Book 40, 2026

[chez_jae]

The Buzz Kill by Katherine Hayton

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


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Finished an ebook last night. The Buzz Kill by Katherine Hayton. It’s the first in the author’s “Honeybee” series of cozy mysteries, featuring apiarist Alice Townsend.

Being neurodivergent, Alice prefers the company of bees to people. When she moves several hives to the red zone in Christchurch, however, local media want to interview her. Alice makes it through the interview, but the following day a man is found dead in the red zone, covered in bee stings. Desperate to exonerate her beloved bees, Alice screws up her courage and does some investigating. Suspects range from the man’s wife to his girlfriend, to a neighbor with a property dispute. It’s up to Alice to find who had the means and the motive.

An interesting story. I believe the author handled Alice’s Asperger’s well, even mentioning some of the small stims Alice engaged in to ground herself. She came across at times as rather abrupt, but that was normal for her. It was encouraging to see Alice push out of her comfort zone to protect her bees.

Favorite lines: Let tomorrow wait until tomorrow.

Lovely story, four stars