The Herd was fast-paced and entertaining and I couldn’t put it down. The premise of an elite, all-female coworking space felt realistic and I thought Andrea Bartz executed it well. She took the time to explore it in detail without dragging on too long or distracting from the plot. I could easily visualize the Herd and the type of women who would have a membership there.

The Herd features two protagonists, sisters Katie and Hana, who I was ambivalent about. Katie is a tech journalist who, after living in Michigan for a year helping her mother go through cancer treatment, moves back to New York and wants to join the Herd. Hana is the Herd’s publicist, best friends with founder Eleanor. Both Katie and Hana have dark secrets in their past that we learn about as the story unfolds, two mini-reveals before the larger reveal that I thought were very well-done.

Because Katie and Hana’s alternating chapters were written in first person, and because their perspectives weren’t that different, I easily forgot whose chapter I was reading, which tells me they both needed more character development. But the character development that was there was excellent: Hana’s complicated relationship with her adoptive parents, Katie and Hana’s close relationship with each other, Hana’s experience as the only woman of color in her family and in her friend group, Katie’s experience as a female journalist and during her year in Michigan.

The two supporting characters who stood out the most were Herd founder Eleanor and Hana and Eleanor’s artist friend Mikki. I thought Eleanor, in particular, was fascinating: as a woman, as a friend, as an entrepreneur, as a wife. This story is more about her than it is about Katie or Hana, and the fact that we never read her point-of-view lends her mystery and intrigue. I didn’t think the male supporting characters, brothers Cameron and Ted and Eleanor’s husband Daniel, were all that special, but that seemed fitting for a book about women.

The central mystery of The Herd – what happened to Eleanor? – had plenty of twists and turns, most of which I didn’t see coming. I did guess the big reveal at the end, but it took me a while to get there. Unlike many thrillers, I thought the ending struck a good balance: surprising but not too far-fetched. In addition to the plot’s many layers, Bartz explored themes of sexism and racism, which added even more to the story. This is an underrated book, well worth a read.

Katie and Hana are sisters living in New York City. Eleanor is the founder of The Herd, a place where beautiful, successful women come together to network and share their enviable lives. Hana and Mikki went to school with Eleanor and besides working for her, they form the inner circle of The Herd. Katie has just returned from the midwest and is eager to get her life and career back on track. She is a writer and what better subject to tackle, a book about Eleanor and The Herd. Granted, Eleanor values her privacy, but Katie is sure she can convince her that this project would be good for the company.
When Eleanor goes missing before a major announcement, no one can figure out why. She isn't the type of person to suddenly bolt from her picture-perfect life. But the evidence points to just that until something more ominous comes to light.
Chapters alternate between Katie and Hana as we learn what happened to Eleanor and why. The Herd has family drama, secrets, lies, and women who show one face to the world, but under the makeup and clothes, another one lives inside.
I can't say that I liked these women or their privileged, selfish lives. What I did enjoy was the mystery surrounding Eleanor's disappearance, the twists and turns, and my many incorrect guesses about who was to blame. While I am self-isolating, I keep picturing summer beach reads and I think this would be a good one. Fast-paced and a story that kept me wanting to read just one more chapter.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Ballantine Books, and Andrea Bartz for the opportunity to read this gripping book - another one that I couldn't put down! 4.5 stars!

The Herd is an all female shared workspace, complete with spa like amenities. Eleanor, the founder, is the picture perfect leader who has surrounded herself with strong women and her close group of friends from Harvard. Hana, her best friend, is the consummate PR person, putting a positive feminist spin on everything and having women clammer to be accepted into The Herd. Hana's younger sister, Katie, has always been accepted into the best friends' groups. Back in NYC after taking care of their mom and trying to write a book, she's struggling to be accepted into The Herd and back with her friends again. On the day of a big press announcement about the company, Eleanor suddenly disappears without a trace and everyone becomes a suspect because they are all hiding secrets.

Told in alternating voices of Hana and Katie, I thought the writing was wonderful and the suspense gripping. Add in the very current topics of women in power and social media portrayals and this makes for a fascinating read. I didn't read Bartz' debut book but I definitely will now.

wow um..
- didn't care about any of the characters so I really didn't care what happened to any of them
- I feel like I didn't care b/c there was little to no characterization and I could not differentiate at all between Katie & Hana's POV's; I kept having to flip back to the chapter header in the middle of chapters
- the "secrets" that both sisters have & keep teasing almost throughout the ENTIRE BOOK are so boring. truly two of the most uninteresting plot twists I've ever read
- I don't think the feminist messages that were attempted to be woven throughout worked at all
- guessed who was involved with what happened to Eleanor about 30% of the way through the book

overall, super underwhelmed & happy to be done

The synopsis for this book ticked all of my boxes but in the end, this one fell flat for me. I liked the setting and the concept but by the end of the story it just became a bit too much of a hot mess of crazy for me.

