The Herd

My body tensed before I knew what I was seeing: strobes of red and blue, the universal sign of an emergency. I paused and squinted at the squad car across the street, its lights flashing, eerier for the lack of a siren. I breathed deeply, commanded my chest to relax. Two weeks back in New York City, and despite everyone s warnings, the sounds, the smells, the crush of people and hulking cliffs of steel and glass ­none of it bothered me, none of it took any reassimilation. But this was the first manic police light I d seen, and like Pavlov s bell it d made every muscle tighten.

I crossed the street and realized the two cops standing bored on the road weren t just blocking my entrance ­they appeared to be at the Herd, speaking to a wisp of a woman in an impressively flattering parka. I leaned forward and flashed my widest smile.

Excuse me, I m so sorry to interrupt. They flicked their heads my way, annoyed. It s okay for me to go in? I pointed at the door behind them.

Are you a member? the woman asked.

I have an appointment with Eleanor. She raised her eyebrows and I sighed. I m Hana s sister.

She took a half step back. Oh, go on up. The Gleam Room s closed but everything else is, uh, business as usual.

I thanked her and hurried out of the cold to wait for the single elevator. The Gleam Room? What the hell is a Gleam Room?

On the tenth floor, the doors slid open and I stepped out into a sunlit entryway. I paused, momentarily stunned. I d seen the floor shortly after Eleanor had first rented it, had even donned a hard hat and closed-­toe shoes for a tour shortly before I d left town, but that hive of dust and drywall and sweaty contractors had little in common with the space before me. It had the girly chicness of a magazine office, but without the clutter or bustle ­here everything was calm. Sunlight spilled in from the windows; it was warm but not stuffy, and the air smelled vaguely of plumeria. A woman with glossy French-­braid pigtails and

Andrea Bartz is a Brooklyn-based journalist and New York Times bestselling author of We Were Never Here, The Lost Night, and The Herd. Her work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Marie Claire, Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Women s Health, Martha Stewart Living, Redbook, Elle, and many other outlets, and she s held editorial positions at Glamour, Psychology Today, and Self, among other publications.

Andrea Bartz breathes new life into the psychological thriller by setting her novels in bitingly modern settings. Her first book, The Lost Night, is set in Williamsburg s party scene; The Herd is a biting satire of a women s workspace like the Wing, and the darkness that may lurk behind that perfectly coiffed sitting room. O: The Oprah Magazine

This thriller offers a nonstop plot and layers of mystery not to mention smart commentary on female friendships and social media. Real Simple

As she did in her debut The Lost Night, Andrea Bartz constructed a complex cast of female characters who will make feminist thriller your new favorite genre. Read The Herd ASAP but maybe not at a coworking space. HelloGiggles

Her hard-hitting debut, The Lost Night, has made Andrea Bartz one to watch, and her second novel, The Herd, confirms her reputation. . . . As someone whose building was recently taken over by a WeWork and who now has to wait ten minutes for the elevator, I can t endorse this book enough. CrimeReads  

Darkness swirls beneath the surface of the idyllic setting at the center of this thriller. From its gorgeously haunting opening to its spine-chilling final lines, The Herd delivers an astute exploration of female ambition in a world that tries like hell to keep women down. You won t be able to stop reading this dazzling nail-biter until you unearth every last secret its characters keep buried. Megan Collins, author of The Winter Sister    

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.