Blood Honey: A Novel by Poppy Koval

 

 

In Brooklyn, New York, Beasley Cherries is facing challenging times. Teddy Beasley has tried his best to revitalize the maraschino cherry business by investing in organic operations and new lines. However, his business decisions haven't been entirely successful, and he gets caught up in some illegal dealings putting Made in Vermont labels on smuggled Chinese honey as a means of trying to pay off company debt. Now there is an increase in bee activity around the factory, and Teddy is positive that the local bees know what he is up to! Meanwhile, across town, Mims Walsh is also facing an uphill battle as she tries to become a successful freelance writer. Her journalism classmates seem to be all passing her by in their careers. It's not so much about fame and fortune at the moment as getting enough writing jobs to put food on the table.

In her search for the next big story, Mims stumbles upon a local beekeeper who appeals for help from the town council. She meets with Charlie to see firsthand the blood honey his bees are producing and then commits to narrowing down the search for what the bees might be eating based on the locations of the other affected hives in the city. As Teddy struggles to get out of the illegal honey smuggling racket, Mims narrows in on Beasley Cherries as a possible epicentre and sets off a collision course.

Right off the bat, I was attracted by the fact that the story revolved around bees, so I was delighted when this book ended up being such a smooth read right from page one! I quickly fell into the story and didn't want to stop reading. It is well balanced between humour and seriousness. Poppy Koval has also done an excellent job in building relatable characters that the reader ends up caring for. I appreciated how each was integral to the storyline and wasn't just taking up space on the page. It's a must-read!

Thanks to Reedsy and the author for the E-ARC of this novel.