After founding her first company, Eleanor Walsh is moving up in the world and running her second successful company, The Herd, a coworking space for women. She knows what she wants in the world, and is always in control, running The Herd with support from her two best friends, Hana and Mikki. When Hana's sister, Katie, returns from a hiatus in Michigan, Eleanor and Mikki welcome her back into the herd (and The Herd).

Soon, cracks in Eleanor's perfect facade begin to appear. Her newest building is vandalized, and she has an upcoming announcement that she won't share with anyone, even her best friend and PR agent Hana, Katie is having trouble with her own transition back to NYC, and avoids her book agent until she no longer can.

As their personal lives become more troubled, Eleanor disappears. Secrets from the past are revealed. No one is innocent, and everyone is trying to protect something.

The Herd was a fast-paced story that kept me reading. Snippets of secrets were slowly revealed, and I found myself wanting to know more about the proverbial skeletons in Eleanor and Katie's closets. The way the author weaves in feminist issues and wanting (and getting!) success as a woman was also central to the story. The relationships between Eleanor, Katie, Hana, and Mikki are complex, and the bonds of friendship are tested.

Overall, I really enjoyed this novel and sped through it in a day and a half! I'm not really sure if it's a real genre, but this feminist thriller was a great example of the complexities of female relationships and what success can mean for women.

This book was on my NetGalley wishlist and I'm so grateful that Random House granted it to me! I really enjoyed this book. The setting was really interesting to me because I've always been fascinated by New York City and how people really live there and what that must be like. I loved the idea of an exclusive all-female club that had membership that was tough to receive. The mystery and unraveling of Eleanor's disappearance was really interesting and gripping. The only thing that threw me off was how slow the book felt even though when you're looking at the head of the chapters, it was actually moving quite quickly. I think it just could've had some of the fluff cut out.

Free from the publisher | I'm going with the Goodreads definition of 2 stars, which is "it was ok". That describes my feelings for this book well. I was sucked in by the cover and the premise- the head of an up and coming all female work space and beauty blog mysteriously disappears, right on the cusp of a huge announcement. The story is told from the perspective her friend from Harvard/PR manager, Hanna, and Hanna's little sister, Katie, a journalist. When Eleanor disappears, the girls are left scrambling to find out what happened to her, and they fear that the secrets they've all long buried are going to come to the surface as a result.

What I liked- the concept was strong. I liked the NYC setting and appreciated that Katie (like the author), is a journalist who took it upon herself to fill in the missing pieces. The cover is one of my favorites of the year, and there were some very astute observations about being a women in a man's world ("Had he literally never considered the practical implications of his employer's product? Oh, to be a white man in the world.")

What didn't work for me- I hate the when books keep referring to a VERY BAD THING that happened years ago, but don't tell us until nearly the end. By that point, I generally don't care what the bad thing was, and this case was no different. Eleanor was revered, yet you basically have to take the characters at their word that she's so remarkable, because you don't see it on the page. There were at least 4 different secrets they were trying to hide, and for me, it took away from the main mystery of what happened to Eleanor. I had a hard time keeping the sisters straight, and their pettiness with each other wore thin. (This could be a me thing- as an only child, sometimes the nuances of sibling rivalry goes right over my head).

All told, I'm at about 2.5 stars. It was okay and I think some of my bigger issues with it are a me thing. It seems I'm an outlier on this one!

HOT MESS!

The concept of The Herd is intriguing and I hoped for its potential as a suspense hit. However, what I got instead was a convoluted hot mess.

There's no engagement between the characters. I could not get drawn into their circle, into their story and as such I simply found I did not care about the characters or what happened.

Then there's what happened: a lot! On and on! 2 POVs, constant backstabbing and several twists revealed. While this offers plenty attempts of enticement, it also pulls the book in every which way imaginable. Normally I'd be pleased at the action, but with the lack of connection with characters, and twists thrown in just for twists sake, this was yet another road block that stopped me from becoming fully engaged. Whenever a twist occurred, it did little to excite, or meant nothing to me at that point.

I'd say I lost interest half way. But honestly, I don't think I was ever fully invested at any point.

*Thank you to NetGalley for providing me the digital review copy.
Publication date: 3.24.2020
DRC request approved: 4.15.2020
Review date: 4.15.2020

I was really excited for my wish to be granted and receive a copy of this book. It looked like everything I love in a book - drama, friendship...and murder. Plus, I really loved the cover as well. But this book somewhat missed the mark. It was just meh to me. I didn't really connect with any of the characters and the writing seemed a little too overwrought and just "trying too hard" at times. But the story was fast paced and exciting and I can't say that I felt my time was wasted. Give it a shot!

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Andrea Bartz's newest thriller 'The Herd' is chilling, twisty, and unputdownable.

