The Bee's Kiss [Audiobook] [Audio Cassette]

Barbara Cleverly (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 30, 2006

London. 1926. One war is over, another is beginning, and murder is sealed with a kiss....

At midnight she was ravishing: a tall redhead wearing emeralds and a low-cut dress. An hour later, in her room at the Ritz, she was dead, the jewels torn from her bludgeoned body. Thus begins Barbara Cleverly’s ingenious novel, another masterpiece of suspense from the CWA Golden Dagger Award—winning author.

With the help of a former comrade-at-arms and a society girl turned constable, Scotland Yard Inspector Joe Sandilands enters into the private world of Dame Beatrice Jagow-Joliffe–a hive of state secrets and sexual extravagance.

But as The Dame’s affairs are exposed, the case takes a sudden, strange turn. Because what Sandilands is about to discover are deceptions that go far beyond salacious scandal to betrayals that strike at the heart of a nation . . . and the ruthless heart of a killer.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"* 'A well plotted first novel... the atmosphere of the dying days of the Raj is colourfully captured' Susanna Yager, Sunday Telegraph * 'A great blood and guts blockbuster.' Guardian * 'It evokes, and in some ways surpasses, the work of Agatha Christie.' Publishers Weekly" --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Barbara Cleverly is the author of five novels of historical suspense, including The Damascened Blade, winner of the CWA Historical Dagger Award, The Last Kashmiri Rose, Ragtime in Simla, The Palace Tiger, and The Bee’s Kiss. She lives in Cambridge, England where she is now at work on the second Laetitia Talbot mystery, which Delta will publish in 2008. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Soundings Ltd; Unabridged edition (March 30, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1845593502
• ISBN-13: 978-1845593506
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 7 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,989,479 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Barbara Cleverly is a former teacher and a graduate of Durham University who now lives in Cambridge. Her debut, The Last Kashmiri Rose, was a New York Times Notable Book of 2002.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars superb historical police procedural, March 4, 2007

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Bee's Kiss (Joe Sandilands Mysteries) (Paperback)

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

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Different Venue, Same Quality, May 6, 2007

By 

J. Brattain "jb" (Cedar City, UT) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Bee's Kiss (Joe Sandilands Mysteries) (Paperback)

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.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars well written, but slow, April 5, 2008

By 

zenhen (deep in the bayou) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Bee's Kiss (Joe Sandilands Mysteries) (Paperback)

This book was recommended by a member of our book club. It was the March selection. I had a hard time finishing it. It moved slowly and took too long to peak my interest.

I love Masterpiece Theater when there are English dramas and mysteries. I think this would make a good one. But about 3/4's of it would have to be cut out.

Ms. Cleverly is a very good writer, but many of the British idioms were unfamiliar to me. This made it a little hard to read.

But you may want to give it a try. Some members of the our book club liked it.