Kiss of the Bees

Rating:
Summary: Couldn't Put It Down
Review: 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" befor 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") and see if you don't agree that it would be great to get all of these wonderful people together for an adventure.

Rating:
Summary: Jance's Kiss of the Bees is a fully faceted Mystery!
Review: 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!

Rating:
Summary: Mean Characters, Little Empathy
Review: Jance is a strong storyteller, but I didn't enjoy this novel because too many of the characters are mean-spirited. I didn't like spending time with them and didn't want to read about them. Yes, they had reasons to obsess over revenge, but since I never felt they were justified, I didn't feel sorry for them. Jance builds suspense, however, and vividly depicts the Tucson setting.

This stand alone is a departure for Jance, but I'm not convinced she's stretching herself in believable ways. For example, she has a jailed inmate talking about "rewriting a scenario." Maybe this has happened, but it doesn't ring true. She's also quite didactic here. She wants to teach her readers about Native Americans, but this book about violent revenge is the wrong venue to do so.