MYSTERY
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Honey bee collecting pollen
Photo credit: Jon Sullivan
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BOOK
ILLUMINATIONS
From Merrimon Book Reviews
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Mind Your Own Beeswax
by Hannah Reed
Fun mystery!
Lauren
Kerrigan is missing. Lauren's past history and her recent return
to Moraine, Wisconsin has everyone in the town
talking. When Story Fischer's bees go looking for a new
hive, she can't help but run into trouble. While she is hunting
for her bees with her sister Holly, they hear gunshots in the woods.
When Lauren's dead body is found in the woods near where Story was
looking for her bees (and not only hers but another body as well!),
past memories of the Lantern Man in the Lost Mile add a eeriness to the
murders. Does the past enlighten the current crime? Story
might be able to locate the bees but can she find the clues and
murderer? Count on her stirring up a lot of trouble!
In MIND YOUR OWN BEESWAX, the second of the Queen Bee mystery series,
Hannah Reed introduces a reader to the town of Moraine, Wisconsin,
letting one visit and get to know the residents and their relationships
with one another. MIND YOUR OWN BEESWAX sets up the series, not
just with a mystery to be solved, but also with a more in depth visit
inside the town than one typically gets in a short cozy stream-lined
mystery. In that sense, MIND YOUR OWN BEESWAX
is a nice change of pace. Readers new to the series can
start the series here without feeling lost. One feels the
centrality of Story's grocery store within the town. Story Fischer is
quite a character from her flip flops to her knack for finding
trouble. Her character's enthusiastic energy creates a nice sense
of humor in the narrative voice throughout the story.
Despite the small town setting, Story's character has a fresh, hip and
even sassy tone in her outlook. Her use (and even overuse)
of powerpoint presentation lists in her personal thoughts makes her
quite a character. Story's exasperation (and the reader's) with
her sister's obsessive use of internet chat acronyms in everyday
conversation adds additional humor. Despite
the surface humor and Story's spunkiness, Hannah Reed gives readers a
peek into her heart as well, especially as the mystery develops.
The tensions between Story and Johnny Jay are more obvious than others,
but Hannah Reed creates depth in her characters by revealing the
different levels of conflicts between several characters. The
informational bee background to the mystery is an integral part of the
narrative. MIND YOUR OWN BEESWAX is a perfect nighttime reading choice
for readers who want to be taken into another world as well as solve a
mystery alongside Story.
Publisher: Berkley Prime
Crime (May 3, 2011)
A Queen Bee Mystery
Author
website
Previous Queen Bee Mysteries: Buzz Off
Reviewed by Merrimon,
Merrimon Book Reviews
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