Buzz Off (Queen Bee Mystery #1) by Hannah Reed

 

Buzz Off by Hannah Reed is a cozy mystery that takes place in a small town in Wisconsin between the big cities of Madison and Milwaukee. Not so coincidentally, that is also where I live! In this book, we are introduced to Story Fischer whose mentor in beekeeping has been found murdered. Soon her ex-husband's new girlfriend is also murdered and her ex-husband is the main suspect. 

In typical cozy mystery style, a lot of the charm in this book is the small town setting. We're introduced to a slew of eccentric characters, adorable businesses, and local specificities that obviously appealed to me as a person trapped living in Wisconsin. There's not much else to say about this book. There are some problematic plot points - I don't think people in rural Wisconsin in 2010 would think honeybees are killers and I really thought the behavior of the police was...stereotypical and needed to be developed more to really be an asset to the novel - and the main character is pretty superficial. It was an acceptable read, but didn't encourage me to read further in the series.

Things I Highlighted:

I waited for my sister to grow a spine. (page 143)

The number of times I thought this exact thought as I grew up...

"It's never too late to tell the truth," he finally said.
I wasn't sure I agreed, at least in certain cases. (page 151)

This is an example of when I thought the author could have done more to develop the character. Besides this exact situation, when would Story think that honesty isn't the best policy. I don't disagree, but I wanted something beyond this as an explanation, even if it were done in her head rather than in dialogue.

Sheepshead is Wisconsin's state card game, brought over by all Germans who settled here. If you live in Wisconsin, you know how to play sheepshead. (page 154)

I read this out loud to my husband. Neither of us has heard of this game. I think perhaps Reed meant to write "euchre."

I desperately needed a best friend, one who was available when I needed her, one who didn't judge or criticize or think anything negative about me. (page 352)

Don't we all need that? But what I noticed about this was that Story never talked about what she could give her best friend in return. She's unlikeable and it wasn't until I got to this line that I realized exactly why I didn't care for her.

2.5/5 stars