Monday, April 11, 2022

A Matter of Hive and Death

Title: A Matter of Hive and Death
Author: Nancy Coco
Published: March 29th 2022 by Kensington
Format: Kindle, Paperback, 352 pages
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for an opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: An Oregon Honeycomb Mystery #2

Blurb: For the picturesque town of Oceanview on the Oregon Coast, May brings blossoming fruit trees and the annual UFO festival. As Aunt Eloise tries out alien costumes on their Havana brown cat Everett, Wren is off to meet with a bee wrangler, her go-to guy for local fruit tree honey.

But when she arrives, Elias Brentwood is lying on the ground amidst destroyed hives and a swarm of angry bees. The bees didn’t kill him, a blow to the head did. As blue-eyed Officer Jim Hampton investigates and the town is invaded by its own swarm of conspiracy theorists and crackpots, Wren and Aunt Eloise decide the only way to catch the bee wrangler’s killer is to set up a sting. (Goodreads)

My Opinion: I was disappointed in this book. Unnecessary redundancy, overly descriptive sections, conflicts between chapters, and stilted dialogue made reading this book a chore. There was other ridiculousness-- such as a jacket stopping a bullet leaving a hole in the fabric, and only a bruised which hurt when walking downstairs. Does that make sense to anyone? That escapade left me speaking out loud to the book wondering if someone should have been kind enough to tell Nancy Coco that is not how things work. Also, they don’t give you medication before you go into surgery to help you forget what happened. Once again, that is not how things work. Nor does a bladder infection cause dementia, it might exacerbate the condition, but it does not cause it. I am beginning to wonder how she came up with this stuff. Oh, and how does she make enough product in her tiny apartment kitchen to supply her shop with candles, balms, and creams? Pretty sure the fire and health departments would have a few questions for her.

I had a hard time connecting with any of the characters, or the absurdity, which surprises me since I enjoy her Candy Coated Mystery Series. Needless to say, I will not be revising the Oregon Honeycomb series which is disappointing since I did enjoy the science of bees.

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