Buzz Off: A Queen Bee Mystery
By Hannah Reed
Paperback, 320 pages, $7.99
www.queenbeemystery.com

I’d be as panicked as the residents of Moraine, Wis. if I thought a veteran beekeeper had been stung to death by the bees he lovingly tended to in his backyard apiary along the Oconomowac River.

“It’s a place where red-winged blackbirds perched on top of cattails and wetland grasses, calling to each other. When they flew off almost simultaneously, it should have been an indication of things to come. But we missed the warning.”

“Buzz Off” is a great story filled with interesting characters like Story Fischer, whose beekeeping mentor, Manny Chapman, is killed and his bees are blamed. Who knew the honey business would be buzzing with not one, but two, murders?

Just the thought of being killed by a swarm of bees makes me shudder. I have a healthy respect for even a single sweat bee because I’m allergic to them. But that didn’t stop me from enjoying the fruits of this series debut by Hannah Reed.

For readers who enjoy small-town cozy mysteries, this one’s crafted with all the elements that will make you wish the next installment was already on the bookshelves.

Story owns The Wild Clover, the only grocery store in a town with a population reaching toward 800 people. The store’s a former church that’s been converted into the local haven for staples and locally produced products —including honey, wine and cheese, of course.

“My hometown of Moraine is in southeastern Wisconsin, tucked between two ridges that were formed during the Ice Age when two enormous glaciers collided,” Story, an avid kayaker, says.

She’s got a philandering ex-husband, Clay Lane, who brought his new girlfriend to their divorce hearing. She lives in a newly painted sunshine yellow home with a wraparound front porch sandwiched between her ex-husband and the town gossip.

And Story loves her bees, which she must hide when the townspeople fear there are the killer variety living in the community.

"I was counting on an autopsy to clear the bees' good name," she says, while trying to find the killer and redirect the police off the trail of both her ex-husband and her beloved bees.

This is a honey of a book filled with lots of interesting bee information as well as some yummy recipes.

Even if just seeing a bee gives me the willies, I enjoyed this book, especially while eating some freshly basked biscuits topped with honey. It’s a sweet pick-me-up that will shoo away the doldrums of winter.

Lisa Allmendinger is a reporter for Annarbor.com. She can be reached at lisaallmendinger@annarbor.com.