Buzz Off

Buzz Off

Hannah Reed

The whole time I was reading this book, my brain kept telling me that the title was Buzz Kill. I am not sure why that was, maybe because the story revolves around beekeeping and a murder was discovered right away and therefore – bees buzz and people die. Really, I have no idea. Sometimes even I wonder what is going on in my brain.

The cozy genre is getting a bit clogged with formulaic books, so when one comes along that stands out from the rest I am impressed. Is this a perfect book – no. But it is a series that I will make the effort to search for in the future. What is my hang-up? Bullet Points. A mystery is not a PowerPoint presentation so including bullet points is a bit off putting for me. I would also complain about Storey’s sisters’ fascination with text speak (you know that annoying language teenagers speak in on their phone), but after awhile it became endearing.

Newly divorced Story Fisher owns a small market in Morain, Wisconsin and has branched out into beekeeping with her dear friend Manny. This venture is short lived when Manny is discovered dead among his hives and it is believed that the bees have become killers. Story know that this isn’t true. How could those gentle creatures kill the man that loved them so much?

As the story unfolds, the reader is introduced to the town of Moraine and its somewhat strange inhabitants. As relationships unfold, the reader starts to pick their favorites and tries to solve this murder mystery with the few tidbits that are placed along the trail. About midway through, the culprit was easy to pick out, but Ms Reed included enough about the side characters and beekeeping to keep me continuing with the tale.

As I said, this is an enjoyable new series and I look forward to Mind Your Own Beeswax, the next in the Queen Been Mystery Series.