Gregg's books are always page turners and this book didn't let me down. I felt that this book has stories within the story.

How can 5 women who all had the same beliefs still be at such odds 20 years later? What happened back then that tore them apart? Sheriff Jackman is trying to figure out how a death 20 years ago has a connection to a young college student found murdered in the park?

Lindsay is working on her own after the loss of her partner and mentor. She finds herself still relying on Alan's wisdom, thinking and doing things the way he would. Lindsay was surprised what she didn't know or see about her partner.

Yes, another page turner from Gregg.

This whole thing would have been significantly better if every other chapter hadn't wrapped up with the character dropping some kind of hint about how no one can ever find out what really happened. Also? I don't feel like people really die this easily.

Gregg Olsen never disappoints and his latest, The Hive, doesn't either! This story is gripping and one that will keep you turning page after page from the start until the end. There are twists and turns that keep the plot flowing very smoothly. Another great Gregg Olsen book!
Thank you to netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

*Thank you to Gregg Olsen, Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review*

*Previously posted at https://www.mysteryandsuspense.com/the-hive/*

The Hive is Gregg Olsen at his finest. Exciting, anxiety provoking, and twisty. I could not put it down until the very last page.

Detective Lindsay Jackman has been called to a murder scene. Sarah Baker, a young college student in her twenties, is found dead at the foot of Maple Falls, seemingly thrown off a cliff. Sadly, she has just received a call that her long-time partner, detective Alan Sharpe, has committed suicide. Alas, the show must go on, and Lindsey soon finds there are more suspects than she counted on.

Enter the hive. The beautiful and wealthy Marnie Spelling, queen of her bee farm on Lummi Island, has invited five women to come and stay on her farm: the washed-up movie star, Dina; Nurses Trish, Heather, Greta; and finally, Calista, a married woman with two boys who she leaves to stay on the farm. These five women make up the hive.

As Lindsay investigates the hive, she realizes that all these women are lying to protect Marnie, and ultimately themselves. Heather, in a race to become Senator, is eager to stay under the radar during this investigation. Dina, now a recluse in her mansion, is the only one still in contact with Marnie. Greta, now in a glass house on Chuckanut Drive, sees the irony of her lifestyle. The questions remain: What happened to Calista Sullivan twenty years ago? How is her murder connected to the death of college student, Sarah Baker? And why did Lindsay’s partner, a content and fortunate man, commit suicide? The connection between these incidents would shock any reader.

The Hive flashes back between 1999 and 2019. We learn the paths that these five women have taken and how Marnie Spellman has dictated their fates. Again, this book is Gregg Olsen at his very finest. His descriptions of the Pacific Northwest and its beauty are priceless, and his ability to tell a complicated story is amazing. He masterfully creates a mystery with many different characters, including one woman who has negatively affected so many who have come in contact with her. You will stay up all night reading The Hive, not wanting to put it down until the final and shocking conclusion. This book will take you right down a rabbit hole you never suspected.

The Hive' by Gregg Olsen ✔ ⭐⭐⭐/5
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Thank you to Thomas & Mercer and @netgalley for this arc. 'The Hive' is a group of female followers of Marnie Spellman, a wellness guru who claims to have the secret of health, happiness, beauty and success for all women. However, after a journalist writing an expose on Marnie is found murdered, the secrets of the hive start to unravel 👀
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This was a cool concept for a novel. I enjoyed the cult aspect of the hive and the aftermath for its members. The story was intricate and engaging. I did however find the timeline quite scattered and hard to follow at times. A decent thriller with lots of action throughout👌
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#greggolsen #thehive #netgalleyuk #netgalleyarc #netgalleyreads #thrillerbooks #thrillerlover #thrillernovels #grippingbooks

Couldn't put this Excellent Murder mystery down. Right from the very start a picnic, world wind swarm, suicide and Murder!! Enjoyed the characters and descriptive scenery in Northern WA State.

