BookLife Review: Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult

Beekeeping, mysterious teen death, high school, domestic abuse and identity

@jodipicoult was a pretty sure bet for a captivating page-turner read for a six-hour cross-country flight. She hooked me into this multi-point-of-view criminal procedural, one of her bread and butter formats, with its setting in small town #newhampshire, the locus of my childhood. The early reveal of the death of a teenage girl sunk the hook deep. #MadHoney is the story of a woman who is a #beekeeper, a #domesticabusesurvivor and a #singlemother and whose son is accused of murdering his girlfriend. The story has double twists I will not spoil for readers, but one occurs deep into the story and complicates the trial and the second is an #eleventhhour reveal. Both were unexpected and pleasantly so, as literary devices go. The story is also grounded in the daily toils of the life of a beekeeper, a context which provides an interesting farming/environmental/zoological educational backdrop for those who like to anchor their popular literature by learning something new (or in interesting factoids on a somewhat arcane topic). The core characters are well drawn, quirky and largely sympathetic. Picoult writes with a foundational kindness and as always snatches topics from the news to remain current. #bookpeeps #beekeeping #beekeepinglife #newhampshire #farming #forestry #parkservice #whitemountains #hockey #fencibg #cellists #domesticabuse