An exclusive New York women’s workspace is rocked by the mysterious disappearance of its enigmatic founder, leaving two sisters to uncover the haunting truth“Fascinating and chilling.”—Samantha Downing, author of My Lovely WifeNAMED ONE OF THE MOST ANTICIPATED THRILLERS OF 2020 BY Marie Claire · Newsweek · The Boston Globe · HelloGiggles · Book Riot · PopSugar · CrimeReads · Bustle · She ReadsThe … Riot · PopSugar · CrimeReads · Bustle · She Reads
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 in purple. In-the-know New Yorkers crawl over one another to apply for membership to this community that prides itself on mentorship and empowerment. Among the hopefuls is Katie Bradley, who’s just returned from the Midwest after a stint of book research blew up in her face. Luckily, Katie has an in, thanks to her sister, Hana, an original Herder and the best friend of Eleanor Walsh, the Herd’s charismatic founder.
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. As Hana struggles to figure out what her friend was hiding and Katie chases the story of her life, the sisters must face the secrets they’ve been keeping from each other—and confront just how dangerous it can be when women’s perfect veneers start to crack, crumble, and then fall away altogether.
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What a ride! THE HERD is sharp, smart, and utterly bingeable read. I had zero idea where the mystery was going, and loved sitting back and letting the story unfold, and unfold, and unfold. Complex characters, a dark secrets, topical setting – what’s not to like?
The Herd is an elite, women-only coworking space in New York City created by beauty-mogul and businesswoman Eleanor Walsh. Her fellow Harvard classmates Hana and Mikki have helped Eleanor build The Herd as the place for New York women to apply for a membership that boasts empowerment and mentorship without the male gaze. Among the hopeful members is Hana’s younger sister Katie Bradley – who is returning to the city after caring for her ailing mother and having book research end in disaster in Michigan.
After a vandal mysteriously tagged all three Herd locations, Hana is uneasy as she prepares for an undisclosed announcement about The Herd’s future from Eleanor. On the night of the PR event, Eleanor is a no show, and her friends begin to panic when they realize no has seen her since the day before. As theories about her disappearance begin to fly, Eleanor’s life comes under scrutiny and her closest friends become suspects.
The Herd is Andrea Bartz’s second novel. It’s a story full of suspense and unexpected revelation and will keep you guessing. This novel shows that your friends may not always be how they seem.
Twisty and turny and a lot of fun to read. I couldn’t put it down!!
Is it possible that Andrea Bartz’s whip-smart-can’t-put-down new novel, THE HERD outshines her debut THE LOST NIGHT? Only by an immeasurable bit and only because this author has a cool voice that she continues to hone with the precision of a knife. This book left me breathless and clinging to every word. Told from the alternating viewpoints of two sisters living in New York, we enter a world rife with dueling love and competing loyalties. Hana, a Harvard graduate and the oldest, is established and working in the high-pressure world of PR, while Kaite searches for steady ground after spending time taking care of their sick mother in Michigan. They are both associated through long term friendship, with Eleanor and her brainchild, The Herd, an exclusive space for innovative and aspiring women associated with Eleanor’s cosmetic company, Gleam. Following the sisters through the aftermath of Eleanor’s murder, we experience the complexity and boundaries of sisterhood and friendship. Bartz’s sophisticated storytelling provides toothsome commentary on the shallowness of social media and bone-biting competitiveness of our ‘hurry-up’ culture. THE HERD comes out March 24, I recommend you grab it fast!
Just like Andrea Bartz’s critically acclaimed, heart-pounding debut THE LOST NIGHT, THE HERD pulses with tension and suspense from beginning to end. The story is told by Katie and Hana, two sisters burdened with secrets who are finally living in New York at the same time. When their close friend Eleanor, the cofounder of the Herd, a glamorous all-female workspace, goes missing, they launch separate investigations that will lead them deeper and deeper into Eleanor’s dark past—as well as their own. I loved this book so much; it’s got Andrea Bartz’s signature snappy writing, with a propulsive plot that I found even more addictive (if that’s even possible!) than her stellar debut. This book also has a prologue and epilogue that bookend the story in a unique, stunning, and immensely chilling way, making it a memorable standout in the thriller market. I was immediately drawn in by the dark and beautiful writing in the opening pages, and the story zoomed on from there, pulling me along on an atmospheric and eerie ride with delicious twists and reveals. The book also deals with themes both timely and timeless—the masks of perfection that women are pressured to wear; female ambition in what is still a man’s world; the price of success for a woman—and I appreciated the opportunity to sit with the ugly but important insights this story brought to light.
