Title: The Solitary Bee
Author: Hannah Holborn
Genre: Mystery, Suspens, Literary Fiction
Rating: 4 stars
Purchase: Amazon
Review copy provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
A family mystery built of lies, betrayal, revenge and murder. An angry young woman coming of age.
Nineteen-year-old Epke Van Toorne’s childhood on her family’s idyllic organic apple orchard was darkened by tragedy that left her alone with a bitter grandmother. When illness forces the sale of the farm, Epke is swept into the alien landscape of the city. Her quest for answers about her family’s past leads to stunning revelations. It also brings Epke the younger brother her grandmother always denied existed.
The boy and his friends expose Epke to two sides of environmental activism. She’s torn between a peaceful guerrilla gardening movement and a militant Earth Liberation Front cell group. As the cell members become increasingly volatile, Epke instigates an action toward the orchards’ new owners who are Frankenfruit researchers. Will she risk everything for one night of retribution—including the lives of her fellow activists? Or will she choose a future with the visionary man she loves?
The Solitary Bee is an intriguing novel about family secrets, an angry young woman looking for answers, revenge and murder. Epke Van Toorne is nineteen years old, and has already gone through more than her share of heartache in her short life. At the start of the book, she lives with her bitter grandmother on the family farm, but soon, illness forces the sale of the farm, and Epke moves to the city, where she searches for answers about her family’s past, and a reunion with a brother her grandmother always denied existed.
It also brings Epke into the world of environmental activism, where she has to choose between a peaceful and militant group, between one night of revenge and a future with a man she’s grown to love.
The author did a phenomenal job creating characters that were likeable yet flawed at the same time, in particular Epke. I really liked her, how the past shaped her and defined her, how she made mistakes, and just generally how she grew as a person throughout the book.
A large part of the book focuses on nature and environmental activism, and I learned a great deal. It’s obvious the author did her research.
Overall, I really enjoyed the story, and the writing was excellent. Another great read by Hannah Holborn, and I already look forward to the next book by this author.
Thank you, Majanka, for your lovely, thoughtful review of the The Solitary Bee!