THE LAST BEEKEEPER - Julie Carrick Dalton

Sasha Severn was there the moment the world changed for the worse. It was her father, the last beekeeper, who was taken away, put on trial, and locked up for 23 years for his work with bees. And to make matters worse, after he hid his research he made his young daughter (11 at the time) lie at the trial. 

It's more than a decade later, the bees have all disappeared and that means there's a food shortage without their number one pollinator. Life has changed greatly and Sasha has decided to return to her family home (having lived with her uncle since her father was sent to prison).  She discovers a group of squatters have taken up residence and, fearing they would run her off if they knew she was the daughter of the last beekeeper, she keeps her identity a secret but asks if she can join them, promising to earn her keep by working.

Hesitant (no one trusts anyone these days), they slowly begin to accept her and they become friends over time. For Sasha, one of her reasons for returning was to locate her father's missing journals - what was so important in those journals that she had to lie under oath? But while at the family home, Sasha is sure she has seen a bee on multiple occasions. She might be one of the few people who actually knows what a bee looks like anymore.

But others who've claimed to have seen a bee have mysteriously disappeared. Does the government, which now carefully controls the growth and distribution of food have a sinister interest in making sure the bees don't make a comeback?

This book is SO good. There is so much going on, all of it subtle and well integrated so we never feel like we've missed out on any detail.

This is a book about people, specifically Sasha, but about her father, her uncle, her friends and acquaintances as well, and everyone is unique and clearly defined. And unlike so many dystopian futures, these people aren't wallowing in self-pity or living as sword and arrow-wielding savages. They are living as normally as possible, concerned with their day-to-day lives but also how to make the future better and brighter.

The science behind this dystopia is also really great. This isn't war.  This isn't nuclear atrocity. But there's still a bit of governmental/political conspiracy in the mix. The decline of the bee population has been in the news for a few years now and it's great to see a skilled writer taking a hard look at the possible outcomes of the issue.

There's romance here, but it's ... not exactly subtle but it's not the foremost issue for anyone.  Again, this is a book about people and part of such a narrative is their different relationships.

It would be difficult to point out a 'best part' of this book, but I really appreciated the misdirection with some of the characters. We get sucked in to the beautiful prose and we come to believe that our narrative point of view is not only trustworthy but omniscient, though we have no real reason to think this way, so when some of the characters act in a way we don't expect, it is a surprise, but upon reflection, we realize that it's we readers who became too trustworthy.

Science fiction, thriller, mystery, romance ... this book has it all, expertly told.  I hope to see this in the hands of everyone on the beach this summer.

Looking for a good book? This is it ... The Last Beekeeper by Julie Carrick Dalton.  Do yourself a favor and give it a read.  It doesn't matter what type of fiction you normally read, this will likely satisfy your palate.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

5 stars

* * * * * *

The Last Beekeeper

author: Julie Carrick Dalton

publisher: Forge Books

ISBN: 9781250269218

hardcover, 384 pages