The Bee's Kiss

Allow me to explain the title of this book: technically, it's the name of a cocktail that one of the characters drinks during the course of the story, but the more symbolic nature of the "bee's kiss" refers to the fact that a honey bee cannot survive after it stings an opponent - by striking out, it effectively kills itself. Such is the case of one of the several victims in this intriguing, historically-based and ultimately thought-provoking mystery. There have been several books starring Joe Sandilands already, the first being The Last Kashmiri Rose (Joe Sandilands Murder Mystery), but this is the first installment that takes place outside of India; instead transporting Sandilands back home to London and Scotland Yard. Set between the two World Wars, Cleverly conveys the atmosphere and turmoil of the 1920s extremely well, creating a vivid backdrop dotted with fun historical tidbits dotted throughout the narrative. Joe Sandilands is called into the Ritz Hotel in order to investigate the sudden and brutal death of Dame Beatrice Jagow-Joliffe: a vivacious forty-something year old heiress, who played a prominent part in the last World War with her organization of a group of women trained in code-breaking and her involvement in the Wrens (the Woman's Royal Navy Corps). Yet despite her social reputation and the good deeds to her name, it doesn't take long for Sandilands to discover that there are less-than-reputable elements to her life; including a mother and brother that despised her, a younger lover, and a bitter lady's companion. It isn't long before he realizes that the initial conclusions made concerning her death (that it was a burglary gone wrong) are misguided, and he sets out to find the real reasons for her death. Teamed up with a young policewoman named Matilda "Tilly" Westhorpe who is called in to shed light on some of the more feminine aspects of the case, and Bill Armitage, a plain-clothes policeman who was staking out the hotel for a cat burglar on the night of Beatrice's death, the three of them begin to poke into a mystery that involves political turmoil, blackmail, scandal, double-crosses - all that juicy stuff. But when Sandilands is ordered by his superiors to drop the case, he begins to suspect that there was much more to Beatrice's murder than meets the eye... The thing that makes Cleverly's novels stand out from the average detective novel is the ethical dilemmas that make for shades-of-grey characters, ambiguous morals and often a bittersweet conclusion. To say anymore would give several twists away; suffice to say, the end of most of Cleverly's books will leave you wondering: "What would *I* do in that situation?" Strewn throughout are little portraits of life in this particular time and place, giving the sense that Joe Sandilands (as well as all the other characters, no matter how brief their appearance in the story was) have a life outside the crime that needs to be solved. I can't wait to start reading another Clever

I have enjoyed all of Cleverly's Joe Sandilands mysteries. She has a good eye for period detail which makes the books fun and educational. This book takes place in England (versus India) so it has a different flavor. And it was quite good. I enjoyed the peek into the lives of various classes in England during the period between the World Wars. If you liked her other books, you'll like this one as well.

In 1926, Scotland Yard Commander Joe Sandilands has come home to England after working cases in India over the last few years (see THE PALACE TIGER and THE LAST KASHMIRI ROSE). Though the locale changes, the scene does not as Joe is assigned to a homicide investigation. Someone brutally battered renowned Dame Beatrice Joliffe in her hotel suite at the London Ritz. The victim was acclaimed for her efforts in WWI to establish the Women's Royal Naval Service and servings as a Wren. Thus the media is also sniffing around and making noise. Joe, assisted by former Army Sergeant Armitage and Constable Tilly Westhorpe, rejects the scenario that this was a random jewelry theft that turned ugly because the violence speaks otherwise. He wonders if her family or an acquaintance with a grudge committed a homicide but disguised it as a jewelry theft even as his superiors push him to walk gently as national security is whispered. This is a superb historical police procedural that contains an excellent whodunit enhanced by a terrific look at the Roaring Twenties in swinging euphoric post WWI London. Joe's change of milieu provides freshness to this great series as he and his team investigate a case that twists with every clue. Readers can solve the case, but not easily as the author cleverly provides the audience with a one sitting thriller. Harriet Klausner

This was one of the best of the Joe Sandilands series. I counldn't put it down and I look forward enthusiastically to the next in the series. I found it to be a real page turner; full of appropriate color of an interesting time in England. She captured the essence just right. And even though I have read all her other Sandilands books, and knew her style and techniques, I couldn't guess the ending. Great book.

Barbara Cleverly exchanges the lush and colourful India of the British Raj for the frantic and decadent London of the Jazz age in this latest Joe Sandilands mystery novel; and while there is no doubt that she has written another very intriguing and riveting mystery novel, I have to own that like the previous entries in this fascinating series, I'm still having problems with the manner in which she portrays her characters. It's 1926 and London seems to be under the grip of two threats: that of a looming general worker's strike and the exploits of a dashing jewel thief that seems to be preying on rich and beautiful people of the upper classes. And when Dame Beatrice Jagow-Joliffe, one of the founders of the WRENS (the Women's Royal Naval Service), is found savagely bludgeoned to death in her suite at the Ritz, the natural assumption is that it was a jewel robbery gone terribly wrong. But there is something very personal about the savagery at which Dame Beatrice was attacked that leads Commander Joe Sandlilands to suspect that the motive for her murder was very personal indeed, and that it had nothing to do with her missing jewels. Briskly he starts to delve into the lady's life, only to be confronted with the lady's unconventional lifestyle and orders from the powers that be to close the case as quickly and as quietly as possible... "The Bee's Kiss" was a wonderfully swift paced and very absorbing read. ONce I started, I found that I really had to finish it in one go. Barbara Cleverly did a wonderful job, I thought, of sustiaing the suspense and smooth flow of the book. Also well done was the manner in which she depicted the darker and more sinister aspects of London social life during the Jazz Age, as well as all the prejudices that the upper classes and government had towards the workers that were threatening to go on strike if their demands weren't met -- all this gave a wonderful dark and atmospheric feel to "The Bee's Kiss." I also thought that all the plot twists and turns were very well executed as well. The only problem I had with "The Bee's Kiss" was that the characters SOMETIMES came across as caricatures, and as such were not very credible -- esp when, inevitably, one compares it with Charles Todd's Ian Rutledge mystery series. All in all though, this was still a very riveting and intriguing read, and well worth the money spent.