Review of Mind Your Own Beeswax by Hannah Reed

One of my favorite things is "light" mysteries...no blood and gore, just a cute storyline, and if there are recipes at the end of the book, I rejoice. I love Annette Blair's Vintage Magic Mysteries, which combine a cute paranormal heroine (who can "read" vintage clothing) with a fun New England setting. I'm a big fan of the Goldy Culinary Mysteries, which follow a caterer in Colorado, and are chock full of delicious recipes at the end of the book. 

So, I was pretty stoked to discover a new-to-me mystery series called "A Queen Bee Mystery" by Hannah Reed. It has a spunky and determined heroine who is becoming a beekeeper, an adorable small town setting, and some quirky characteristics that I really loved. 

• One: There are bullets in here! (No, not those kind of bullets! These kind of bullets...The big black dots at the beginning of the sentence.) I am a compulsive list-maker. I have daily to-do lists, goals for life to-do lists, writing to-do lists, and camps-for-my-kids to-do lists. I am a big supporter of lists! In every mystery series, there are sections of the book where the characters sort of hash out the clues, and reorganize their thoughts. You could do this using dialogue. Internal deep POV. Whatever. Hannah Reed just skips all that rigmarole and uses bullets. Love it! I think this is hilarious! She also uses bullets to give us information about beekeeping, facts about morel mushrooms, and pros and cons of Story getting more involved with her boyfriend, for a few examples.

• I love small town settings and quirky characters. Story has a cute honey shop, filled with gossipy neighbors, young and old. Her boyfriend is a sexy cop. The villain is an old nemesis from high school. This is the perfect setting for a mystery!

• I am way into learning stuff when I read. (I mean, when I read non-educational books that aren't about turfgrass or something like that.) Since I am an avid gardener, I found the whole beekeeping theme fascinating. One of the plot points is about Story's bees "escaping" their hives to look for larger accommodations. She has to follow the colony and coax them back to her house. It's very cool!

• As is typical for this type of mystery, there are "romantic elements" but no real romance. Big bummer! Story's boyfriend is a sexy cop, and I wish there had been more romance in the story. But this wasn't a romance, so I can't complain. (Much).

All in all, this was a fun, light read. The mystery was nice and compact. The setting was sweet, the quirky characters were plentiful, the boyfriend was hot, the story was informative, and there is even a foot fetish thrown in for good measure. (hee hee....seriously!). There's also a recipe for Honey Trail Mix Cookies at the end of the book, and they look yummy. I will definitely be reading more of these cute mysteries by Hannah Reed.

Grade: B+

Jonesing for a honey bun!

Penelope