Thank you for visiting today! Ella's Journey by Lynne Francis is out today. Join Ella on her journey to see what happens to her and her family. The Girl Who Saved Ghosts by K.C. Tansley will be published on October 17. It is the second book in The Unbelievables series.
A Hive of Homicides by Meera Lester is the third A Henny Penny Farmette Mystery. Abigail “Abby” MacKenzie runs a farmette in Las
Flores, California since she left the police force. Abby is attending the vow renewal of her
friend and truffle maker, Paola Varela and Jake Winston, owner of Country
Schoolhouse Winery (and notorious womanizer).
There is a bit of kerfuffle after the ceremony with a blonde, but then
everyone is off to the reception. Abby heads off to locate Chef Emilio Varela to
deliver the honey she promised as gifts for the guests. The sous chef points Abby in the direction of
the alley outside the kitchen. Abby is
outside looking for Emilio when she hears gunshots and then sees the shooters
car. Abby finds Jake and Paola in their
car with Jake dead and Paola severely wounded.
A week later, Paola is in a coma and the case is going nowhere. Abby is warned to not investigate, but she
can think of little else. She decides to
start asking questions to see who would want to harm Jake and Paola. Jake had created a lot of buzz around town
with his numerous conquests and the blonde at the renewal seemed to dislike him
as well. When a second body turns up at
the winery, Abby knows she needs to zero in on the killer before he strikes
again.
A Hive of Homicides is nicely
written and has a good pace. I
appreciated the bee and honey information the author included in the book (it
was very interesting and informative). The
mystery is complex (I liked this part) and I think many readers will be
surprised by the killer’s identity. My
rating for A Hive of Homicides is 4 out of 5 stars. Abby was different in this book (and not in a
good way). Abby’s reaction to finding
Jake and Paola was very unlike her. For
an ex-cop, you would expect her to be used to find dead bodies, seeing injured
people, and finding herself in dangerous situations. Instead, we are subject to nausea, shaking, and
she is afraid of her own shadow (not our usual strong, feisty Abby). The author did a good job at portraying PTSD
as well as techniques to help Abby cope (she visits a counselor). I did not the like the direction the author
took Abby’s character in A Hive of Homicides.
It overshadowed the mystery. There are many delightful cozy moments in the
book and a sweet, hopeful ending. The first two books in A Henny Penny Farmette Mystery series are A Beeline for Murder and The Murder of a Queen Bee.
I appreciate you visiting and taking the time to read my book reviews. I will be featuring Fixing to Die by Miranda James on Friday (October 6). May you have a very happy day. Take care and Happy Reading!
Kris
The Avid Reader
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