A Very Enjoyable Read!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                     I am not in the habit of reading Jodi Picoult, darlings.  On a friend's request, I did read her novel, "The Storyteller," and was quite impressed, though she did not become an author I eagerly follow.  I never have heard of Jennifer Finney Boylan, and it is probably a good thing, because in reading "Mad Honey," I was not able to tell which passages were Picoult's or Boylan's.  Which speaks favorably of the novel's seamlessness.  

                                      Years ago, when I was reading more horror--a genre, that, for me, has dried up--I read "The Talisman," by Stephen King and Peter Straub.  At the time, I was so familiar with both authors' works, so I could easily tell which passages were written by whom.  The better ones came from Peter Straub.

                                       "Mad Honey" covers many issues in the course of being a mystery, a police procedural, a legal narrative, and using bees and beekeeping as metaphors for what is going on.

                                           Four people are involved--Olivia Fields and her son, Asher, then Ava Campanello and her daughter, Lily. Other characters, such as a police chief, and two abusive ex-husbands come into play, but the focus is on the aforementioned quartet.  To tell any more would be to rob the reader of experiencing the surprise and thills I did.

                                               This was the perfect entry into the present-day world, after the Victorian environment of "Bleak House."   Jodi Picoult surprised me again.

                                                 "Three is the charm," so it's said.  It would not surprise me if three is a third Picoult book in my reading future.  Though not of my own choosing.

                                                       Have fun, girls!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!