I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
Albert Honig has learned of the ways of bees all of his life. His grandfather was a beekeeper, and his father, and the responsibility was passed onto him. Now elderly, Albert is shocked when he finds the dead bodies of his next-door neighbors, Claire and Hilda Straussman, also known as the Bee Ladies, for the honey and beeswax candles they sell. A police investigation ensues, in which Albert recalls as much about the sisters and his friendship with Claire as he can. Readers experience Albert's memories and get to know Claire through them. But can Albert recall enough to discover who would murder the Bee Ladies? And will he finally be able to put bygones to rest?
Although this isn't the genre I normally read, I wanted to get it a try, since I got the book for free through Goodreads First Reads. I'm glad I did, too. Although it wasn't enthralling and didn't pull me instantly in, it had a slow, steady pace, and I found myself enjoying the characters more as I got to know them better because of this style. Albert is not what I expected him to be. I thought he'd be a lively, eccentric old fellow. He instead turned out to be a tired, pained, motor-mouth elderly gentleman. And then there's Claire, quite possibly an even more important character than Albert. I had assumed the reader would have the chance to see her through Albert's eyes before her ultimate demise. However, this wasn't the case. Claire had already passed on when the reader sees her in present time. I found that this didn't evoke as many saddened emotions in me as if Id seen the memories of her before Albert finds her body. Instead, the reminiscing comes after, when Claire is already dead. I suppose Albert needed a good reason to think so much of her, since they didn't keep in contact after a large fight several years earlier. However, I think more sadness would have come to the surface if there was even just one memory of Claire before Albert finds her - perhaps that memory could have led to Albert checking up on her and finding her corpse. But that, ultimately, is up to Peggy Hesketh.
I found the timeline of the story to, at some times, be a bit confusing. The reader is introduced to Albert in the present day, as an aged man. The memories begin when he finds the Straussman sisters dead. That alone wouldn't have bothered me. It was the fact that Albert's mind kept jumping between the present and memories, and the memories weren't in order. He was a young boy, then a teen, then a boy again, a man, a boy, a man... I got a bit perplexed. I couldn't always figure out what order the memories came in, and what had happened previously, and how that would affect what was happening in this memory. For a book whose main focus was memories, they were very well done. They were probably the least confusing they could be, since the beginning of the memories occasionally mentioned what had happened before. However, I think it would have been even easier to keep up with if the memories had been in chronological order.
I didn't realize, when I got this book, how much information about bees there was going to be. I suppose I could have assumed, from the fact that Albert is an octogenarian, that I would learn something. However, I figured it would be just like any other book I read where the main character has an unusual or rare job: the details are skimmed over. That wasn't the case in this novel, though. I actually learned quite a bit about bees; some myths and beliefs, but plenty fact. There was a lot of common sense about bees that apparently most other people in the world know; however, I've never looked into bees, so never learned it. So to top off the basics, I also learned more intricate and unknown details. This may sound boring to some readers, but I found it quite interesting. With Albert's passion for bees, it not only interested me in the insects, but also added another layer of complexity to Albert's character. This novel almost makes me want to pick up beekeeping as a hobby, or perhaps when, many years from now, I retire.
Overall, I found Telling the Bees to be a surprisingly good novel. It had unexpected elements that wrapped the whole story together. Hesketh brought not only Albert's present to life, but also his past. I would rate this book three stars. As I mentioned before, not my usual genre. But it was a very good story for this genre. I would recommend this story to a reader of any age looking for some mystery, murder, and memories.
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