The Herd
Reviews
3.25 ⭐️ this story relies heavily on its toxic depiction of female friendships. From the way the book was marketed and advertised I’d expected more of a tell all about the internal dynamics of the cult-like coworking space and social club called ‘The Herd’. Instead we got more of a reverse coming of age in-depth view of this high society group of ‘girl bosses’ in NYC mixed with murder mystery. Personally I though the set up was a bit too obvious for it to be realistic and thus the twist wasn’t a bit surprise. However I did enjoy the book and its pacing kept me on my feet. Some characters were more fleshed out than others, yet it was enough to keep me engaged. Some scenes and plotlines felt a bit unnecessary and underexplored (e.g. Katie’s adventure in Michigan/Minnesota?). Overall an enjoyable read but lacking in depth and underwhelming considering the potential of the blurb.
As a former employee of The Wing, this book for the most part just made me laugh. It’s not a comedy, but it is so clearly based on The Wing, that this author must have a great attorney because despite the disclaimer, names are changed just enough to avoid a lawsuit, despite the obvious comparison of the title as well as the description of the space being a “no boys allowed” “women’s co-working community”. (The “young woman in braids at the front desk” who says “The Gleam room is closed but the rest of the space is business as usual” in the first chapter I could have sworn was based on me.) Having experienced a company like the one in The Herd in real life, nothing about this book surprised me, including the petty murder aspect. The violence was a little far fetched but perhaps acted as commentary on female-only work environment. It was an interesting read but I predicted the killer by the fifth chapter which was kind of a bummer. If you’re looking for a good fiction about positive female entrepreneurial ventures, this isn’t that book, however I would recommend this for a trashy beach read (you know, once beaches open up again...)
3.25 ⭐️ this story relies heavily on its toxic depiction of female friendships. From the way the book was marketed and advertised I’d expected more of a tell all about the internal dynamics of the cult-like coworking space and social club called ‘The Herd’. Instead we got more of a reverse coming of age in-depth view of this high society group of ‘girl bosses’ in NYC mixed with murder mystery. Personally I though the set up was a bit too obvious for it to be realistic and thus the twist wasn’t a bit surprise. However I did enjoy the book and its pacing kept me on my feet. Some characters were more fleshed out than others, yet it was enough to keep me engaged. Some scenes and plotlines felt a bit unnecessary and underexplored (e.g. Katie’s adventure in Michigan/Minnesota?). Overall an enjoyable read but lacking in depth and underwhelming considering the potential of the blurb.
I got this chick lit mystery courtesy of a Goodreads Giveaway. Despite being geared to the 20 to 30-ish crowd, this 50-ish reader found it to be a reasonably enjoyable read. If you're a fan of Liane Moriarity, like me, you'll likely agree. This classic whodunit story is told by two sisters. As usual, I guessed who did it pretty early on purely based on the typical mystery MO. But, I was never 100% sure as it took several twists and turns, so it kept me turning the page. The writing and character development were great (which isn't always the case with Goodreads Giveaways). Andrea hired a good proofreader (THANK YOU), so I wasn't pulled out of the story more than a couple of times by a missing or misspelled word. I did judge this book by the cover, so it sat on my shelf longer than usual. I do believe someone could come up with a cover design that would better convey the feel of the book. (Check out Liane Moriarity's books!)
