Bee's Kiss (Joe Sandilands 5) [Paperback]

Barbara Cleverly (Author)

Book Description

Series: Joe Sandilands 5 | Publication Date: June 29, 2006

1926, and Joe Sandilands is back from India, enjoying the frantic pleasures of Jazz Age London. Yet, there is a darkness behind all that postwar gaiety. A woman has been discovered bludgeoned to death in her suite at the Ritz. A broken window and missing emerald necklace suggest that it is a burglary gone wrong. But the corpse is that of a much-respected member of the British establishment, Dame Beatrice Joliffe, one of the founders of the Wrens, and so Scotland Yard send Joe to conduct a swift enquiry. Her companion, an ex-chorus girl, falls from Waterloo Bridge at twilight. Two of the Dame's clique of eager young Wrens commit suicide. All these deaths make Joe suspect that Beatrice has been killed by someone close to her but suddenly he finds that the case is closed and he is asked by his superiors to surrender his files. Against the background of the looming General Strike, and pressure from unseen governmental presences he struggles on, picking his way through the political panic and rebelling against authority, through to a shattering solution to the killings.

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"

About the Author

Barbara Cleverly was born in the north of England and is a graduate of Durham University. She now lives in the middle of Cambridge.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Constable (June 29, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1845292383
• ISBN-13: 978-1845292386
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,867,281 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)    (TOP 1000 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

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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.