Kiss of the Bees

I usually can't wait for a new Jance book, whether it be J. P. Beaumont, or JoAnna Brady. I have read them all, but this is by far her best. Jance introduced us to the American Southwest through JoAnna Brady, and has perfected the telling with the Walker Family. Jance has intermingled Native American Folklore, modern day trials and tribulations, pure evil, and just the right hint of spirituality to keep you on the edge of your seat. Andrew Carlisle could not have been more evil, or Diana Ladd Walker a better foil. Although you half expect to see JoAnna Brady show up at some time in the story, and would not have minded it at all, the Walkers grab your attention from the beginning. The end of Kiss of Bees leaves the perfect opening for a follow up book about the Walkers, and I for one can't wait. Just think of it, we now have Jance's Walker and Brady, and Hillerman's Chee and Leaphorn.

Another absolutely delightful book about Diana Ladd Walker and her family, the evil Andrew Carlisle and his protege, Mitch Johnson, and the Tohono O'othham and their legends. Like Tony Hillerman's books, without being at all preachy, this book and Hour of the Hunter, of which it is a sequel, give us a glimpse of a Native American culture that will be a great loss to all of us if it is not preserved. It would be wonderful if Judith Jance and Tony Hillerman could get together to give us one or more pairs of novels in which Diana Ladd and/or Joanna Brady work with Jim Chee and/or Joe Leaphorn. "Kiss of the Bees" cries out for a sequel (or better, a pair of sequels) in which Lani finds a good, gentle, loving husband, and Davy and Candice adjust to each other and create a successful marriage, meanwhile helping Diana and Brandon Walker, Joanna Brady, Jim Chee, and Joe Leaphorn solve some cases. I was glad I had already read "Hour of the Hunter" before starting this book. I recommend you do the same. Also, read some of Tony Hillerman's novels of Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee, and Judith Jance's Joanna Brady series (start with Desert Heat (Joanna Brady Mysteries, Book 1)) and see if you don't agree that it would be great to get all of these wonderful people together for an adventure. [email protected]

I am a J.A. Jance fan...forever. This is an excellent sequel to Hour of the Hunter...which is actually the first book of hers which I read. Keep up the good work. I still love Joanna Brady and JP Beaumont.... What I'm wondering is when Joanna and JP work together in a novel?

J. A. Jance is a superb story teller, and "Kiss of the Bees" is Jance at her best. In it, a convict, Mitch Johnson, under the tutelage of his cellmate and mentor, Andrew Carlisle, is released from prison and carries out a sadistic plot of revenge against a former county sheriff and his family. Jance has done extensive research into Native American folklore, bringing a mythological context to this battle between good and evil. This is a skillfully-plotted thriller that will please the most demanding of armchair adventure seekers.

As the very effective sequel to Hour of the Hunter, Judith A. Jance has composed another work of genious with Kiss Of The Bees!(KOTB) Those of you who are fans of the regrettably, often-overlooked Hour Of The Hunter(HOTH)will again be rapt with fear and wonderas you read through the pages of this beautifully crafted blend of Native American legend and tradition; South Western culture, and murder. Do not, however, be lulled by the Native American story that begins each chapter, because what follows may be the most chilling description of assault and murder you will ever read!Jance has a long list of comfortable charaters that recur in her Beaumont and Brady books. "Bone", the wonderful large wolfhound-like mutt/hero that appeared in HOTH and is reprised briefly as a memory in KOTB is such a character. But many characters in KOTB are in one way or the other rising above grave traumas that have occurred in their lives. This is a book in which Jance does not let the reader or the characteras get too comfortable. Dianna Ladd Walker continues to recover from her terrifying experience with Andrew Carlisle.(HOTH) Brandon Walker is cutting and stacking wood to help him deal with the betrayal of his son, Quentin, the disappearance and presumed death of another son, and defeat in his incumbent election for sheriff. Rita Antone/Nana DAHD is orphaned as child; her only son has died, and is living outside of the Native American culture. Lanita Walker lost her natural family and almost died as the result of being badly stung by "Little People"(ants, wasps,and bees)as a toddler.Andrew Carlisle and Mitch Johnson may be the least comfortable characters that Jance has penned to date. We don't want to kow that people like this really exist. Disturbingly, these characters are difficult to unload once they have made their way into the reader's mind. Would their demises be really be enough to put the away for good?Loyal Jance readers know that they can depend on her to tie up all of the loose ends before the last sentence is written. Thae fact that many of these characters have survived lives filled with tragic events is a tribute to their strength and complexity. I highly recommend Kiss Of The Bees to mystery readers everywhere, but with fair warning. This book is not a Brady or a Beaumont. It is a Walker. Get this one "hot off the press" and plan to set some time aside for immediate reading! You will not want to put this one down! If you have not read Hour Of The Hunter, you have missed a gem!