Telling the Bees by Peggy Hesketh

 

Octogenarian Albert Honig's most constant companions have been bees.  Deeply acquainted with the workings of his hives, Albert is less versed in the ways of people, especially his friend Claire, whose presence and absence in his life have never been reconciled.  When Claire is killed during a burglary gone wrong, Albert is haunted by the loss and by the secrets that hovered between them for so long.  Piecing together their shared history, Albert will come to learn both painful truths and the redemptive power of laying the past to rest.

 

The thing I liked best about this book was all the information on bees, beekeeping, and bee lore.  We keep bees, so I already knew a fair amount about them, but it was lovely the way the author could weave all this detail amongst an old fashioned murder mystery.  It is literary fiction with a beautiful narrative, so it is something you need to read slowly so that you might savor all the metaphors.  It is a meditative novel about the intricacies of the human condition that shows us that even the quietest of lives can still hold a full measure of drama and passion.