Death By A HoneyBee: A Josiah Reynolds Mystery 1 Paperback – 18 Sept. 2020

An easy going read, with some good twists, the characters are well written and have good depth. An enjoyable read, looking forward to more to see how some of the underlying stories unfold. X

Portly beekeeper and designer Josiah is shocked to discover a fellow beekeeper dead apparently because he started nosing around in one of her hives. The fact that it is commonly known that there is no love lost between them does not help. The story raced along with fascinating snippets of bee lore dropped in here and there. Reminiscent of Robert B. Parker in the sparse narrative, though Josiah is more given to introspection and obviously has quite a "history" which we begin to hear a little of in this first book. An enjoyable and easy read. With a shocking end sequence, Josiah is supported in her quest for the truth by the young handsome and gay Matt and his boyfriend but there is a mystery about Josiah's daughter who is clearly a woman of some influence. The book is set in Kentucky and explores/ touches on the history of the state and the issues that arise in a close community.Incidentally I acquired this book as a kindle freebie but happily buy the next in the series.

I was really enjoying this... up until a rather abrupt ending which for me spoilt it. It was a lovely relaxing read. I loved the character, the plot and the lightheartedness and had it not been for the ending would have received an extra star.

Every so often you pick up a murder mystery and strike gold. In this case, the gold is honey and whilst the murder mystery is fairly easily solved, the story is beautifully worked and cleverly told. The author pays homage to the tried and tested Agatha Christie format, seamlessly transposing the English country village with Kentucky, faded gentry and all, dropping in some light-hearted scenes borrowed from the format, I'm guessing, just for the fun of it. Josiah's character is fascinating and multi-layered, although personally, I disliked the name and found it unnecessarily distracting, as I did the nasty detective's name, O'nan, which I can't believe is real. Names aside, I thought all the characters were exceptionally well-drawn and together with the detailed knowledge of bees and bee-keeping, local history and police and legal processes, this book comes together beautifully. Josiah is a complex character, an art lover, conservationist, a professor and more importantly, has a back story that brings her completely alive. She has a healthy, live and let live attitude that I liked enormously but cross her at your peril. There is a mystery surrounding her daughter and that alone keeps you wanting to know much more about who she is too. I absolutely loved this book, the setting, characters everything and I'm delighted to see that there is a whole series. Excellent writing

Being a 'free for Kindle' addict, I pick up a fair few duds along the way - but this isn't one of them. I really enjoyed this story, which is set in Bluegrass, Kentucky country - learning about a completely different way of life is always a plus to any mystery, and the details of the local community - farmers' market stallholders, race horse owners and breeders, old money and new - were fascinating. The story is told by Josiah - a 50 year old woman living in the middle of nowhere with her various animals - rescued racehorses, sheep, - and her bees. But Josiah is not a typical cosy country spinster - her house is stuffed full of valuable works of art, her ex-husband died after running off with another woman, and Josiah is now on her financial uppers, selling her prize-winning honey at the market to make ends meet.A rival beekeeper, with whom Josiah has had a very public row, is found dead face down in one of her hives. The police officer assigned to deal with the case harbours a grudge against Josiah from her previous life as an art history academic, and all the signs point to Josiah as the obvious murderer. With the help of her friend and assistant Matt, his lover Franklin, and an assortment of other colourful characters, including a lawyer who accepts a work of art as a down payment, Josiah must find out who really killed the dead man.One of the many things I enjoyed about this book was the way that Keam interwove several strands of mystery - she holds back information skilfully so that we remain curious not only about the murder - if it was a murder - but also about Josiah - why is she so poor? what has happened in her past? - and Josiah's daughter, who has her own reasons for not being involved in the situation - reasons which are only partially revealed even at the end of the book.I think this book shows great promise, and I might even buy the two sequels with real money!

Josiah is not a typical twenty-something heroine, who falls in love whilst solving a murder. This is a much more complex story, with an interesting, a-typical location and environment, and with people who's emotions and motivations go deeper than the selfish stereotypical reasons of murder for sex, money or revenge. It's a very enjoyable example of its genre, and made me want to read more of the series ... and I'll happily pay to do so.

I am a published author myself, so I already am critical, but this book was very well written. Josiah is one of the most realistic heroines I've read in a long long time. Witty, and not afraid to poke fun at herself, she finds herself thrust into a very confusing situation. The characterization is strong, like it was reinforced with steel. The dialogue is not flowery, not laden with too much ceremony or sprinkled with SAT words. However, it strikes me as very well rounded. We get to sit inside Josiah's head and enjoy the ride.Well, her life is actually very complicated. I was just awestruck as the subplots unfolded. I enjoyed how mysterious her daughter was. Her best friend Matt is simply a delight, and makes me wish he was real. So supportive and handsome. And the tidbits about beekeeping. Just amazing. I LOVE LOVED all the references, as I am a big movie buff myself. I may be young, but I know the classics!I was just breathtaking by the sensory details and the sufferings of the characters. The setting was beautifully described and makes me ache to see it in person. It certainly made me feel much better about bees than a certain other book set in the south. (Indignant cough)Josiah has a warm, relatable voice. She's honest, to a tolerable degree. She also is smart as a whip and has more common sense than most people I know. The setting was great, also, and it had a diverse cast of characters that I have no problem imagining in my mind's eye. This book is great for a gift for a bibliophile such as myself. I would highly recommend it to my friends and I hope the sequel is just as good!I revcieved this product for free, but I definitely wasn't dissapointed.

Well written book with an interesting plot and an interesting background of beekeeping. Easy to read and does not get bogged down with descriptive narrative - just a nice flow of text. Interesting characters well defined. All in all,a good read.

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Loved the book, loved the feisty Josiah, even if I sometimes felt a discrepancy between her feistiness at times and her getting shaken up at other times.Still a fun murder mystery.

I couldn't quite take to Josiah. At the beginning it felt she was over 65, then it turned out she was 50! I still continued to feel that she was over 65. This would probably have made a good TV movie series. I really can't say that I enjoyed this book.