We chatted with Andrea about her writing process and where she finds story inspiration — Spoiler alert: she loves eavesdropping on strangers — and all about her deliciously compelling setting.

As mystery/thrillers go, The Herd has an interesting premise.  Eleanor is a beautiful and successful woman who created The Herd, which is a woman-only workspace and social clique.  It's basically a boy's club without the boys.  Her three closest friends, Hana, Katie and Mikki, both work for her and semi-worship her, in what is clearly a relationship with boundary issues.  On the morning of a major business announcement, Eleanor disappears.

I found both the structure of the book and the writing a bit problematic.  The story is told alternating between Hana and Katie's perspectives (Katie is Hana's younger sister).  This way, the reader is seeing a lot of clues but no one character ever knows everything.  I often couldn't tell who was narrating because I didn't think either character had a distinct voice, and they often were telling about the same events and characters, just from a slightly different perspective.  I think if an author is going to alternate narrators, the voice of each narrator needs to feel really different.

I could say that part of the problem was they were sisters, so of course there were a lot of similarities, but I just read Claire Lombardo's The Most Fun We Ever Had, which is told from the perspectives of four sisters, two parents, and a few others, yet I was never once confused about who was talking.

Ultimately, I never felt sympathetic towards these two sisters, though their love/hate relationship was interesting at times.  Having three sisters myself, I love a good story about sisters, but again would direct you to Claire Lombardo's book over this one.  I just didn't find the characters really fleshed out.  For example, Hana is adopted and she raises issues occasionally about race, but those issues are always on the surface, never really explored.  Katie has a side story that felt like an add-on.  A lot of "big secrets" are thrown around to build suspense, without much resolution.  The male characters are also not well developed.

I thought some of the issues raised in this book about women-only spaces, male entitlement, and internet harassment were timely and interesting.  At its core the premise of this book is an interesting one, which is whether women should get ahead in the same way men have - by excluding others.  Is The Herd about networking and collaboration, or is it about cut-throat competition and elitism?

Readers looking for a fast-paced Clue-like whodunit, where everyone has secrets and anyone can be the culprit, will enjoy this book.  But readers looking for a character-driven thriller, like those by Tana French, may be disappointed as I was.

Note: I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley and publisher Ballantine.  The book published March 24, 2020.

If you go into this expecting a thriller, the first half of the book will most likely seem very slow for you. The inciting incident that thriller and mystery readers are used to experiencing within the first few chapters, in this story, happens at the midpoint.

There are some interesting concepts here around what women must do and be to succeed, but I wanted those things to be more fully and deeply explored.

Description:
The name of the elite women-only coworking space stretches across the wall behind the check-in desk: THE HERD, the H-E-R always purple. In-the-know New Yorkers crawl over one another to apply for membership to this community that prides itself on mentorship and empowerment.

Eleanor is a queen among the Herd’s sun-filled rooms, admired and quietly feared even as she strives to be warm and approachable. As head of PR, Hana is working around the clock to prepare for a huge announcement from Eleanor—one that will change the trajectory of the Herd forever. Though Katie loves her sister’s crew, she secretly hopes that she’s found her next book subject in Eleanor, who’s brilliant, trailblazing—and extremely private.

Then, on the night of the glitzy Herd news conference, Eleanor vanishes without a trace. Everybody has a theory about what made Eleanor run, but when the police suggest foul play, everyone is a suspect: Eleanor’s husband, other Herders, the men’s rights groups that have had it out for the Herd since its launch—even Eleanor’s closest friends.

A fun, fast-paced thriller - and a wildly feminist one at that, which I actually really liked. The writing was good and the plot moved along pretty quickly. Perfect length, too - thankfully, all its chapters actually progressed the storyline (unlike many other bad thrillers these days). So, overall - a 4 star read!

Sometimes loving or hating a book depends on what is going on in your own life at the time.

I loved this book. I loved it mostly because it completely held my attention during this crazy time in quarantine. It's not a perfect mystery, there are a few moments that are head scratchers or don't make sense. That stuff usually drives me up the wall, but overall this was a twisty-turny-twisty-again story that never lets you know for sure what happened until the very end.

But it was an unintentionally bittersweet story as well. It takes place during the month of December 2019 up until New Year Eve, and how could the author have known that would be the last normal month we would ever have? If she’d set the story in April 2020 we would have been constantly distracted by the alternate reality in which we are living. For me, even more so. A friend of mine was killed in a murder-suicide on New Year’s Eve, and we found out on January 3. 2020 was forever changed from then on. And now here we all are locked in our houses away from the entire world. So in many ways, reading this book felt like it was the last story written in Before Quarantine times.

The book breaks a few of my rules, but I loved it anyway. The original crime is only a crime because people didn't behave appropriately after an accident, and the killer confesses everything at the end. But there was just enough of an explanation for both that I accepted these. I think the main complaint I really have is that Eleanor is a complete enigma to the reader, so it's hard to understand why she is so completely worshiped. And there is an instance of blackmail that makes no sense because the blackmailer had much more to lose.

