WW2 crime mystery set in Canterbury, Kent (and London)
Ten Great Global Books with BEES at Their Heart
16th July 2025
Ten great global books with bees at their heart. Bees, vital pollinators, play an indispensable role in ecosystems worldwide. These industrious insects are primarily known for their production of honey and beeswax, but their true value lies in their pollination services. As they flit from flower to flower, collecting nectar and pollen, they transfer pollen grains, enabling plants to reproduce. This process is crucial for the production of fruits, vegetables, and nuts, all of which form a significant part of our diet.
Many novels have been written about bees and beekeepers worldwide. Here are ten of our favourite ones.
Grey Bees by Andrey Kurkov – UKRAINE
Little Starhorodivka, a village of three streets, lies in Ukraine’s Grey Zone, the no-man’s-land between loyalist and separatist forces. Thanks to the lukewarm war of sporadic violence and constant propaganda that has been dragging on for years, only two residents remain: retired safety inspector turned beekeeper Sergey Sergeyich and Pashka, a “frenemy” from his schooldays.
With little food and no electricity, under ever-present threat of bombardment, Sergeyich’s one remaining pleasure is his bees. As spring approaches, he knows he must take them far from the Grey Zone so they can collect their pollen in peace. This simple mission on their behalf introduces him to combatants and civilians on both sides of the battle lines: loyalists, separatists, Russian occupiers and Crimean Tatars. Wherever he goes, Sergeyich’s childlike simplicity and strong moral compass disarm everyone he meets.
But could these qualities be manipulated to serve an unworthy cause, spelling disaster for him, his bees and his country?
Grey Bees is as timely as the author’s Ukraine Diaries were in 2014, but treats the unfolding crisis in a more imaginative way, with a pinch of Kurkov’s signature humour. Who better than Ukraine’s most famous novelist – who writes in Russian – to illuminate and present a balanced portrait of this most bewildering of modern conflicts?
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd – SOUTH CAROLINA
Lily has grown up believing she accidentally killed her mother when she was four. She not only has her own memory of holding the gun, but her father’s account of the event. Now fourteen, she yearns for her mother, and for forgiveness. Living on a peach farm in South Carolina with her father, she has only one friend: Rosaleen, a black servant whose sharp exterior hides a tender heart. South Carolina in the sixties is a place where segregation is still considered a cause worth fighting for. When racial tension explodes one summer afternoon, and Rosaleen is arrested and beaten, Lily is compelled to act. Fugitives from justice and from Lily’s harsh and unyielding father, they follow a trail left by the woman who died ten years before. Finding sanctuary in the home of three beekeeping sisters, Lily starts a journey as much about her understanding of the world, as about the mystery surrounding her mother.
The Murmur of Bees by Sofía Segovia – MEXICO
From the day that old Nana Reja found a baby abandoned under a bridge, the life of a small Mexican town forever changed. Disfigured and covered in a blanket of bees, little Simonopio is for some locals the stuff of superstition, a child kissed by the devil. But he is welcomed by landowners Francisco and Beatriz Morales, who adopt him and care for him as if he were their own. As he grows up, Simonopio becomes a cause for wonder to the Morales family, because when the uncannily gifted child closes his eyes, he can see what no one else can—visions of all that’s yet to come, both beautiful and dangerous. Followed by his protective swarm of bees and living to deliver his adoptive family from threats—both human and those of nature—Simonopio’s purpose in Linares will, in time, be divined.
Set against the backdrop of the Mexican Revolution and the devastating influenza of 1918, The Murmur of Bees captures both the fate of a country in flux and the destiny of one family that has put their love, faith, and future in the unbelievable.
The Beekeeper’s Promise by Fiona Valpy – FRANCE
Heartbroken and hoping for a new start, Abi Howes takes a summer job in rural France at the Château Bellevue. The old château echoes with voices from the past, and soon Abi finds herself drawn to one remarkable woman’s story, a story that could change the course of her summer―and her life.
In 1938, Eliane Martin tends beehives in the garden of the beautiful Château Bellevue. In its shadow she meets Mathieu Dubosq and falls in love for the first time, daring to hope that a happy future awaits. But France’s eastern border is darkening under the clouds of war, and history has other plans for Eliane…
When she is separated from Mathieu in the chaos of German occupation, Eliane makes the dangerous decision to join the Resistance and fight for France’s liberty. But with no end to the war in sight, her loyalty to Mathieu is severely tested.
