Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Death by a HoneyBee

death by a honeybee

Death by a HoneyBee is a fun mystery that takes place in the Kentucky Bluegrass of horse farms, bourbon, and lots of secrets. 

Josiah Reynolds lives in a contemporary house called The Butterfly that was designed by her and her now deceased architect husband. In her cabana guesthouse lives her good and gorgeous friend Matt, a newly sworn-in attorney, and his lover Franklin. Also on her farm live various peacocks, horses, and maybe a strange looking sheep or two.

Unfortunately, when her husband Brannon died, he left all his money to his much younger girlfriend. Sigh. Josiah, a retired university professor, has fallen on financial hard times, so she has taken up beekeeping and sells her honey at the Farmers' Market in Lexington. 

Trouble comes in the form of the dead body of Richard Pidgeon, a competitor of Josiah's and a nasty man to boot. He is found head first in one of Josiah's hives - making the honeybees so, so mad. He had been stung 176 times.

The police  - there is a good cop and a very bad cop - seem to want to blame the murder on Josiah. And that is where the fun - for the reader, that is - begins. 

I enjoyed learning about the honeybees and how much work goes into keeping the hives alive. And it was entertaining to read a mystery that takes place just 90 miles from my hometown. This was one of the books I purchased at the Kentucky Book Fair and is the first in a series of four. 

Ms. Keam is a beekeeper herself and has won awards for her honey at the Kentucky State Fair. 

Her inscription in my book reads: Free the Bees.

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