and cling to as a means of identity. It's a mysterious and deeply unsettling read full of enigmatic people and enough on the thrills front to keep you tearing through the pages. A compulsive, engrossing and rollicking good read. Highly recommended.
Rating: really liked it
This the third book I’ve recently read involving cults, bees and the perfection of their hives. It’s weird BUT I absolutely loved this book! Gregg Olsen is a hit or miss author for me and this one definitely was a hit.
If you think about Mary Kaye Ash, the home based "beauty" guru, and put her philosophy on drugs then you have the main protagonist of The Hive. Marnie, the "queen bee" is obsessed with bees and their royal jelly. All of her beauty products are made with it. In addition, she forms a community of women who help her with her empire - they are called "The Hive." It's a cult but it's a strange one. These women are encouraged to leave their family, their husbands, children and homes behind in order to fully encase themselves into The Hive. As with most cults, it eventually turns deadly.
This is a terrific police procedural, something that Gregg Olsen does very well, and despite knowing the "who," it is the why and how that is important. If you like good crime fiction then you should enjoy The Hive.
Rating: really liked it
I forgot to write my thoughts out after reading it.
So writing this now, I've had a moment to reflect.
At first, I wasn't a huge fan. The story had a great premise but it took too long to get there. Once it did, the pace picked up and it got more interesting.
Did I love it? No, but I did think the twists in it were creative and not something I have read before. I appreciated the writing even if the story itself did not turn out to be for me.
I still think lots of people will enjoy this thrill ride!
Rating: really liked it
Detective Lindsay Jackman is looking into the death of a young journalist who was writing a story about Marnie Spellman, a wellness guru who operates a "farm" in the Pacific Northwest producing apiary-based products, mostly cosmetics, and considered a cult by some. Detective Jackman begins to investigate links between this death and the death of a member of the Spellman "hive" twenty years previously. Her partner, Alan Sharpe, recently and shockingly committed suicide and she is left to try and solve the case on her own.
I had a bit of difficulty keeping up with the changes in the timeline since they seemed to jump all over the place and I had to backtrack a couple of times to remind myself where I was. As well, I found some of the dialogue a little stilted, I think mostly due to the lack of contractions at times, like using "I will" instead of "I'll", or "I hope you are happy" instead of "you're" during a conversation. I enjoyed the story but think there are too many characters and too many timelines to keep it cohesive. I thought it was well-written though and easy to read but it was very long. It wasn't really an "edge of your seat" book but worth reading and I liked how everything was wrapped up in the epilogue. I'm a bit of a Gregg Olsen fan so I may be slightly biased. 3.5 Stars!
Thanks to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for access to an ARC of this novel.
Release Date: June 8,2021
