Just finished reading...

Buzz Off by Hannah Reed.*

Story Fischer is in the middle of celebrating her divorce when Hunter Wallace, a loal law-enforcement officer (and Story's high-school sweetheart) arrives and asks her to come with him. He takes her to the Chapman's, home of Manny and his wife Grace. Manny, a beekeeper (and Story's mentor in the craft) is dead, and it appears that the cause is bee stings. The investigators need Story because she's the only person who lives close enough to get Manny away from the beeyard safely.

Story knows enough about bees to understand that if Manny had been stung to death, it wasn't by bees. She's quick to notice and point out the unusual abundance of wasps in the beeyard that day.

But Police Chief Johnny Jay (Story's high school nemesis) is convinced the bees are the murder weapon, and that Story, the only other beekeeper in town, orchestrated his death. In fact, Jay is so certain that Story is the culprit, he sets out to make is case against her, despite the lack of physical evidence.

Meanwhile, believing that Manny was, indeed, killed by his own bees, the townspeople become alarmed and try to coerce Story into destroying not only her mentor's hives but her own as well.

It's obvious that Hannah Reed is not a newcomer to the mystery scene. She's also known as Deb Baker, author of the Gertie Johnson Backwoods Adventure series and the Dolls to Die for series, and her skill is obvious in her crafting of the plot and depiction of the characters.

*Many thanks to the publisher for the review copy.