Buzz Off: A Queen Bee Mystery
Hannah Reed
Story Fischer is ready to leave the drama of her recent divorce behind her and concentrate on her local grocery store and beekeeping operation. Drama, however, is not quite done with Story. When her mentor and friend, Manny Chapman, is found dead in his bee yard, apparently the victim of his own bees, Story finds herself on a quest to save her three private hives as well as Manny’s entire apiary and honey business as Moraine, Wisconsin succumbs to beephobia. No one seems to be on her side; certainly not Manny’s widow, Grace, who always hated the bee business and can’t wait to sell her husband’s livelihood, and certainly not her womanizing ex husband, Clay, whose antics all over town are still making waves. As disgusted as she is with him, however, Story can’t resist trying to clear Clay’s name when his current girlfriend is found dead in Story’s own kayak. With the help of her text-speaking sister, a hunky old flame and his police dog, and her sweet but nosey grandmother, Story sets out to save the bees, clear her ex’s already tarnished name, and keep her business thriving. Now if she could just make her mother proud of her just once……
Story is such a likable queen bee and sleuth, and the madcap collection of small town characters who populate Moraine are so delightful that it is hard NOT to love them. Even nosy P.P. Patti, the town gossip and Story’s neighbor, just wants to be loved, even if her pity-party ways push everyone away. Reed excels with the minor character who is just quirky enough to be memorable but not so much that they seem like contrived.
Mid-range characters, however, don’t always make the grade. While grandma is feisty and sweet, she lacks real depth. And Story’s mother comes off as a pain rather than a complicated character. Even her sister, who helps out in the store and in the mystery, becomes irritating rather quickly. A grown woman who speaks in text-speak? Instead of coming off as quirky, she just seems spoiled and immature. If she only used a few well-known phrases (wtf, omg, lol, ttyl, etc), it would seem more believable, but instead the author constantly has to translate, which completely defeats the purpose. And why she is so into text-speech is never really clear since she doesn’t seem to hand around teenagers or others who might be heavily involved in the texting culture. Luckily these three are the major sticking points with the story and I hope to see further development in future stories.
One of the best features of the book is the focus on the beekeeping world without a lot of preaching. Story is a novice, but she learned her trade from one of the best, and her dedication to her bees seems very believable. She even manages to give a shout-out to hive collapse syndrome without it being a gratuitous addition. There are also a number of recipes focusing on honey included at the end of the book along with a collection of resources concerning the area and the field of beekeeping.
The story is excellent. The double murder is intriguing and the author keeps the reader guessing as more sordid details and red herrings arise. Story is constantly unsure if Clay may be to blame, and at one point, even she is a suspect. Her run-ins with the local police chief, a former schoolmate that she turned down as a teen, add a touch of humor and tension that really work. There is even a sweet little romance as Story encounters an old flame.
Where the story fails, however, is a stylistic choice. Story is a fan of lists and she often bullet-points her thoughts. When she is considering her list of suspects, this makes sense, but when she resorts to lists to describe a part of the county, recap events, and sum up the conclusion, what was a quirky character trait becomes lazy writing. This is a real shame because Reed is a very capable writer and I don’t think she intended to take the easy way out at all. That is, however, how it feels when Story describes a scenic part of a county road that is commonly flooded with antique hunters, foliage admirers, and drug runners. What could have been a rather charming descriptive paragraph becomes a tedious and frustrating list that, ultimately, adds little to the story.
Overall, however, this looks to be a promising series. The setting in small town, rural Wisconsin is delightful, the characters are charming, and there is definitely room for more intrigue as Story works through her relationship with her ex, her mother, and the police chief. I hope, however, that the author will find a way to flesh out grandma and mom, make Story’s sister more real, and use Story’s listing habit in a less obtrusive manner.
Catch up with Hannah Reed, the Queen Bee series, and all things beekeeping on the official website, http://www.queenbeemystery.com. The second book in the series is due early next year, and a third is currently in the works.
3 1/2 out of 5
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