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Wow! If you ever want to study voice, read this book. QUEEN BEE is set in the Low-country of South Carolina, and you can hear the lovely region in the voice. But voice isn’t all this book offers. There’s also great tension and characterization. I had to know what would happen next every minute and how things would pan out for Holly, the quirky but true-to-the-bone main character.
You can feel the tension Holly feels from her domineering mother. You can taste the sweet tea of their small town in South Carolina, and feel the southern breeze on your skin. You’ll hear the laughter and voices of the children next door who’ve stolen Holly’s heart, and if you have a sibling, you’ll relate to the dynamics between Holly and her sister.
You’ll forget that Holly’s home isn’t your home; her life isn’t your life. Every day will seem like every other day as you eavesdrop on Holly talking to the buzzing bees like best friends. This book is real even in its silliest or strangers moments. When something outlandish happens, you won’t doubt it for a minute. In this place that feels familiar, people are real enough to be your friends. That said, is it possible one of them is a murderer? Oh, yes!
Read this book during your most stable moments. The
story will have you wondering who you might’ve upset lately, and what they
might do. I’ll definitely be reading QUEEN BEE again. It’s the first time I’ve ever read this author,
but you can bet I’ll be reading more of her work.The world will definitely miss her. She passed in 2019, but to my knowledge, she left us 21 books to read.
Happy reading!
Voice, tension, and characterization are 3 elements I always look for in a good author. I'm not familiar with her work either so thank you for the recommendation. I will definitely try one of her books. Looks like she has a lot of them, yay!
ReplyDeleteI'm going to read more of them as well. She's a master at voice, and that alone pulls me in.
DeleteSusan on my review loves her books and now that Dorothea has passed as started reading her daughter's books. Every time I see a review on one of her books I think I have to read it but then my towering reading pile gets in the way. Maybe this summer I will get to it as I'm intentionally trying to keep my review pile small so I can read for fun this summer.
ReplyDeleteI don't blame you. You certainly do a lot of reviews. Summer is a great time to catch up just on reading for enjoyment. :-) Good luck.
DeleteI love me some good southern voice, and I haven't read a good murder mystery in a while. Added to my TBR list. We will no ask now long the TBR list is.
ReplyDeleteTBR listsI like the overflowing laundry basket; you never see the end. :-)
DeleteHi Debi - another one I'd love to read ... I checked the library - but not there ... so I'll have to wait for now - bearing in mind the mass of books here to read - that's probably a good thing - cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteSounds like a good book. I'll give this one a try.
ReplyDeleteRonel visiting for Q: My Languishing TBR: Q
Quake Before the Sluagh