"If I could only read one writer from now until the end of my life, it
would be Dorothea Benton Frank." --Elin Hilderbrand, the New York
Times bestselling author
Immerse yourself in the enchanting world of New York Times
bestselling author Dorothea Benton Frank's Carolina Lowcountry in this
evocative tale that returns at long last to her beloved Sullivans
Island.
Beekeeper Holly McNee Jensen quietly lives in a world of her own on
Sullivans Island, tending her hives and working at the local island
library. Holly calls her mother The Queen Bee because she's a demanding
hulk of a woman. Her mother, a devoted hypochondriac, might be unaware
that she's quite ill but that doesn't stop her from tormenting Holly. To
escape the drama, Holly's sister Leslie married and moved away, wanting
little to do with island life. Holly's escape is to submerge herself in
the lives of the two young boys next door and their widowed father,
Archie.
Her world is upended when the more flamboyant Leslie returns and both
sisters, polar opposites, fixate on what's happening in their neighbor's
home. Is Archie really in love with that awful ice queen of a woman? If
Archie marries her, what will become of his little boys? Restless Leslie
is desperate for validation after her imploded marriage, squandering her
favors on any and all takers. Their mother ups her game in an uproarious
and theatrical downward spiral. Scandalized Holly is talking to her
honey bees a mile a minute, as though they'll give her a solution to all
the chaos. Maybe they will.
Queen Bee is a classic Lowcountry Tale--warm, wise and hilarious, it
roars with humanity and a dropperful of whodunit added for good measure
by an unseen hand. In her twentieth novel, Dorothea Benton Frank brings
us back to her beloved island with an unforgettable story where the
Lowcountry magic of the natural world collides with the beat of the
human heart.
