Beekeeper — by Juliet Moore $0.99 E / $6.99 PB
A debut mystery written by a romance writer? Normally I would pass anything remotely related to ‘romance’ (don’t scowl, I don’t read cookbooks or poetry either). But for some odd reason I was drawn to this book. Maybe I was secretly looking for a little schadenfreude: can you really cross literary boundaries like that?
The answer is No, not usually. Not unless you are an extraordinary writer like Juliet Moore. (You think that’s her real name?) Ms. Moore is one of those rare writers who actually studied writing, at UCLA no less, without turning into an unbearable snob or an effete literary professor. And now she brings her skills to bear on the police procedural/mystery genre—with tremendous results.
Her writing is as smooth as James Patterson. Each sentence leads us from one pivotal moment to the next without a single hitch or distraction. She doesn’t bore us with irrelevant but beautiful details. As a matter of fact, I’m not sure I know what the main character looks like.
Juliet Moore gives us a fascinating education on beekeeping. Some authors would dive into details just to show off. Others (like me) would sketch a plot-point and blow through it with barely enough detail for the reader to know hives may be involved. Ms. Moore provides just the right amount of detail to make us feel like we learned enough to analyze the evidence. Far more information than we get from the aforementioned Patterson. And far less than required to put the reader to sleep. She hits the perfect balance.
I cringed as the inevitable kissy-bits crept into the story. I just knew a romance writer couldn’t get through a whole novel without a sex scene. But I bravely read through it and am happy to report: it was very well done. The apparent virgins who star in James Rollins and Sue Grafton stories could learn a thing or two from Ms. Moore. Again, she struck the right balance.
Her build up to the exciting conclusion, and it was very exciting, was extremely well done. Every thread of story line came together in the end. As the hurricane bore down, our heroine was involved in a questionable shooting, and the killer was revealed. A kidnap victim, an abandoned farmhouse, a psychotic killer, and a storm converged for the perfect climax.
My only complaint: I wanted more*. Readers should be aware that this is a very short book. The mysteries I read lean toward 80-100,000 words. I’m guessing this is half that. The fact that it was short did not lessen my enjoyment in the least. It was fully formed, had all the clues we needed, and the characters and subplots were excellent.
Bottom Line: buy this book, and get on her list for the next one. I will be hounding her for a sequel, join me!
Peace, Seeley
Special NOTE: MY REVIEWS ARE MY REACTIONS TO THE BOOKS I READ and not a response to the voices in my head. I have no relationship, financial or familial, with the authors. I do not expect, but would not refuse, any reciprocal reviews or recommendations. Just sayin.
* No pun intended.
