Queen Bee
by Dorothea Benton Frank
My thematic book club selected the theme of “Queen” for May. I
ran a little late in picking my book so I decided to grab an audio book from
our Hoopla catalog that I could listen to on my commute. (Most books run 8 to
14 hours on audio so I can easily listen to it during the course of my weekly
commute.) I did a quick search for the term Queen and scrolled down the list
looking for something that would catch my interest.
My eyes alighted on Queen
Bee by Dorothea Benton Frank. I have adored Frank’s writing since her first
published novel, Sullivan’s Island. I
have read at least half the novels she wrote but lost track of her at some
point.
The atmosphere of the low country, the islands on the coast of
South Carolina, the use of language, the characters, which are so real and far
from perfect people, and the mystery just made for a perfect read for me.
I downloaded the audio book and started it in the car that
night. By the time I got home, I was so hooked that I downloaded the ebook so I
could keep reading that weekend.
In Queen Bee, Holly
Jensen is a dutiful southern daughter, living with her mother, who she and her
sister refer to as the QB (Queen Bee), to help care for her as she has grown
into something of a hypochondriac.
Holly occupies her free time with tending her bees,
volunteering at the local library, occasional substitute teaching as she tries
to get a full-time job teaching at the elementary school, helping the widower
and his two small boys next door, and then she gets a job decorating cakes at
the local Publix store.
The truth is Holly has a very severe crush on the next door
widower, Archie. But even as she is taking care of his two sweet young boys
after school and bringing them meals, he goes out on a blind date with someone
else. Someone horrible. What to do? Hold on for the roller coaster ride.
Then Holly’s sister, Leslie, returns home in tears when her
accountant husband of six years reveals a hidden dream of his own to become a
drag queen star in Las Vegas. (This is a fantastic story line that I did not
see coming and Frank takes it in totally unexpected and beautiful directions.)
Meanwhile, Holly and Leslie’s mama, the QB, falls out of bed
twice and gets taken in for some scans which reveal that she is not quite the
hypochondriac the girls assumed. Again, unexpected twists and turns abound as
the story unfolds in a beautiful way. Have your tissues ready.
Frank’s books are a truly immersive reading experience,
transporting you to a different location. Just sitting here writing this
review, I feel like I fell back into the book and traveled miles away.
I’ve already picked out another book by Frank and am listening
to that one, All the Single Ladies. Sadly,
Dorothea Benton Frank passed away in 2019 but, fortunately, she left us twenty
wonderful novels to read and listen to.
One of my treasured possessions is a book of Frank’s that my
sister had her sign for me, a copy of Pawley’s Island. In it, she wrote, “Dear
Michelle, If I can do this, so can you. Keep writing! Dottie.” So sweet and full
of the characteristic style of having her female characters prop each other up.
I was just thinking I might go back and listen to someone read
Sullivan’s Island, if I can find a
good recording of it.
It’s perfect summer reading.
