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Plan Bee
A Queen Bee Mystery, No 3
Hannah Reed

Berkley Prime Crime
Jan 2012/ISBN: 978-0-425-24621-4
Mystery/Cozy
Amazon

Reviewed by Laura Hinds

Story Fischer's hometown of Moraine is geared up for their annual Harmony Festival, but the event becomes strewn with discord instead. First, her intimidating mother, drunk with power as the head of the festival's steering committee is determined to shut down her observation hive at the event. Then there's the matter of the Honey Queen Crown fiasco, throw in a twelve-year-old science wonder with a penchant for explosives, and you'll think things cannot possibly get worse. Oh, but they can, and Story is just the one to be in the thick of things, as she trips over a dead body in the cemetery. Then the corpse disappears, only to turn up again and cause even more problems for poor Story.

The story progresses nicely, with just the right mix of mystery and humor. Story is uniquely zany, yet smart and clever, and the cast of characters surrounding her enhance her personality seamlessly. There's a lot of buzz that goes on in a small town, and as usual, Story is in the forefront with her beehives and her shop, Wild Clover. Moraine is the epitome of a small town where everyone knows everyone else and their business. Yet secrets remain hidden below the surface, and with another dead body in town Story finds her own reputation in question.

Personally, I really enjoy this series. Hannah Reed knows how to make a mystery come alive, and gets her readers hooked in short order. Plan Bee has something for nearly any mystery lovers: a murder, some humor, a touch of romance, and small town intrigue galore. This book has an intelligent cozy feel to it, and I'm sure that there will be continued buzz for the Queen Bee Mystery series for years to come.

Reviews of other titles in this series

Mind Your Own Beeswax #2
Plan Bee #3
Beeline to Trouble #4

Reviewed 2012
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