Since finishing this book a few days ago I can say this....I'm completely addicted! So much so that I keep going over the sequence of events in my mind. What an amazing book this was! From the beginning I was completely absorbed with the characters. I love a book that draws you in so much that you can't wait to get back to the story! This was definitely one of those books for me.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

There were so many twists and turns! Two girls are murdered 20 years apart from each other but Detective Lyndsay Jackman is hell bent on linking these two murders. Then there's Marnie AKA leader of the Hive (cult). Is she responsible for these deaths? Lyndsay's partner Alex is found dead in the garage of his home from carbon monoxide poisoning. Between Alex's death and trying to solve this puzzle I'm amazed that Detective Jackman has the strength to keep going.

Absolutely a fantastic crime fiction by my favorite author. He never disappoints me!

Thank you for the opportunity to early read Gregg Olsen’s “The Hive.” I absolutely loved it!

I was hooked again from the very first pages of this novel!

Sarah Baker, a student and young journalist is found dead at the base of Maple Falls in the Pacific Northwest.

Detective Lindsay Jackman is on the case, and at the outset gets another blow: her boss Detective Alan Sharpe was found dead of an apparent carbon monoxide suicide in his garage – how can she do this young journalist murder investigation alone?

As Lindsay investigates the Maple Falls death, it becomes evident that Sarah Baker was murdered and her murder is somehow woven with another murder on Lummi Island some 20 years earlier.

Sarah was found to have been writing an expose about the famous and adored Marnie Spellman, who, when she was a child was lifted by bees off the ground, toward the sun – enlightening her spirit with nature, and upon all of this - Marnie built her bee-inspired inner beauty and business empire. Marnie was a healer, a beauty queen (the queen bee of holistic health) and she also had her own inner circle ‘hive’ – that shared not only Marnie’s secrets of her successes, but her dark secrets held for 20 years.

Lindsay is hell-bent on uncovering the dark secrets and mysteries of Marnie, her “Hive” and their families……but Marnie and her “Hive” are hell-bent as well to keep their secrets away from Lindsay.

Gregg Olsen is the mastermind and master weaver of intricate plots, twists, turns, and surprises – which you’ll be shocked and “stung” once he lets you know. The “Hive” is a superb thriller, and among other delights, is like a window into a cult, one of despicable lies and murder. You’ll relish in the layers and layers, like an onion when peeled away; each point of view Gregg presents is absolutely amazing.

You’ll love it! I highly recommend the Hive and all Gregg Olsen’s books. Thank you.

First, let me say I really like Gregg Olsen’s books. He’s a great writer. But this one was just so-so. It just felt way over the top and the characters just weren’t doing it for me. The twists were great though! All in all it was good. It was just the characters were so... blah.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC copy of this ebook in exchange for my honest opinion.

I’m not sure whether Gregg Olsen is inconsistent, or I am, but it sort of seems like I don’t know what to expect when I pick up one of his books. There have been some excellent ones in the true crime genre (If You Tell) but I have found the fiction titles (mostly in series) to be uneven...often I just don’t care for the protagonist. So, it may be me that is uneven? In any case, I was happy to receive a copy of The Hive, a novel featuring police officer Lindsay Jackman set in the Pacific Northwest, from Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley in exchange for this honest review.
Lindsay is investigating the murder of a young woman found nude at the bottom of a ravine. She discovers the woman was a journalist working on an exposé of a charismatic wellness guru named Marnie Spellman who has millions of devotees as she operates a business from an island where her farm produces skin care products infused with substances from bees (honey, royal jelly). Her devotees are thought to be sort of a cult, with the inner circle known as the Hive.
Marnie Spellman’s story of the origin of her miracle products is a bit hard to believe: she claims that when she was a young girl, a swarm of bees lifted her off the ground and toward the sunlight, a bizarre tale of an event on which she built a cosmetics empire. Along the way she became a legend, a healer, and the queen of holistic health and beauty. The women in Marnie’s inner circle (the Hive) share both Marnie’s secrets of success as well as a deeper secret that has been hidden for twenty years.
It’s an interesting premise, totally realistic if you have ever lived near or been exposed to a very new age, “woo-woo” kind of group. Having been through est training in the 70s and lived in Santa Cruz, Berkeley, and Humboldt County, I totally got the premise of this group. The plot is well done, and the plot has just enough realism and unexpected twists to keep it interesting and move it steadily along to a good finish. I like it, and hope to see more of Lindsay Jackman. Four stars.