I loved this twisty thriller. I went in a bit blind and was pleasantly surprised. I was pulled in from the start and interested the whole time. I definitely recommend this one!
I enjoyed my first story by this author. It was a quick read with some twists thrown in.
This was an intriguing read but it was hard to stay focused on it. It was good but not something I would pick up again.
A twisted ride of female competition, acceptance, and community. This thriller has so many turns, you never know who is the bigger culprit. A young group of women pride themselves on being part of an exclusive club that champions women and their endeavors. Next thing you know, endless wrong turns amount to a book you won’t want to put down. In fact, don’t put it down because you’ll want to track the characters and their paths. Aside from the social aspect of this book, Andrea Bartz digs into the relationship of two sisters who each carry deep, ugly secrets that unravel as they dig into the past of their best friend who has gone missing. It’s a wild ride so buckle up.
My only complaint was that there were a lot of characters to keep track of and I can’t believe I’m going to say this but… maybe one too many twists. I still loved the story, but there were some deeper character investments that could have been made to deliver that punch at the end. The resolution was satisfying but it felt like there were multiple tiny endings as each loose thread resolved.
Set aside a few hours and dig into this suspense thriller from Andrea Bartz. You won’t want any interruptions while you’re reading.
Kate comes to The Herd, a workspace for women (and only women–men can take a hike), at a low depth of vulnerability. The book she’s been trying to write while in Kalamazoo looking after her cancer-stricken mother is no longer coming together because of a mistake she made, so she is professionally at-odds. Her love life, too, is going nowhere. Her older sister Hana is the PR manager for The Herd and its charismatic, enigmatic founder, Eleanor. Hana, Eleanor, and Mikki (who also uses The Herd) were friends at Harvard and now have come together to support each other and Eleanor’s endeavor.
These four women hoard a plethora of secrets between them. When Eleanor disappears just as she is about to announce an important move for her company, Kate, Hana, and Mikki anxiously try to figure out what happens. Over the course of a week, they learn all manners of deception, some perpetuated by each other and some centered around Eleanor.
The Herd’s appeal is its veneer of perfection. When Kate first walks into The Herd’s complex, she is struck by how flawlessly it looks. The colors reflect feminism, hope, joy, peace–it’s everything Kate thinks she’s looking for. The more she gets to know Eleanor, though, the less appealing she and her creation become. But that herd mentality–that sense that everyone else here is so happy and productive–is tough to kick.
I inhaled this book, even the parts that frustrated me. It’s difficult to like Kate, Hana, Mikki, and Eleanor. I’m sure that’s deliberate on Andrea Bartz’s part as she makes you confront why you want to like people who appear perfect, why you want to be a part of their world. They aren’t perfect, and those flaws can be ugly. I think, though, that you need to align yourself with at least one of these women. You need to care and buy into them in order for the twists and turns and revelations to shock and affect you.
This is one of those books that begs to be discussed. You will want to debate the four women (Eleanor in particular), and you will want to talk about the ending. Is it too contrived? Does it work?
Hit up the comments and let me know your thoughts.
THE HERD
By Andrea Bartz
LOVED IT!!! This book actually had made such an impression on me that it ended up being one of my nightmares. Yes, the whole story played out and I was a character in my own nightmare. The writing was told in 2 POV’s and it was just the perfect amount of story in each chapter. When not reading, I can honestly say, I was desperately counting down until I could return to the book. It was one that you want to read so badly that you finish in one sitting but feel so depressed that it ended and are in the ruts of a book hangover.
Sisters Katie and Hana were close knit even despite the distance and the familial problems that they had and ones that were buried in the past.
Hana, was now living in New York as Publicist for “The Herd”. The Herd was created by her close friend Eleanor whom she met in her Freshman Year at Harvard. And she also worked amongst her other friend that was part of the tight Harvard trio that also now works there named Mikki. THE HERD was as famous as it’s creator, Eleanor, who created this coworking space for women only.
But there was a group of men called “The Anti-Herd” that weren’t quite happy with Eleanor and her riches and the fact that men were not allowed to be in this club. Death threats and websites against THE HERD is nothing new.
When Katie decides to leave home and move to NYC near her sister and Hana’s college buddies from THE HERD that befriended her when she was younger, it was supposed to be something new, better and honestly an escape from a recent event. This event had caused her to lose her book deal. She wanted to find a new idea to write her book on; even thinking about a secret story on Eleanor.
