The Hive

Written by Gregg Olsen

Narrated by Karen Peakes

Glamorous messiah or charlatan? A mask of beauty hides deadly secrets in #1 New York Times and Amazon Charts bestselling author Gregg Olsen’s mesmerizing novel of suspense.

In the Pacific Northwest, detective Lindsay Jackman is investigating the murder of a young journalist found at the bottom of a ravine. Lindsay soon learns that the victim was writing an exposé. Her subject: a charismatic wellness guru who’s pulled millions into her euphoric orbit…

To hear Marnie Spellman tell it, when she was a child, a swarm of bees lifted her off the ground and toward the sunlight, illuming her spiritual connection with nature—an uncanny event on which Marnie built a cosmetics empire and became a legend, a healer, and the queen of holistic health and eternal beauty. In her inner circle is an intimate band of devotees called the Hive. They share Marnie’s secrets of success—including one cloaked in darkness for twenty years.

Determined to uncover the possibly deadly mysteries of the group, Lindsay focuses her investigation on Marnie and the former members of the Hive, who are just as determined to keep Lindsay from their secrets as they are to maintain their status.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio
• Release date: Jun 8, 2021
• ISBN: 9781799759843

Gregg Olsen

#1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Gregg Olsen has written more than thirty books, including Lying Next to Me, The Last Thing She Ever Did, and two novels in the Nicole Foster series, The Sound of Rain and The Weight of Silence. Known for his ability to create vivid and fascinating narratives, he’s appeared on multiple television and radio shows and news networks, such as Good Morning America, Dateline, Entertainment Tonight, CNN, and MSNBC. In addition, Olsen has been featured in Redbook, People, and Salon magazine, as well as in the Seattle Times, Los Angeles Times, and New York Post. Both his fiction and nonfiction works have received critical acclaim and numerous awards, including prominence on the USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists. Washington State officially selected his young adult novel Envy for the National Book Festival, and The Deep Dark was named Idaho Book of the Year. A Seattle native who lives with his wife in rural Washington State, Olsen’s already at work on his next book.

Reviews for The Hive

[Kristi Hull · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Great book but the ending really?! Dang, Marnie Spellman does it again

[Tameka Dixon · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was a wonderful book. The narrative did an outstanding job. It was filled with mystery, complex characters and relevance to today.

[Dana Tyson · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Very good read. I wanted more, and I was hoping for a sequel.

[Lara Pretorius · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Awesome book with an incredible twist! Story was well written and compelling-Gregg Olsen is a great writer! Karen Peaks did a wonderful job at narrating all the characters! Highly recommend a listen ?

[picathartes · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I thought this book was a complete waste of time, and that the lead character Lindsay Jackman has to be the worst detective of all time. There is a multi-decade trail of death and destruction that surfaces after the murder of a young female journalist who we find was working on an expose about The Hive, a cult-like group in the Pacific Northwest. Rather than doing any real detecting into the murder, Lindsay spends all her time focusing on this group of women who are a cross between women on The View and the boys in Lord of the Flies, with all the cattiness and bloodlust of The View and the feral children of Flies and their limited cognitive processes (although I guess that is included in The View as well).I wasn't enthralled by any of the backstory of The Hive which was essentially the entire story. If you want to read that story over and over and over again about 10,000 times, with one or two new pieces of information thrown in at each retelling, then you will love this book.

[cats57_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This was a good read that could have been even better having there not been so many cliches (women lying and stabbing each other in the back, washed-up actress, a politician running for an important office, women thinking that life would be better if they looked better, that Marnie and her bees had all the answers...) and had the timeline not been so willy-nilly. I realize the author felt that this was a good way for us to learn what was going on - cults, bees, lies, secrets, blackmail, and murder.These characters, ALL of them-are so unlikeable that you may want to tear your hair out.There were too many issues with this book for my taste, but on the other hand, I did keep reading it, so that says something about it! If you have Kindle Unlimited, then this would defiantly be something you may want to try. If you don't have KU, the price is still a good one and will be a good summer read for those of you that are curious and like all the positive reviews.*ARC supplied to me by the publisher, author, and NetGalley.