If you took Educated and mashed it together with the Mary Kay story, this might be what you'd wind up with--a megalomaniac like Marnie controlling women under the guise of helping them be(e) all they can be.

But was she responsible for the death of Sarah? And is the death of Calista linked somehow?

Although those seem to be the questions I want answers for, this is as much women's fiction with the story of Marnie and her farm and the hive coming out as Lindsay digs into Sarah and Calista's deaths. The mystery itself burns along in the background. And what a burn. It builds and builds and builds to an inferno of a conclusion.

I was initially drawn to this title after reading the description. Unfortunately it fell flat for me as I struggled to find it interesting. I read it in it’s entirety though it was a slower read than I expected.

I was really excited about this book, however I really struggled to get into it. It just never gripped me.
This is the first book I have read by Gregg Olsen

I enjoyed this book, but at times the pacing was a bit slow and the what was meant to be a reveal felt like a let-down. A lot of the characters fell flat — the two that didn't feel one-dimensonal to me were Marnie and Reed. I would comment on the rest of the characters, but even though I read this book only about two days ago, most of their names elude me. Honestly, the most interesting parts were the flashbacks to the time in the cult, and I think I would've much preferred a novel about that. Overall, it wasn't a bad book, but certainly not one I would be willing to reread, and not one I would go out of my way to recommend to others.

It’s crazy how easily consumed I got with this book! Gregg Olsen again, has wrapped me around this labyrinth of a story.
In my opinion, this is his best book to date and a true hive of mystery throughout. Woven pieces, suspense, mystery, and the value of self-worth... all parts of this story relying on pieces of our selves needing to be valued and accepted. Marnie and her “Hive” are a window into the unspeakable murder and aftermath of deception. Never predictable at any point. I loved this book!

I love Gregg Olsen so I really wanted to love this book, but I struggled finishing it. I loved the plot but found that there were too many characters for my liking. I will say that I did finish and was glad I did because the ending was worth it!

In 2000, Spellman Farms on Lummi Island in Washington State seems to be a quiet, serene place for young women to get away from everyday life. Owned by Marnie Spellman, the farm keeps bees and uses their honey & royal jelly, among other things, to create holistic products to sell. Unfortunately, Marnie and some of her “Hive”, made up of 5 of her closest followers, become involved in a murder.

Nineteen years later, Detective Lindsay Jackson of the Ferndale Police Department opens a case of a young lady whose body is found at the base of Maple Falls in Whatcom County, WA. During the investigation, it becomes clear that this murder is intertwined with the murder on Lummi Island. As Lindsay digs further into both cases, she uncovers how the various members of the Hive and their families are involved in the murders.

Once again, author Gregg Olsen has managed to capture the readers’ attention from the first page, and make it exciting to find out as each chapter unfolds who is responsible for the two murders, as well as other mysterious disappearances of people involved with Spellman Farms. This book is remarkable, right to the end.

I highly recommend The Hive to my fellow readers, especially True Crime fans!

A big fan of the author’s books, this one just didn’t seem to measure up to his previous works. It couldn’t seem to figure out what it wanted to be. The characters didn’t have the depth or development to engender any kind of empathy. Looking forward to next book to be back to the higher standards.

ARC received from Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer in exchange for an honest review.

This book had an intriguing premise, but failed to live up to it.

It started out as a detective thriller and very quickly pivoted away from the detective, Lindsay, to focus on past events for the majority of the book. The plot is very predictable for the majority of the book and the twists were not very satisfying. Frequent timeline and POV shifts make some sections of the book confusing.

There are some redeeming scenes scattered throughout the book but overall this thriller wasn't very, well, thrilling.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher A police thriller which I always like. This had me hooked from page one, a real gripping read