But when she arrives, things and people aren’t the same and the facade that overshadows THE HERD and each woman’s life is about to be uncovered. Especially after Eleanor goes missing. Was she taken? Did she leave willingly or is it even worse? Everyone becomes a suspect and secrets are revealed about everyone. Even those you least suspect.
This book started out a little slow for me, but quickly grabbed my interest and carried me on a crazy roller coaster ride until the very end, literally. The four main characters, each different, complex, carrying various baggage and secrets, are like no other. Bartz had me guessing and wondering the entire way through as to what really happened to Eleanor and who was responsible. She threw curve balls in to keep me wondering who exactly was responsible as she had a way of making several characters suspicious. I didn’t guess how it would all wrap up and I love being thrown off. Then, in the epilogue, one more secret tidbit was thrown in to make me gasp as I finished the last words. I greatly enjoyed the creativity of Bartz and her eloquent way of writing. She truly has a way with words, even evident in her acknowledgments. I enjoyed reading as she described her gratefulness to the reader that gave me pause in her insightfulness, then to others and her flowing words together like I haven’t seen in acknowledgements before. Color me impressed by Andrea Bartz. I’m grateful to the author, publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
The Herd begins with an act of what appears to be sexist vandalism in the smart, highly-desirable feminist work-sharing space, The Herd (with an emphasis on HER) starts off. From there, the novel explores relationships between women, how they fare in an all-female work environment , and the price of female ambition.
Two sisters, Hana and Katie, are reunited after Katie, who moved back to Midwest to care for their mother, and returns to New York. Hana is in the upper echelons of The Herd, but Katie has to go through the rigorous admissions process to avoid the appearance of nepotism. When Eleanor, the #1 of The Herd, disappears, Katie tries to solve the mystery. Everyone is suspect: Eleanor’s hospital administrator husband, former lovers, men on an antifeminist, anti-Herd website, and someone who is blackmailing her. The plot is full of twists which keeps the suspense up right up to the bitter end. The writing is dark and smart.
Andrea Bartz has created another deliciously twisty thriller that is so much more than a page-turner. At its heart, The Herd is an ambitious novel about the complex dynamics of an exclusive all-female coworking space — empowering yet cut-throat, open yet exclusive. Filled with insights and biting social commentary about the commoditization of female ambition, The Herd is sure to be one of the spring’s buzziest must-reads.
The Herd is a fascinating, chilling look inside an upscale workspace for women in New York City. Andrea Bartz nails this one, from the twisty plot to what it means to be a professional woman in today’s world. This book will make you wonder how well you know your coworkers.
A twisty, feminist, and sometimes satirical thriller set in the media world of hipster Brooklyn and NYC. Had a hard time putting this one down—Bartz is the mistress of the pageturner!
The Herd is an office sharing space for women, it’s a bit of an elite group, they’re very selective in who they allow, and the waitlist is long. The brainchild of The Herd is Eleanor, a focused, driven, successful career woman. Her close core group of friends are a part of it, including Hana, whose sister Katie is a journalist, and has recently back to the area. Katie hopes to have her application approved by Eleanor, but it’s not moving along as swiftly as she thought it would. Things aren’t exactly perfect at The Herd as the story unfolds, which is told in alternating viewpoints of Katie and her sister Hana.
Whenever a woman is in power, in the means that Eleanor has gotten there, it’s bound to draw haters. While those haters aren’t central to the story, they do add an element of “who is responsible for what is going on?” The story unfolds through the women’s connection to the past and into the present. (and of course, it’s centered around Eleanor’s disappearance). I feel that the blurb suggests this is going to be a fast-paced thriller, and for me, it wasn’t. There were a few times I felt we were just slowly plodding along, but then I got about 1/2 in, and the story picked up. Overall, an enjoyable read with some great characters and a fun setting. Thank you Random House-Ballantine for sending this one along.
Another great read from the author of The Lost Night! I loved this twisty murder mystery that takes place in an exclusive all-female workspace in New York. Interesting complex characters, twisty plot and lively prose make this thriller unputdownable. Nothing is what it seems, especially the seemingly perfect founder of the company, Eleanor, whose relationships with her friends and husband come into scrutiny as the story unfolds. I zipped through it in two days.
A smart, feminist thriller with elegant prose and complex, skilfully constructed characters. The Herd (emphasis on her) is set in an all-female work environment, exploring the relationships between women, female ambition, and the price of success for women. The complicated dynamics between the characters makes for enjoyable reading as the masks of perfection slip and dark pasts exposed.