3.5 stars rounded up
This suspense thriller reads like true crime with a large cast of characters, a couple of murders, and a huge mystery -- who is Marnie Spellman?
Set in the Pacific Northwest and alternating between present day and 20 years ago time shifts, the novel is narrated by most of the main characters at one time or another. The detective, Lindsay Jackman, is drawn into a murder case that has ties to Marnie Spellman and her cosmetic empire. The story behind Marnie's rise to fame and fortune is based on a story she tells about a swarm of bees that showed her the way to spiritual enlightenment and her business philosophy, "from the outside in." As Marnie becomes legendary for her special beauty products and bestselling books and CDs, she surrounds herself with helper bees, the 5 women of the inner circle, known as The Hive. Each of these women has a reason to protect Marnie as all have secrets that can't be told. Something happened at Spellman Farms and Lindsay Jackman is determined to get the truth. NO SPOILERS.
I enjoyed this quite a bit as I really like the author's writing style and how he keeps the revelations close until just the right moment for the reader to have their guesses and suspicions confirmed. I had expected more of a "cult" story with this one but it was actually not so much that as a group of women stuck together due to misguided loyalty and the need for a coverup. The very different members of The Hive had interesting backstories who fell in with Marnie and dedicated themselves to her vision -- until they didn't. The narrative was quite complex and seemed a bit convoluted getting to the crux of the matters at hand, but it all tied up neatly at the end with some of the characters getting what they deserved. Not sure that true justice could be achieved with this mess!
Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for this e-book ARC to read and review.
This is a standalone and is not part of any series.
Genre - crime thriller, police procedural, cult, bees
No comments:
Post a Comment