And yet I'm giving it 5 stars and I don't regret it. This book held my attention, my brain was completely immersed trying to sort out everyone's secrets, and I LOVED a lot of the writing. Solving the mystery was a twist on every other page toward the end of the book, and the epilogue was outstanding. I mean: Outstanding.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review, and I'm so thankful I had it to read during this lockdown. Would I have given it 5 stars outside of this time? Doesn't matter, because times are what they are, and in my opinion this was a great book: entertaining, attention holding, complicated, and well written.

Centered around a group of empowered women, Andrea Bartz weaves a tale of friendship, ambition and drama when the founder of The Herd goes missing. While this book is a quick and easy read, it lacks the punch I was expecting given previous reviews. Still, entertaining nonetheless!

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Scandalous relationships, betrayal, twisted secrets, murder… This book has it all, yet it is missing so much more!

Before I go further into detail you should know I went into this blind. I had no idea what this book was about, and if I did I probably would never have picked it up. In theory all of the things I listed above should make for a great book. However, the feminist movement that consumed the first half of it simply ruined it for me.

So with that in mind, here is a mini synopsis...
THE HERD is an elite women-only coworking space that New Yorkers are dying to be part of... The founder, Eleanor Walsh, prides herself on mentorship and empowerment that her community offers, but is the stress too much for one woman to bare? It appears so because on the night that she is supposed to speak at a news conference, Eleanor disappears!

Everyone has their own theory as to why Eleanor took off, but when foul play is speculated everyone becomes a suspect. After all a woman like Eleanor has a trail of enemies who would love to see her fail. Two sisters, Hana and Katie, must follow the clues and face their own dark secrets to find out what really happened to Eleanor.

My thoughts…
As I already stated the feminist movement in this book just rubbed me the wrong way. Especially because it seems that all of the main characters are lying, cheating, backstabbing "frienemies". Which does not show woman power at all! For me there was no character development and I did not feel invested in any of the characters.

This book had so much going on that should have had me on the edge of my seat, yet I could barely pay attention. There are two point of views, and I found myself having to flip back to the beginning of the chapter just to figure out who was talking. Everyone has a secret, but none of them shocked me.

This book just wasn't for me. I wanted to DNF it after reading about sixty percent, but I pushed through to see if it would get better. Sadly for me it didn't.

OᐯᗴᖇᐯIᗴᗯ: The Herd is a powerful and elite women’s community that prides itself on mentorship and empowerment. But when the founder, Eleanor Walsh, goes missing everyone is a suspect. What secrets are hiding behind the walls of The Herd?

ᗯᕼᗩT ᗯᗩᔕ ᘜᖇᗴᗩT:
◇ I loved the idea of a women's only community and, of course, the drama that women in close quarters would undoubtedly bring to the story.
◇ Every character seems to have a secret to hide. And finding out the secrets and how they are all connected makes it an interesting read.
◇ The alternating narratives of Katie and her sister, Hana, add a dynamic to the story that makes it even more suspenseful.

ᗯᕼᗩT ᗯᗩᔕ ᗰIᔕᔕIᑎᘜ:
◇ I never felt connected to Eleanor and had a hard time understanding the infatuation the other women had with her.
◇ The ending was hard to see coming. I didn't catch any clues throughout and that made the the ending seem abrupt and hard to process.

ᖇᗩTIᑎᘜ: ★★★★

I loved Andrea’s book from last year The Lost Night. It’s a well-crafted thriller that really nailed the era of 2009. So I’ve been eager to read her latest, The Herd. I have to say, I might even love The Herd more than The Lost Night. This one is fantastic and really makes you think. It focuses on complex friendships, female ambition, commercial feminism and goes beyond women’s perfect veneers.

The story is set in an exclusive all-female co-worker space in Manhattan. I could just completely visualize it down to the Instagram campaign. Eleanor is the glamorous founder of the Herd and her closest friends also work there. This results in an all-female staff (another than help from a male IT friend). But while it seems to be supporting feminism and lifting each other up, there’s always more to the story.

Women are expected to always be likable and pretty much perfect. So books like The Herd are especially insightful as they show women in all different lights such as being ambitious and doing anything in the name of self-preservation. This one really focuses on female friendship and working to “have it all.” It's a must read!

Picking this up I expected a story on an all-female employer that explores relationships between women and success, which is was. I really wanted to love this book but I found some key things holding me back. The main being NONE of the characters are likable, sometimes that is fine, but in this case I wanted to root for somebody. Second being that some of the characters aren't fully explored enough to have their story make sense. I really did enjoy the twist but felt more background into the characters would have added to that. Overall it was an enjoyable read.