Brenda H. (booksinvt) -
The Murder of a Queen Bee is the second in the Henny Penny Farmette Mystery series featuring Abigail "Abby" MacKenzie. Abby has retired from the Las Flores Police Department in California, and has purchased an old farmhouse and turned the house and surrounding field into an idyllic farmette, located on Farm Hill Road.
Abby has planned a luncheon with her best friend and former partner Katerina "Kat" Petrovsky and Fiona Mary Ryan, the owner of Ancient Wisdom Botanicals. Fiona is a former commune member who left the commune because she doesn't agree with the way the new guru Hayden Marks, his partner Premalatha Baxter and their hired security man Dak Harmon are leading the members. Fiona has asked Abby for advice in dealing with a personal issue, but when the woman doesn't arrive for the lunch, Abby becomes worried. While waiting for Fiona's arrival Kat receives a call that Fiona's car has been found burning at Kilbride Lake with Fiona behind the wheel.
Determined to help her former police department locate Fiona's killer, she soon joins forces with Fiona's brother Jack Sullivan who has arrived in town to tend to his sister's funeral. Plenty of suspects arise including the commune members, Fiona's estranged husband Tom Davidson Dodge and her on again off again boyfriend Laurent Duplessis.
Abby's personal life has also hit a snag with the return of her ex boyfriend Clay Calhoun. Clay has breezed back into town expecting to pick up where they'd left off prior to his abrupt departure. Abby has her hands full with Clay's bad attitude, his demands on her time and she still has a niggling attraction to her neighboring dairy farmer Lucas Crawford. Further complicating matters is the flood of new feelings for Fiona's brother Jack.
While not absolutely necessary I do recommend reading the first in the series, A Beeline to Murder to get a better understanding of the characters. A fast paced, fun filled cozy with all the requirements - a cute dog, best friends, a quaint town, and romance. I am not at all a fan of the love triangle so was more than happy to see one of the trio take their leave.
Abby has planned a luncheon with her best friend and former partner Katerina "Kat" Petrovsky and Fiona Mary Ryan, the owner of Ancient Wisdom Botanicals. Fiona is a former commune member who left the commune because she doesn't agree with the way the new guru Hayden Marks, his partner Premalatha Baxter and their hired security man Dak Harmon are leading the members. Fiona has asked Abby for advice in dealing with a personal issue, but when the woman doesn't arrive for the lunch, Abby becomes worried. While waiting for Fiona's arrival Kat receives a call that Fiona's car has been found burning at Kilbride Lake with Fiona behind the wheel.
Determined to help her former police department locate Fiona's killer, she soon joins forces with Fiona's brother Jack Sullivan who has arrived in town to tend to his sister's funeral. Plenty of suspects arise including the commune members, Fiona's estranged husband Tom Davidson Dodge and her on again off again boyfriend Laurent Duplessis.
Abby's personal life has also hit a snag with the return of her ex boyfriend Clay Calhoun. Clay has breezed back into town expecting to pick up where they'd left off prior to his abrupt departure. Abby has her hands full with Clay's bad attitude, his demands on her time and she still has a niggling attraction to her neighboring dairy farmer Lucas Crawford. Further complicating matters is the flood of new feelings for Fiona's brother Jack.
While not absolutely necessary I do recommend reading the first in the series, A Beeline to Murder to get a better understanding of the characters. A fast paced, fun filled cozy with all the requirements - a cute dog, best friends, a quaint town, and romance. I am not at all a fan of the love triangle so was more than happy to see one of the trio take their leave.
Kristina A. reviewed The Murder of a Queen Bee (Henny Penny Farmette, Bk 2) on + 1528 more book reviews
The Murder of a Queen Bee by Meera Lester is the second book in A Henny Penny Farmette Mystery series. Abigail Mackenzie runs a farmette in Las Flores, California. Abigail had received a call from Fiona Mary Ryan, who runs Ancient Wisdom Botanicals store, about wanting to talk. Abigail sets up a nice luncheon for them to enjoy, but Fiona Mary fails to show up (and does not answer her phone). Fiona Mary is later found dead in her burning car. What did she want to tell Abigail? Abigail cannot help but do a little investigating especially after she finds out that Fiona Mary was murdered. Fiona Mary led an interesting life. She used to live in a commune until she was asked to leave. Fiona Mary did not agree with some of the new practices set in place by Hayden Marks, the new guru. Is there more to the commune than meets the eye? Abigail is surprised when Clay Calhoun shows up at her house after leaving a year ago. Clay is Abigail's former boyfriend. Why has Clay shown up now? Is there hope for a reconciliation? Join Abigail on her latest adventure in The Murder of a Queen Bee.
The Murder of a Queen Bee is a cute story, but it was lacking in the mystery department. Meera Lester has a conversational writing style that makes for an easy to read novel (though she can get a little too descriptive at times). Unfortunately, there was too much focus on Clay Calhoun. Besides his good looks, I do not know what Abigail saw in him (he lacks substance). Personally, I would not even have let him in my house (and he was not needed in the book). We get quite a bit of information on herbs in the book (actually too much information). It was interesting, but I wanted more substance in the story. I found the killer to be very obvious (no clues needed). I kept hoping there would be a twist or something unexpected, but I was disappointed. It was more about finding the evidence needed to convict the killer (especially during the second half of the book). One annoying thing is the tips at the beginning of each chapter. Most of them are not helpful or interesting. To me they just interrupted my reading pleasure. There are also recipes at the end of each chapter. I would prefer they were at the end of the book. Kat is supposed to be Abigail's best friend, but she comes across more as a source of information. When Abigail needs information to help her investigation, she calls Kat (even though she knows Kat is not supposed to give out the information). This is the second book in the series, but it can be read alone. I give The Murder of a Queen Bee 3 out of 5 stars. It was okay, but not for me. The idea or premise is good for a cozy mystery, but this author just did not make it work.
The Murder of a Queen Bee is a cute story, but it was lacking in the mystery department. Meera Lester has a conversational writing style that makes for an easy to read novel (though she can get a little too descriptive at times). Unfortunately, there was too much focus on Clay Calhoun. Besides his good looks, I do not know what Abigail saw in him (he lacks substance). Personally, I would not even have let him in my house (and he was not needed in the book). We get quite a bit of information on herbs in the book (actually too much information). It was interesting, but I wanted more substance in the story. I found the killer to be very obvious (no clues needed). I kept hoping there would be a twist or something unexpected, but I was disappointed. It was more about finding the evidence needed to convict the killer (especially during the second half of the book). One annoying thing is the tips at the beginning of each chapter. Most of them are not helpful or interesting. To me they just interrupted my reading pleasure. There are also recipes at the end of each chapter. I would prefer they were at the end of the book. Kat is supposed to be Abigail's best friend, but she comes across more as a source of information. When Abigail needs information to help her investigation, she calls Kat (even though she knows Kat is not supposed to give out the information). This is the second book in the series, but it can be read alone. I give The Murder of a Queen Bee 3 out of 5 stars. It was okay, but not for me. The idea or premise is good for a cozy mystery, but this author just did not make it work.