From the bestselling author of Sea of Memories comes the story of two remarkable women, generations apart, who must use adversity to their advantage and find the resilience deep within.
Secrets of the Bees by Jane Johnson – CORNWALL, CYPRUS
Time has forgotten this remote corner of West Cornwall, and left its many secrets undisturbed. Until now…
Ezra Curnow has lived in the little cottage on the Trengrose estate all his life. He was born there, as was his
father, and his grandfather before that. It is his own little Cornish paradise.
Then the mistress of the estate, Eliza, dies without leaving a will, putting the cottage’s ownership into question. London financier Toby and his wife Minty are soon enticed by Trengrose’s charm and, worse still, see a lucrative rental opportunity in Ezra’s cottage.
But Ezra is prepared to battle to save his beloved home, and has a number of secret weapons in his armoury. What Ezra doesn’t know is that Eliza also took some secrets to her grave – and she doesn’t intend to rest quietly until they come to light…
The Beekeeper’s Secret by Josephine Moon – AUSTRALIA
Maria Lindsey is content. She spends her solitary days tending her bees and creating delicious honey products to fund orphaned children. A former nun, her life at Honeybee Haven has long been shaped by her self-imposed penance for terrible past events. But the arrival of two letters heralds the shattering of Maria’s peaceful existence.
Pushing aside the misgivings of her family and friends, Tansy Butterfield, on the eve of her marriage, made a serious deal with her adored husband, Dougal. A deal she’d intended to honour. But, seven years on, Tansy is finding her current feelings difficult to ignore. And on top of those not-really-there feelings, Dougal wants to move to Canada!
The Beekeeper’s Apprentice by Laurie R King – ENGLAND
‘The Beekeeper’s Apprentice’ is a brilliantly inventive novel that tells the story of Mary Russell, a young girl, who, in 1914, meets a retired beekeeper on the Sussex Downs. His name is Sherlock Holmes, and smug misogynist though he may be, the Great Detective is no fool and can spot a fellow intellect even in a fifteen-year-old woman.
He takes Mary on as his apprentice, and she hones her budding detective skills on a number of small local cases, but then the sky opens on them, and they find themselves the targets of a slippery, murderous and apparently all-knowing adversary. Together they devise a plan to trap their enemy – a plan that may save their lives, but may also kill their relationship . . .
The Beekeeper by Juliet Moore – MIAMI
Miami homicide detective Elizabeth Stratton knows she’s lucky to still have a job, but she’s tired of only getting the easy cases. She’ll never be able to regain the respect of her colleagues without a chance to prove she’s no longer an anxious mess who shoots at anything that moves.
Her opportunity comes during a routine check at a near-abandoned hotel. While trying to save the living, she finds the dead. In the midst of a bee infestation is the body of a young woman, her mouth filled with honey.
Elizabeth is grudgingly allowed to keep the case, which rapidly becomes compelling when the honey is found to be poisonous and the bees follow her home.
But just when she’s closing in on the killer, he targets her new friend and Elizabeth must brave the high winds of a category four hurricane to save her.
The Beekeeper’s Daughter by Santa Montefiore – DORSET, MASSACHUSETTS
Dorset, 1932: Grace Hamblin is growing up on a beautiful rural estate. The only child of the beekeeper, she knows her place and her future – until her father dies unexpectedly and leaves her bereft and alone. Alone, that is, except for the man she loves, whom she knows she can never have.
Massachusetts, 1973: Grace’s beautiful, impetuous daughter Trixie Valentine is in love. Jasper is wild and romantic, a singer in a band on the brink of stardom. Then tragedy strikes and he must return to his home in England, promising to come back to Trixie one day, if only she will wait for him…
Weighed down by memories, unaware of the secrets that bind them, both mother and daughter are searching for lost love. To find what they are longing for they must confront the past, and unravel the lies told long ago…
The History of Bees by Maja Lunde – ENGLAND, CHINA, UNITED STATES
England, 1851. William is a biologist and seed merchant, who sets out to build a new type of beehive—one that will give both him and his children honour and fame.
United States, 2007. George is a beekeeper and fights an uphill battle against modern farming, but hopes that his son can be their salvation.
China, 2098. Tao hand paints pollen onto the fruit trees now that the bees have long since disappeared. When Tao’s young son is taken away by the authorities after a tragic accident—and is kept in the dark about his whereabouts and condition—she sets out on a grueling journey to find out what happened to him.
Enjoy our selection of great books with bees at their heart!
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